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Upgrades and Suggestions! => Suggestions => Topic started by: OFFSHORE GINGER on January 10, 2015, 06:38:42 PM

Title: how much meat do you cook at one time for Two.
Post by: OFFSHORE GINGER on January 10, 2015, 06:38:42 PM
Well everyone I am having a very hard time trying to decide just how much meat to purchase or Smoke for Two ( wife & I ) Ribs , Brisket , Chicken , etc , because I want it two last for two day's at least considering my last cook was two slab's of Ribs ( 20 pounds ) that lasted longer then I really wanted but just as good from start to finish , so ...........................just how many of you cook for two , and how big is the portion ( size & weight ) that you prepare  for two  ?  Thank you ..................
Title: Re: how much meat do you cook at one time for Two.
Post by: DivotMaker on January 10, 2015, 07:19:41 PM
I cook for 3, Artie (me, wife, son), and always have leftovers!  I have a vacuum sealer, which more than pays for itself!  If you pack & freeze the leftovers quickly, you can't hardly tell the difference from day one.  If I'm doing ribs, I smoke 3 racks at a time.  Butts?  Just one big one; brisket the same.  I pack the leftovers and enjoy them later!
Title: Re: how much meat do you cook at one time for Two.
Post by: Me2 on January 10, 2015, 08:52:20 PM
I have a SI 2 and it's just me. So unless cooking for company, which is always fun, I know I am going to have leftovers. I figure if I am going to smoke I might as well do a full load so generally do 3 racks of ribs, 3 or 4 pork tenderloins and as many as 20 split chicken breasts when my grocery store has them on special. I have found my vacuum sealer to be one of the most useful and fun to use things. Nice to have a supply of smoked meat to pull out of the freezer.
Title: Re: how much meat do you cook at one time for Two.
Post by: TmanEater on January 10, 2015, 10:55:49 PM
I generally cook for 4 (unless we have company/family over) but my two daughters (ages 4/6 now) don't really count since they eat very little and they don't really understand that flavor in smoked foods is desirable. I agree with the other comments here about getting a vacuum sealer (I did that recently) and using it to seal up and freeze leftovers for eating down the road. I'm typically not a fan of eating the same leftovers over and over again near the days of when it was originally cooked. I like variety and trying new things for back to back meals.
Title: Re: how much meat do you cook at one time for Two.
Post by: Barrel99 on January 11, 2015, 02:01:04 AM
I cook whatever I feel like messing with on that particular day. Maybe one rack of ribs. Maybe 2 or 3 racks with some chicken. Maybe a 10 lb butt with Mac and cheese. My wife and I eat and the kids are always invited for dinner or leftovers. I don't remember ever throwing anything out. Of course we freeze things if they sit too long or I just over cook. More is better in my opinion.
Title: Re: how much meat do you cook at one time for Two.
Post by: OFFSHORE GINGER on January 11, 2015, 11:57:33 AM
Well...................................a vacuum sealer just might be in the card's , and  like T-Man mentioned I also am not a big fan of eating the same leftovers over and over again .
Title: Re: how much meat do you cook at one time for Two.
Post by: SuperDave on January 11, 2015, 01:13:23 PM
If your question was about how much meat to start with, consider what is used for average serving sizes and then multiple by the number of servings you would like to get out of that piece of meat.  Most meats are around a half pound to a pound per person per serving. 
Title: Re: how much meat do you cook at one time for Two.
Post by: mike.bryant on January 13, 2015, 04:33:54 PM
I'll add in my vote for a good vacuum sealer.  I got the VacMaster Pro 260 and am very happy with it.
Title: Re: how much meat do you cook at one time for Two.
Post by: swthorpe on January 14, 2015, 10:20:44 AM
I purchased a vac sealer a while back...one the best decisions, and my wife uses it even more often for sealing just about anything.    The advantage to this is I can now smoke more meat each and freeze for the future rather than smoking less and eating it within a day.   So to answer the original question, without the foodsaver, I might smoke one rack of ribs for my wife and I to eat immediately.  With the foodsaver, I now smoke 3 or more racks at a time, and freeze them for meals down the road.
Title: Re: how much meat do you cook at one time for Two.
Post by: gregbooras on March 20, 2015, 07:29:27 AM
I find it hard to cook for two so I always cook in larger batches and use a vacuum sealer.

Ribs freeze and reheat perfect.

Greg
Title: Re: how much meat do you cook at one time for Two.
Post by: NDKoze on March 20, 2015, 10:01:15 AM
We have found here that smoking smaller cuts of meat doesn't always work very well. So, you're better off smoking a larger cut and packaging/freezing the rest. Most times, this actually lets the smoke permeate through the meat and the unthawed and reheated leftovers are as good if not better than the fresh stuff right out of the smoker.

If you use Vaccum Sealer bags, they are designed to be able to be simmered in simmering water. This is how I reheat my pulled pork. This way all of the juices are kept in the bag until I open it up and server. Just make sure you don't put the back in a pot with a rolling boil. Also, use a large enough pot so the bag isn't pressed up against the side of the pot.

Otherwise, reheating in a crockpot with a half cup of apple juice does a fine job especially for ribs.
Title: Re: how much meat do you cook at one time for Two.
Post by: Carp210 on March 20, 2015, 10:08:58 AM
I would rather do smaller cooks and more often since it is so easy with the #2.  Plus I'm always trying new recipes.  On ribs I used to do two racks but I've cut that down to one and split it with my wife.  Some type of food saver system is just about a requirement when your cooking for two people.  Briskets and Butts produce a lot of leftovers when cooking for two and are really quite good when reheated correctly.   I'm always giving away freezer packs to family members.
Title: Re: how much meat do you cook at one time for Two.
Post by: jbauch357 on March 20, 2015, 12:18:35 PM
I'm generally cooking for two, so we try to keep our smokes as small as reasonable which means we always have leftovers plus bits to vacuum seal and freeze up. 

I find when I go with too small of a smoke the end results are crap.  My hypothesis is that for a hunk of protein to come out proper it needs to be large enough to smoke for an adequate period of time as well as retain heat during the cooking process to break down and tenderize.  So ~3-4lbs is the smallest amount of meat I'm doing any more, which we'll only be able to eat half of during the main meal and a couple nights leftovers.  Smoked vacuum sealed leftovers are super easy to thaw/reheat and eat on their own or turn into some sort of amazing recipe.
Title: Re: how much meat do you cook at one time for Two.
Post by: DLRobinson on July 06, 2015, 10:20:13 PM
We have found here that smoking smaller cuts of meat doesn't always work very well. So, you're better off smoking a larger cut and packaging/freezing the rest. Most times, this actually lets the smoke permeate through the meat and the unthawed and reheated leftovers are as good if not better than the fresh stuff right out of the smoker.

This is how I like to cook BBQ.  With all the work involved, I would rather do a large cook once and then freeze the smaller portions to reheat later.  I think that ribs that have been refrigerated after a smoke and reheated are better than directly out of the smoker.  A dirty little secret, restaurants will do this as well.  Pulled pork in small zip lock bags are a great quick fix meal and it takes just as good as the day it was smoked. 
Title: Re: how much meat do you cook at one time for Two.
Post by: jcboxlot on July 06, 2015, 10:23:34 PM
+1 David

Most that I smoke seems to turn out better the day after.   At least I am not the only one.   
Title: Re: how much meat do you cook at one time for Two.
Post by: swthorpe on July 07, 2015, 07:35:31 AM
+2...you are not the only one!    When I do ribs for me and the wife, for example, we are only going to eat maybe a rack between us, but often just half a rack.   Why would I want to fire up the #2 for just a rack of ribs?  No, no, I throw in 3-4 racks and couple of potatoes!   The extra racks get vac sealed and into the freezer.   I will either reheat them for us or sometimes will give them to others to try out.   It is definitely nice to have the food in the freezer for a quick re-heat and eat.
Title: Re: how much meat do you cook at one time for Two.
Post by: DivotMaker on July 07, 2015, 08:03:09 PM
+2...you are not the only one!    When I do ribs for me and the wife, for example, we are only going to eat maybe a rack between us, but often just half a rack.   Why would I want to fire up the #2 for just a rack of ribs?  No, no, I throw in 3-4 racks and couple of potatoes!   The extra racks get vac sealed and into the freezer.   I will either reheat them for us or sometimes will give them to others to try out.   It is definitely nice to have the food in the freezer for a quick re-heat and eat.

+3!  We're the same way - just me, the wife (who eats like a bird), and the boy (who eats like a horse).  So, we average out well!  I always do more than we need, and freeze the rest!  Sure great to pull out a rack of ribs in December that taste like you just smoked them! ;)
Title: Re: how much meat do you cook at one time for Two.
Post by: Limey on July 07, 2015, 09:09:23 PM
+4.  Vacuum sealers are pretty essential imo if you are not cooking for a crowd. Incidentally I just took delivery of a Vacmaster 350 Pro and am very pleased so far. Will post in the appropriate place when I have more experience with it.
Title: Re: how much meat do you cook at one time for Two.
Post by: OFFSHORE GINGER on July 09, 2015, 10:44:29 AM
I just took delivery of a Vacmaster 350 Pro and am very pleased so far. Will post in the appropriate place when I have more experience with it.
looking forward to it .
Title: Re: how much meat do you cook at one time for Two.
Post by: Durangosmoker on July 10, 2015, 03:12:38 PM
I live alone, so typically have lots of leftovers, even if I smoke just one chicken.  I am curious why everyone uses vac sealers to freeze food? I typically just use ziplock freezer bags, and they seem to work fine.  Is a vac sealer that much better that I should consider getting one?
Title: Re: how much meat do you cook at one time for Two.
Post by: mizzoufan on July 10, 2015, 04:22:14 PM
It all depends on time in the freezer, really.  Ziplocs will dry food out pretty quickly in my experience where a vacuum sealed bag will keep it fresh tasting for months.  I originally bought one because I buy coffee beans in 5lb bags so I wanted something to break them down into what my grinder would hold and started using it for everything.  I make 3-6 gallon batches of soups and sauces and just use the foodsaver to break them down into small batches (gripsticks are essential for this when dealing with liquids).
Title: Re: how much meat do you cook at one time for Two.
Post by: Limey on July 10, 2015, 04:51:34 PM
Gripsticks??
Title: Re: how much meat do you cook at one time for Two.
Post by: DivotMaker on July 10, 2015, 11:18:18 PM
I live alone, so typically have lots of leftovers, even if I smoke just one chicken.  I am curious why everyone uses vac sealers to freeze food? I typically just use ziplock freezer bags, and they seem to work fine.  Is a vac sealer that much better that I should consider getting one?

Eric, I can't recommend a vacuum sealer enough.  We started using one in the late 80's (when the first FoodSavers came out), and they're worth their weight in gold!  First, whatever you remove all the air from lasts considerably longer.  If you are just freezing a small portion of leftovers, and are going to eat them pretty soon, the Ziploc bags are fine.  But, if you intend to keep something frozen for several months, vac sealing is the only way to go.

When freezing, or keeping in the fridge, air is the enemy.  It causes freezer burn, and lets food decompose much faster.  By placing food in a vacuum, you remove the air.  Here's what really convinced us, many years ago, about the value of vacuum sealing:  If you buy a package of hamburger meat, and freeze it (in the styrofoam/plastic wrap from the store), it will be watery when you thaw it.  It just doesn't hold together, like fresh hamburger.  If you vacuum bag it, and then thaw it, it is literally "just like" the day you bought if from the store!  This is the same with steaks, and other meats that affected by the freezer.

I always smoke more ribs than I need.  When I vac-pack the fresh ribs, and then reheat them months later, they are just like the day I smoked them. 

Bottom line - a vacuum sealer is one of the best investments you can make, in our hobby!
Title: Re: how much meat do you cook at one time for Two.
Post by: swthorpe on July 11, 2015, 09:32:21 AM
+1    We use the vac sealer for all left over smoked meats.  But more than that, my wife uses it for sealing pretty much anything, so it gets a heavy amount of use.
Title: Re: how much meat do you cook at one time for Two.
Post by: Durangosmoker on July 11, 2015, 04:27:46 PM
Thanks for the replies.  Sounds like I need to get a new kitchen toy!
Title: Re: how much meat do you cook at one time for Two.
Post by: mizzoufan on July 24, 2015, 09:56:17 AM
Sorry, Limey I didn't see your reply until now. 

http://www.amazon.com/GripStic-Gripstic-3pk-9-White/dp/B00NG0Q2RG/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1437746096&sr=8-5&keywords=gripstic&refinements=p_89%3AGripStic (http://www.amazon.com/GripStic-Gripstic-3pk-9-White/dp/B00NG0Q2RG/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1437746096&sr=8-5&keywords=gripstic&refinements=p_89%3AGripStic)
Title: Re: how much meat do you cook at one time for Two.
Post by: damnfingers on September 10, 2015, 01:04:28 PM
+5 - love leftovers.  Will have to shop for a vacuum sealer after reading all these comments though.
Title: Re: how much meat do you cook at one time for Two.
Post by: DivotMaker on September 10, 2015, 10:53:55 PM
+5 - love leftovers.  Will have to shop for a vacuum sealer after reading all these comments though.

Best smoking accessory you'll ever invest in!
Title: Re: how much meat do you cook at one time for Two.
Post by: OFFSHORE GINGER on September 12, 2015, 12:07:09 PM
Just curious is there any one brand that is a plus or are they all about the same.
Title: Re: how much meat do you cook at one time for Two.
Post by: gregbooras on September 12, 2015, 01:09:56 PM
Just curious is there any one brand that is a plus or are they all about the same.

Check out the Vacmaster Pro on Amazon, I own the 140 model, but they also have larger units.

Here is a thread discussing them
http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=3685.0

Greg