Help! I may have bitten off more than I can chew

[intrex]

Let me start this off by saying that I grill a fair amount and have grilled everything imaginable.  Grilling for a party of 20ish people isn't usually a huge deal for me.  The main problem I end up having is the hangover from drinking beer at the grill for a few hours.

I just finished with a double rack UDS smoker build and did the first burn in for a few hours last night.  There is a brisket waiting in my fridge for the very first smoke I have ever done tomorrow night. 

Next Friday we are hosting a party with 20-25 family members and I signed up to do all of the meat on the new UDS smoker.  Can you all make some recommendations for different meats I can smoke at the same time (one on each rack)?  I was thinking of doing another beef brisket and maybe ribs or a pork butt. My plan was to wake up at around 6am Friday morning and get the meat going with a goal of having it ready at 6pm that night.  There isn't going to be anyone at the house from 9-3 so this will need to be something that I can setup and walk away from. 

Am I crazy to try to pull this off being a serious smoker green horn? 

 

[coffee_junkie]

If it where me I would do a few pork butts, but I would start at 4am if you wanna eat at 6pm. Always figure in time to get the smoker ready and at the end you should rest the meat for at least 1 hour, I preferr a couple hours. If you wanna do a brisket for 20 people you should start the night before, they sometimes can take up to 20 hours. I personally would shy away from that for my first big smoke. I did a party for 200 last June and did bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, then shredded and served similar to pulled pork. It was a big hit and took only a fraction of the time that a pork roast would. I brined the night before and smoked for around 5-6 hours until they reached the safe internal temp.

Good luck!

 

[intrex]

Thanks for the feedback coffee, 

I probably should keep it simple and just get a ton of pork butts from Costco.  We will see how the first run goes tomorrow.  The brisket I bought for tomorrow was the smallest one I could find so I am hoping it can be done in 12 hours but maybe that is too ambitious. 

Your fish avatar is awesome.  Were those small salmon, steelhead or something else? 

 

[bruno994]

Your best bet might be to smoke the butts this weekend, pull them, vac seal or freezer bag and reheat next week. 

As far as a 9 hour run on a UDS with no attention, I hope you built a big charcoal basket.  UDS's can be a very efficient smoker, but 9 hours might be a bit much and a big chance taken with it loaded down with meat.  As for the briskets, if you still want to do one, find you one around 12-14#'s, or even 2 smaller ones below 10#, this will help out greatly with cook times, as does cook temp, anything over 275 and your cooking HNF, hot and fast.  This will also dramatically cut down on your smoke times.

Best of luck and take us some pics to drool over.

 

[coffee_junkie]

Your best bet might be to smoke the butts this weekend, pull them, vac seal or freezer bag and reheat next week. 

As far as a 9 hour run on a UDS with no attention, I hope you built a big charcoal basket.  UDS's can be a very efficient smoker, but 9 hours might be a bit much and a big chance taken with it loaded down with meat.  As for the briskets, if you still want to do one, find you one around 12-14#'s, or even 2 smaller ones below 10#, this will help out greatly with cook times, as does cook temp, anything over 275 and your cooking HNF, hot and fast.  This will also dramatically cut down on your smoke times.

Best of luck and take us some pics to drool over

I have run my UDS for 16-18 hours and had fuel left to burn the next time I used it. My charcoal basket it the diameter of the Weber Smokey joe charcoal grate. I can fit almost a whole small bag of royal oak natural lump in it, but never needed to. I think the bigest thing is getting to know your smoker. Also I think the other big factor is how much lit coals you start with.

You are familliar with the "minion method"?

Thanks for the feedback coffee, 

I probably should keep it simple and just get a ton of pork butts from Costco.  We will see how the first run goes tomorrow.  The brisket I bought for tomorrow was the smallest one I could find so I am hoping it can be done in 12 hours but maybe that is too ambitious. 

Your fish avatar is awesome.  Were those small salmon, steelhead or something else? 

Rainbow trout - really good smoked whole on the UDS.

 

[intrex]

Hey Bruno, 

The fire basket is about as large as I could make it and allow room for a custom ash pan.  It measures 2 feet tall and 17 inches in diameter. I haven't fully loaded it up yet but I think it is going to hold at least 20lb of lump charcoal without a problem (which is sitting in my trunk right now :)).  

 

[intrex]

Hey Coffee, 

I just read about the minion method here and was planning to use that exact setup tonight.  I had read about it on another forum but didn't know that is what it was called.  I do a little bit of blacksmithing and make my own charcoal but I can't seem to make anything close the lump sizes that you can buy.  I will probably use the bag I have purchased for the first run and try my homemade charcoal when experimenting.  

In NC we can't get rainbows anywhere close to that size, those are huge.  I have caught steel head in the 10 lb range on the west coast but here a 2 lb rainbow is a very, very rare catch.  

 

[chef jimmyj]

I would be hard pressed to leave a new UDS alone for 9 hours with only 1 practice Smoke under my belt! I have not used a UDS but need to ask...If 16-18 hours is not uncommon at 225*F then based on time constraints if Intrex needs to go Hot and Fast at 325 to 350*F will the 20 lbs of Charcoal last 9 hours unattended?...JJ

 

[chiefmanywrenches]

With ~12-15 lbs. in mine with a bbq guru I can walk away for 10-15 hrs. no problem. I still check it every now and again but never need to touch it. With only using the ball valve for temp adjustment, I make minor changes every 2 hours or so depending on conditions.

 

[geerock]

Bruno has the right idea for you... do a couple of butts in advance. Maybe not a week in advance but a day or two. Tastes better after a night or two of rest IMHO. On the party day throw on a few racks of ribs and some chicken so you can show off your skills and have some beer. They'll love it.

 

[intrex]

 

[intrex]

I think I was really lucky with the first smoke.  The brisket turned out great.  It was a tiny bit overdone but no one noticed other than me.  Is it bad that 1 guy and three girls ate every bit of a 5lb brisket for dinner? 

I woke up at 7 and got the smoker lit with the minion method and dialed in to 225.  I let is sit there for 30 minutes to make sure it was going to stay at 225 and threw the brisket on at 8:45 before heading out the door for meetings.  I got back to the home office around 1 flipped it over to the non fatty side for another 2 hours then wrapped it tin foil and let is rest for about 2.5 hours.  Everything was sliced while my kids were eating dinner at 6:30 (the 4 year old thought it was the best thing ever). 

For the party next weekend I am planning to take the sage advice you all have given me and do the pork butts the day before.  Then do some things on Friday that can smoke in 3-4 hours maybe at higher temps.

Thanks for all of the feedback 

 

[intrex]

Well my father in law just threw a monkey wrench in the plans.  After he heard about the smoker I built he got excited about cooking one huge piece of meat.  It sounds like he is going to get a steamship round (entire cow leg).  I read a few very old posts of other people smoking clods and some mention of people doing a steamship on a spit but haven't really found anything specifically for steamship on a smoker.  Have any of you guys ever tried this or seen it done?  I am imagining this will be a 24hr smoke and or finish in the oven.

I built the UDS more industrial than any other designs I have seen so I think the cooking grate could hold 50lbs but it will be interesting.  I can weld or forge a few support bars onto the grate if needed.  The fire basket should be able to hold enough charcoal to do a 24+ hour smoke.  For the brisket I only had the basket filled up 1/4 high and there was more than half of the basket left after 6 hours. I also have a Maverick ET732 Special Edition Black coming in today so I could set the alarm to wake me up if the temps go haywire while sleeping.

If this can work I just need to convince my wife we can do it:),  

 

[chef jimmyj]

That's a lot of meat for 20-25 People! We used to Roast one every Friday for a Carved Buffet at the first Restaurant I worked in as a Baby Chef...You have a UDS and should have no trouble reaching 250-300*F. You can Smoke it, no problem, ask the Butcher to trim the shank down to save space. The Shank meat makes great Soup or Ground Beef. I use it to make Pho Bo all the time...Anyway at the above temp you can figure 7-8 minutes a pound, but add some CYA time in case something goes wrong. Plan on going no higher than an IT of 125*F as there will be some serious carry over cooking during the 1 hour rest, 10 to 15*F easily. You will have a finished temp of about 140*F which will have the bulk of the meat a nice Medium. The Well Done folks can eat from the ends. Cut back on the IT 5-10* if Med/Rare is desired. If you can fit a pan on the grate under that Monster give this Smokey Au Jus a try but plan on adding Water periodically to maintain the level. Don't keep adding Beef Broth as the result will be too salty. I'll even throw in a Rub too, No Charge...

...JJ

Smokey Au Jus

1- Lg Onion,

4-5 Carrots,

3-4 Ribs Celery

3-4 Peeled Cloves of Garlic

Toss them in a pan under the Beef, and let the whole deal Smoke for one hour,

THEN add 4-6 Cups Beef Broth,

2 Tbs Tomato Paste,

1/2tsp Dry Thyme (4-5 sprigs Fresh)

1-2 ea Bayleaf

Finish the Smoking process to the IT you want. 

While the Roast is resting, dump the pan juices veggies and all into a 2-3Qt Sauce pot and add 1Cup Red Wine, something you like to drink, and bring the Jus to a boil, lower the heat and simmer 20-30 minutes. Strain out the veggies and let the Jus rest a minute or so for the Fat to rise. Skim off the bulk of the fat then using strips of paper towel laid on top of the Jus then quickly removed, take off the last little bit of fat.

The purpose of Smoking the Vegetable for 1 hour before adding the Broth and Herbs is...The Smoked vegetables Roast in the Dry heat concentrating their Flavors and Sweetness giving the finished Jus a Richer, Deeper, Full Flavor.

Serve the sliced Beef Au Jus or thicken the Jus to make Gravy.

NOTE: If you are using this recipe with Brisket, additional Water will have to be added periodically to maintain the proper volume. Do not add more Broth as repeated addition and reduction will make the Au Jus too salty..

Bubba Beef Rub

2T Turbinado Sugar

2T Kosher Salt

2T Black Peppercorns

1T Coriander Seed

1T Dry Minced Onion

1T Dry Minced Garlic

1tsp Allspice Berries

1tsp Mustard Seed

1tsp Dry Thyme Leaves

3 Bay Leaves, crumbled

1tsp Juniper Berries 

Add Cayenne if heat is desired.

All Spices are Whole and are toasted in a dry pan over Medium heat until fragrant. The Garlic and Onion do not need to be toasted.

Let the Spices cool then Grind in a cheapo Coffee Grinder until slightly less than Coarse. Mix with the Salt and Sugar. Store in an air tight container. Makes about a Half cup.

 

[intrex]

Thanks Chef Jimmy,

You are a lifesaver.  I was starting to stress out about trying to cook this beast with the little bit of guidance that I was finding through google searches.  This is exactly what I was looking for.  Now I have to see if we can actually get our hand on one of these.  I have to get it to today to make this work out so I am about to start ringing the butchers around town. 

 

[chef jimmyj]

Any time my Friend...JJ

 

[intrex]

Well plans change quickly,

I wasn't able to find a butcher that could get the monstrous steamship round in a day. We ended up getting a 30lb clod which was about all the uds can handle.

The uds runs completely differently with this huge piece of meat vs with a 5lb brisket. I am probably letting in double the air intake to keep it at 225.

It has been 13 hours and the internal temp is at 187. I was planning to pull it at 193 but wondering if I should pull it earlier because we have about 8 hours before people are going to be here and I can just let it rest.

My father in law is insisting that we will do the steamship for the next big occasion so jimmies awesome recipe response will not be wasted.

 

[intrex]

Wow that

 

[intrex]

Stupid tapatalk posted before I was ready. Wow, that was a ton of meet. we barely put a dent in it. If you like brisket clod is a great cut. Very similar but huge and more variation in the meat.