Diner at 7! Don't be late.

[smoke_chef]

OK... so... this is a hypothetical question but something I have been confused about since joining this forum.

Say I'm feeding 10 people on a given day. I've told them all that dinner will be ready at 7. I've got ribs and a butt in the smoker. (or what ever the menu of the day is. Could be brisket??) Any way, do you guys know your smokers so well that you can plan the cook time and hit it? Or, do you do it well enough in advance to know you will be done and then just re-heat stuff? It seems like you don't want to miss that magical moment of bringing it out of the smoker and everyone ooooing and aweing over the finished (or near finished) product? I've read in posts that some people wrap a brisket and put it in a cooler until diner time? I guess that's one way to go. Or, is it the only way to go? Would this work for most cuts of meat?

as a follow up question... I'm completely convinced on the necessity of letting your meat "rest" but is the resting process so long that the meat is no longer table ready? I realize rest time varies depending on the meat. But.. smaller meat, shorter rest time... also quicker to become to cold to serve. No?

 

[richtee]

Something like ribs can be called pretty close, or fattys, and poultry. But butts and brisket are toughies. The cooler method <foil, towel-can even preheat the cooler with hot water> will keep the larger cuts "table ready" for hours. I have used it for 3 hours and the butt was still too hot to pull immediately.

Resting time is related to size of cut... rest foiled, or at least in the pan covered, depending on the finishing method. 15 min is about all I usually go, or until the meat is reasonably "handle-able" temp wise... for the pulled/roasted stuff. Now...a rare grilled steak... maybe only 3 min.

 

[bertjo44]

Thanks Smoke and Rich. I had been thinking about that as well. That is kind of what I had concluded but it is nice to convince yourself so if you commit to providing a smoked dinner for company you'll know what you have to do.

 

[richtee]

Forgot to add... you COULD do some fatty appetizers or ABT's for the Oooo/Ahhh factor.. :{)

 

[smoke_chef]

Thanks Rich. I guess I was making it more complicated than it actually is.

 

[gramason]

If i'm doing pork, I will cook the day before, and reheat. Then you can be sure you a ready for dinner, and you don't have people waiting.

 

[fatback joe]

I'll second what Rich said. You can pretty much nail it on everything except the butts and brisket, both of which benefit from the long rest so it works out just fine.

If you are seriously wanting the ooh and aah effect on the larger cuts, get them done, let them rest and then 10minutes before the guests arrive put it back in the smoker so you can pull it out and get to work on pulling/slicing.

 

[capt dan]

Thats all some great advice. If I was going to actually plan a dinner time, I would make sure that I gave myself at least an hour extra for ribs, and I would do the brisket, chuck, or pork butts the day before. They seem to always mess up a schedule when there is one!

 

[smoke_chef]

Thanks to everyone on this topic. It's one that has had me stumped. Especially since I have dreams of one day owning a BBQ restaurant. (I now know that I am much farther away from that than I thought

) Oh well, practice makes perfect. I guess I'll just have to keep smoking and keep smoking.

Any way... for reheating... what is the best way to do it? In the oven I guess? Covered probably? What temp? Something low maybe? 225 or so??

 

[ron50]

You can reheat in the oven at 250 in a foil tray. If it's a brisket or butt you can add some of the juices or a finishing sauce for some added moisture and cover lightly with foil. You can also reheat it in the smoker.