Effects of Volume on Smoker Temp

Tazto

Tazto

Knows what a fatty is.
Joined
May 11, 2006
Location
Amarillo...
I have a question on the effect of meat volume on the temp of a smoker. I would appreciate any help or advice you can give me.

Next week, I am smoking some pork butts for a company event that will feed about 80 folks. Considering the sides & desserts, I plan on smoking 6 pork butts that weigh approximately 8 pounds each (pre-cooked). I have a horizontal, backyard smoker that will easily hold 8 pork butts that size, so I am not worried about fitting that many pork butts in the smoker.

My concern is that I am accustomed to smoking 8 pound butts 2 at a time at 225 degrees, & my routine works great on my smoker. But, I have never tried to smoke 6 or them at the same time. I don't have a way to smoke them ahead of time & reheat them onsite, so I will have to put all 6 of them in the smoker at the same time. I am concerned about the impact on the smoker temp when I load up 3/4 of the smoker space with pork butts. Will the smoker temp stay consistent at 225, or will the temp drop off with 6 butts vs. 2 butts? If the temp will drop, how much do you think it will drop off, & how much time do you think it will add to the cook?

Again, any advice is greatly appreciated!
 
I have never posted pics, so I hope this works. The smoker was custom made, & I bought it from the owner about 3 years ago for $300. For reference, I am 6' 2".

MySmoker.jpg
 
the least of your worries should be the butt cooking issues, you better be careful or your luck is gonna run-out. (upside down horseshoe mod...)

ps, other than the horseshoe issue that's a great looking smoker especially at the price you paid
 
The horseshoes don't bother me. I walk under ladders, open umbrellas in the house & dare black cats to cross my path.
 
Tazto said:
The horseshoes don't bother me. I walk under ladders, open umbrellas in the house & dare black cats to cross my path.
Click to expand...

LOL!! Wow!! Yer KRAAAZZZEEEE!!!

Nice rig you got there Tazto!!


I'm gonna weigh in on your temp question. I have no way to cook that much meat, so I'm not speaking from experience (but someone will jump in here soon with experience I'm sure), but IMHO, I would think that you may have more trouble getting the cook chamber up to temp than holding it there. I'd think that just because of the mass of the meat, it may take longer for everything to get to your cooking temp. Once you got there, though, I'd think that you'd cruise along fine. I suppose that would add to your overall cook time, but not all that much.

I mean if you were going to cook one huge 48 lb shoulder (I know, I know....work with me here) instead of 6 - 8 lb'ers, then I can see that having a large effect. But if the heat can move around each individual butt, I'd guess that they'd all cook the same whether you had 2, 6, or 32, provided that the temp in the cook chamber is the same.

There's a lot of people on here posting PRON of UDS's loaded to the gills, and not usually any mention of a longer cook time.


BUT......like I said....never done it. Could be way off.
 
I agree with Wampus... As long as you have adequate airflow you'll be fine. Recovery after you stick 65 lbs of cold meats in there may take longer than you are sued to, but once the temp is stable you'll do fine.

I also agree with Richard F... Your luck is running out with those upside down horseshoes! :-D
 
We just had a similar issue at an event a few weeks back and the brethren gave us great advice

Here's the link to the thread :arrow:

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=63610

I think the bottom line is give yourself some extra time because you can always cooler the butts if they finish early, but you can't do much to speed up cooking (without sacraficing a little quality) if they finish late.

Good luck!
 
If you fill the cooker up, it'll take longer to cook the meat, so plan accordingly.

Some ideas: higher temp, wrap with foil, pre-cook, finish in oven, etc.
 
Weiss Mountain Smoke said:
We just had a similar issue at an event a few weeks back and the brethren gave us great advice

Here's the link to the thread :arrow:

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=63610

I think the bottom line is give yourself some extra time because you can always cooler the butts if they finish early, but you can't do much to speed up cooking (without sacraficing a little quality) if they finish late.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice, folks! The link Weiss Mountain Smoke provided was great!
 
Tazto, I have cooked on some similar rigs as yours and it does take a little more fuel. Not a whole lot but more. Getting the initial temp up seems to be very important. The only way I have been able to make it work with that much meat has been to move the butts, brisket, chicken, whatever that are the closest to the firebox end, after a while of cooking, away from the firebox end and rotate the meat in the same sequence. I hope that makes sence. Some of the smokers like yours with the tuning plates with reverse flow, etc are more consistant temps across the grate. Not sure of you setup but moving the meat around should work out just fine...and besides, it fun to do!!

Edit: One of my buds takes his weed burner and sticks it in the firebox with the flame going into the cooking chamber. That heats the mass of metal up first. Seems to work very well to get the overall mass up to temp. Just a thought brother.
 
That's a great tip. I've been trying to convince Mrs. Taz that I need a weed burner. Maybe this is my excuse. :wink:

How long do you think I could cooler these butts & still be safe for serving?
 
Meat Burner said:
Tazto, I have cooked on some similar rigs as yours and it does take a little more fuel. Not a whole lot but more. Getting the initial temp up seems to be very important. The only way I have been able to make it work with that much meat has been to move the butts, brisket, chicken, whatever that are the closest to the firebox end, after a while of cooking, away from the firebox end and rotate the meat in the same sequence. I hope that makes sence. Some of the smokers like yours with the tuning plates with reverse flow, etc are more consistant temps across the grate. Not sure of you setup but moving the meat around should work out just fine...and besides, it fun to do!!

Edit: One of my buds takes his weed burner and sticks it in the firebox with the flame going into the cooking chamber. That heats the mass of metal up first. Seems to work very well to get the overall mass up to temp. Just a thought brother.
Click to expand...


i hear ya, but Taz may want to be careful opening up the cooker. with that much mass in there, you want to keep the times you open up the cooker to a minimum. it can be very difficult to get the temp back up once the heat is given a chance to escape. you may just want to "set it and forget it!"
 
Tazto said:
That's a great tip. I've been trying to convince Mrs. Taz that I need a weed burner. Maybe this is my excuse. :wink:

How long do you think I could cooler these butts & still be safe for serving?
Click to expand...

if you fill a cooler with hot water, wrap the butts in plastic wrap and foil, and seal them in the cooler, not only will the butts stay safe, they can stay hot for a good 3-4 hours before being pulled and served.
 
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