Butt over Brisket first time

[Keith (cadawg)]

My much better half, wants me to entertain some friends from her work, and cook a brisket and a butt, this weekend, to have ready to eat at about 12 noon on Sunday. I purchased a 14lb whole brisket, and a 7 pound butt. If I'm undestanding correctly, at aproximately 230 degrees and 1 and 1/2 hour per pound the brisket will take about 21 hours, and the butt should take about 7 hours. Therefore, should I put the brisket on, at about 3pm Saturday, and then add the butt on at aproximately 5am Sunday? Or should I put them both on at the same time, and take the butt off at aproximately 9pm? This will be my second cook on my 18.5 weber smoker. Also, will I need to add charcoal or wood(for smoke) during the night? I've also ordered a Maverick ET732 to help me keep manage the temperature. The brisket seems like the holy grail of BBQ, and I'm a bit stressed about it. LOl

 

[Mark Evenson]

Keith, my suggestion would be to put your butt on so that it is done about an hour or so before service. Brisket to be done about 1.5-2 hrs before service. If you are comfortable with long slow cooks, go for it. On the other hand you may consider cooking with a higher heat and taking less time. It is really up to you and if you cook both meats till done your guests will be most appreciative.
As far as adding coal during the night, do your self a favor and have it ready to go next to the cooker. Have a plan on how you will get it in the coal ring. These things are always tougher for me when I am asleep.
It would also help to make a time line ahead of time. Write it down and post near your cook station. Work it out and follow the plan, this will take a lot of stress out of the situation. I always ad a bit more time for cooking so that it will be done on time, if done early, both meats can be held longer.

Happy Smokin'

Mark

 

[Wolgast]

Hi Keith.

Let me start by saying i cant find a "brisket" in my part of the world. Since im not in BBQ-land they sell it as other peices or just minced.

Some ppl here are not found off drippings on the lower meat. To me: I dont think thats a problem at all. But for 7 lb of butt i think it needs more time then 7h if you not gonna mess with foil.

And BTW your better half has put some pressure on you for sure.

I would start the brisket folowing your time schedule and then add the butt 12h+ before serving time. You can keep the butt hot,wrapped in foil-->towels-->in a cooler for 5h+ if its done before you want it to be.

Time is your enemy in bbq. Dont pull if not tender,better to hold it then serve after a few hours in a cooler.

I bet you will get some nice tips from any expert "brisket" smoker out there.

Good Luck. And Report back M8!

"Edit" Mark beat me to it..1+ on what he said.

 

[K Kruger]

It is not likely the brisket will take anywhere near that long. It is likely that the butt will take almost twice as long as you're planning.

At the temps you're targeting I'd likely start the cook around 8pm and put both on, butt over brisket.

 

[Keith (cadawg)]

Thanks everyone for the sage advice! I thought about doing the high heat method, but decided to stick with the low and slow.

My plan now (always subject to change) is to put both the butt and the brisket on at about 8pm. I will have the charcoal(lump) sitting close by. I have a long set of tongs to help add the charcoal, during the night, also bought a flashlight that straps to my head, to help me see. I hope to pull the meat off at 190 degrees; if it feels tender (I'm still a little shaky on this part)! I also plan to sprits’ with a mixture of apple cider vinegar/apple juice/Worcestershire sauce. If it appears that the brisket or the butt is not going to be up to temp, then I will use the Texas crutch method to finish. To help keep track of temperatures, I got the Maverick ET-732 yesterday, opened it and played with it, and it works great! Wonderful range and didn't lose the signal anywhere in the house, or even out at the mailbox!

I'll take pictures before, during and after to post.

 

[K Kruger]

If you pack your lump well - layering it in carefully rather than dumping it in, to minimize gaps - and if it's of quality, you should not need more fuel. Have some available just in case of course.

Butts meat gets quite loose when tender. A probe inserted into the meat will go in effortlessly, the bone will be loose. Brisket, being of a different structure, feels similar but denser. Still, when tender a probe will go into the middle of the flat with little to no resistance. Don't bother checking the point, just the flat.

Have fun on your cook.

 

[Matt Sanders]

Keith,

I'm pretty new at this too, but here's a couple excellent pieces of advice I've learned...

It's better to start earlier than later. You can also keep the meat warm. It's harder to keep hungry guests entertained when your cook is going 2 hours overtime. Since you've never done this, I'd suggest you start about 2 hours before you think you need to. You may save yourself a TON of frustration.

Secondly, keep that lid on! I've read that every time that comes off, you add 10-30 minutes to your cook time. I'm religious about that, but I love to look at my meat, so I use a little flashlight and peer through the open top vents.

Good luck, have fun, and report back!

 

[Keith (cadawg)]

Thanks to everyone for their comments and advise on my butt overy brisket! I had so many compliments, telling me this was the best bbq they'd ever had! And I have to say, that the brisket and butt cooked at home on a smoker is also the best I've ever had!
I put the brisket and the butt on at about 8pm on Saturday evening. I coated both with mustard, and then used Durkee's rub on both, also some minced onion, and cracked pepper corn. I used lump coal and some hickory, and some apple chunks of wood. I worked at catchin the temperature on the way up and after about an hour, it stableized at aproximately 237-239. Using my new Maverick et-732 I set the food probe to let me know when the meat got to 190, and the bbq probe to have a high alarm at 250 and a low alarm at 200. The alarm went off at about 1 am, and the bbq temp was a little over 250. I adjuested the vent and it got back to 237-239 fairly quickly. Got up the next morning, and the bbq temp was about 210, so I opened the door and stired the coals, added about 4 or 5 for good measure. Didn't take long to stableize back at the temp I wanted to cook at. At 10 am the Brisket reached my desired temp, and also was easy to probe(like everyone says like butter), so I wrapped it in foil and towels in a cooker. The butt was a different story. I sat at 163 until about 11am. It then climbing, and stopped at 170 and sat there until about 12:45 it finally climbed to about 180 and I pulled it and wrapped in foil, and placed it in the 300 degree oven to finish, and cooked it to 205. We ended up eating at about 2, which worked out well, as some of our guests were late.
Things I've learned:
1. Brisket and pork butt cooked on a smoker is better than any I've ever had in a restaurant!
2. A pork butt is ready when it wants to be ready! lol
3. The meat from the point of a brisket, is the most tender and juciest, I've ever had, and will melt in your mouth!
4. Try the meat without sauce first, it is incredible how jucy and tender it is!
Thanks to everyone for helping me turn this day into a success!
I took pictures, and as soon as I can get hosting and posting figured out, I will put them in the photo gallery section!

 

[Mark Evenson]

Keith, HOT DOG, you done good!
Many happy returns.

Mark

 

[Keith (cadawg)]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by mk evenson:
Keith, HOT DOG, you done good!
Many happy returns.

Mark </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thank you, I'm still have a big smile on my face, it was so good!