Need Help for fathers day.


 

stephanie wade

New member
I have had my WSM 18 for over 2 yrs. I wanted this mysterious shaped flesh cooker for a long time..and when I used it the first couple of times, I put it aside in disgust..because I did not like the way my ribs came out. I know it was my bald ignorance regarding the art of smoking. That being said, my father would like a Q sampler for his big day. So how in the world am I going to get a butt and a brisket and some sausage to come out wonderful for dads day?..I failed the ribs miserably and I am very half hearted regarding this cook. Color me confidence shaken and not wanting to hand dad a tough boot of a brisket..or subpar pulled pork..I need age advice..please. The simpler the better.
 
Hi Steph. Fire up the wsm using Minion method described on this site. Use a full 20 pounds of charcoal, preferably Stubbs from Lowe's.
The meat: buy a pork shoulder bone in or boneless about 5 pounds. Buy a rack or two of baby back pork ribs. Go to Sam's Club and buy Emerils"s Essence from the spice section. Dry rub both meats with Emerils. As soon as you fire up the WSM put the pork shouder on the bottom grate. (buy a Maverick thermometer, if you don;t have the time youcan go by feel) Let it run at 300 + lid temp. Might have to add charcoal at yhe 4 hour mark. Shoulder will take about 5 or 6 hours..the ribs about 2. And I have a bodacious mop for the ribs. Feel free to email me. we can get you thru this just fine and give your pops a great dinner. If you want to add beef and chicken I hope you have a 2nd BBQ
 
Notice that John didn't say anything about a brisket. I agree. I would go one step further and just do the pork butt. Your dad may want a Q sampler, but I gaurentee you that you can get just as good of a reaction by just doing pulled pork.

I'm not sure how you cook(water in the pan, minion method, whatever), but a butt is very forgiving so don't sweat getting the temp right. Just try for something in the 275 to 325 range. Make sure to give yourself plenty of time. a butt can rest for a couple hours in foil and a cooler (probably more like 4 hours) so plan on the cooking being done early so that you have time for other things.

Now comes the important part. Find a rub and a sauce that dad will like. That will make a big difference. Also - make a couple great sides. I highly recommend Keri's beans. You might also do something like ABT's if you think dad will like them and you are comfortable. Everyone will call it a great BBQ even if there is only one meat.

You have plenty of time so do a lot of reading on this site and you should be fine.
 
Two goals.
1) a great meal for dad.
2) restore confidence with the WSM
Use the KISS method
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You are going to cook baby back ribs, smoked sausage, & BUY brisket. SAMs & many grocery's have Sadler's smoked brisket & it's really good!simply warm in a covered pan with a little apple juice before serving.
The sausage is tasty & simple requires an hour on the smoker, but BBQ sauce on some & leave some plain.
You will cook the ribs.
You need BB ribs,
Mustard
A "rub" I like "Weber BBQ rub" but there are many good store-bought rubs.
Load the WSM with 6-8 lbs of briquettes & 2-3 wood chunks, fill the water pan, add a couple of lbs of lit charcoal. Slather ribs with oil or mustard to get rub to stick, sprinkle with rub.
Put on smoker for 2 1/2 hours & put in large disposable aluminum pan , cover with foil.
2 options now, if you like fall off the bone ribs finish in oven @ 250F for 1 hour , remove let rest 30 min & serve.
Option 2 if you have a gas grill, let sit in pan for 1 hour without heat,
Remove , sauce half the ribs , then put on gas grill with burners on low, & sear the meat , ( my preference)
 
AND now the fun begins...

I will agree with John on using the Minion Method, the Stubbs and the rub, HOWEVER....

I will differ on the cooking method. I go low and slow. If you are not comfortable with doing an overnight smoke, then cook the butt the day before. It will heat up nicely.
SO:

Fill up with 18 - 20 lbs of briquettes (Stubbs is better but Kingsford is fine). Bury about 4 chunks of smoke wood (hickory, apple, cherry) in the briquettes as you're filling it. Light about 15 briquettes in your chimney. When fully lit, spread over the top of the charcoal and assemble the smoker. Fill the waterpan with water. Put the butt (and get one around 8 - 10 lbs as a lot of weight will be lost due to fat rendering) on the lower rack and if you have a probe thermometer (any brand will do - Polders and Taylors are inexpensive and work well) insert the probe into the meat per instructions. If you need to buy one, then buy a dual probe as you can then use one of the probes to get an accurate temp at the grate. Close the lid and adjust the lower vents once the temp hits 200. You are looking to keep the temp in the 200 - 250 range. The butt will take about 2 hrs a pound to cook. Cook until it reaches an internal temp of 190 and pull it off the smoker, wrap it in foil and either store it in a cooler or your oven (off) for another hour or so. Once it's rested, you can now pull it (it will still be hot!). If you did thisthe day before, put the pulled pork in the fridge and reheat the next day (in a crockpot with sauce or in a foil pan in the oven again with sauce).

For the ribs, rub and put them in that morning (if you're still cooking the butt then put them on the top rack). Add a couple more pieces of smoke wood and a couple of handfuls of unlit coals if your fire is still going - otherwise restart it using the Minion Method again - just add more unlit charcoal to the ring if needed. Again cook between 225 - 250. After about 3 - 4 hours, wrap the ribs in foil with about a 1/2 cup of apple juice per rack and put back on the smoker. check them about an hour later. If the meat has pulled away from the ends of the bones and you can easily twist a bone off the meat, they're ready. If not, check every 20 minutes.

Everybody has their own style and preferences.
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Thanks for the help. I am getting the overwhelming sense..that I am in over my head. Ominous and forbidding music was heard when the words brisket where uttered. So is this a step to far for me? Pulled pork and brisket..both were specifically asked for. I wanted sausage..and I am very afraid of ribs again. I am a Texan and am petrified of my smoker and the unholy creations that will emerge from my culinary experiments. I will definetly take the advice given regarding pork...but, I have.have.have to do a brisket. It shames me to admit this..I am a Texan..and this smoker seems to have beaten me into submission. You can tell me if you think this is far too ambitious for me. I have MS and can't be in the heat for too long..so I was thinking..an overnight smoke...too much?...Again..any hand holding is appreciated.
 
Hi Stephanie,

The Webers,IMHO, were BUILT for overnight smokes!! There are a lot of good informative posts in here on brisket. good luck and don't be afraid!
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Stephanie I would do this over a couple days.

Day 1 do the pork butt- just about any method that was suggested above. Also do the ribs and sausage. I love smoked sausage.

Day 2 do your brisket using this method for high heat brisket. When you pull the brisket drop the temps in the cooker and put the ribs in foil with a bit of apple juice to reheat or add the sauce at this point and just put them on with no foil. Pulled pork can be reheated in a crock pot or in foil on the cooker.

First priority is to relax and take a deep breath. If you go in with the attitude that you are going to screw it up then guess what You will.

I think once you get one good cook under your belt you will have a lot more fun with your cooker. Pork butt is the easiest thing to do and a great confidence booster.

I find the most common problem people have with Brisket is that they under cook them.

Can you put the cooker in the shade? After the initial start up and loading you really don't need to be out that much with it. Maybe get a remote thermostat to make it easier on yourself.

Hope this helps

Cheers
 
Stephanie, have you looked through the Cooking Topics section of this website? It has some great step by step instructions for cooking the items you are wanting to cook.

Don't let the first few cooks discourage you. I failed miserably on ribs with my first cook on the WSM. But after following the Best Ribs in the Universe recipe, I haven't made a bad set of ribs since.

Good luck.
 
Stephanie: Your dad asked for pork butt and brisket, but that's going to be a problem.

The biggest problem is that brisket is not that easy to have turn out right. Coupled with your lack of success with the smoker previously, and you're kinda of trying to run before you can walk. I understand you'd like to please your dad, but I'd simply concentrate on one thing and have it turn out right instead of forcing two things and getting disappointed again.

Like others have mentioned: Pork butt is the way to go. It's much more forgiving than brisket; it's just about fool-proof as a matter of fact. It'll be a long smoke, but even if you go too high on the temperature for a bit it won't ruin the butt. Look for a small(er) one, and it won't even take all day. You can actually have it done by evening if you're willing to get up at 5:30 and get things going.

There are good instructions about how to fire up the smoker (minion method) and get the pork butt prepped and going - just trust the recipe.

You can always throw on some sausage at the end and serve that up as well. Buy smoked sausage from the grocery store and you're set.
 
One thing not mentioned is that as a guideline the internal temp of your pork butt needs to reach a minimum of 190-195F. some say 200F. to be that fall apart tender necessary. I've been cooking mine at a steady 225F. with a tap water full water pan at the start, not hot. Pork is very forgiving and you will find using a meat probe, a good idea, the meat ( pork or ribs)will plateau after reaching 160F. and will stay at that temp for quite a while before the temps start crawling up again. As I'm sure you've read on here is that what's happening, all the connective tissue and fat is being broken down which is what makes it fall apart tender. Using these temps as guidelines is virtually foolproof. I've read on here not to go by temps, but I disagree, but occasionally I've read that a piece of pork may need to go to a higher internal temp 200-205F. As for myself, I have not run into that yet. Also pork will handle cooker swings in temps any where from 200-300F, I prefer not going below 225, until you get good at judging how to adjust your lower vent openings. Most everyone recommends running the top vent full open all the time unless you add a automatic temp controller, something not to worry about now.
An 8-10lb pork butt at a 225F cooker will take 14-16 hours to get to an internal temp of 190F. A higher cooker temp of 250-275F will shorten the time create more bark on your ribs or shoulders, which is something I like.
Use the minion method explained on here to start a whole twenty pound fresh bag of charcoal. Once the cooker temp reaches 225F. close all bottom vents, leave one open 25-30% to stop the cooker temp getting away from you, if the temp keeps going up close the bottom vent more, if it starts going down open the vent more to find the sweet spot. Then load your meat and you may have open the one vent full open to bring the cooker temp back up to 225-250F. and then shut that vent back down again, and when the temp stabilizes you can relax and monitor the temps once every 30 minutes since you are new to this. On a long cook the temps will hold up to fourteen hours using 225F cooker temps, but will likely will start going down after this. I then lightly tap the the legs on my WSM with a hammer to help expose the coals that are left, and open my vents 100% to finish the butts if need be, and the smoker will go at least another two hours.
Can't help you with brisket but the same principles apply from what I read on this forum, cooking long enough to get the internal temp in the range it needs to be before checking for tenderness is key. When you get that first tender mouth watering pork or brisket off your smoker you will really appreciate your WSM.

Good Luck this is not as difficult as you think.
 
IMO if you use Kingsford or Stubbs charcoal briquettes, minion method, you will have less problems with temp control. I don't count briquettes, just turn my Webber chimney upside down and light what that part of the chimney will hold, close the bottom vents down when the cooker temps reach 225F, put your meat on, open vents if temp drops, to bring back up to 225F. then close down to hold temps. steady. My Weber temp gauge is off by 20F. but is still close enough.
As long as you are not getting temp swings of more then 75F. don't panic, and as someone posted on the forum, think of air as fuel, I would not worry. Also keep the lid on most of the time until you need to check the meat if it's done, and your meat probe in the range you want. Taking the lid off all the time really lowers the smoker temp.

Like Jerry N said "POSITIVE ATTITUDE AND KEEP IT SIMPLE."

By simple, start the fire right, catch cooker temp on the way up with closing of vents, when temps steady wait for meat probe temp to get into range, check meat if it's done? Baby Backs can take 2.5-3.5 hours, Spare Ribs 4.5-6hours depending on size, Pork Butts 8.5-14 hours for 8lb pieces. Smaller size meat equals less time, larger equals more time.

WSM 22.5
Nano Temp Controller
 
Pulled pork was a huge hit. Briskett remains my nemesis. It was dry, but it did taste good...kinda like a meaty boot. The pulled pork was the star. I will try ribs and briskett again when my nerve returns. Thanks to all for suggestions and tips. I will continue to lurk around for tips and hints. Thank you.
 
Good going Steph. Brisket can be tricky. It's the too-tough-if-underdone vs. too-tough-if-overdone problem. Get some confidence with ribs, chicken, PP, etc, then come back to the brisket. Make sure you get a full packer (with the point on, about 9-14 lb.). Choose one with the thickest flat. Keep us informed and good luck. Remember: it's just food...
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This may not be to your likeing totally,but chop that brisket and add what ever sauce you like to it,works wonders, or make chili. Sounds like every thing came out good though in the long run.
 

 

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