A Question for the Butt-Master - Buckie

[Mark Schnell]

Buckie, and others in the know, I've got three butts to do for tomorrow evening. I want them off the kettle around 4pm. Actually two of them are picnics, one is 8.5#, the other is 4#. They are both trimmed already. The third one is 9.75 and is an actual butt, all trimmed from a butcher shop I just found and will be back to.

So... I'm thinking I'll put the two picnics on one kettle, start it tonight before midnight. I'll start the butt around five or six in the morning. I'm going to use the go to snake method.

Do you think that all sounds about right? Will the kettle with the snake method hold the heat all night long without me having to babysit it? We're having a big party on Friday night and I need a kettle free around 4pm so I can put some chicken legs on for the strange folks that might not like pulled pork. I mean, for a little variety.

Thoughts...

[Mark Schnell]

BTW - I found the picnics at a local grocery store for 1.29 a pound. They had the rind on. I know I can do them with the rind on but it seems like most people trim it off so I did too. It looks pretty gross to me anyways. The butt I got from a local butcher, you know, the old fashioned kind of butcher where you can develop a relationship with the guy – anyways, the butt was trimmed already but cost 1.99 per pound. When trimmed up the picnics and took the rind off it weighed over two and half pounds. So, not that much of a savings at all at the grocery store and I've got a real person that knows what he's doing, can get me any kind of cut I want,  and asked me all kinds of questions to make sure I was getting what I wanted. I love it!

[1buckie]

next time, take the rind with you (you're paying for that part, do I have that correct?) season it, chunk it up & deep fry it.....homemade pork rinds....yea !!!

Here's a standard order of things for ones I've done, which may help with your timing for your gathering.....

Lite coals & set snake at 10:30 at night, meat on at 11:00.....check once at 11:30 or:45 to make sure all's well......if nervous, once sometime in the middle of the nite./.....once @ 7:30~8:00AM, may see that more of a chain needs to be added at this point, may be fine..........will probe tender at sometime around 10~10:30.....pull & foil, then towel wrap & into dry cooler for 2 hours +
Ready to shread @ about 2:00 or so

Let's see...that adds up to about 11 something hours cooking & 2 something resting.....this is at a target temp of 240~260f.......some folks race them thru at 300+.....personally, I think they come out a bit more dry like that, but are still OK.....if that helps with your timing, go at a higher temp......
the other thing I've found on a kettle, using a snake / chain is going at a higher temp, there's more risk of it running amok & going to 375+.....275 or thereabouts is kind of like a fulcrum, or tilt point on this kinda stuff.....it's always harder to run consistent & even at the higher temps.....

Anyone's welcome to tell you different.....

Looked back at your sizes & that little one could go on in the AM, 4# isn't very big & should go in under 6 hours.........if done overnite, it may have to be hot held too long....


These ran all nite without much fuss....

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/grilling-bbqing/re-print-ok-what's-in-kettle-3/

If you're concerned, maybe start the two big ones in the early AM & go back to sleep for awhile, then during the day you're awake / more available to check in on it.......


Ongoing updates would be fun......

[Mark Schnell]

Thanks for the info. buckie. I'm going be starting the two big ones around 1am and then put the little one on when my daughter gets on the school bus in the morning. I can check on the two bigs ones then too.

I've have seen in any of the other threads on this, or I have just missed it, but where do you set you upper and lower vents for these? Or maybe I should ask, where do you start them at? I suppose there is some fiddling that has to take place.

[1buckie]

Yeah, it does depend some on your weather conditions....warm / cool / temp / humidity, I'd say all open top & start the lower @ 1/2.....that's why the check :30 ~:45 min. in.....or another way is set up & lite, then prep your goods....that gives the cooker time to warm up, while you're doing that & then make any general adjustments when you flop yer meat on.....

[mike.stavlund]

buckie is the Yoda of pork butts.

[Thin Blue Smoke]

buckie is the Yoda of pork butts.

Lol..... "butts you must, smoke you will"

[Mark Schnell]

Okay, the snake is heating up. I'm watching for the heat to stabilize and the meat goes on. I'm going to try and take pics and post them. I'll start a new thread in food pron when I have some pics and progress.

[1buckie]

                                     Good Morning !!!!!