smoking time?

[jparrucci]

I am smoking a pork butt or two for easter, approximately 20 people. How many pounds of pork am I going to need? Am I better off with 2 smaller butts or 1 large one? Dinner is at 3pm Sunday. I am using an offset charcoal smoker so I will have to keep an eye on it. Best time guestimate?

[hockeybc69]

I did a pair of 6 lb butts this weekend.

smoked at 225 for 6 hours and 2 more hours at 325 to finish them.

Then put them into a cooler covered in towels for 2 hours before shredding.

I had 15 people eating but also a lot of other kibbles to eat along with the pork.

I ended up with probably 4 lbs of meat left over... Roughly. thats a guess on my part.

[leechlake]

if you are going to do in smoker at 225-250 the whole time I'd plan on 10 hours. You want to cook them til 195 and then let rest in cooler for an hour or so before you pull them. Seems 8 times out of ten they take longer than you think and when you've got guests coming at a certain time panic can set in when things aren't going as you planned. If they get done sooner you can hold in the cooler with towels over them and do a longer rest time.

You need 1/3 pound of finished meat per person. You lose 40% cooking so for 20 people you need about 7 pounds of finished pork adding 40% is about 12 pounds of raw pork to start with. You may think about cooking Saturday and reheating or you'll need to get up at 4am on Easter am.

Also, take them out of the fridge for an hour or so before you put on smoker.

[wormdunker]

I did a couple butts this weekend as well. I was in a time crunch so I decided to go with the Turbo method. This was my second attempt at Turbo. Turbo simply means cooking hotter for shorter time. I have a big green egg. I set my dome temp at 350 and indirect heat. I used Apple and Cherry chunks. I applied mustard and rub within minutes of putting the butts (7 lbs each from costco so no bone) on the grill.

At the one hour mark my butts were 104 internal. At the 2 hour mark they were 138 internal. At the 3 hour mark my butts were 160 internal temp. All this time my dome temp remained between 350-360. Once the meat hit 160 internal I wrapped in foil and put back on the grill for the last hour. By foiling you trap the heat and steam which allows the meat to power through the stall in no time. When the internal temp hit 195-200 (or your bone falls out if bone in) I pulled, wrapped in towels and put them in a cooler for another hour.

Both times I have done the Turbo method I have been VERY happy. The first time I did not foil and i had slightly better bark. The cook took about 6 hours total without foil. This time I foiled and the bark was softened slightly but still good. I had a very nice smoke ring and flavor as well.

As much as I enjoyed going the slow and low route, you cannot argue that the Turbo method has its place and definitely creates a great tasting product. PS there were just about 20 people attending and the 14 lbs was just about right.

The only problem with trimming too close to perfect is you may not have leftovers! I always go bigger. The first time I went Turbo I was worried but found so much support to Turbo on line I decided to trust the online community....IT works.

[Alagnak]

I'd do it the day before so you don't have to worry about the timing on sunday and can relax with a cold one instead. Nobody but you will know it didn't just come off the smoker. I think shoulder gets better after it's pulled and has time to sit in the juice a while anyway.

[leechlake]

Turbo is good if you can get that high a temp. My Masterbuilt only goes to 275 degrees. May try it on the Weber next time or on my gas grill. 10 hours gets a little old some times and is also impractical depending on what you're doing that day. At 225 you need to start it early and tend to it every couple hours.

I don't like foiling but I'd assume at the Turbo temp you may need to foil it so it doesn't dry out?

[PurpleFloyd]

We did 2 butts on saturday to serve on Sunday for my son's confirmation on Sunday. Since I had no intention of watching it through the night so that it was done just in time for lunch we smoked it at 225 for 2.5 hours and then pulled them from the smoker and put in the oven at 350 until they hit 202 degrees at about 11:30 PM. We then pulled it, poured the drippings back over the top and put in the fridge. In the morning we put it in the roaster on low and when we got back from church it was moist,tender and I would say one of the best meats I have ever had. Before smoking I injected it liberally and used an off the shelf rub and that really did the trick. The family loved it as well.

[jparrucci]

Thanks for the help everyone. I think the plan is to smoke it heavy for 2 to 2.5 hours at 225ish and then foil it and toss in the oven at 250-275 (and go back to bed). I've had good luck with this method and still had a bark if you finish the pork back on the smoker for the last hour or so. I think two 8lbers should do the trick. There is going to be a full ham as well and I want some leftovers to feed 4 guys for turkey hunting the following weekend. I wasn't sure if adding a second butt would slow both of them down or if they kinda cook independent of each other.

[wormdunker]

Turbo is good if you can get that high a temp. My Masterbuilt only goes to 275 degrees. May try it on the Weber next time or on my gas grill. 10 hours gets a little old some times and is also impractical depending on what you're doing that day. At 225 you need to start it early and tend to it every couple hours.

I don't like foiling but I'd assume at the Turbo temp you may need to foil it so it doesn't dry out?

Lots o Hardware.....you could sell it all and get an Egg to accomplish all that. And bake the best pizza you will ever eat.

You do not need to foil, but foil accelerates the cook nicely. If smoked at 350 you can almost guaranty the finish time. 3 hours no foil +1 FOIL 350+1 FTC. Or go 5-6 at 350 no foil. Foil Towel Cooler until you want to pul and eat.

Good Luck I had leftovers for lunch! top notch.

[SkunkedAgain]

You're better off with two smaller ones for two reasons:

1) It takes less time to get to the center of each pork shoulder; the second piece of meat does not steal heat/time away from the first

2) You get more external surface area, and therefore more bark

[LABS4ME]

in my best Homer Simpson voice....

MMMMM Baaark.... uuuuuuggghhhh

Good Luck!

Ken

[jparrucci]

I am smoking 2 8lbers and smaller 4 lber (for next weekend turkey hunting). Started at 8ish today with heavy smoke at 225. I just sprayed with apple juice and foiled now. Internal temp of smaller butt was at 152. A couple of hours at 275 should have the smaller one done. I'll toss it back on the smoker for another 30 minutes or so a side to recreate a bark. I'm guessing the larger two will take an additional couple of hours.

[leechlake]

that smaller one at 152 will most likely take more than two hours more to get to 195-200, it's going to reach the stall at around 165 or so and could stay there for a few hours. Keep it up and have fun.