Why do most cook a lot per smoke?


 
J

Joe P

TVWBB Member
Was wondering if anyone typically uses smaller cust of Pork Shoulder or Beef Brisket. Are there any drawbacks?

Our family is small and we don't own a foodsaver. So we typically buy a Pork Shoulder, cut it in thirds and do smokes of about a 1 1/2 -2 1/2 pound piece. Last weekend we did a brisket from the grocery store-- about 2 pounds. Everything has turned out great on the WSM. Just enough food for a family of 3 for a few meals each time we do this.

Appreciate any feedback. Thanks
 
I think most folks do it because it doesn't take any more time or cost to do more than it does to do a small amount. Whatever works for your family is the best way to do it. Though I have three kids, they are all under 4 years old, so it is really just the wife and I consuming the BBQ. So I hear what you are saying. I just freeze mine in ziploc and that is my lunch for the coming week at work.

Sounds like you had a good experience with a small brisket. I've found trouble keeping really smally briskets and shoulders as moist as I'd like them. So a full flat (6-8 pounds) or butt (6-8 pounds) are usually what I do. I've done butts as small as 3 pounds, never less.
 
Joe, I've done butts and briskets in the 2.5 - 3.5 pound range by themselves. No problem. But Adam is right, you do all the work for a little bit of meat, you could smoke many times that for the same effort.

Freezing what you don't eat is the key. I got along well wrapping in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil and putting in Ziploc bags. Last cook was three slabs of back ribs, still have one left, but it won't last long as I see it every time I open the freezer.

Finally decided to get a Foodsaver, as we have many other occasions to want it. Just my wife and me, and our stomachs really aren't awful big any more!
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Virgil
 
Barb and I have the same problem. We don't go to restaurants as often as we used to as the servings are too big. We bought a foodsaver and recommend it. We are two old folks and you can only invite the neighbors so often. They are great, but they don't Q. WSM raises the bar....tom
 
I have a limited amount of smokewood from my dad's place (peach, pecan, mesquite). The peach trees are all gone...still plenty of pecan and mesquite, though.

If I'm gonna go through the trouble to light that candle, I'm gonna fill it with at least two pork butts and a brisket so as to make the most of the smoke. Another factor is the amount of work it takes to get the thing set up prior to the smoke, and the tear down. Might as well cook more meat...the effort to get it fired up and cleaned up afterwords will be the same.

We are a family of three (our baby is 1 year old)...and it is so awesome to just pull out some BBQ from the freezer and warm it up...the whole house starts to smell good, and the amount of work that takes is trivial (all the hard work was done on the day of the smoke)...which is nice when there is a baby in the house.

Jeff
 
Let me just add my 2 cents and say me too. My wife always wants me to smoke something small, and I always tell her if I'm going to go through all the trouble of getting it going then I'm going to get a lot of meat out of it.
 
I almost always smoke 4 butts. I vaccum seal most of it. It's fantastic to have great pulled port with just a couple minutes of microwave defrost.

BTW, I let the butts sit for about 15 minutes, then immediatly pull and vaccum pack. The faster you get this done, the better. If you let the butts sit and cool, or even worse, pulled and sit and cool, it looses allot of that fresh flavor.

I love seeing that pink smoke tinge and lite gray look in the bag, it means it's going to be juicy, smokey, and very flavorfull. If meat looks brown in the bag it's lost its freshness and might be dry.

Several times a year I will vaccum pack 4 to 8 butts into 1/4 to 1/2 pound bags and send them to my mother. She loves the convenience and great taste.
 
Bill, an easy way to solve the problem of juices getting into the motor is to freeze the contents first, say in a Ziplock bag, or anything. Then just pop the frozen item, with any frozen juices, into the Foodsaver bag, and the motor won't suck up anything it shouldn't.

Same way you would freeze a few cups of soup.

Try it.
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Virgil
 
Well I guess I am just different. I love firing up the WSM as much as possible. I would rather cook a small pork roast when needed like joe is asking in the 2.5-4lb range rather than just defrosting some already cooked meat. I love all the effort of watching temp, lighting the coals, making rubs and just practicing. My two cents.

Rick
The Smoke Hunters BBQ
 
Joe,

Smaller cuts of brisket are typically trimmed too much, but you can lay bacon strips on top to add more fat to the meat.

Other than that, I pay attention to costs, and maybe this is not enough to worry about, but I feel like if I'm going to light up a load of charcoal, I want to get more cooked food for the amount of fuel I burn.
 
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