They cut my butt in half!

[lo winslow]

Hi all - I recently went in on a pig share and asked to get a whole shoulder butt in my portion. I've been planning to cook it for a (socially distanced) gathering we've got planned for tomorrow.

I was expecting to get the whole butt (8lbs or so) in one big piece but when I picked it up , they actually gave me two different pieces. One is 4lbs and the other is about 3.25lbs. They appear to be from opposite sides of the pig.

My original plan was to let the whole thing go low and slow all night but I'm wondering if anyone has advice on how having it separated might affect the cook and the timing. The pieces roughly match so I can just tie them together and stick with plan A, but I'm not sure if it would be better to treat them as two separate roasts. Also, if I keep 'em separate, I'm assuming it will tend to cook faster, but I'm not sure how much faster.

I'll be cooking on a Weber Performer using Minion method and some fire-bricks to separate direct/indirect. I shoot for 225 with a water pan and wrap somewhere around 150-160. I've done this many times with good results, but I'm not sure how essentially having it cut in half will affect things.

Thoughts?

 

[mytmouz]

Slightly less cooking time, and more bark. You win!

 

[SonVolt]

The worst butchering I've ever seen are from meat I've purchased through a "let's go in on a cow/pig" type situation. These rural "butchers" (if you can even call them that) most likely aren't near as skilled even the dude working behind the meat counter of a Publix that's specialized in boxed meat.

 

[STLBBQer]

Yep, you’re on the right track. Tie it together securely, it’ll cook roughly the same as one big piece. I’d make sure to spritz/mop generously, because that separation can possibly lead to more moisture loss.

 

[SMOKE FREAK]

Slightly less cooking time, and more bark. You win!

I usually split my butts for these reasons.

 

[ToOTHroTT]

Slightly less cooking time, and more bark. You win!

This!!! But be careful you may start doing them all like this :mrgreen:

 

[lo winslow]

This!!! But be careful you may start doing them all like this :mrgreen:

Lol. Yeah, the whole episode has gotten me wondering about this. I've never heard of people cutting them on purpose before, but I'm also realizing "well, why COULDN'T you?"

For those that do this:

1. Do you wrap them separately (assuming you wrap at all) and
2. Any thoughts on how to ballpark the cook time for two four pounders v. one eight pounder?

We're on a fairly tight time window with guests tomorrow so I'm debating whether to start late tonight or super early tomorrow. I can hold in a cooler, but will need it ready to serve right around 2pm.

Thanks all!

 

[gcs]

I usually cut them in half, of course they're usually already boned out at costco and practically in half anyway. they do cook faster and there is more bark, and they come out just fine, but couldn't say how much faster they cook. Last ones were about 6 hours, I think....

 

[rovster]

Just plan for more time if you pull them early nothing wrong with a LONG rest if fact I prefer that. Don’t stress out about it and definitely never try to time it perfectly. At the temps you’re cooking give yourself a few hours of wiggle room. If you separate I’d count on 7-8 hrs if together 8-10. That’s my non expert opinion.

 

[SMOKE FREAK]

One of the best parts of a split butt is you can remove a lot of the "gunk" before cooking. It adds nothing to the cook and normally is just removed from the butt later.

 

[lo winslow]

Thanks to everyone who replied. I ended up keeping them separate and put them on a little after 6am this morning.

Here's how they looked when they went on and after about three hours.

We'll see how it goes...