Breasts \'n Butts

Bet that subject got some attention! Sorry to disappoint but it's probably not what you think.

I was tasked this Thanksgiving with cooking 2 turkey breasts and 2 pork butts for a family gathering of 35. Although all would fit on my large egg, after some research I decided the cooking times / temperatures weren't compatible with doing all 4 at once on the egg. Up to the attic to drag out my old trusty Mr. Meat electric smoker for the butts; the egg was reserved for the birds. Around 10 P.M. the night before I put the butts in the smoker over a pan of water plus a bottle of my home brew (Vienna Lager). Threw a few home-grown hickory chips on and forgot about it for a few hours. Meanwhile, the breasts were brining (a gallon of water, 1 cup of kosher salt, 1 cup of brown sugar, half cup of honey). Set the alarm for 3 A.M. and went to bed. Up at 3, I fired up the egg, put the plate-setter on legs up, pulled the breasts from the brine (total brining time of 24 hours) turned them meat-side down on my foil-covered V-rack, and covered them with strips of bacon:


Let egg temp stabilize at 325, then put the breasts on over a pan with another bottle of the lager. Threw some more hickory chips on the electric smoker and on the egg. About 3 hours later, the turkeys were looking good:



Took the turkeys off and double-wrapped them in heavy foil, put them in an ice chest, then moved the butts to the egg to boost the temp just a tad:


Removed the butts and gave them the double-foil wrap treatment, then into the ice chest with the turkeys for the 2 hour trip to the scene of the party. Upon arrival, I unwrapped and sliced them all just before serving time. Got rave reviews with very few leftovers!