First real cook of the year


 
Chris W.

Chris W.

TVWBB Pro
It's been awhile since I've managed to get a real cook going. I smoked some cheese awhile back, but that was minor compared to brisket or butts. This Saturday I'm finally firing up the WSM for the first time this year, and I'm looking forward to it.

The case that it's a quasi-catering cook is good too. I say quasi-catering because I'm not getting paid, but am cooking for a large crowd; my sister-in-law's wedding shower is Sunday, and I'm smoking the meal for that. Planning on a large brisket and two butts for pulled pork. I'm putting everything on at the same time, with the brisket on the top rack and the butts on the bottom to avoid having the pork drip onto the brisket in case anyone there is particular about eating pork.

I'm really looking forward to it. It's been too long since a cook. I'm planning on prepping the meat tomorrow night after work and will try to get photos to post. I'll let everyone know how it turns out.
 
on my first q of the year i'm very nervouse. seems like i forgot what i learned. but as i get into it, things come back purty quick. hope all turns out well !
 
Yea Chris hope everything goes smooth.

Dont feel the pressure that everything has to be perfect..Just take it slow and easy and enjoy the cook.
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12 hours in and things are going well. The first five or six hours were annoying as I had trouble getting the temp up above 205, but now it's holding steady around 250, which is right where I want it. Hopefully should be done in another 3 to 5 hours.
 
The food came out really well. Despite the problems getting the temps up at the beginning of the cook, it all came out really well and everyone at the bridal shower really enjoyed it (or so I'm told; I was on the golf course when the shower was taking place). Images below.

The brisket before any rub was applied.
http://img15.imageshack.us/i/img0148ve.jpg/

The rub on the brisket. Used a rub consisting of garlic powder, onion powder, white pepper, ancho powder and green peppercorns.
http://img585.imageshack.us/i/img0149t.jpg/

The butts, pre-rub.
http://img716.imageshack.us/i/img0150dj.jpg/

The rubbed butts. I used the Renowned Mr. Brown rub.
http://img16.imageshack.us/i/img0151iu.jpg/

One of the finished butts. The kitchen twine was all that kept the butt from falling apart when I pulled it off the smoker.
http://img87.imageshack.us/i/img0156kh.jpg/

The pulled pork.
http://img35.imageshack.us/i/img0155ow.jpg/

The sliced brisket.
http://img16.imageshack.us/i/img0157ux.jpg/
 
An excellent first smoke of the year sir! Looks awesome. Quick question as I have been considering a butt/brisket smoke. How did the timing work out? Did they finish around the same time or was one meat done earlier? Thanks!
 
I put both meats on and pulled both meats off the smoker at the same time, although the butts probably could have came off a bit earlier and the brisket could have stayed on a bit longer. To be honest, I got a bit lazy and didn't feel like shuffling the brisket (which was on the top rack) out of the way to remove the butts, so I let the butts stay on longer than normal and pulled the brisket off about .5 to 1 hour earlier than normal.

It all worked out and everything tasted good; the butts weren't overcooked and the brisket wasn't undercooked by any means, it just ended up being that the butts pulled much easier than normal and the brisket wasn't quite as "soft". I'm honestly considering leaving every butt I do from now on on the smoker until it looks like these did; I was quite pleased with them.

Edit: I'm not exactly sure how big my brisket was, but it wasn't a huge 18 pounder or anything. If I recall correctly, it was right around ten pounds. All in all, there was less than five pounds difference between a single butt and the brisket. If you have a much larger size difference than that, you will need to adjust the timeline for your brisket/butt cook accordingly. And I would advise the brisket goes on the top rack for two reasons: the top rack typically cooks faster in most WSMs, and that way you don't have pork drippings hitting the brisket. I think most everyone here would rather have it the other way around, especially since some people don't/can't eat pork.
 
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