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butt & math

pci
pci Posts: 249
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
I have a 12.65 lbs. butt we are to eat @ my grandsons birthday party @ 1 pm. If I figure 1.7 hours a lbs. with a 4 hour rest would a 12 pm start sound right? Plus if its running slow @ what time & temp should I bump it up. Boy they are putting the pressure on grandpa. First cook for others.

Comments

  • Little Chef
    Little Chef Posts: 4,725
    pci: First are you positive that is one butt? Most of the chains like BJ's and Costco sell two butts in a package. Before all the math is done, just making sure.
  • pci
    pci Posts: 249
    Little chef, I opened it up 2 pieces now what? I'm lost now
  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    You don't NEED a 4 hour rest. If it finishes early, you can wrap it in foil and a bath towel and put it in a cooler for 4-5 hours, but otherwise, as Tweev said, a 30 min rest is fine. And as LC alluded to, a 13 lb butt is a BIG butt! If in fact, you have two butts, 10-14 hrs should do it.

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
     
    For me 1.7 hours is too long. I go about 1 hour and 15 minutes per pound. A good rest is 30 minutes up to a couple of hours.

    After you are out of the plateau, if needed, wrap in foil and you can take the heat up.

    This is an easy cook so don't fret too much.

    I agree with LC above I am guessing you have 2 butts. Plan you cook for the weight of the heaviest piece and don't let them touch when you cook.

    GG
  • Ripnem
    Ripnem Posts: 5,511
    Plan on a 9-11 hour cook at 250* dome.
  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
    Cook to the weight of the largest butt and don't let the two pieces touch when cooking.

    GG
  • FlaPoolman
    FlaPoolman Posts: 11,676
    Kent, funny how they are all different. Butts for me almost always go over 2 hrs. per pound and yes therms are all calibrated :huh:
  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
     
    I always read that, the longer cook, but for me it never works out that way. Sometimes mine will cook at 1 hr/lb. (thermometers are correct) Being at this altitude I would think my cooks would take longer.

    Thankfully butts are a forgiving cook.

    Kent
  • Ripnem
    Ripnem Posts: 5,511
    Sooooo, how many butts have you cooked?

    "I think" "I think" "I think" from someone who has almost no experience, isn't going to help the man. :huh:
  • FlaPoolman
    FlaPoolman Posts: 11,676
    Doesn't mater if they are stacked high with the stone like this

    100_4049.jpg


    or at the felt level with the platesetter like this

    100_3986.jpg

    I just know that 1 or 6 8# butts will take about 19 hrs so I never have a problem with my timing
  • FlaPoolman
    FlaPoolman Posts: 11,676
    I like that they go longer it means I never have to start them in the middle of the night :laugh:
  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
     
    I wonder if I am cooking them hotter than I really think.

    I clip the temp probe on the grate about 2" away from the meat and set the pit temp to 250°. I am always having to start the butts about 1 to 2 am and they are ready about 3 to 4 pm which includes a rest.

    I haven't cooked them with a plate setter in a long time. My set up is an inverted spider with a heavy duty SS 14" deep dish pizza pan, the adjustable rig and then the butts.

    Kent
  • FlaPoolman
    FlaPoolman Posts: 11,676
    Kent, I think I'm the odd man out here. I've done them with several different setups and while for most it's 1 1/2-2 hrs per mine are always over 2, and it doesn't matter if they are 6 or 10 pounds each.
  • Ripnem
    Ripnem Posts: 5,511
    Pat,

    How many dials do you see when looking at the therm. :P
  • FlaPoolman
    FlaPoolman Posts: 11,676
    All of them :woohoo: :woohoo:
  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
     
    I think the different times are interesting. Wonder how much of it is the meat in different parts of the country.

    Kent
  • FlaPoolman
    FlaPoolman Posts: 11,676
    Most of my butts come from Sams so it's probably not that. Maybe I should see if I can do 5 minute grits :huh: :laugh: Can't explain it Kent but for 10 plus years of eggin it's always been that way
  • Canugghead
    Canugghead Posts: 11,458
    same here. :huh:

    Gary
    canuckland
  • SkySaw
    SkySaw Posts: 656
    Kent - My butts typically cook for 1hr and 12 minutes per lb. I also measure and control pit temps from the grate, at about 2 inches from the meat.

    Mark
  • SkySaw
    SkySaw Posts: 656
    Tweev_tip wrote:
    I think confounding effects on the timing of cooking butt is the fat content of each butt...

    Do you mean connective tissue content? These cuts that benefit from long cooks are usually cuts that are high in connective tissue, but not necessarily fat.

    Also, a long rest with a big cut of pork butt is good for temperature distribution. Today's high quality instant read thermos show how temps can differ in a big cut. If your meat probe reads 195º, another part of the butt could still be at a considerably lower temp. Resting for an hour or more in a cooler helps to ensure that the entire butt is easily pullable.

    Mark
  • CBBQ
    CBBQ Posts: 610
    Cook 2 butts as if they are one. I do it a little different in that my probe in in the smallest one. I pull it when it's done and then move the probe to the larger one.
    I don't know what size egg you have. But it does not matter at all if the butts touch each other or if they aren't completely thawed. Butts can lose up to 40% of their weight during the cooking process depending on the fat content. One of the first things they start doing is shrinking. If they are touching they will pull away from each other by inches during the cook. I did 24 butts the other day where all of the 2-packs were frozen together. At most the cook went an hour longer because it took the cooker longer to get back to temp.
  • SkySaw
    SkySaw Posts: 656
    Tweev_tip wrote:
    However, a half hour is the accepted (maybe not here but everywhere else) amount of time required to homogenize the temperature (and fluids and all that good stuff) in the shoulder.

    The last time I checked everywhere else, 30 minutes was an accepted minimum time to rest. I have never seen anywhere evidence showing that 30 minutes is enough. It's easy enough to test, and might make a good project for someone who likes to know everything.

    Mark
  • SkySaw
    SkySaw Posts: 656
    Hey, if you have some relevant sources/citations, feel free to share!

    I suspect that butts are often cooked to 200º, 205º, or even 210º to ensure that they're at a nice pullable temp throughout. The rest period on a butt cooked to 192º-195º can bring those less-cooked parts up into the 190ºs. Short of temp probing the meat thoroughly, an hour in a cooler is probably more reliable than a general 30 minute internet meme.

    Mark