Seriously,

If I can find some cuts of pork shoulder that are about 4 pounds, would
it make sense to buy several of them and smoke them in my WSM rather
than try to cook one big one (or two)?

I saw one chunk of meat that was like 14 pounds and I figure I'll be up
all night with that one.

But theoretically at 2 hours/pound I could do several 4 pounders at
once in eight hours.

Does that make sense? Is there any down side to using smaller chunks
of meat?

I guess pork shoulder is pretty cheap so I can't screw it up too bad.

I think I've made pulled pork twice in my WSM and both times I thought
it tasted great.

But the only problem I had was that it didn't last very long! I think
one dinner and one lunch and that was it. (I have three children).

Thanks for any advice.

- Bobby

> wrote in message
> I saw one chunk of meat that was like 14 pounds and I figure I'll be up
> all night with that one.
>
> But theoretically at 2 hours/pound I could do several 4 pounders at
> once in eight hours.
>
> Does that make sense? Is there any down side to using smaller chunks
> of meat?

The problem with small cuts is that they have often been trimmed and are
more prone to dry out. The "hours per pound" rule often gets skewed also.
The collagen has to break down over time and the meat can dry before it
tenderizes. Using your equation, you could cut the four pound pieces into
eight ounces and be done in sixty minutes. It would probably closer to
jerky than bbq.

But, as you state, it is sort of cheap and worth a try.
--
Ed
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome/

In article .com>,
says...

Is this a comparison between the Swedish Bikini Team and JLo?

Bill

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
> > wrote in message
> > I saw one chunk of meat that was like 14 pounds and I figure I'll be up
> > all night with that one.
> >
> > But theoretically at 2 hours/pound I could do several 4 pounders at
> > once in eight hours.
> >
> > Does that make sense? Is there any down side to using smaller chunks
> > of meat?
>
> The problem with small cuts is that they have often been trimmed and are
> more prone to dry out. The "hours per pound" rule often gets skewed also.
> The collagen has to break down over time and the meat can dry before it
> tenderizes. Using your equation, you could cut the four pound pieces into
> eight ounces and be done in sixty minutes. It would probably closer to
> jerky than bbq.
>
> But, as you state, it is sort of cheap and worth a try.
> --
> Ed
> http://pages.cthome.net/edhome/

I'll have to agree with Ed. I've cooked smaller butt chunks when they
were all I could find, and they weren't bad at all, but I much prefer
the end results of slow cooking large butts.
You mention your concern of being up all night cooking a big cut. That
shouldn't be necessary with the WSM. I often do overnight cooks and
get plenty of sleep. As long as your WSM is sheltered from wind, you
have a good fuel load ( Minion method is preferable in this case ) and
you get your intake vents set correctly, you can easily hold your
desired temp for many hours, while you're snoring away.
Happy Q'ing,
Jim

said

> Seriously,

Assuming they are female. Yes - always.

--
Better living through smoking.

jinym wrote:
..
> You mention your concern of being up all night cooking a big cut. That
> shouldn't be necessary with the WSM. I often do overnight cooks and
> get plenty of sleep. As long as your WSM is sheltered from wind, you
> have a good fuel load ( Minion method is preferable in this case ) and
> you get your intake vents set correctly, you can easily hold your
> desired temp for many hours, while you're snoring away.

I guess the thing about doing one overnight that I'm wondering about is
what to do if it rains, etc. I have a cover I can put up, but I don't
want to worry about the wind blowing it away while I'm asleep, etc.

My problem is just figuring out where to put the thing overnight where
it wont get wet or burn down the house.

Generally we have mainly done ribs, since I can do them during the day.
But I like good pulled pork too.

- Bobby

> wrote in message
> I guess the thing about doing one overnight that I'm wondering about is
> what to do if it rains, etc. I have a cover I can put up, but I don't
> want to worry about the wind blowing it away while I'm asleep, etc.
>

I usually watch the weatherman and if rain is predicted, I don't cook
outdoors. Works pretty well.

If the winds are that high where you live, put anchors in the ground and
they run steel cables over the top of the smoker.

Ditto with what Jim and Ed say. I lke the results better with a full
shoulder cut that you can trim the way you like it. We sleep in shifts
during unruly weather and all has worked out well. We fing the long
night before the contest a lot of fun and part of the overall challenge
to get through it. It's a labor of love.

Happy Holidays!

Wanzo of Still Smokin' BBQ
Madison, WI

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
> > wrote in message
> > I guess the thing about doing one overnight that I'm wondering about is
> > what to do if it rains, etc. I have a cover I can put up, but I don't
> > want to worry about the wind blowing it away while I'm asleep, etc.
> >
>
> I usually watch the weatherman and if rain is predicted, I don't cook
> outdoors. Works pretty well.
>

Funny as it sounds, that is a good idea. The thing is that I used to
live in Orlando, Florida. It pretty much rained every day in the
summer. I was always having to pull my grill under the awning of the
house.

Then we moved to Louisiana and it rained a lot there too. One time I
was smoking using the WSM. Even though I pulled it under the overhang
of the house, the water from the rain kept splashing up on the side of
the smoker. It ended up getting the charcoal wet. Then I finished
cooking the meat in the oven!

But we recently moved to South Carolina, and it doesn't rain as much
here. So, maybe I'll be able to find an overnight period of time where
it doesn't rain.

I know it sounds dumb, but looking at the weather report isn't very
useful where I used to live!

- Bobby

On 23 Dec 2005 14:16:01 -0800, "wanzo" > wrote:

>Ditto with what Jim and Ed say. I lke the results better with a full
>shoulder cut that you can trim the way you like it. We sleep in shifts
>during unruly weather and all has worked out well. We fing the long
>night before the contest a lot of fun and part of the overall challenge
>to get through it. It's a labor of love.
>
>Happy Holidays!
>
>Wanzo of Still Smokin' BBQ
>Madison, WI

If I'm overnighting, I cheat & set the Guru to control the pit temp;
in the morning I add the meat temp probe. The K doesn't care about
the Weather very much but the Operator does. Weathermen are totally
useless out here. They are based a 13 hour drive away in Winterpeg &
go by the Radar. Local guys open the window & look out. If their
window faces in a bad direction, they are wrong too. I can foretell
by 6 hours ahead with deadly accuracy - Membership in the
Osteo-Arthritis Club hath its Privileges, eh.

Harry
posting from Chinook Country - The wind, not the fish.