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capacity of a large

cana-bob
cana-bob Posts: 4
in EggHead Forum
what is the max amount of butt I can safely smoke in a large?

I have 2 butts to smoke Friday which total 35 lbs.  I have the meat sweats just thinking about the cook, I have to serve the posrk at hi-noon sat for a Muskies Canada  fund raiser . I will be lynched if it is not ready.:) i'm estimating 24 - 28 hrs
any idea if I am in a good ball park guess-timate
thanks
bob
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Comments

  • SmokeyPitt
    SmokeyPitt Posts: 10,490
    At that weight- are you sure you don't have 4 butts?  If you get them at Costco or Sam's they often come 2 butts to a cryo. 

    If they are 4 butts, you can do it with an extra grid.  You can make one yourself with some fire bricks (or regular bricks) or nuts/bolts. 

    http://www.nakedwhiz.com/raisedgrid.htm



    Which came first the chicken or the egg?  I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg. 

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  • SmokeyPitt
    SmokeyPitt Posts: 10,490
    The time will depend on how big the butts are.  You base the time on a single butt, but if you do 4 it will add a little time to the cook.  I'm guessing you have four 8 lb butts.  If you cook at 250 dome estimate 2 hours a lb, so 16 hours. There is no harm if you want to bump up the temp.  

    With all that butt make sure you have a big drip tray to catch the drippings.   

    Which came first the chicken or the egg?  I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg. 

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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 37,905
    Only thing I would offer is to make sure your large drip pan is air-gapped off your heat deflector.  And I'm with the posters above in thinking you have  2 butts/package.
    BTW-welcome aboard and enjoy the journey.
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period. CHEETO (aka Agent Orange) makes Nixon look like a saint.  
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  • YEMTrey
    YEMTrey Posts: 6,839
    And remember to start them early.  It's better to have them finish early and be FTC'd than to not have the food ready on time for the event.
    Pork butt/shoulder is very forgiving and you can adjust the temps to help speed up the cooking as needed.
    You're going to be fine, enjoy the cook!
    Steve 
    XL, Mini Max, and a 22" Blackstone in Cincinnati, Ohio
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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 26,517
    Last weekend I tried to shoe horn 4 butts each at 8 pounds into my large on a trial run. Try as I could I did not like the fact the top ones would be touching or close to my dome. I then tried 3 and didn't really like that either. So I ended up doing a 350 turbo of 2 on Sat and 2 on Sun. Meanwhile I also did 2 more in the oven for a total of 6. One thing that would have bothered me was the extensive amount of grease given off by 4 butts at once!  Just 2 was a mess and was glad I had a large disposable drip pan under them plus I had foil covered my PS! All that grease could have resulted in a horrible fire!
    Re-gasketing the USA one yard at a time 
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  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    Sounds like you either have two whole shoulders or as @SmokyPitt says you have 4. You should be able to fit 4 on the large grid even if they are tight and touching. If you are in the Toronto area send me a pm.

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

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  • KentuckyEgger
    KentuckyEgger Posts: 18
    Last week I was cooking for a party for a family member and I think I over did it.  I started with 54 lbs of raw meat which equates to 6 separate butts.  The meat turned out great, but I had to squeeze the lid shut until they shrunk a little.  I probably won't try that much again.  
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  • 4Runner
    4Runner Posts: 2,948
    Yep.  4 on my LBGE with an AR is my max.  
    Joe - I'm a reformed gasser-holic aka 4Runner Columbia, SC Wonderful BGE Resource Site: http://www.nakedwhiz.com/ceramicfaq.htm and http://www.nibblemethis.com/  and http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2006/02/recipes.html
    What am I drinking now?   Woodford....neat
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