12lbs of butt, need advice.

[smokersteve7879]

Hi guys, I know this question has been asked a million times, but I have 12lbs of pork butt I want to smoke for pulled pork tommorrow nights Halloween party. What kind of temp and how long should I smoke these things? I'm thinking I want to start them tonite about 11pm and let them go till lunch time tomorrow, wrap em up and put them in the cooler till dinner time. I've heard low and slow but that seems like a really long time to me.

 

[pops6927]

You want to roast them at about 225° until they reach 205°, let them rest for an hour in foil and wrapped in a cooler, then pull for pulled pork.  Take Qview and save some for us, lol!

 

[pgsmoker64]

Hi Steve,

A good rule of thumb is about 1.5 - 2 hours per pound, so at 1.5 hrs per pound that's about 18 hours on a 12 lb butt. 

Even better...just put a temp probe in the thick part of the meat and cook that baby at 225 - 240* until she's about 205 - perfect for pulled pork.

Always a good idea to rest the meat for a while before pulling to let the juices redistribute in the meat - plus you don't want to burn your hands!

And don't forget the Q-view.

Good luck and good smoking.

Bill

 

[humdinger]

Hi guys, I know this question has been asked a million times, but I have 12lbs of pork butt I want to smoke for pulled pork tommorrow nights Halloween party. What kind of temp and how long should I smoke these things? I'm thinking I want to start them tonite about 11pm and let them go till lunch time tomorrow, wrap em up and put them in the cooler till dinner time. I've heard low and slow but that seems like a really long time to me.

Steve, when you say "these things" I assume you probably have two ~ 6lb shoulders, correct? If that's the case, it should be about a nine hour smoke, plus an hour to wrap in foil and rest in insulated cooler, then half hour to pull and prep, so call it another hour. So in total you need about 11 hours. If your party starts at say, 8pm, I would suggest throwing the butts on the smoker at 6 am tomorrow and smoking them all day. This buys you another hour of flex time, plus this way you can sleep tonight and will be rested for the party tomorrow. If you do it overnight you'll be up and down (or every few hours) checking the meat/smoker temp, and that could turn you into a real-life zombie come party time tomorrow night.

Assuming you're doing them both at the same time, and if you have a probe thermometer, place it in the smaller of the two shoulders, since (theoretically) that should finish first. Some people have had the larger butt hit 205 degrees first, but it's a general assumption the smaller will finish first. Either way, butts are very forgiving so just do the best you can and don't sweat it.

 

[smokersteve7879]

Yes sir, it is two 6 pounders. My original plan was to start it at about 6 in the morning and let them go all day. We'll actually probably be eating closer to 5:30-6pm. I was reading other peoples post about having them take a lot longer than expected and i thought I'd play it safe by doing them over night. I'll be using an MES30 with an AMNPS in a mailbox mod. I was thinking I could fire them up late tonite and basicly forget about them till morning.

 

[shamp]

Smokersteve,  I did a 8 pound pork shoulder on Sat.  I put it on at 9:30 am and it was done around 9:30 at night.   I had arond a 3-4 hour stall.  Good luck!

 

[humdinger]

Yeah I hear ya now. Based on this new info just go with your original plan. Once you see how long they take in your MES30 set up, you can tweak your plan for next time with more confidence because you'll have experience.

If you put them in at midnight tonight, they'll probably finish around 9 or 10 am. You can rest them in a cooler that is well insulated with old towels for up to 3 or 4 hours, then pull the meat apart, but you'd still ahve a few hours til dinner, so I don't know what to tell you to do then? (Refrigerate then reheat? Oven on "warm"? Those both work, but the choice is yours)

I have a 7 quart crock pot and many times I rest the butt in a cooler like normal, then I pull the meat apart right inside the crock pot, stir in about a quarter cup of bbq sauce for moisture, then set it on "warm" until the party starts. If you have a crock pot that size or bigger, I would recommend that method because it's solves your time problem and clean up is always a breeze b/c there's never any left.....

I'm 90% certain I've gotten two buts to fit before, but it's been a few months. If not, I would just top off the crock pot and throw the rest in tupperware to the fridge. Maybe you get to it later that night...maybe you dont? Either way it's properly stored.

LMK how it turns out!

 

[so ms smoker]

  2 Six pounders. Should take about 9-10 hours. If you cook to 195 then foil and wrap till readdy to serve you will be good to go.

  Mike

 

[smokersteve7879]

Thanks for the advise, it's all greatly appreciated. I'll def take pics and post an update when I getter dun :) One last quick question before i set out on this journey. What about lowering the smoker temp to about 210 or so, that way it doesnt cook quite so fast? Good or bad?

 

[shamp]

I dont know how good of an idea this is but I have done it in the past.  Set your alarm for 4am or 5am and put them on at that time and go back to bed. figure on a 10-11 hours for the pork.(Plan for a few more hours then you think, the two butts could finish at different times)  THis way the butts are done around 3pm-4pm giving you 3-4 hours to keep wrapped.  DOnt know what time your partys at but may allow you to serve it fresh.

 

[smokersteve7879]

IMG_1597.jpg

• smokersteve7879
• Oct 31, 2012

I decided to start the butts up at 11 last night on 225°. I checked them at 6 this morning and they were at 162°. I had my wife txt me the temp at 10:30 and they are at 185°. Im figuring they'll be ready to come out about 2ish to be wrapped up and rest.

 

[jp61]

Butts are looking good........

 

[ice daddy]

All good advice above.  Man those butts are lookin good.  I'm kinda interested how long a stall you have.  Keep the Qviews coming. 

 

 

[smokersteve7879]

Dont know about the stall, kinda taking the set it and forget it approach since I cant be home to watch them. Thats one of the reasons I started them last night. They smelled awesome this morning. I had to resist tempation to peel off a piece and try it LOL

 

[oldschoolbbq]

Good looking Butts, and know they will be good

.

Butts are hard to mess-up, very good fodder to play with and learn your Smoker. I like to do full Smoker cooks...(see my avatar at top).

Try ,Sloflaquer's  Finishing Sauce , you'll love it...just sayin'

Have fun and as always...

 

[shamp]

They are looking good!  Makes me want to go outside and smoke.  This work thing gets in the way!

 

[smokersteve7879]

Yessir, gotta work to support my smoking habit though :)          (The good smoking habit, quit the other one years ago)

 

[shamp]

Lol, quit smoking 2 months ago.  What did you use for rub?

 

[smokersteve7879]

Congrats on the quitting the cigs man. I found the foods and such tasted much better after I quit that nasty habit. As far as the rub I'll post a pic of it when I get home this evening along with the final product. I cant for the life of me remember what it was called.

 

[shamp]

Thanks, and Food does taste alot better.  Not helping me in the weight department!