Smoking pork butt and ribs at the same time?

[chileheadmike]

rotuts, on 23 Apr 2013 - 07:23, said:

Alton Brown suggested in his BBQ ep that water pans are heat sinks, not moisture developers. cant remember what the Test Kitchen said, as they liked the Webber at that time.

I'm not really a fan of Alton Brown or ATK, but this has been my experience as well. I know people who put sand in the water pan to act as a heat sink. I've tasted no difference in flavor or moisture.

[Hassouni]

were you able to get those Sweets Potatoes 'crispy' but not burnt? Ive had lots of trouble with SP's

Neither crispy nor burnt, just very soft. I'm guessing this was for a few reasons: 1) I had a whole bunch in the roasting pan stacked on top of each other, not in a single layer, and 2) i put them in on bake until soft - had i switched to broil when they were still a bit firm, I'd probably have got it more crispy

[Hassouni]

Alton Brown suggested in his BBQ ep that water pans are heat sinks, not moisture developers. cant remember what the Test Kitchen said, as they liked the Webber at that time.

not to start a .... about it, but Im of the AB school.

also a feedback fan system w/o the computer wifi would have greatly interested me when I was doing a lot oa BBQ about 15 years ago

why not? fun is fun, and boys and girls need their Toys!

AB used this one:

http://store.pitmasteriq.com/auteco.html

I think thats a fair price. but you wouldnt have to get up several times a night, and you know, check the beer supply while you were up !

When you consider that I literally found the WSM for free being given away on the side of the street, anything I add to it is infinitely more expensive!

[rotuts]

and "infinitely better"

Edited April 23, 2013 by rotuts (log)

[DTBarton]

Looks like all's well that ends well, good job.

A couple of post BBQ comments. I put heavy duty foil around the bottom of the water pan and tuck it over the top rim. Never had a drip problem. I recommend getting rib racks, then you don't have to turn them. I've never turned a butt or a brisket. I liberally spray the cooking grates, rib racks, and the inside of the water pan with Pam to ease clean up.

The water pan is a heat sink, not a moisture generator. I've found that using hot/boiling water in the pan helps to speed the process of getting to and holding the desired temperature, especially if you're cooking a lot of meat and/or the outside temperature is a little cool.

As for the meat, I've found that throwing money at pork for BBQ isn't worth it. No difference in the end result between boutique butts and ribs and grocery store/Sam's club. I'm not squeamish about the meat's pedigree, however. The same cannot be said for brisket. Brisket is a finicky animal and I seek out the best quality I can find, Sam's club briskets don't work out. I'm worried because both butcher shops in my home town (Annapolis, MD) have gone out of business. Have to find another source for quality choice/prime briskets.

I went through several grills (kettles, offset firebox etc.) trying to find one that would hold temperature without incessant fiddling. I was about to resort to gas (gasp!) when I got a WSM. Using the tips on the virtual bullet site it worked great the first time I tried it. Haven't found the need to go higher tech.

Looking forward to doing double ribs (pork and beef short ribs) for Smoke Day 9! http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?40096-What-is-WSM-Smoke-Day-9

Edited April 24, 2013 by DTBarton (log)

[chileheadmike]

As for the meat, I've found that throwing money at pork for BBQ isn't worth it. No difference in the end result between boutique butts and ribs and grocery store/Sam's club. I'm not squeamish about the meat's pedigree, however.

At the Heartland Gathering a few years back, poster Zeemanb did a side by side tasting of .99/lb pork butt and a Birkshire pork butt. There was a difference. A big difference. Not only in flavor but in appearance. The grocery store butt was indeed "the other white meat" while the Birkshire was much darker and richer looking. The richness carried over to the flavor as well. Interestingly, he said the the Birkshire pork cooked in about half of the time for approximately the same weight.

[mache]

I'm worried because both butcher shops in my home town (Annapolis, MD) have gone out of business. Have to find another source for quality choice/prime briskets.

J W Treuth & Sons is less than an hours drive from Annapolis, MD and is in Catonsville, MD. They have gotten good posts on some of the sites I have viewed. See http://www.jwtreuth.com/retail.php and http://www.yelp.com/biz/j-w-treuth-and-sons-catonsville.

-- Mache

[DTBarton]

Like I said, the butts I got from local butchers didn't come out much different for me. Can't remember if they were Berkshire or not, don't think so, just from local farms I believe.

Perhaps the Berkshire cooked faster due to a dramatically higher fat content?

Edited April 24, 2013 by DTBarton (log)

[chileheadmike]

Could be fat content. Not sure.

I'm thinking I need to fire up the WSM this weekend.

[Hassouni]

My take on the meat is that it doesn't matter whether the conventional stuff tastes great - I really just do not want to support industrial livestock raising, especially for pork and chicken, which it sounds like are the worst of the worst. I also like knowing that this butcher knows where the meat comes from, takes care that it's from responsible farms, etc. I like meat too much to be vegetarian, but I share a lot of their concerns, so I always try to get meat from animals who had a more dignified life. I also don't eat meat that often, so when I do, I go for the best I can get.

[weinoo]

My take on the meat is that it doesn't matter whether the conventional stuff tastes great - I really just do not want to support industrial livestock raising, especially for pork and chicken, which it sounds like are the worst of the worst. I also like knowing that this butcher knows where the meat comes from, takes care that it's from responsible farms, etc. I like meat too much to be vegetarian, but I share a lot of their concerns, so I always try to get meat from animals who had a more dignified life. I also don't eat meat that often, so when I do, I go for the best I can get.

That's a good philosophy, Hassouni, and one that I try hard to follow. I think it actually makes things taste better, too.

[natasha bolis]

On 4/20/2013 at 10:14 AM, C. sapidus said:

My recommendation: smoke two pork butts. Having extra pulled pork in the fridge/freezer is never a bad thing. Extra smoked pork disappears quickly around here, but our house is infested with hungry teenagers.

Yes, you can throw ribs in with pork butt. The problem is that BBQ is "done when it is done", so getting the timing right is tricky. Pork butt will hold for a long time in a cooler ("warmer"), so that helps.

Good luck!

Thank you for this post! Natasha Bolis

 

Edited May 22, 2017 by natasha bolis (log)

[Smokeydoke]

On 4/20/2013 at 10:21 AM, dcarch said:

Depends.

This is not typical sous vide by water bath.

I have a special PID controlled convection smoker, which is basically sous vide by temperature controlled hot smoke/air.

dcarch

BTW, this appliance actually works indoors, year round, without setting off the smoke alarm.

 

 

 OMG. @dcarch you're my hero. I didn't even know these things existed. That thing is awesome on so many levels.

 

[dcarch]

2 hours ago, Smokeydoke said:

 OMG. @dcarch you're my hero. I didn't even know these things existed. That thing is awesome on so many levels.

 

Thanks Smokey.

In researching the world of smoking, I have found that there are many things I don't like:

1. You can't smoke inside the house.

2. You can't smoke in the winter snowing.

3. You can't smoke when it's raining.

4. you have to stay up all night for long smokes.

5. You can't cold smoke in the summer.

6. difficult to control temperature.

7. Difficult to control quality of smoke.

This smoker that I built overcomes all the above. It is a smoker with refrigeration and mechanically ventilated, and digitally controlled.

 

dcarch

 

 

 

Edited March 26, 2018 by dcarch (log)