Serving 10lb pork butt and 15lb brisket at the same time?

jbauch357

New member
We're having a big party at my place this Saturday, invites went out to about 40 people.  I want to have a couple options and don't want to worry about running out of food, so I'm going to do a ~10lb pork butt and ~15lb packer cut brisket, which I think is going to be pushing capacity for my #3.

Based on past cooks running @225F I'm expecting the pork to take about ~20hrs to hit 200 and the brisket to take ~14hrs to hit 190, both will get a couple hours of rest before pulling the pork and slicing the brisket.  The party starts at 1PM so I need the meat to be off the smoker by around 9AM to rest then allow prep time.

I figure there are two options
-1 - get real squirrely and try to do a staggered cook the night before
-2 - cook the pork in advance and just prep it the morning of while the brisket comes off the smoker

Option 1 - Just doing simple math I can set my Auber to start the pork butt at noon on Friday, then when I get home from work around 5PM I can put the brisket in.  I figure put in 2oz of apple for when the pork starts, then drop in 2oz hickory for the brisket when I put it in, smoke will probably be a bit light for the brisket but I don't want to over smoke the pork.  I also figured run the pork on bottom and the brisket on top, since a bit of beef drippings on pulled pork bark is a better option than pork drippings on sliced brisket.  I'll be running dual probes so that I can monitor pork and beef IT independently.  From there I just let things go overnight and remove from the smoker when they hit target temp.  The pork is going to get shredded and spiced up with a bit of vinegar base BBQ sauce and more rub then placed in a crock pot to keep warm.  The brisket is going to be sliced a little at a time as required so that it doesn't dry out.

Option 2 - Cook one of the two a day in advance, then "live" smoke just one of them the night before.  Since I'm shredding the pork and putting it in a crock pot I could probably smoke that one in advance, then reheat and reconstitute it the morning of in a crock pot.  That way I have hot fresh brisket the morning of and only have to deal with slicing it when ready to serve.

Any feedback or tips from guys who have done big combo cooks like this in the past is very much appreciated!
 
When I have done combo smokes like this, I use option 2.  But then again, I have a #2 and cannot fit a butt and brisket at the same time.  I would also use more wood for both the butt and brisket...more like 4-5 oz.  Hickory has worked fine for me on butts, and I use oak for beef.

Good luck with the project and enjoy the party!
 
Thanks, the more I think about it going with option #2 seems like a much better choice and way lower stress.

I'm assuming that after the pork butt sits for a day or two in the fridge I can just toss it in the oven to warm up a bit then shred and dress like anything else fresh out of the smoker?
 
Yep, I think that would work.  Or, you could also shred it the day before (after resting) and then the next day load up the crockpot and let it re-warm with some apple juice.  Either way should work, so use your preference.
 
Have you had experience feeding 40 people before?  I'm wondering if your 2 meats will feed 40 people. 
 
I haven't fed 40 people before, the most I've done is about 20.  There is going to be other food and activities, so I think that nearly 30lbs of meat should do the trick, no?

Two 6.5lb pork butts went into brine last night, they'll get rubbed tonight then tossed on the smoker Thursday after work.  Today I'll pick up a 15lb brisket, rub it, then toss it on the smoker Friday morning when I pull the pork butts out.
 
10# Butt should net you about 96oz  /3oz per = 32
15# brisket should net you about 122oz / 3 oz per = 40.8

I always plan on extra but always have way extra. You should be just right
Especially if you have multiple several sides. Might be a little short on Butt. PM me your email and I will email you an excel catering spreadsheet you can use as a guide. You will also probably not have 100% of invites show.

Just saw you have 2 6.5# butts, that 13 going in. You should net
124.5 oz /3 per = 41.6. You should be just about right.
 
Turns out invites went out to 40+ but she's only expecting around 25 to show up, so I think I'll have plenty of meat and probably a big pile of leftovers to freeze.

Everything got rubbed last night and is resting in a cooler now, butts go on tonight!
 
I did a  10lb pork but overnight and timed it to finish by 4am. i then switched and did 9 racks of ribs from 7:30 to 12:30.  It was pot luck so there were a lot of dishes and some 50+ people.. tons left over.
 
We ended up feeding about 30 adults plus a few kids.  All of the brisket was consumed and all but about a half pound of the pork was consumed.  We ran out of coleslaw and I think we screwed up pretty bad by not having beans.  Other than that it was a success.

Doing the pork butts ahead of time and then reheating and pulling before serving worked out perfectly, as did just letting the brisket hold wrapped at 140 in the #3 until it was time to serve.  Thanks everybody for the suggestions and help!
 
excellent report Josh. Your reputation for Lazy Q is just beginning. You have 30 happy friends bragging about you now. Expect double next time!
 
Doing the pork butts ahead of time and then reheating and pulling before serving worked out perfectly...

Hi Josh,
Sounds like you kept the butt whole until serving time, instead of pulling after the smoke. Did you store it in the fridge while everything else was cooking? If so, how did you reheat it? I'm going to need to do this sort of thing soon and would love to hear what you learned through the process.

Thanks,  Ken
 
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