two pork butts

[drains]

Two 8 pound butts rubbed and ready to be introduced to my newly seasoned #3 smoker. My question is should I put them on the same rack or on separate racks one over the other? Also I'm thinking 6 ounces of wood will do especially since it is hickory which has a bit stronger flavor than most woods. Also have the maverick et-733 ready to monitor the internal temps of both hunks of pork goodness. Since the the temps in the box swing up and down I wont worry with monitoring that. I'm thinking 235 until internal temp reaches 200 to 205. I have a small loaf pan to fill with liquid. I am really impressed with the quality and the obvious thought that went into the design of this smoker. Thanks to everyone here for helping me make the decision to invest in my #3.

 

[BedouinBob]

I would put them on the same shelf if you have room without crowding too much to prevent "shadowing" of the lower to the upper. Since I have a #2 I am not sure of the room. If you need to put them on separate shelves, put one to the left side and put the other to the right side to get maximum exposure. You may find the lower gets done first so use your second probe to monitor both. The rest looks great. I pull mine at about 195 and then rest in a cooler but that's pretty much personal preference. Show pics when you are done! Good luck! 

 

[MarkF]

When I do multiple butts in my #3, I usually put them on 2 racks. To prevent shadowing, i stagger them left to right and not front to back.

If you do put them on 1 rack (they will fit!), keep a temperature probe in each one. I have found that the one nearer to the door will cook a tad slower than the one in the back.

Mark

 

[drains]

Fat side up or down?

 

[SuperDave]

Fat side up or down?

I vote fat side up.

 

[swthorpe]

+1 on the fat on top!

 

[Barrel99]

Fat side up

 

[gregbooras]

Fat side up

Arnie,

I know you brine and inject. When injecting I normally would not inject on the fat side and then place then down.....

Greg

 

[RSNovi]

maybe on the same shelf so you can put a pan of baked beans underneath them the last three hours of the smoke to catch some drippings.

 

[DivotMaker]

Same shelf, fat side up, door closed all the way to 195° internal, wrap/rest for at least an hour = pulled pork Nirvana! 8)

 

[Pork Belly]

I have a #3 and nearly always do 2 butt at once. They go on the highest possible rack, usually the second. I place the largest butt towards the back the other in front of it with about a one inch gap. Always go fat side up. I would never put beans under the meat only on the top shelf. I have done beens several times but always on the top shelf and only on shorter smokes like chicken.

 

[paidin]

I have cooked beans below the butts for the entire cooks before.  At 225 degrees cooking, the beans never overcook and always have the perfect smokiness.

 

[Barrel99]

Greg, I always try and inject from the sides to the middle. I have been known to stick it anywhere even thru the fat cap.

 

[drains]

Put the two butts in the #3 at 12:30 p.m. and the maverick says they are at 103 and 105 as of this post. It sure smells good around here. I covered one with plain mustard for the binder and then rubbed it with mcormicks bbq rub. The other one i used honey mustard for the binder and then used mccormicks smokey chipotle for the rub. I foiled two of the three 2 ounce pieces of hickory to determine if its something I need to do in the future. During the seasoning process two of the blocks turned into white ash while the third one which was nearest the back didnt burn completely through. Actually most of it was left afterwards. I have pics but they are on my wifes phone and she is not here as i post this so as the terminator says "i'll be back". Happy smokin!

 

[swthorpe]

Sounds like you are off and running!  Enjoy the smells in advance of good Q!  Cheers

 

[drains]

Now in the "stall". One butt at 167 the other at 169. Have the maverick remote in the den beside me a good 40 feet away from the transmitter. So far so good.

 

[drains]

Trying to post pics but it says file to large? They are pics taken by phone camera. I have never ran into this problem.

 

[SuperDave]

You'll need to use a photo editor to resize.  Photobucket allows you to host and then edit the pics.  I've also heard that Tapatalk App allows one to do it from their phone. 

 

[DivotMaker]

Maybe this will help with the pics, Dale:

Posting Pictures

You just need to re-size them; most phones default to a pic that's about 2 mb in size, which is too big.

 

[drains]

Here are some pics of my first smoke. Butts and baked beans.