Adding Ribs During a Two Butt Cook?


 
S

Stephen T

TVWBB Member
I'm trying to time two 7-lb. boston butts for tomorrow ~4:00 p.m. I'd like to add some baby backs about noon, so everything finishes up about the same time.

Is there anything I need to worry about when doing this? I'm using a BBQ guru and a smoking jacket, if that makes any difference, so I'm thinking a steady 225 should be fine for this with one full load of charcoal.
 
No problems. Put the butts on the top rack so when it's time to add the ribs you can just lift the top grate right off and not have to worry about trying to pick up the butts. Place ribs on the lower grate and place top grate back on, and your good to go.
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Thanks. Follow up question, on the off chance anybody's still around. I got 2 bone-in butts from Sam's in cryovac. It turns out they're not the same size. Not dramatically different, but one is clearly bigger than the other. Maybe a 1-1.5 pound difference between the two. Apart from keeping track of both butts' temps, is there anything to worry about?
 
I would not worry about the butts they wil finish close to each other normally. I would start ribs at 11am just in case, can always hold for a hour or two rather than having to wait on them if they don't get done in 4 hours.
Jim
 
Arrrgghhh!!!!

Maybe you shouldn't start an overnight cook on New Year's Eve after champagne and other beverages.

OK, so I put in my two butts in at ~1:00 a.m. I used the guru golf club to get things going, let it run for a while, then added the pork butts and turned on the BBQ guru. Then I put on the smoking jacket.

The temps shot up to 260 (I had set the guru for 225), which was troubling. I reduced the damper to 25% and shut the top vent, which was 75% open. As the temps kept increasing, I checked the bottom vents, and it turns out I partially opened the free two as I put on the jacket.

Now it's ~3:15. I've closed the bottom vents, left the damper ~75% closed, and am waiting for the temps to run down (they're still in the 240's). I'm going to turn in shortly, is there anything I should be looking for come morning? I won't be sleeping too long without checking temperature.

I know boston butt is supposed to be forgiving, I'm just vaguely nervous at the apparent number of screwups I've managed in the last two hours.
 
Maybe you didn't pick the best time to start your first wsm cook, but it sounds like you're doing alright. I'm sure your butts will be fine. The temps you've mentioned will not cause a problem with a butt.

Taking on a new machine (the wsm) and the gadgets (guru and jacket) is quite a feat. Sounds like you're not going to get much sleep, but you'll be happy with the outcome.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Stephen T:
I'm trying to time two 7-lb. boston butts for tomorrow ~4:00 p.m. I'd like to add some baby backs about noon, so everything finishes up about the same time.

Is there anything I need to worry about when doing this? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

The only thing to watch is where you place the ribs on the grate, if you get them too close to the edge they may cook really fast (edge of grate is usually hotter).

good luck.
 
Well, I got up at 10:00, and the butts were reading 225-238 degrees. I called my folks, said "Uhhh, we're going to have to figure out something else for dinner," and tried to figure out what went wrong.

An hour later, it turns out my probe is off, it's reading in the 200's indoors in no meat. I brought in both butts, and tried to pull the bones. No go. The little one cut into to see what's going on, it's either undercooked or overcooked, but the bone won't pull out. The big one I've foiled while I post here, hoping somebody may have some advice. I have no idea how to proceed flying blind here, but if anybody has a suggestion I'd appreciate it..
 
Update: The big butt is foiled and I stuck the smoker probe (the food one was bad) in it. It's reading 155 degrees. I'm assuming this cook is a wreck, but if there's a way to save it I'm all ears.
 
Update 2: Other plans have been made for dinner, my fire in the WSM is out, I was going to bail on this cook.

I'm reluctant to toss a possibly OK butt. I put in in a 250 oven and I'll check the temperatures later.

Thanks for the help on this!
 
What brand of thermometer were you using? If it is a Polder I have been there, done that. Others on this board have also had the same problem.

As for the butt, don't toss it! Wrap it in foil and put it in the oven at 300. It will finish pretty quick and still taste great. Just make sure you use a good thermometer to check it.
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Jim
 
Jim,

It's a Maverick ET-seventy-crap. My second, after the store I bought the first at replaced it when it crapped out. I'll get this one fixed only because I like the remote feature, but there will be a non-electric backup from now on.

Well I'll be, the butt came out pretty good. Not basting it made some of the bark a little tough, but no biggie. I was more worried about basting it in a roasting pan and having the pork sit in that much vinegar, but I could have just removed the excess after basting. Next time.

I'm baffled how I could have eaten crummy pulled pork over the years; these things are so hard to screw up you wonder where the BBQ joints are going wrong.
 
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