Competition cooking question

[funk]

I am thinking of entering my first competition locally in the summer, but wanted to start planning now.   My biggest questions is when doing brisket and Butt, do most competition teams finish cooking these early and then wrap and hold until turn in time?  If this is the case, how far in advance should I them done?   I have a small WSM and a UDS so I am trying to figure out how I would get all 4 meats done.   Any additional advice would be helpful.

 

[so ms smoker]

  Hi Funk. Many variables. Kinda depends on turn in times and turn in quantities. If you can do brisket and pork butt on one and chicken and ribs on the other, this will help. Brisket and pork butt take about the same time. Five to six hours for ribs and about 3 hours for chicken. (depending on what chicken parts you do) Brisket and pork butt can be held for 4-5 hours if wrapped in foil and put in a cooler so you can do one of each on your smokers and then hold while the ribs and chicken are smoked. May need to re-heat some before turn in time.Hope this helps some.

   Mike

 

[funk]

Hey Mike. Thanks for the reply. This does help me out.

 

[gomez93]

I usually aim for the brisket and butt to be done around 3 hours prior to turn in. This gives some leeway for that hunk of meat that just doesn't want to get done.
The biggest thing will be to set up in your drive way and do a practice run. Make a list of everything you use so you'll have what you need at the comp and you can work on timing at the sime time.

 

[so ms smoker]

  Giving yourself enough time is the key!  Practioe cooking of each piece will help you know when to start each. Good Luck!

  Mike

 

[pkerchef]

That's how we do it we get them ready and hold them in a cambro until turn in time we only use one smoker to do it all this way. It is a big smoker though. Pkerchef