Ribs and a brisket


 
K

KevinM

New member
Good Morning everyone!

Just a quick question for the masses. I've had my WSM for about a month now. So far I've cooked a couple of whole chickens. A bunch of chicken legs and last week I successfully tackled ribs for the first time. (BRITU - they were great.) I'm trying something for the first time tomorrow. I picked up 3 racks of ribs and a small 4lb brisket to try. I was wondering if you guys could point out any "gotchas" I might come across.

Was going to start the smoker at 4:00am tomorrow morning (minion). Brisket with a remote thermometer in it goes in at 5:00am. Let it do it's thing and watch the temp (via an installed thermometer on the top of the lid) and if all is well put the BRITU ribs on the top grate at 1:00pm. Then wait until the brisket is at temperature and pull it. If it's way ahead of the ribs I'll wrap it in foil and put it in my oven to rest while the ribs finish.

Anyone see anything in the process that I might want to change? Any favorite ways of serving up BBQ Brisket?

Thanks so much!
Kevin
 
The 4 lb brisket sounds like a flat only. If you have that on the bottom rack, and by 1 may be almost done, I would foil it up so the juice from the ribs doesn't drip on it at that time. Or if it is at temp (185-195), foil with a little juice and place in a cooler or oven to rest.
(I normally do pork butt over brisket, but only when cooking at the same time)
 
Thanks Mike. I was just reading that the cooking time "formula" is usually 1.5 hours per pound. That would mean if the brisket goes on the WSM at 5am it would be near done by 11am right? Would I be better served to put it on the WSM at 10am. Then add the ribs at 1pm. By 4pm the brisket "should" be close to done and will give me time to pull it, wrap it, and let it rest for the remaining 2 hours while the ribs finish....?
 
Maybe start it at 8am. Smaller briskets 'sometimes' take longer, so this should give you plenty of time. You should be ready to foil about the time you put the ribs on.
If it gets done sooner, and you have it foiled, tehn it will rest just fine for several hours double foiled and wrapped in old towels in a cooler. Just don't peek.

That's my thought, anyone else differ from this approach?
 
The key point in using the Minion for start-up is to be able to regulate temps on the way up. Do not wait to put the meat in. When the unlit gets topped with the lit, assemble the cooker, add water (usually hot, depending on conditions), and put the meat right in.

How long the brisket will take depends largely on cook temp, and it depends on the brisket's thickness and marbling. Your preference, but if the flat was well-marbled and thick I'd consider foiling at ~170; if less marbled or thin I'd foil sooner, ~163. In either case or on the off-chance I didn't foil, I'd start testing for doneness in the mid-upper 180s and go from there.

Were I cooking low/slow (I don't cook brisket low/slow, generally) I wouldn't cook lower than 245/250 grate as it's not required and there isn't any benefit in prolonging the cook. So, that said, I'd likely go with your second plan and put the flat on somewhere between 9 and 10, adding the ribs (and a little smokewood if needed) when I foiled the brisket and moved it to the lower grate.
 
Thanks for the reply Kevin!

I just want to be sure I understand. You think I should put the flat on the top grate at the 9,10:00 mark. Then at 1:00 when I'm ready to put the ribs on I should foil the brisket and place it on the bottom grate to finish cooking. I wouldn't want to just start it on the bottom grate to begin with?

Sorry if I'm being a pain in the pork butt guys....first time I'm doing this so I want to do it right
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Thanks again,
Kevin
 
First, no need to apologize. One can hardly learn a thing without asking questions.

I am saying that, yes, I'd MM the start (in the way I note above) somewhere between 9 and 10, and that when the flat reached the appropriate foiling temp (depending on the nature of the flat) I'd foil it and move it to the lower grate and add the ribs to the top.

I'd start the flat on the top grate because the temp will be higher there. Lift the lid, remove the top grate with the brisket and immediately replace the lid. Foil the brisket and set it aside. Put the ribs on the top grate. Remove the lid, place the brisket on the lower grate, place the top grate containing the ribs on the supports then replace the lid. Pretty quick. At that point I'd add some smokewood for the ribs, if needed, which I think likely (but that would depend on how I placed the original smokewood when I first loaded in the unlit).

Other's approaches might well be different. There is no one way.

The thing here--the thing that trips up many a new barbequer--is not to be too married to a set finish time, i.e., until one gets used to cooking in the WSM, the various meats and their sizes, the vagaries of ambient conditions, the way different cook temps can affect timing, it is hard to predict actual cook times with confidence. Allow yourself some time, and allow for the possibility of eating dinner later than planned (or earlier!), or for prolonging resting, or even for reheating when something finishes much, much earlier. Doing so allows for less frustration and a much more enjoyable cooking experience. As you gain knowledge of these variables from cooking more often, you'll develop your own sense of timing (and your own style) and predicting timing will be much easier and more accurate. And, with experience (and/or asking questions here), you'll get a very good sense of how you can alter variables of the cook on purpose, to speed up or slow down cooking, to foster different results, or to handle any one of a number of potential problems that might arise during a cook. It doesn't take all that long if one cooks fairly regularly and pays attention to the process and the results. And it's a lot of fun, besides. Enjoy the ride.
 
Thanks Kevin. That's what I'll do. I'll start the brisket on the top at 10. Then at 1 I'll foil it up and move it to the bottom while adding the ribs to the top. From there I'll just watch it's temperature and once it's done I'll pull it and store it and wait for the ribs to finish.

I'll let y'all know how it goes.
Kevin
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by KevinM:
Is there a reason I should be avoiding cooking both the ribs and the brisket at the same time? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Food safety was my thought here was you should avoid putting raw pork on top of cooked brisket if you were to be pulling it off soon. If they will both be on and getting done about the same time, then it should be no issue.
 
I got a late start and didn't get the brisket on until 11:00 this morning.

Ribs just came off and the brisket is registering a temp of 170. Guess I have another hour or so to wait
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