So of course for my Superbowl party, I had to smoke meat. I did a 8 lb pork butt, 12 lb brisket, and 3 bags of wings. Did the pork butt and brisket Saturday, and the wings the day of. Here are some pics of the prep.....
Here is in the process of....with my first temp check
For the first time I did the pork butt in a pan, so it would capture the juices and then I used those in the crock pot day of during the reheat process + some apple juice, and it was gone within an hour after I set it out.
The brisket, I actually let sit for an hour, wrapped in foil and put in the fridge. The next day, I put the brisket on a wire rack on top of a deep pan, filled the pan with beef broth, and reheat in the oven at 250 degrees for a few hours.
Final Product
Finally quick shot of the chicken wings smoking
Overall Thoughts:
Pork Butt - Unfortunately the pork butt I got had the fat tissue pulling off the bone when I took it out of the wrap, so I had no choice but to start off in the pan (I didn't have any butcher's string to use). The pork was great, but I am going to let it sit on the grill for several hours then transfer to pan. Before this I had always done it with no pan at all, but it just is another twist I can add.
Brisket - This is my second attempt at brisket (yes attempt). I felt much more comfortable with the trimming from 12 lbs off the shelf, it was a little over 9 after trimming. After the brisket reached 175 on the smoker I wrapped it up and placed it back on. Also the entire time was fat cap down. I think my two biggest problems are slicing and overcooking it. The brisket after a few slices was starting to look like pulled pork at points. Feel free to add any advice. I brought the brisket up to 195 internally then let it cool down for about an hour. My first brisket was extremely dry, this one was better with the injection, but I know I have room for improvement here.
Chicken Wings - I soaked in sugar, salt and water for 2 hours, then took them into a 5 gallon pan, poured on the rub, tossed, and then put on the smoker at the highest temp it would go (power smoking). They turned out really good, spicy as well. The fast smoking seems to cut down on the rubberyness of the skin, but still had some hints of it.
Wood for the butt and brisket was hickory, and chicken wings was cherry.
Here is in the process of....with my first temp check
For the first time I did the pork butt in a pan, so it would capture the juices and then I used those in the crock pot day of during the reheat process + some apple juice, and it was gone within an hour after I set it out.
The brisket, I actually let sit for an hour, wrapped in foil and put in the fridge. The next day, I put the brisket on a wire rack on top of a deep pan, filled the pan with beef broth, and reheat in the oven at 250 degrees for a few hours.
Final Product
Finally quick shot of the chicken wings smoking
Overall Thoughts:
Pork Butt - Unfortunately the pork butt I got had the fat tissue pulling off the bone when I took it out of the wrap, so I had no choice but to start off in the pan (I didn't have any butcher's string to use). The pork was great, but I am going to let it sit on the grill for several hours then transfer to pan. Before this I had always done it with no pan at all, but it just is another twist I can add.
Brisket - This is my second attempt at brisket (yes attempt). I felt much more comfortable with the trimming from 12 lbs off the shelf, it was a little over 9 after trimming. After the brisket reached 175 on the smoker I wrapped it up and placed it back on. Also the entire time was fat cap down. I think my two biggest problems are slicing and overcooking it. The brisket after a few slices was starting to look like pulled pork at points. Feel free to add any advice. I brought the brisket up to 195 internally then let it cool down for about an hour. My first brisket was extremely dry, this one was better with the injection, but I know I have room for improvement here.
Chicken Wings - I soaked in sugar, salt and water for 2 hours, then took them into a 5 gallon pan, poured on the rub, tossed, and then put on the smoker at the highest temp it would go (power smoking). They turned out really good, spicy as well. The fast smoking seems to cut down on the rubberyness of the skin, but still had some hints of it.
Wood for the butt and brisket was hickory, and chicken wings was cherry.
