Butt Roast Problem

[jamiedolan]

I have 2 butt roasts in the #3 right now.  One is: 10.78#’s and the one is 9.30#’s.  They have been in for a little over 17 hours.  I left it running a bit warmer than I normally would have overnight, at around 235, but it is very cold here, -3 right now.

These are suppose to be for dinner tonight and I typically run right around 24 hours for a butt roast of this size.  Here is the problem.  The Larger butt roast just reached my target temp of 203 about 5 minutes ago and the smaller one is still only at 180.  They are both on the same rack, the front one is closer to the front of the smoker, but there is room for air flow around both of them. 

I dropped the temperature down to 200 for now, but am unsure what to do.  Will it mess up the larger roast if it is in there longer or reaches a higher temperature? 

Pictures & Video of prep can be seen here: http://jamiedolan.com/2014/03/01/preparing-pork-roasts-to-go-onto-the-smokin-it-smoker-312014/

Thank You

Jamie

 

[DivotMaker]

I would pull the larger one out, double wrap in HD foil and put in the cooler until the other one is done.  It'll recover temp pretty quick with just one quick opening of the door.  No sense overcooking the one, and robbing heat from the one that isn't done. 

 

[jamiedolan]

Thanks, I'll go get the larger one pulled out, I'll double check their temps with a different thermometer also because this is faster than they usually get done.  I've done 2 roasts at a time just a couple of times now, but have not seen nearly this wide of a difference in temperatures.

Does this just happen due to differences in different cuts of meat?

Thanks,

Jamie

 

[DivotMaker]

That's exactly why, Jamie.  No two cuts of meat are exactly the same.  That's why we see such a difference in times per pound on pork butts, especially.  I have ranged anywhere from 1 -2 hours per pound.  A lot of it has to do with the amount of fat and connective tissue in the cut, as well as the density of the muscle itself.  You just never know until it's in the smoker.  That's why this BBQ is certainly not an exact science!  We can plan, and recreate conditions, but the meat sometimes says otherwise!

 

[jamiedolan]

Thank You.  The smaller one did take about 3 extra hours to finish.  Both were just perfect.  The smaller one I gave to my parents for dinner.  They were extremely impressed with it and said it was food they would be proud to serve to anyone. 

Thanks again,

Jamie

 

[DivotMaker]

That's great! ;D