how much meat do you cook at one time for Two.

OFFSHORE GINGER

OFFSHORE GINGER

New member
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 ..................
 
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!
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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 .
 
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. 
 
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.
 
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
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
NDKoze said:
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.
Click to expand...

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. 
 
+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.
 
swthorpe said:
+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.
Click to expand...

+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! ;)
 
+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.
 
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?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

W
Doing 2 Briskets in the 3D Smoker
Replies
1
Views
789
old sarge
old sarge
T
Considering the Model 2 unit...which one...
Replies
3
Views
645
old sarge
old sarge
S
Record for me - smoking ribs at 9*F
Replies
4
Views
840
swthorpe
S
C
confused new member
Replies
13
Views
1K
OldeSmoker
O
I
Have had this for almost 2 years, and here is what I discovered!
Replies
7
Views
2K
old sarge
old sarge
Back
Top