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BufordCityDawg
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Joined: 23 Jan 2008
Posts: 400
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 Posted: Jun 29 2008 Post subject: Perfect sized butt? |
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To date, I've cooked nothing bigger than a 5# butt. Mostly because that is all that Publix sells, but also, because I just don't have the time to spend 16+ hours cooking. The down side for me is I get less bark due to the shorter cooking times. If you could or do, pick the weight of your meat each time, what size do you like? What is the best balance between cook time and nice bark?
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bluesman250
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Joined: 22 May 2007
Posts: 802
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| Posted: Jun 29 2008 Post subject: |
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| I like them between 8 and 12 pounds. On my WSM at 230-240, 12 pounders take right about 12 to 13 hours. I do that size quite a bit when i cater or cook for others. I can even manage a little sleep at night once the cooker gets going good. |
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BufordCityDawg
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Joined: 23 Jan 2008
Posts: 400
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| Posted: Jun 29 2008 Post subject: |
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| bluesman250 wrote: | | I like them between 8 and 12 pounds. On my WSM at 230-240, 12 pounders take right about 12 to 13 hours. I do that size quite a bit when i cater or cook for others. I can even manage a little sleep at night once the cooker gets going good. |
How do you get a 12# butt done in 12 hours? I'm averaging 2hrs/# on mine. I know it is a sliding scale and you start getting closer to 1hr/# as you get higher in weight, but I'd be afraid to try a 12# butt for fear of having to cook it well into the night.
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bluesman250
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Joined: 22 May 2007
Posts: 802
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| Posted: Jun 30 2008 Post subject: |
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| Butt times vary, but for what ever reason, on my WSM, the big ones take an hour a pound to cook to 195-200 degrees, or when the bone is ready to fall out. I usually start them at night, and cook over night, getting them done in the next day. I did 2 15 pound butts about 4 weeks ago, and they took exactly 16 hours to cook. Started them at 9pm, pulled them at 1pm the next day, and served them at 3. the sweet spot on my WSM for hassle free cooking is 235-240 and it will sit there for hours with no hassle. |
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Canadian Bacon
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Joined: 06 Sep 2007
Posts: 13550
Location: Mississauga ON Canada
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| Posted: Jun 30 2008 Post subject: |
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I like butts 6-9 pounds if I can get them,if not i take what i can get. 
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KenP
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Joined: 08 Jun 2008
Posts: 196
Location: Virginia Beach
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| Posted: Jun 30 2008 Post subject: |
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I can't believe no one has said "two big handfulls" or something along those lines. 
Bluesman, that was good info as I hope to do my first butt next week on a WSM.
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Ducane NG
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bluesman250
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Joined: 22 May 2007
Posts: 802
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| Posted: Jun 30 2008 Post subject: |
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| KenP wrote: | I can't believe no one has said "two big handfulls" or something along those lines.
Bluesman, that was good info as I hope to do my first butt next week on a WSM. |
You will have a blast. The smaller ones do often take longer per pound on the WSM, but if you get at least an 8 pounder, it should not be too far off an hour a pound at 240. I have an 8.5 pounder on now, the cooker has been sitting at 244 for the last three hours, and its on pace for 8 depending on how long the stall is. |
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edskull69
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Joined: 17 Sep 2005
Posts: 510
Location: New Jersey
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| Posted: Jun 30 2008 Post subject: |
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I get my butts from the butcher and they are always between 6 1/2-8 1/2 lbs. I have NEVER seen a 12 pound butt. Now my butts are Boston butts which is the shoulder (only the shoulder blade is in the meat) Are these 12 pounders picnics or something of that nature? Before I got my lang a but would take me 10-12 hours to cook. NOw They have been getting done in 8 -9 hours @ 240-250... I think the lang hold the heat better when I open it and I am not waiting for an hour for the cooker to recover the temps.
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bluesman250
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Joined: 22 May 2007
Posts: 802
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| Posted: Jun 30 2008 Post subject: |
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| edskull69 wrote: | | I get my butts from the butcher and they are always between 6 1/2-8 1/2 lbs. I have NEVER seen a 12 pound butt. Now my butts are Boston butts which is the shoulder (only the shoulder blade is in the meat) Are these 12 pounders picnics or something of that nature? Before I got my lang a but would take me 10-12 hours to cook. NOw They have been getting done in 8 -9 hours @ 240-250... I think the lang hold the heat better when I open it and I am not waiting for an hour for the cooker to recover the temps. |
Nope, they are butts. The biggest i have been able to get is 16 pounds. I regularly do 10-12 pounders, i have done 15 pounders about 6 times. The are a bone in Boston Butt cut. I can get picnics even bigger, but i prefer the butt over the picnic. Your butcher might be trimming off some of the butt for other cuts, like sausage or country style ribs cut from the butt. Here is a 14 pounder i did a few weeks back. As you can see, it is a butt, and it takes up most of the top rack of my WSM
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Doc1680
BBQ Super Pro
Joined: 17 Jun 2005
Posts: 2609
Location: Indianapolis
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| Posted: Jun 30 2008 Post subject: |
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| bluesman250 wrote: | | edskull69 wrote: | | I get my butts from the butcher and they are always between 6 1/2-8 1/2 lbs. I have NEVER seen a 12 pound butt. Now my butts are Boston butts which is the shoulder (only the shoulder blade is in the meat) Are these 12 pounders picnics or something of that nature? Before I got my lang a but would take me 10-12 hours to cook. NOw They have been getting done in 8 -9 hours @ 240-250... I think the lang hold the heat better when I open it and I am not waiting for an hour for the cooker to recover the temps. |
Nope, they are butts. The biggest i have been able to get is 16 pounds. I regularly do 10-12 pounders, i have done 15 pounders about 6 times. The are a bone in Boston Butt cut. I can get picnics even bigger, but i prefer the butt over the picnic. Your butcher might be trimming off some of the butt for other cuts, like sausage or country style ribs cut from the butt. Here is a 14 pounder i did a few weeks back. As you can see, it is a butt, and it takes up most of the top rack of my WSM
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Now that's a butt!
I usually get 6-9# butts. I get mine at sams and that's how they have them cut.
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roxy
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Joined: 29 May 2005
Posts: 9331
Location: Wasaga beach, Ontario
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| Posted: Jun 30 2008 Post subject: |
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I find it hard to get butt to cook close to the one hour mark per pound and I use a WSM and a ProBBQ. For me it is more like 1.5 hours per almost every time. For me the worst thing in a comp is to have a hunk of meat that will not come up to temp and the turn in time is getting close.
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Chargriller Akorn
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bluesman250
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Joined: 22 May 2007
Posts: 802
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| Posted: Jun 30 2008 Post subject: |
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| roxy wrote: | | I find it hard to get butt to cook close to the one hour mark per pound and I use a WSM and a ProBBQ. For me it is more like 1.5 hours per almost every time. For me the worst thing in a comp is to have a hunk of meat that will not come up to temp and the turn in time is getting close. |
I know. It seems to quick. And for me, its only on the 12-15 pounders, and i am not sure why they cook that quick. I have even put posts here questioning WHY those real big ones would cook so fast. But i know all my temps and numbers are correct. I use both a maverick for smoker temp, and an oven thermometer on the grate. I use my maverick for the meat, and i also have an analog probe that i can calibrate, and i check that at least twice a month. Just in may alone, i cooked pork for others 5 times, the smallest of those was 1 13 pound butt. once i did 4 15 pound butts. And every time they were at right about an hour per pound. the 4 15 pounders took 16 hours. the 13 pounder took 13.5.
but the smaller butts never seem to cook that quick, though i rarely do smaller ones. I have an 8 pounder on now, and it looks like 10.5 to 11 hours will be the cook time. Smoker has been at 240 plus or minus 5 all day. |
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sleecjr
BBQ Fan
Joined: 27 Mar 2008
Posts: 259
Location: Jacksonville, FL
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| Posted: Jun 30 2008 Post subject: |
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Is it just the pic or is that a very thin butt? Now i have never seen anything past about 9 lbs, but all of the ones i have seen were round.
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bluesman250
BBQ Pro
Joined: 22 May 2007
Posts: 802
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| Posted: Jun 30 2008 Post subject: |
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| Its just the pic. Is probably 8 inches thick at its thickest point. Maybe 5 at the thin end. |
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TGS2
Newbie
Joined: 21 Feb 2008
Posts: 41
Location: Westminster, MD
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| Posted: Jul 01 2008 Post subject: |
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| The biggest I've done is 10#. I don't seem to get a lot of bark either. I'm aiming to do a big one this weekend. maybe 12# or so. The best results I've had is when I have the butcher take the bone out at the store. |
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Canadian Bacon
BBQ Super All Star
Joined: 06 Sep 2007
Posts: 13550
Location: Mississauga ON Canada
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| Posted: Jul 01 2008 Post subject: |
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| TGS2 wrote: | | The biggest I've done is 10#. I don't seem to get a lot of bark either. I'm aiming to do a big one this weekend. maybe 12# or so. The best results I've had is when I have the butcher take the bone out at the store. |
It's nice to leave the bone in,it will cook a little faster because that bone ctranfers a little heat to the meat,but also if you give it a wiggle and it pulls out of the meat your done.
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southernsmoke
Newbie
Joined: 05 Apr 2006
Posts: 68
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| Posted: Jul 01 2008 Post subject: |
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| I dont see why you get less bark from a shorter cooking time? Maybe if it were only on the smoker an hour or so,but 5 plus hours should form all the bark its going to. All the butts I cook are between 5 and 7 lbs. I would never cook one bigger than that, thats just more time than I want to spend tending the smoker, and more fuel I have to use to get a bigger butt cooked. Id much rather cook 3 or 4 smaller butts than 1 big one. |
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BufordCityDawg
BBQ Super Fan
Joined: 23 Jan 2008
Posts: 400
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| Posted: Jul 01 2008 Post subject: |
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| southernsmoke wrote: | | I dont see why you get less bark from a shorter cooking time? Maybe if it were only on the smoker an hour or so,but 5 plus hours should form all the bark its going to. All the butts I cook are between 5 and 7 lbs. I would never cook one bigger than that, thats just more time than I want to spend tending the smoker, and more fuel I have to use to get a bigger butt cooked. Id much rather cook 3 or 4 smaller butts than 1 big one. |
Take a look at two that I have done and have pix of. The first was a three pound boneless. The second a 4 lb bone in. Each was cooked to 165 internal, covered with brown sugar then foiled to ~195. I used a slightly different rub on each, but the main components, sugar, salt, paprika, were about the same. You can see that the first one has much less bark than the second. I don't have the exact time on the second one b/c I was working and couldn't do my usual time charts, but it did go a good bit longer than the first and had a much better bark. Side note the second one was my best to date... makes me wish it had been a bigger cut b/c it was wonderful.
BCD
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roxy
BBQ All Star
Joined: 29 May 2005
Posts: 9331
Location: Wasaga beach, Ontario
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| Posted: Jul 01 2008 Post subject: |
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| BufordCityDawg wrote: | | southernsmoke wrote: | | I dont see why you get less bark from a shorter cooking time? Maybe if it were only on the smoker an hour or so,but 5 plus hours should form all the bark its going to. All the butts I cook are between 5 and 7 lbs. I would never cook one bigger than that, thats just more time than I want to spend tending the smoker, and more fuel I have to use to get a bigger butt cooked. Id much rather cook 3 or 4 smaller butts than 1 big one. |
Take a look at two that I have done and have pix of. The first was a three pound boneless. The second a 4 lb bone in. Each was cooked to 165 internal, covered with brown sugar then foiled to ~195. I used a slightly different rub on each, but the main components, sugar, salt, paprika, were about the same. You can see that the first one has much less bark than the second. I don't have the exact time on the second one b/c I was working and couldn't do my usual time charts, but it did go a good bit longer than the first and had a much better bark. Side note the second one was my best to date... makes me wish it had been a bigger cut b/c it was wonderful.
BCD
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The thing is with doing butt with this method is you loose the firm bark that most of us want. Nothing wrong with doing it this way but for the texture of the out side of the meat.. I would not be using foil to finish the meat off.. Just my preference and all. Tried it, didn't care for the bark or lack of it. Your method does promote the flavours of the rub to get deep into the meat.
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Chargriller Akorn
WSM
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GaryC
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Joined: 26 Apr 2008
Posts: 94
Location: Chicago
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