Newbie Needs Help W/15-Lb. Boneless Pork Shoulder

Most times it is 2 butts like previously mentioned. I would also advise you cook 3 butts weighing 20 lbs total for 35 people.

Good point, Tim. May as well do all 4 :laugh:

i was hoping for a pic of a 15lb pork shoulder!!!

i thought the same thing when i bought my first multi-pack!

cheers.

Ripnem is right on the money although I have had 8lb Butts go 16+ hours. The only thing I would add is once you put the Butts on and close the lid, leave it closed. No peaking despite the temptation. Believe me, they will turn out crowd pleasing perfect. By the way, welcome to the wonderful world of Egging and the Forum.

Little Steven just had one go for like 20 hours or something crazy. :pinch:

Okay kids, wake-up it's time for dinner. :laugh:

The most frequent mistake that new people make when cooking their first butt is they cook it too low. This is either due to a poorly calibrated thermometer (factory defaults suck) and the fuzzy-ness between 'how low and slow'.

1) To mocking bird: Because it is a relatively new egg make sure you calibrate the thermometer per the instructions.

2) Do NOT cook below 250oF. At this temp reading in the dome, it is probably a little less than that at the grate (225?). Anyway better done slightly earlier than way late. 250 - stick with it. There is very very little to be gained if anything at all in cooking any slower than what is achieved at cooking at 250F. (Although many think the benefits of low and slow are over-rated but we can debate that in another thread).

3) Cooking times with butts are variable due to how good your precision and accuracy of achieving 250 (see point 1). Also, the fat content of the particular butt you have will also influence cooking times. This is difficult to control and estimate - just something to be aware of.

4) My belief at least, if you do see a small drop in the temp reading of your butt midway though, it is because you have your probe in a low fat area of the butt. This will go up above the rendering point and then rendered fats from other parts of the butt will migrate to the area giving an illusion that somehow the butt temperature went down. Nothing to worry about and it's largely semantics because the butt isn't done until >195 so who really cares what's going on at 150-160 range.

Butts are super easy to make and close to impossible to wreck. If it comes out a bit dry, add a good BBQ sauce on top and it'll be great.

Berry, one of us needs to change handles! I'll flip you for it... Wait, I was here first.

I would have to agree 10 hours is an awfully long time..

Jason , Here is a 24lb shoulder in case you have never seen one . it took 33hrs to cook . I think next time ill get a few 8lb butts insteat of this monster.

interesting, the idea there that maybe some fat from elsewhere in the butt nearby cools the thermometer, making for a short-lived drop in thermometer reading, though not really indicating a drop in temp of the entire butt itself

i wonder where it was i heard that the first time?
hahahaha

OUCH... 10 hours I would be a little nervous with that long. 4 is the most I have gone to be feeding others and still comfortable with serving it.... best test is the temp when they start dropping you are in trouble. preheat the cooler and toss the towels in the dryer. it all helps.. a few warmed fire bricks wrapped will also or wrap and into the oven if you have to.but I do not think I would go for 10. and I have an iron tummy :P

You've taught me so much, I thought you would appreciate it that I returned the favour

But seriously, I don't think it's not a bad working theory.

Nice.

If you have the two butts in a cryovac, I would recommend cooking them separate...BUT, those bone out ones tend to have little pieces of flap that hang out form the main hunk. I would highly recommend tieing them so that it's as close to two round tight hunks as possible (I just use that turkey twine stuff). Otherwise those hanging pieces tend to burn up and aren't very good (this was my very first exp with pork butt on the BGE). I go to a local butcher now for bone in or one of the local grocery stores always has smaller bone ins in the 4-6lb range.

Also, 10 hours is too long IMO, but I rest for at least 2-3 hrs, did the last one for the office and rested 4 hours, still hot when I pulled it from the cooler and pulled it.

Good luck