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!
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!
