FREAKED OUT!

msfgroup

Good Morning Eggers

I am about to do my first Pork Butts on my XL BGE.  I have done basically everything else on it with relatively good success.  I will be doing 2-3 seven to eight pound butts this weekend for a BBQ at my house.  I have the rubs, the room temperature, trimming, pretty well covered. My concern is the cooking time.  I have seen 1.5 - 2.0 hours per pound plus 1-2 hours resting in a cooler. Here is where the FREAKED OUT comes in, is it combined weight?  I have seen go by the largest BUTT weight and also the combined weight.  In this case lets go with 24 pounds. If combined is correct I am already toast for the BBQ being I would need 50 hours of preparation time.  Also, I am concerned about running out of FUEL (charcoal) with this long cook.  I have thought about electronics etc. but I have been told that you can control just as well without them and should get comfortable with the EGG controls. How long can you extend a cook at 225-250 in my egg?

Sorry for the long diatribe, but I am at the point of doing these or headed to This Little Piggy BBQ for our outing and I do not want that.

Any and All suggestions are pleadingly WELCOME

Thanks to everyone and enjoy your weekends

MSF GROUP

buzd504

Weight of the largest butt.  It's the thickness of the cut that is ultimately the decider - not toal weight.

You can also bump the temps to 300 (or even a little higher) to decrease cook time without noticeably affecting your result.

And while it is perfectly fine to rest your butt, it is not required.

cazzy

No...not combined weight. You're looking at about 1.5 hours per # if your roll 250. Holding in a cooler is only necessary if you finish way early.

The time estimation is just that, an estimation. Some butts are butts and take longer or shorter to cook. Good luck.

shtgunal3

Yeah what they said. For what it's worth.... I always plan to have the butts done a couple hours early so if they take longer it is no big deal. If they get done early wrap in foil and towels and chunk em in a cooler. Also if you go around 300 dome temp as @buzd504‌ says you probably won't experience a stall. Whereas if you go 225 you will hit a stall somewhere around 150-160 and it may stay there for an hour or two. Or you can wrap in foil when you get to 160 and put back on and this will also power you through the stall. If wrapping at 160 I always spray with apple juice at this time. I hope I didn't overload you with to much info. If you have any questions just ask.

Smokinpig

No need to freak. 

Plan for 2 hours a pound at 225 and 1.5 at 250 and go with the heaviest weight. So for 8 pounds that is 16 hours at 225. If the smaller ones finish first ftc them. 

If they all finsh early ftc them.  Build in a little buffer since some butts can be stubborn, you can ftc for a few hours easy. 

tulocay

+1 on building a buffer. At 250 dome my experience is around 2 hours per pound. I loaded up my large recently with 5, seven pound butts. Took them off between 21-23 hours. I attribute the extra time to putting all that cold meat in the egg at once. Regardless, they took that long and were fantastic!

QDude

I have cooked about 40 butts on my XL over the last two years.  There is no need to cook at 225 degrees.   Bump the temp up to 275.  Most of my butts take about an hour to 90 minutes per pound to cook and they come out great.  Sometimes they cook quicker than that.

lousubcap

Addressing your fuel concern-load it up well into the fire ring and you will be good for the eggspected duration plus a few more hours.  Brand of lump has an impact on the cook duration but with that much in the BGE you should not have any problems. 

Make sure your dome thermo is calibrated and your temp is stable (no vent changes for at least 30-45 mins) before loading up the butts.  Don't chase temps as +/- 15*F or so is fine. 

BTW-welcome aboard and enjoy the journey. 

jtcBoynton

As others have said, it is not the combined weight. Plan your time based on the largest piece. Just make sure there is space between them when they are cooking. If you push them together, they will start acting like a larger piece and take longer.

Carolina Q

Just so you'll know, this was (as I recall) an 18-20 hour cook. Left to right, loaded with Wicked Good lump, post cook unstirred, stirred and ready for the next cook.

https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/FileUpload/f9/987c0798afedfbd60d56db03376dfb.jpg

Not all lump will do that well, but some will.