cooking with faster times


 
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Gerry Speirs

TVWBB Member
Does anyone have thoughts or tricks on being able to cook butts and brisket faster. I know smoking is a long process which It should be and I totally agree with and love the end result but I may be able to enter a situation where time may be a factor and Im trying to work out if it can be done. Would smaller pieces be better or would that compromise the flavor? If I had 4 hours could I do It?

Thanks all...
 
I know that briskets can be done in about 4-5 hours, I've done it. Check out this.

As for the butts, all I've ever done is low & slow. I don't know why you couldn't do it and not sure what the end result would be but I'm sure others will chime in.

Good luck!
 
over the weekend i did a 9 lb butt in 7 hours. Just as good as low n slow. check photo gallery for my pics.
 
I do packer briskets in 4 hours, back ribs in 90-150 min, spares in ~3 hours to a bit more. Butts I don't like to go real high, but higher than low/slow (around 290 give or take 10) usually means they cook in an hour/lb or so.
 
Gerry, the time it takes to cook anything is dependant on cooking environment, heat , and what you are cooking. I always allow 5 hrs for HH brisket and Butt. May not take that long and might take longer. That 5 hrs does not include hold/rest time, or prep time. A closed cooking environment will cook things faster and still maitain moisture. Are you limiting your self to BBQ? Or can you use other cooking methods? I hear Micro waves are preyy fast, as are pressure cookers, braising also comes to mind.

Mark
 
Matt, some folks cook only the flat of the brisket, but I think that the overal taste is better using the whole packer. Technically you can cut the meat any way you want prior to cooking. Smaller mass will equal a shorter cooking time. You could also boil the meat , the question becomes can you maintain the same taste and texture that you can using the larger cuts? I have never done what you are asking , I am sure there are those who have and they may care to advise.
 
Great advice as usual, I think this weekend is time for experimenting. I'll post the results!
Mark, I will be using the WSM...

Thanks!
 
So today I cut up a 6lb piece of butt into 4 smaller pieces (1.5lbs each) to see if I can get it cooked faster. I put it on the grates at 11am and pulled them at 4.30pm. This is longer than I thought it would have taken but interesting results. I smoked a whole 6lb piece not long ago for 9 hours so I guess I was successful on speeding things up. The flavor and texture on the small pieces were still awesome so this may be the way I'll go from now on. Should mention temps were a steady 270-280 all the way.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Gerry Speirs:
So today I cut up a 6lb piece of butt into 4 smaller pieces (1.5lbs each) to see if I can get it cooked faster. I put it on the grates at 11am and pulled them at 4.30pm. This is longer than I thought it would have taken but interesting results. I smoked a whole 6lb piece not long ago for 9 hours so I guess I was successful on speeding things up. The flavor and texture on the small pieces were still awesome so this may be the way I'll go from now on. Should mention temps were a steady 270-280 all the way. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

...So were they more like country-style ribs or smoked pork shoulder?
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No, seriously, I know that some bbq competitors butterfly their pork butts for more bark, but larger cuts seem to be more predictable in terms of the final product, ie. moisture and richness, as well as cooking time. I noticed the other day that Adam Perry Lang said about the same thing in his book, Serious Barbecue, and he's the one you should be reading.

As to busy schedules and time needed to bbq, the wsm is as close to set it and forget as you're gonna get without electronic gadgetry, so consider what you can do "in your sleep":

On my last long cook, I finished a 13 lb. brisket and two pork butts about 9 lb. each in 12 hours overnight, cooking about 250* at the vent. Now that was a little shorter cook than usual but we were going to be heading out the next morning so I left the vents open most of the way. I've found that the water pan will not only help keep the temps from spiking, but will also help keep the bark tender if you want to cook say 250-275 instead of 225-250. I'd just check the water a little more often, in six hours or so after being topped off if the vents are left wide open, as opposed to going eight hours if vents set at 50%...at least on my wsm, roughly guessing.

Anyway, I pre-heated a decent cooler (one that holds ice for 3 days or more) with hot water and added a couple two liter bottles filled with hot water.(Alton Brown suggests wrapped hot firebricks.) After Double wrapping the meat in foil, I filled in the spaces with wadded up newspaper and kept the meat hot (over the min. 140* required) all day long til we got back home.
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