Smoking pork butt and ribs at the same time?

[OliverB]

I'd do them both at the same time, take the ribs out when done, wrap in foil and put into a cooler. Once the pork is done you can put the ribs back on to warm them up again if they got too cool. And start early! I have not done pork but, but I had a brisket sit on the plateau of not getting warmer for a good two hours once in my BGE. We ate pretty late that day. Now I put things on in the am and then in the cooler which keeps it warm for hours. And we can eat when I want :-)

[mache]

Also, to be able to smoke a larger number of rib racks, folks typically roll them up using a screwer or two to secure them. See the pictures here: http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=93285

-- Mache

[Hassouni]

I've been using the Virtual Weber Bullet site for guidance. The question is, if I start the butt at, say, midnight, is it better to put the ribs on right then, and wake up at, say 3, turn them, then wake up at 6 and take them off, or could I just bank on the butt being done around lunchtime, refuel the WSM and put the ribs on?

[gfweb]

>Given the different heat conduction of air and water, how do you adjust cooking times for your very cool rig?

With convection, the cooking time is reasonable. For long cooking time there is not that much difference. Once the temperature gets to set temperature, there is no difference water or air.

dcarch

Can this be right? No difference between water and air? The specific heat of each is different. I would think that over short cooking times it would matter a lot.

[mache]

I would set up a time line for when you want to eat and then work backwords. Also, you should also figure in 1-2 hours to rest the meats double wrapped in heavy foil, then wrapped in a dry towel, and then placed in a well insulated cooler to keep them hot. The cooler should keep things hot for 4-5 hours this way.

So, for you I would suggest.

1. Use the Minion method. Well managed it should give you over 20 hours of 225 degrees F at the top grate. Read up on how to do this and how to set up the dampers. Assume you will use about 12 pounds of charcoal.

2. Fill the water pan with boiling water

3. Assume that your butts will take 10-12 hours and your ribs will take 6 hours at 225 degrees F. For ribs the done test is to jab the rib meat with a scewer and it should go in like it would with softened butter. For the butts the test is to insert a fork into an all muscle (not fat) area to check for the same softened butter feel. See the website for more information.

4. Get your WSM going and stable at 225 or so F top grate temperature, use a mercury oven thermometer and follow the directions on damper adjustment on the website

5. Oil up the bottom grate and put the butts on the bottom grate at T - 14 hours. Use whatever dry rub and baste you desire

6. For your first smoke I would go easy on the smoke wood and use either all fruit wood (4 apple or cherry fist sized chunks) or half friut and half oak.

7. Check the water bowl and refill as needed with boiling water.

8. At T - 8 hours put the rib racks on the oiled top grate. Add additional 4 fist chunks of smoke wood. Use whatever dry rub and baste you desire

9. Continue to check the water pan every hour or two

10. Periodically check meats for done. At T - 2 or a little before or after, everything should be done. Double foil all meat pieces in heavy foil, towel wrap them, and place them in a cooler to keep warm.

11. Relax and do other stuff until guests arrive. Do a reveal to the guests by unpacking the foil and setting up the meats for service.

[Hassouni]

That's not far off from what I was thinking, though I was budgeting more time for the butt- it was 9 pounds untrimmed, and I didn't need to trim off much.

I suppose my big question is, when I add those additional 4 chunks of wood, it won't ruin the butt in any way will it?

[dcarch]

>>Given the different heat conduction of air and water, how do you adjust cooking times for your very cool rig?

lockquote>

With convection, the cooking time is reasonable. For long cooking time there is not that much difference. Once the temperature gets to set temperature, there is no difference water or air.

dcarch

Can this be right? No difference between water and air? The specific heat of each is different. I would think that over short cooking times it would matter a lot.

You are correct, the specific heat is very different. But with convection, a lot of air moves over the food to replenish BTUs needed to bring food up to set temperature (think your hair dryer). Yes, moving air is not the same as moving water, that's why I said for long cooking time, it will not be much difference, after the set temperature has been reached.

dcarch

[mache]

Meat only picks up smoke in the first few hours and then it does not take any more. You should not worry about over smoking the butt when you start up the ribs.

Also, monitor the temperature throughout. You will probably have to adjust the dampers to maintain 225 or so. This is where the art of BBQ comes in. For me, I got fed up with damper adjustments and got a BBQ Guru (http://www.thebbqguru.com/) but you do not have the time to do that for this cook.

-- Mache

[Steve Irby]

Lots of good tips. I think mache sums it up nicely. Resting the pork in foil is very helpful for pulled pork as the juices have a chance to redistribute and for the meat to relax.

[Hassouni]

Thanks everyone!

I think I'll put the butt on around midnight, then at about 1 pm put the ribs on, regardless of where the butt is. Dinner is at 7, so that should give everything plenty of time!

[mache]

I would strongly suggest you check the temerature and the water level every few hours to make sure things are on track. I think you will find that maintaining the temperature to keep close to 225 will be your biggest challenge.

Also, heavy duty foil the water pan before use. Makes cleanup a lot easier.

-- Mache

[mache]

I would put the ribs on at T - 2 which is 8 hours before 7 PM or 11 AM.

-- Mache

[mache]

Sorry T - 8

-- Mache

[FeChef]

Meat only picks up smoke in the first few hours and then it does not take any more.

-- Mache

This is false. I par cook brisket,butts,ribs all the time and smaoke afterwards and after a few hours of smoke there is plenty of smoke flavor.

[Hassouni]

Mache, I was under the impression that ribs were best right off the smoker? Should they too be rested?

[Ashen]

there has been some good advice so far .... to mention a few options that seemed to be missed.. when you add the ribs , you could wrap the pork in a texas crutch(foil) this will help avoid stall and also keep extra smoke off.. Yes , Smoke will only penetrate so far into the meat but oversmoking can give it an acrid edge in my experience. Also a good mop spray is essential imo.. It really helps in bark formation even if it does add time to the cook, from temp loss from the lid off and evaporative cooling. My go to is the mop spray suggested by Adam Perry Lang 1 c water, 1 c apple juice and 1/4 c apple cider vinegar .

BTW have you considered using the BBQpad app suggested by Jason perlow to track your cook? http://www.bbqpad.com/community/

I havn't done any long cooks since signing up for it but I plan to track my cooks this year to document the results of any tweaks I try

Edited April 20, 2013 by Ashen (log)

[mache]

I usually rest the ribs for at least an hour. Other folks may have other opinions. Some rest, than glaze and crisp them on the grill. Lots of variations.

-- Mache

[Ttogull]

Depending on the context, right off the grill can mean after a rest. I interpret it so anyway. Certainly the juices need to redistribute. I've never served literally right off the grill, but since ribs are usually eaten with your hands, I would imagine a 200+ degree bone would be a nasty bugger to hold. You probably want the bones to cool down to around, what, 110 or so? I think that in this context, right off the grill means not holding in a cooler. But even then your ribs will probably be better than most will have ever eaten.

Your approach seems conservative and safe. For me, ribs are almost formulaic and turn out great every time. Butts for me are unpredictable. I've cooked two butts side by side, nearly equal, and had one done in 9 hours and the other 15. Once a BBQ butt dinner missed dinner time so badly that it had to be rescheduled for the next day. I always plan to cooler a butt for a few hours just to give myself some leeway.

I would not worry about how much smoke the ribs get. If you can smell smoke, the ribs will be plenty smoky even if you cannot see smoke. If you cannot smell smoke when you add the ribs (unusual in my experience) adding one chunk on top of lit coals will give lots of flavor and should not over smoke the butt. Don't worry about relatively minor things like whether foil is good or bad on your first try. Do what your instincts tell you. I am reminded of a saying in race car driving when confronted with a new car, teams, etc. Dont try to win the race - just bring the car home. Just bring that meat home.

[Ttogull]

One more suggestion: I've found that with the WSM especially that I also get smoked. My clothes, hair, skin all smell like smoke. I get desensitized to the smell, and cannot taste the smokiness when eating. So I usually take a shower during the rest and try to stay away from the smoker until after the meal. My laundry basket then makes me hungry for a few days.

[mache]

I very much agree. Try to get stuff finished up before your guests arrive and then change clothes and shower. Typically, you get smoked as part of the process of doing BBQ on a WSM.

-- Mache

[Hassouni]

Well, around 1 am (an hour later than planned due to the fucking mess I found that my puppy made in her kennel....) the butt went on - the smoker started around 210º and is now at 240 or so, but sounds like anywhere between 200 and 250 is fine. Will stay up till 2 or so to make sure temp doesn't exceed 250 then will crash.....I'll turn the butt when I wake up, and put the ribs on at 11

Edited April 21, 2013 by Hassouni (log)

[weinoo]

I'd bet Mike Mills and Ed Mitchell are getting a big laugh from some of the suggestions in this topic.

Apps, sous vide, etc...

[Hassouni]

Hehe, yeah Mitch, I just ignored it.

9:30 - Cooker at 200º - opened vents all the way, added water to the pan, and turned and basted the butt. Boy it's looking good! Temps got right back up around 230-240, so I've partially closed the vents and will check back in a couple more hours

[rotuts]

I sure hope you post some pics!

[Hassouni]

I will, once the stuff is done...or at the next peek.

I put the ribs on 40 minutes ago and refilled the water pan...only to find it somehow dripping water down into the charcoal!!!! So I had to light about 20 more coals and add them in, now it's teetering along near 225º so let's hope it holds!