Tailgating and Smoking Tips


 
Bill E.

Bill E.

TVWBB Fan
Anyone got any tips on Smoking and bringing items to a tailgate?

Going to a soccer game (David Beckham/LA Galaxy vs Red Bulls) with a large group and plan on tailgating with Burgers and Dogs etc, but I want to use my new WSM also and show off a little.

Planning on doing Multiple Butts (2-3 about 8lbs each) and a (brisket maybe 8-9 lbs.)

I will start Friday night and finish up for Saturday early afternoon and head to tailgating at Stadium for about 2-3 pm. I think I can figure out cooking times based upon other discussions. (Although any tips or suggestions would be appreciated.)

My biggest questions involvng how to handle getting food to Stadium. Should I try to take off smoker, foil and place into cooler and pull/slice at the Stadium?

Or am I better off pulling pork before I leave and adding vinegar sauce and just heat up at Stadium? I think it could work either way for pulled pork but I am not so sure about the brisket.

How long will brisket keep and stay tender wrapped and in cooler?

Would love to hear any success stories for this.
I will be doing this again in few weeks for a birthday party and will be transporting smoked items to lake party about 45 minutes from house.
 
i have kept brisket in a cooler at way above safe zone for up to 10 hours. just keep the lid opening to none till ready to serve. do as much prep before hand as possible but i wouldnt slice anything till ready to serve. pork is not my forte as i dont care for pulled pork all that much so i will let others suggest that.

each year i do a huge bbq for the employees where i work and often pull the brisket off the cooker between 4-5am and its usually around 15-17 12lb plus packers. they sit in the cooler till service at noon while the chickens are cooking. the briskets stay too hot to tocuh and well above safe throught the day and up past 5pm. so brisket will keep as long as you need it to for any practical purpose.

just dont pre-slice it.
 
Hope you're not planning to take your WSM to the "tailgate".. Butts, like brisket, hold well and "SHOULD" be rested or held for hours, minimum 2 and ideal, 4 (IMO). Like the brisket, I'd hold them and pull onsite. That's your "showing off".
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Bill
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Thanks for info Jon.
I definitely will not slice brisket.

Only done a few briskets and only one big one 8+ lbs usually 4-5 lb on gas grill.
Usually get whatever local shoprite has on shelf. My wife got 8lb one and asked Shoprite butcher to cut it specially with keeping some fat on top - not fully trimmed.

I am not familiar with the term "packer".

When would you pull off and foil between 190-200 or before? Assuming temp will rise slightly after taking off.

What exactly is meant by "safe zone temp"?

Bill
 
Hi Bill-

I've only been doing this about a year, but I've learned to trust the Cooler method. I'm the opposite of Jon, I do mostly Butts vs. Briskets, but both will hold absolutely fine for several hours.

The way I do it, I remove the meat from the WSM and immediately wrap individual butts/briskets tightly with two layers of heavy duty aluminum foil, then wrap each foiled meat in an old clean towel, then put all the foiled-toweled meats into a clean dry cooler. Leave it closed tightly, and you can come back a couple hours later and they'll still be piping hot. I didn't come up with the idea, that's just what I've read here and it works like a charm for me.

I've also read about people pre-heating the inside of the cooler different ways, but I've never needed to even try.

Since you're doing an overnight smoke (my favorite), if it were me, I'd plan on having the meats finish on the cooker sometime around noon or earlier, foil/towel, stick in the cooler, then slice/pull the brisket and butts at the tailgate party if you'll have a table to work on. It may mean a little more work at the stadium that would be done easier in your kitchen, but for me that's part of the fun. I think the meat will cool off very quickly once pulled/sliced, and I personally haven't tried reheating sliced brisket or pulled pork over a grill.

Other thing to remember is to bring extra ziplocs or tupperware and room in an iced cooler to pack your leftovers.

Sounds like you've got a great weekend ahead!
 
Thanks Bill H.
No not planning on bringing WSM to Stadium!
I did not realize you should let sit for 2 hrs minumum. Most BBQ shows I have seen have standard rest 15 - 30 minutes and then serve.

I always wondered some BBQ joints cook briskets,etc in advance and still taste like it just came off the grill.
 
Thanks for tips Benny.
Good call on the leftovers.
Part of me (cooks ego) is hoping for no leftovers.

My stomach would not mind some leftovers.
 
Bill,

I do exactly as Benny described. Just keep the foil seams up and the cleanup is much less. When I only do 2 butts, I use a Coleman Personal 8 cooler and one fits on top of the other .. Perfect fit, and no preheating, no extra newspaper or towels either .. Won't fit!
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Sounds like a great tailgate ~ Can I come??
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Packer is a term for a brisket that still has the "point" attached vs. a flat that has had it removed. The point needs to be removed at some point and cooked longer than the flat. Here's some info Chris put up on his site that should help you out a bit..

Have fun with your tailgate and always remember, if you have deadlines, try to get done "early" as it's much harder to rush the meat done at the end vs. holding it for hours..

Bill
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Bill
 
Oh yeah, I hear ya on the leftovers. I'm just thinking 3 Butts, a Brisket, Burgers, Dogs and (assuming) Sides will go a long way. I don't have enough friends to eat that much at a tailgate party
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Two questions you wrote while I was typing up my post...

A "packer" is a very good buy whiny NFL quarterback who can't make up his mind if he wants to play football or not.
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Sorry.
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A packer is a whole beef brisket sold in cryovac (as opposed to styrofoam and plastic wrap) packaging. Here is a picture from one of the Cooking Topics recipes. It's just a whole untrimmed brisket, normally somewhere 10-15 pounds.

I'm sure someone else can verify, but as I understand and practice, "danger zone" temps are from 40 to 140 degrees. In this range, harmful bacteria can grow quickly on food. The "safe zones" then are below 40 for storage, and above 140 for serving. This isn't to say that a piece of meat served at 139 is instantly harmful, and there are definitely other exceptions to the rule, but that's at least what I consider the general rule for safe food temps.

EDIT: Hah, looks like Bill H was typing while I was, only faster.
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I agree, can I come to the party too?!

EDIT #2: Here is a great article Chris wrote in the Cooking Topics section about holding food, temps, etc. Looks like 140 is correct.

Good luck man!
 
I have brought a wsm to tailgate with.

I've done ribs, turkey breasts, many briskets.

You need a 6-7 hour start to finish window for a brisket though.
 
Like others have already said. Leave the Butts whole and wrap in foil and either newspaper or old junky(sp) towels then place in a cooler. The butts stay hot for hours. Then have your friends help pull it. Enjoy the football
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Cheers,
Ed
 
Benny very funny packer defined. We got about 60+ going to game in group including lots of kids. Not all will be tailgating but I figure empugh to probably finish meats.

Sure you all can come along. The more the merrier.

Tom I expect the beer to be plentiful.

Thanks for all your insight.
 
Ok so I ended up getting two 7.5 lb pork shoulders. Unfortunately they were boneless and cut up so I had to close back up tightlty without any butchers string in house. Used a bunch of soaked bamboo shoots.

Also got 7.5 brisket which is on bottom rack.
Just put on about 9:45 EST.

I set up about minion method and added about 15-17 hot coals on top. It took me about 10 minutes to get water in and meats on. Not sure if I took too long but it seems to be running much hotter (375+) than I thought it would be initially.

Will it come down quickly with top on and vents closed a 1/2 way?

Oh yeah I am using a combo of lump and briquetts but mostly briquettes.

Time to open a beer and monitor I guess.
 
375 seems pretty high, but either way, you should be able to tame the heat relatively quickly. Your water will definitely boil off quicker, so you will have to check on it sooner.

When I have a butt that is deboned and kinda opened up, usually the rub and mustard I use usually helps hold it together. And the way you position it on the grates. I haven't needed to use skewers before. Its not going to affect anything though.


Enjoy the beers!



.
 
Thanks Tom -

I thinke the 375 was a bad thermometer reading.
Changed and it was more in the 250 range. Got temp down two 200 on low grate then back up again. At this point playing with vents to get right mix of air before I head to bed.

Will keep an eye on water level thanks.
 
Well my first overnight with 2 butts and one brisket was a success.

Started 10pm and took everything off at about 10 am. Wrapped in foil, etc and stored in dry cooler til late afternoon.

Got raves from all friends at tailgate. Thanks to all who helped with input and insight. Brisket was a little too tender in my opinion. Kinda flaked off and did not slice all that well. Some parts sliced well but not all. I think I let it get about 200 before I took it off.

Still tasted good. If that is my biggest problem for first overnight, I'll take it.
 
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