First butt

[covanant]

Planing on smokin my first butt this weekend.Done alot of reading on it thru this great forum.one question i have is what size butt should i buy?
Need to feed 4,but time may be a factor,can i do one in under 8hours?

 

[noboundaries]

Whether I'm buying for 2 or 10 I always get around an 8lb butt.  Leftovers are great and keep for days. 

Now, to get it done in the time needed, do it hot n fast, which is the only way I do butts these days.  At 350F chamber temp you can do an 8 lb butt in about 4-5 hours, wrapping it at an IT of 170-180F.  At 275F you'll going to add another 2-3 hours so you're cutting it close.  Or you can smoke it for 3-4 hours at 275F, wrap it up and finish it in the oven at 350F.  Put it in for an hour then check the IT.  Final IT should be 200-205F.  If not there just check it every half hour or so.  Would definitely be done in time.       

A smaller butt, say 5 lbs, would be done in just under 3 hours at 350F on the smoker, around 5 hours at 275 F, wrapping at the same temp.

 

[mike5051]

Ray's got you covered.  I like an butt around 8 lbs too, but at 225-250, that could take 16 hrs!  

  You gotta go hot and fast for your time frame, or get a smaller butt.  At low and slow, you gotta give yourself up to 2 hrs\ lb.  Happy smoking.

Mike

 

[dukeburger]

Don't get too wrapped up with the idea that you have to smoke a pork butt at 225. Some of the best ones I've done have been smoked in the 325-350* range.

Good luck!

 

[okie362]

I usually smoke butts at 275.  That's where the MES tops out.  LOL

 

[tommyboutell]

Similar question: scenario; put dry rubbed 10 pound butt in 250• smoker at 5:30pm. Added charcoal at 8 and 11pm and temps range from 200-275. Went to sleep at 11:30pm and took warm to the surface touch (120• center temp) butt out at 5:30 am- wrapped in foil and put in fridge. Smells good. Is it ok to pull, reheat and serve in crockpot later today? Thanks, newbie, tommy.

 

[schlotz]

TommyB, a 12 hour smoke should yield an IT much higher than 120° which leads me to believe the smoker temp was far from consistent or high enough. If it was at a steady 225° you would've easily attained an IT of 170° and most likely higher.

Meat needs to get to 140° in a lot shorter time (have read 4 hours) in order to be safe. Maybe a few others will comment here to verify. I would be concerned for what's in the fridge.

 

[tommyboutell]

Thanks scholz. Should clarify, 120° was the temperature measured when I took it out of the smoker at 5:30am. The smoker fire probably went out about three in the morning. I took it out of the smoker at 5:30 Am so it started cooling down by itself. What I'm curious about is it cooled down in the smoker, say from 2 AM to 3 AM - 5:30, was it a safe thing or not. I'm sure the meat got over 170 at some point during the eight hour charcoal fed cook - thanks all, great forum! thanks all, great for him!

 

[hardcookin]

Planing on smokin my first butt this weekend.Done alot of reading on it thru this great forum.one question i have is what size butt should i buy?
Need to feed 4,but time may be a factor,can i do one in under 8hours?

The previous posters done a good job answering your question.
You don't really mention what type of smoker you have.
That could play a big part in your answer. If your smoker can cook at higher temps you could do a butt it in 8hrs. One thing you can't factor in is every piece of meat is different and it will be done when it's done. :biggrin:

Good Luck with your smoke!!

 

[SmokinAl]

I'm very interested to see how this turns out.

Al

 

[covanant]

Im using an oklahoma joe highland,can maintain 225-250 no problem with the odd spike to 300.

 

[covanant]

Soi ended up getting a 4.75 pound butt.
2 hrs in so far and its lookin good!
Temps are fluctuating between 240-350 when i add splits,but comes back down fast.

 

[covanant]

just pulled it off and in the cooler now for an hour.cant wait to try it

 

[pit 4 brains]

Soi ended up getting a 4.75 pound butt.
2 hrs in so far and its lookin good!
Temps are fluctuating between 240-350 when i add splits,but comes back down fast.

That's how it goes...

Waiting to see some Q-view!

 

[covanant]

Wow is all i can say,came out awesome with a nice smoke ring.
I used the finishing sauce from soflaquer in the sticky posts.

20160717_163627.jpg

• covanant
• Jul 17, 2016

 

[pit 4 brains]

 

[covanant]

lol used my wifes nice towels and guess what happened?

 

[GaryHibbert]

I usually buy a 5 pound butt. Makes just the right amount of PP for the 2 of us. That finishing sauce you used is my go-to sauce too--love it.

Your PP turned out beautifully. Great job.

Gary

 

[sauced]

Great job.....looks really delicious!!!

 

[worm304]

Makes me feel like less of a smoker that I don't have to battle temps with an electric rig, ha! Great looking meat!