When to begin the cook?

trying_to_master_the_egg · May 2010

I have 4 butts to cook for my daughters 4th birthday party Saturday. The party begins at 11am. My question is when should I begin cooking the butts? Thought about getting the butts started night and when they are done, double wrap in al. foil, refrigerate and reheat Saturday morning. I would like to time the cook to where I can wrap in foil, place in cooler, and pull just in time for the party. Any suggestions on when to begin? The butts are 2 to a pack @ 17.60 and 18.31 lbs.

The Naked Whiz · May 2010

Remember you can keep the butts at least 6-7 hours in the cooler, so don't be afraid of the cook finishing a little early. Early is better than late. If they do run long, you can up the temp to get them to the finished temp. Butts are pretty forgiving. If you started them at 6pm the night before and they have been in the cooker 15 hours, no one is going to know if you ended up having to bump the temp to get them done. Here's a link to my web page on holding a single butt in a cooler. Four butts would certainly keep even longer:

Holding Meat In A Cooler

gdenby · May 2010

If the butts are not touching, so that air will flow around them, the time is still the average of 1.5 - 2 hrs./lb. So, assuming you have at least one 9+ lb butt, 13.5 to 18 hours. Also assuming they are all on the same level.

If the butts are touching, say stacked one on another, they cook like one giant piece. If they are crammed in side by side, when they shrink, they will start cooking like single pieces. So, somewhere from double the average time to 1.5 times.

Butts double wrapped in foil, then in a towel in a cooler can easily still be above 160 5 hours after leaving the Egg. That's good if you get a "turbo-butt." The minimum I've ever rested a butt was 2 hours. It was still 180, and I had to use forks to do the pulling.

They can be cooked at a hotter temperature than the usual dome of 250. I've had good results from 270 to 280. I've occasionally had a fire run up to 300 without harming the final product. I've tried doing them at 350, while sitting foiled in a pan with fluid. Then they go at about and hour per pound. The down side was that the bottom became caramelized from the rub and sugars in the fluid, and so was tough. Most of the rest was pretty good, if a little greasier than I liked.

Good luck with the party.

trying_to_master_the_egg · May 2010

My only concern is that I have never cooked over 2 butts @ one time. I will be using an extended grid. After reading on this board, I will place the 2 biggest butts on top grid, which some say that is the hottest spot.

Mark0525 · May 2010

I did my first butt a couple weeks ago and planned on taking off the egg hours before I wanted to eat and it took a lot of pressure off me. 5 hours in the cooler and it was still hot to touch and very easy to pull. Listen to what everyone tells you. It's very hard to screw this cook up, trust me if it could of been screwed up I would of done it. But it came out great. Good luck

Tiburon · May 2010

I did this exact cook on Tuesday night. I put four butts on a single level over a platesetter and took them off at noon yesterday. I wrapped them in foil and placed them in the ice chest for four hours prior to pulling. The meat was still hot.

trying_to_master_the_egg · May 2010

Thanks for all the helpful replies. I think I will put them on Friday around 4pm. That is about 19 hours before it is time to eat. That should work out good, I hope.

Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker · May 2010

even if they touch, the time won't really increase, and the butts will shrink anyway.

the only real increase in time usually comes from the egg taking a little longer to return to temp after adding all that cold mass of four butts instead of one or two

trying_to_master_the_egg · May 2010

What is a reasonable time for the egg to get back up to temp after the butts goes on?

Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker · May 2010

well. whenever it does is fine. might be an hour or more.

if your egg is pegged to 250, just put the meat on and shut the egg and wait. don't adjust the vents. the fire isn't any colder. in fact, it's hotter, because it just got a giant gulp of air. but the thermometer is cool, and the cold meat is dragging temps down (the meat is a heat sink). eventually the temps will return to 250.

you can tweak the vents open a bit if you really want, but don't try to adjust things quickly with big adjustments

and make sure the thermo isn't sticking into the meat giving you artificially low readings

trying_to_master_the_egg · May 2010

Thanks, I will keep that in mind and just be patient and let the egg do its thing.

trying_to_master_the_egg · May 2010

Thanks, I will keep that in mind and just be patient and let the egg do its thing.

When to begin the cook?

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