pulled pork shoulder butt (one large piece, or cut in half?)

[solman]

anyone see any issues with taking an 8-9lb shoulder butt, and slicing it in half to make pulled pork? my assumption is that it would cut the cook time in half, and double the amount of bark and smoke ring. or is it better to smoke it as one whole piece versus two half pieces?

 

[krj]

It doesn't necessarily cut the cook time in half, but it 'should' cut it down. And you will also end exposing more surface area to rub/smoke which will net you more bark.

 

[Bearcarver]

Like krj said,
Less time, but not cut in half.
Biggest bennies are more surface area for Bark & Smoke, and more rub area.

Bear

 

[danbury]

When I had my UDS, I would sometimes take a pork butt and debone and butterfly it. It still took time to smoke, but as said above, more bark and more smoke. Remember... cook by internal temp and not time!

I just put a pork butt on my electric smoker an hour ago. Won't be done till the wee hours of the morning.

 

[Murray]

I’ve cut them in half, mainly because there is only two of us. Half or better gets turned into Buck Board Bacon. Seem to eat more bacon than Pulled Pork.

 

[solman]

just got back from costco, and all their butts are 15+ pounds. so i'd actually be cutting them up into 1/3 or even 1/4 portions. i'd definitely smoke the meat based on internal temperature and not time, but was wondering if half the meat would cause the cooking time also be cut in half. doesn't sound like it, but smoking a 7.5lb portion would still be much faster than 15lbs.

i may just give it a shot and see how it turns out. more bark can't be a bad thing, right?

 

[danbury]

Can never go wrong smoking a pork butt for experimentation purposes!!

 

[markh024]

Cook ahead of your time frame. Remember you can "hold" that hot for a few hours even if done way earlier. That's better than hungry mouths waiting 2 hrs past expected dinner. As mentioned already , more smoke and bark on 2 halves. Good luck, post some pics!

 

[Bearcarver]

just got back from costco, and all their butts are 15+ pounds. so i'd actually be cutting them up into 1/3 or even 1/4 portions. i'd definitely smoke the meat based on internal temperature and not time, but was wondering if half the meat would cause the cooking time also be cut in half. doesn't sound like it, but smoking a 7.5lb portion would still be much faster than 15lbs.

i may just give it a shot and see how it turns out. more bark can't be a bad thing, right?

Are you sure those are 15 pound butts?
A lot of people think that, and when they get them home & open it up, there's actually 2 butts in the package.

Bear

 

[solman]

Are you sure those are 15 pound butts?
A lot of people think that, and when they get them home & open it up, there's actually 2 butts in the package.

Bear

I just read the label. I've never bought a butt from Costco before so you may be right.

 

[Jonok]

I’d bet that there are two in there...

 

[fivetricks]

just got back from costco, and all their butts are 15+ pounds. so i'd actually be cutting them up into 1/3 or even 1/4 portions. i'd definitely smoke the meat based on internal temperature and not time, but was wondering if half the meat would cause the cooking time also be cut in half. doesn't sound like it, but smoking a 7.5lb portion would still be much faster than 15lbs.

i may just give it a shot and see how it turns out. more bark can't be a bad thing, right?

Those are twin packs.