Smoking brisket and pork butt together

[ttjpayne2]

I want to smoke a large brisket and 2 pork butts together in my #3. Anyone have any tips for me? I guestimate it will take a good 22 hrs at 235. Any ideas ?

Thanks for any tips you all might have!

 

[SuperDave]

That sounds like a great spread Tim.  Wish I could be there.  My only tip is to recognize that the meats won't cook evenly and everything should be probed individually.  Brisket on top and butts underneath. 

 

[ttjpayne2]

Thanks SuperDave. That's what I thought. I'm thinking this will be 25-30Lbs of meat. Do you think 22 hours is enough? I'm going to have  bunch of people over and don't want to be waiting on the meat when the crowd gets hungry. I'm thinking if I plan 22 hours of cook time and then a 2-4 hour buffer by wrapping and holding in coolers as internal temps are met, I'll be safe.

Thanks again!

 

[SuperDave]

I think it sounds like enough time. One piece is likely to finish and the each other piece finish and hour or 2 after the next. Your first piece to finish could have a substantial rest period.

 

[RG 2.0]

I know it goes against "Lazy Q" practices but I have done a single butt and a whole packer brisket and rotated them during the cook a couple of times so each could take it's turn being closer to the heating element and they finished fairly close. Slide top rack out, sit on #3, slide bottom rack out and place where top rack was, put other rack back into lower spot. It was a little of a pain but it worked!

http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=4492.msg40873#msg40873

 

[ttjpayne2]

Great tip. Thanks RG !

 

[DivotMaker]

Tim, how big are the butts, and how big is the brisket?  One thing, you might keep in mind, is that the brisket will take less time per pound than the butts.  I typically average around an hour/lb on brisket, and around 1.5 hrs/lb on butts.  So, if you have, say, a 14 lb brisket, and say two 8 lb butts, you're probably looking at around 14-16 hours total.  Timing is not based on the total weight; as long as they're not one solid mass, they will smoke like individuals.  Plan your time based on what will take longest to smoke (the butts).  If you rotate the butts & brisket, like Jason does, just keep an eye on the brisket; it will likely finish before the butts.  Just my 2¢.

 

[SuperDave]

I too have re-arranged racks but feeding three probe wires through the racks in the process can be a PITA.  My only reason for comment here is to have thought out a plan before you start trying to do all the re-arranging.  A helper would be a good idea. 

 

[RG 2.0]

I left the probes in the meat and was able to keep them from getting all tangled but it was with just 2 probes. I wish there were a mod that would regulate heat evenly in the cooking chamber. I still want to try a thick piece of steel or maybe a sheet tray with lava rocks to provide thermal mass and have it act as a radiant heat diffuser so a more even heat can be achieved throughout. One day this will be an experiment of mine, perhaps soon

 

[ttjpayne2]

Thanks all for the tips. The brisket is only 8.7 lbs - fully trimmed. I made Divotmakers brine solution last night for the pork butts and fit both neatly into a large Tupperware bowl. I had some brine left over so decided to use it for the brisket. put his into separate container and had just enough brine to cover it. I don't know if this was a good idea? Should I have used a different brine for the brisket?

In any case, what's done is done. I'm getting ready to pull them out of brine after about 10 hrs, slather and rub.

Thanks for the timing advice DM. I was planning on much longer. I need to have all ready to eat by 6 pm tomorrow so to be safe I want to plan to pull and wrap by 2pm. just to be safe I think I'll aim to put them in the #3 no later than 6pm tonight. This will give 20 hrs til 2pm. If the need to go over this no problem, if I need to pull sooner, no problem.

I plan to put smoke at 225.

 

[nvw-ssv]

You will be very happy that you used DM's brine on your brisket.  On my first and only full packer brisket, it made a "select" grade brisket taste moist and juicy - about 1 hr / lb cook time for that brisket as a result of brining, too.


GOOD LUCK!  Having people tell you how great your food is - - - "this is the best _______ I've ever eaten" NEVER gets old.

 

[Libohunden]

I've smoked two pork butts and a full packer brisket before in my #3.  I put the brisket on top and had all 3 wired with a probe.  Can't remember exactly how long it took ... definitely longer than normal since there was a lot of meat to act as a heat sink.  I seem to remember that I pulled them fairly close to the same time, within an hour of each other.  Let your Maverick let you know when each is ready to remove.  Can't get any easier than that!

 

[DivotMaker]

Sounds like you have a good plan, Tim!  And yes, when I brine brisket, I use the butt brine.