Some very random questions...

[mschwartz26]

After a little research on this site and google (he/she knows everything), I wanted to get some advise from the seasoned pros on here.  I know there are those that inject and those that don't.  There are those that wrap and those that don't.  I have also read that marinading/rubbing will not penetrate that far into meat and you are basically affecting a very small area of the meat (millimeters if that).  If you are pulling then that flavor/spice will get distributed throughout...which makes sense.  This could either go in the pork or beef forum but since I love brisket...it is going here.

Background - we are having my son's 2 year old bday on 10/4.  Not that anyone here knows me...but we also just found out we are having a baby girl (due April 8th)...so numerous reasons to celebrate/drink heavily!  I have a 17lb brisket, 9-10lb pork butt, 3 racks of ribs, wings, and a ton of other things to make for the party.  I am going to be out of town for work until next Thurs night.  I just purchased the brisket, butt, and ribs today.  They are all cryovac'd with a sell by date starting the day after I will cook them.  I purchased them today so I can start cooking them next Friday (the day before the party) in the am as I get in late the night before.  The business costco I get my meat from is hit or miss with good briskets so I wanted to buy something early if I could ($3.39/lb...love the fact brisket price is coming back down!).  

So...here are some questions...and I know these are more of personal opinions...but looking for thoughts.  Since I have approximately a week before I am going to cook the ribs, brisket, butt, and wings...thoughts on these options:

1. Leave the wings frozen and the brisket/butt/ribs in the cryo and rub next thurs night and cook next Friday.  I will cook everything on Friday and reheat on Sat for the party (this is true for all the options).

2.Thaw/remove everything from cyro and rub now and then cook 1 week from today.  I have some worries this might be too long for meat to be rubbed...but not sure.

3. Put the different items in marinades and let them soak for the next week.  These marinades would probably have salt in them and thus reduce the concern...but again...not a food safety expert.

4.  I have a Marinade Express with the chef drum.  I could use the container it comes with and the chef drum to marinade 2 items and leave these 2 items on vacuum the entire week.  As a side note...I got the Marinade Express as a tool to hopefully make my cooking better.  I am still trying to figure out if it makes any difference!

4a. Instead of breaking the cryo's now...I could start the vacuum marinading next Thurs night and cook on Friday.

I love all the recently discussions on to wrap on not to.  I have experimented with all different kinds of cooking methods.  I really do love the bark but I think for this cook (due to time), I am going to go to a cooking method that  used to be talked about on this forum...but not much anymore.  The Smokie Okie method has produced some of my best briskets to date for me.  This is basically hot and fast but with some tweaks.  I love experimenting...my problem is there are so many options out there...and I need a bigger family to help me eat it all...as state above...they are on the way!

I will stop  with the typing now. Hopefully I have conveyed all of this in a way peeps can understand and respond back.  I appreciate any feedback and thoughts or suggestions.

PardonMan...I will be making your world famous cole slaw for the party...so no pressue!

Thanks for any feedback.  I will try to provide Qviews..but can't promise anything with all this food, 60 people, and all the beers I will drink preparing for it!

Mark

 

[flyboys]

First off, congrats to you and the Mrs!  Sounds like you are setting the bar pretty high for your kids birthday parties!

I'll give you my opinion, but bear in mind I am a weekend warrior, not a professional, and I haven't worked in the food industry for almost 20 years.  So hopefully someone smarter than me will come along after the bump.

I don't know that I would marinate the meats for a week.  The vinegar that is in marinades can actually cook the meat and make it overpowering.  As far as letting it sit in a rub for a week, you would be taking it out of the cryovac and introducing it to air all week in the fridge.  That should not be done with a regular rub, that should be done with a cure, with very specific measurements, and very specific ingredients.  Btw- cured pork butt is one of my favorites!  Do a search for pulled ham if it sounds interesting to you.  Again, this is what I would think.

I cooked for a party of around 80 people earlier this year.  I made pulled pork and pulled ham.  I cooked it all about a month ahead of time.  I vacuum packed it, froze it and reheated it at the hall.  It tasted like it just came out of the smoker.  No one knew that it had been frozen except me.  If you are in a spot to do that, I think that is your safest bet.  If not, I think I would freeze the uncooked meat.  I know the sell by date is not until the day after you are going to cook it, but I have purchased plenty of meats in my lifetime that went bad before the due date.  Not to mention my first real job was as a meat cutter and one of the first things I learned was not to trust the sell by dates.  I would hate to open the meats up the night before you are going to cook it, two days before the party, and smell that terrible smell of meat going bad and know that all of that money just went down the toilet.  If that is not an option, then I would leave it in the cryovac until the night before the party, hope for the best, and rub it down then.  You will probably be ok doing that, I tend to over worry these things.

I am with you on Smokie Okie's method.  I haven't seen his name on the boards in a long, long time.  I do that with butts now.  I'll bump the heat up to around 300 and come foil time, finish it in the oven.  I really can't tell the difference when cooking it that way, and it has come out smoky, tender, and juicy each time.  Within 12 hours, they were cooked, rested, pulled, and packed.  That is a good thing when cooking for that many people.

As far as to foil or not to foil, if I'm cooking fast with butts, I'll foil.  If I'm doing it regular, I'll let her ride.  Ribs, it depends on what type of mood I'm in.  It all still tastes good either way!

I hope I didn't steer you wrong at all, that is just what I would do and my thoughts as to why.  Good luck with the cook and the new baby!!