Brisket and pork butt

  • Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
SMF is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

oregonbbqtime

Newbie
Original poster
Apr 25, 2017
23
13
Oregon
This weekend we are going to be cooking brisket and a pork butt for my family about 14 people aging from 2 to 70. We've more or less got the pork butts figured out.but We have a 15 pound packer brisket and it will only be our second attempt at brisket. What time and what temp do you recommend to have it ready to pull off by around 3:00 in the afternoon. We have an hour drive after that for it to rest in the cooler. we are also hoping to make our first attempt at burnt ends. We are cooking on a WSM 18.5. any advice would be awesome.
 
I've never smoked brisket and pork butt at the same time, but I have tons of experience with both.  Pound for pound, my briskets cook faster than my pork butts.  Could just be me.  In the past month or so I had a 14 lb brisket take 17 hours, a 9.2 lb butt take 19.5 hours, and a 10 lb butt take 21.5 hours.  All were smoked at roughly 250F. 

You could stagger their start.  I'd target them to finish a couple hours before your drive, just for a built-in cushion.  They'd be fine for a 3+ hour rest if they finished on time or earlier. 
 
I always cook my pork butts well in advance. Pull, vacuum seal in 3lb portions and freeze. I always have about 40lbs of pulled pork in the freezer. They freeze very well and reheat easily.

I have done briskets the day before and rest them whole overnight. Rewarm them whole the next day in the smoker or a oven set at 200 to 225 then slice.

To me trying to cook these two meats on site the day of the event is asking for trouble due to the length of time these take. Very unpredictable length of time at that. Also both require a good amount of resting time.

Of course the other option is staying up all night the day of the event and go 24 hours without sleep.
biggrin.gif
 
I think we are opting for the no sleep option. We are going to start the brisket about 10 pm the night before. (The first brisket we cooked was only a 7 pound point and it took 10+ hours, our butts usually only take 1.5 hours/pound) we're going to wrap the brisket about 4 am. And then start the 7 lb butt with fresh wood. (Going hickory/cherry for both). That way we don't over smoke the brisket and and the butt gets plenty of flavor. As for the burnt ends any advice there?
 
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

Hot Threads

Clicky