New 3D arriving Tomorrow Butts Already brining!

[W4ARF]

I have used the smoke vault up to this point.

I wanted a smoker I could start when I went to bed and have the large Butt ready in the next afternoon for resting in the cooler.

My first Butts are 9 1/2 lbs each....smallest un-processed butts I could find.  They will be brined for 5 1/2 days as I have had great luck with long brines

I am used to cooking 2 or three butts in the upper part of the smoke vault but have no idea how to load the 3D.

It looks like it should not be a problem to place two on a upper shelf in the 3D or should I use 2 shelves?

Any help or advice will be greatly appreciated.

I suspect they will take 20+ hours with no foiling, taking them to 202-205 and then resting in the cooler for a few hours.

I liked the smoke vault a lot but cooking temp is very influenced by wind and outside temp and I was not comfortable running it at night while I sleep.

Hello All and thanks for any advice!

Steve
Chesapeake VA.

 

[SuperDave]

Hi Steve and welcome.  The tightness of our smokers has lead most of us to smoke our butts between 190 - 195 for juicy and fall apart meat.  If the 2 roasts fit on one rack your finish time for both will be closer.  Using 2 shelves will also work just fine but the bottom shelf will finish before the top.  If loading on one shelf, leave a good amount of air space between the meat and the box temperature probe for circulation around the probe. 

 

[LarryD]

Cooking to 195 should suffice...  don't panic at the stall; that's just the magic happening.  Put them in on one shelf and just leave it alone until your probes say they're done.  Have a good night's sleep. 

I suspect your time estimate will prove to be high... I smoked two butts in a #2 in 11 hours.  (http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=5847.msg54352#msg54352)

 

[jcboxlot]

Cook to 190 to 195 the cooler rest will take care of the rest.  20 hours should be on the high side, don't be surprised if they finish in 15 16 hours. 

 

[JustChillin]

I have two butts in brine that will get smoked tomorrow night after I smoke some salmon during the daytime for Friday dinner.Beautiful spring weather, smoked salmon for Friday and pulled pork for Saturday. Life doesn't get much better!!