Time to get serious about a new smoker.

[Moliere]

So - amid everything else going on around home, I've got a little shindig planned for Saturday at noon in our yard. We're trying to do some outdoor social distancing while having the manly equivalent of a bridal shower - which means eating smoked meats and accompanying BBQ sides, drinking homemade root beer, and giving tools and unsolicited relationship advice to the groom.

Tell me all of the ways that my plan is going to go wrong and what I should do different before I actually make any mistakes....

I wanted to have a full spread of meat options, of course. So here's what I'm seeing as a cooking timeline for a Saturday noon meal.

Friday night, around 8pm, pork butt goes on the smoker at 225. I pull it off at midnight, foil it up, and throw it in the oven at 225 until it hits somewhere between 195-200 degrees. Most of my big pork butts have needed more than 12 hours - I'm thinking this gives me enough wiggle room to get it done and hold it for up to 3-4 hours with FTC if needed.

When the pork butt comes off at midnight, the Brisket goes on, smoker still at 225. I've only done 2 briskets, but the longest either took was 9 hours (famous last words). I figure that still gives me some time wiggle room for it to hold for a last bit and break down tissue. Brisket stays on the smoker for 5 hours (till 5am) when it gets foiled and goes into the oven until it hits around 195. Then it either stays in the oven at a lower temp, or goes into the FTC with the pork butt.

When the brisket comes off the smoker at 5am, the baby back ribs go on. Smoker stays at 225, ribs go on for 3 hours. Wrap in foil and into the oven at 225 for another couple of hours, then unwrap, sauce, and back on the smoker for the last hour. Kind of a traditional 3-2-1 method. Done by 11am (with an hour so spare if needed)

Can I cook this stuff back to back to back and have it all done by noon?

(The baby backs were a last minute addition. That's what happens when you go to Smiths and they're on sell for $1.79 a lb.)

Thanks for any input.

The plan sounds fine and should work. The timing seems to all fit and as long as you have the room in your oven for a full brisket and some pork butts you should be good. It's going to be a lot of work to monitor it all but it should be rewarding. Cooking ahead of time and reheating works well, but you don't really need to do that in this case since you have the room in the smoker and oven for it to all work out. I say go for it!

[Jeff Lebowski]

Is your brisket a full packer or just the flat?

9 hours for a brisket would never be enough for me. I’m surprised to hear you say you’ve never needed more.

I would do the pork now, seal it, and reheat it so you can give your brisket more time. To me that is the obvious place where the plan can go awry.

My briskets are typically done (ready for hold phase) in 7-8 hours.

[CJF]

My briskets are typically done (ready for hold phase) in 7-8 hours.

Seriously? What temp? Do you wrap?

[Jeff Lebowski]

Seriously? What temp? Do you wrap?

I cook for 4 hrs at 225 and then I wrap and continue at 225. Sometimes I do 250 after wrapping.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Seriously? What temp? Do you wrap?

I also trim out that big fat wedge in the middle. That makes the overall chunk of meat more uniform in thickness.

[mtnbiker]

I also trim out that big fat wedge in the middle. That makes the overall chunk of meat more uniform in thickness.

I cut out part of the deckle, but not all of it. My smoker tends to run a little cooler than yours, for a given setting. I typically put it on 'smoke' for 2 hours, then set at 225. When I take it off the smoker and put it in the oven, I generally set the temp at 215. Large briskets tend to take about 14 hours to cook, but it works for me, and we like the result.

[Eddie]

Well - everything worked out, and unless folks were lying, the meat all tasted great! (I'm going with they weren't lying since all the brisket was eaten, as was most of the pulled pork and ribs.)

The pulled pork gave me just a little concern. When I checked its temp 3 hours before our start time, it was still sitting at 180-185. I ended up bumping the oven to 250 to finish it off quicker and let it have more time to sit before time to eat.

The brisket went on the smoker at midnight, into the oven about 5am, and was done cooking between 9-10am, so it was on hold for another 3ish hours before we ate it. Super tender with a good smoke ring.

Ribs was my other area with a little concern. Took them out of the foil to finish them off and they seemed maybe just a little less done than I wanted them to be. I don't like fall off the bone for ribs - I'm a fan of needing to give them a little tug, but then having them come off the bone clean once you do. I tried a different method with my last rib cook, and they weren't done enough. So I went back to my traditional method - and they ended up perfect when it was time to eat.

Not sure I want to do anything with three kinds of meat all targeting the same finishing time again in the future - but it was worth it this time.

In all the hustle, I forgot to take photos to share. Maybe next time.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Bravo!

Next time take some pics.

[Bo Diddley]

In all the hustle, I forgot to take photos to share. Maybe next time.

Um hello. That's not the only thing you forgot.

Address?

[Eddie]

Um hello. That's not the only thing you forgot.

[UVACoug]

Kamado Joe Classic II on sale on Amazon for the next couple hours?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01INNA89S...01INNA89S&th=1

Is this a good deal? I'm thinking about getting it.

[Joe Public]

Kamado Joe Classic II on sale on Amazon for the next couple hours?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01INNA89S...01INNA89S&th=1

Is this a good deal? I'm thinking about getting it.

I haven’t priced them in years, so I don’t know if that is a good price, but I really enjoy my kamado-style cooker.

[Art Vandelay]

Wife wants me to upgrade the Trager for Christmas. I have a 15 year old Elite Pro, which I really like. However, the size and especially the WiFire capability of an new Ironwood 885 sound appealing. Does anyone on hear have the Ironwood 885? I'm curious what, if any, difference the downdraft exhaust makes when cooking.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Wife wants me to upgrade the Trager for Christmas. I have a 15 year old Elite Pro, which I really like. However, the size and especially the WiFire capability of an new Ironwood 885 sound appealing. Does anyone on hear have the Ironwood 885? I'm curious what, if any, difference the downdraft exhaust makes when cooking.

I will never understand the appeal of this. And I am a tech guy. I like to look directly at the meat. And use my thermapen.

[Art Vandelay]

I will never understand the appeal of this. And I am a tech guy. I like to look directly at the meat. And use my thermapen.

I’ve also been primarily been a themapen guy. The main reason I like the thought of WiFi is to be able to start something smoking then be able to increase to a higher temp without physically being at home. If we are ever able to return to normal church in WA, this would be particularly helpful.