Dual drip pans for 45 pounds of meat on XL?

GoooDawgs

I've got a large cook this weekend for the XL.  I'll have 27 pounds of pork butt (3 of them) and I'm planning on putting them on the top rack of the Adjustable Rig, and a 17 pound CAB prime brisket on the main grate. 

In the past I've been able to arrange it so that the butts are not dripping directly on the brisket, but with 3 I don't have a chance.  I'm thinking I'll put a small drip pan sitting on the steel horizontal bars that come with the AR, and just have this positioned 1 level below the top circle grate. 

Or, another option would be to throw all the butts on the bottom and have the brisket on top and not using any drip pan between the meats, I would just need to make sure I have enough room.  I don't like the idea of having the brisket high in the dome as I'm not sure how that'll affect the cook time... 

How would you guys set this up?  As brisket is the guest of honor, maybe I'll put him on top... 

johnnyp

GoooDawgs said:

  As brisket is the guest of honor, maybe I'll put him on top... 

That's how I would go as well.   watch for bark development and flip if needed.  FTC if it finishes early.

cookingdude555

what do you anticipate finishing first?  I would put that on top.  It sounds like three smaller butts would finish before a (holy crap) 17 lb brisket.  sounds like an awesome cook, looking forward to seeing your progress this weekend.  good luck.

BulletGrillHouse

I would want the butts on top in the higher heat.  Interesting to see what flavor may develop from the drippings.

fishlessman

ive done the butts dripping on briskets and did not notice anything off with the cook. i do however buy butts with no fat cap

DoubleEgger

This was my setup from last year. I used a CGS drip pan and it didn’t overflow. I’d get a turkey baster or something similar just to be safe. I would not use two pans. You need the air circulation. The SRF brisket cooked very fast that high up in the dome. Just put everything on at the same time and FTC as needed. 

johnnyp

fishlessman said:

ive done the butts dripping on briskets and did not notice anything off with the cook. i do however buy butts with no fat cap

Fish, my advice was thinking about any dripping fat hindering bark development.  Thoughts?

^although, I suppose the extra drip pan could solve that problem.

fishlessman

ive set up like this before, the lowest brisket had the most runoff and it was from the upper brisket mostly, these were just flats and not much fat cap.  im no brisket god or a texan so it just didnt matter to me    for me, this is too much work with a large

SonVolt

I would cook the pork butts up top without a drip pan for the first 4-6 hours... don't think the dripping fat is going to hurt anything for that short amount of time. Then, if I was worried about the continued dripping, set the butts on top of sheet pan lined with a resting rack. 

GoooDawgs

@DoubleEgger I like the way that set-up looks and that you could still fit the brisket on the sliding grate.  Did you try and keep the temp lower than you usually would for brisket to adjust for the reflective heat?  

I think I'll put the FB300 probe on the brisket rack at 240 or so to play it safe. 

GoooDawgs

and @DoubleEgger you should cut the front section off of that top ring of your AR.  I forgot who shared that trick first on here, but I did it to my XL and it's so much easier to maneuver around now.   No more burning wrist on the ring!  

DoubleEgger

GoooDawgs said:

@DoubleEgger I like the way that set-up looks and that you could still fit the brisket on the sliding grate.  Did you try and keep the temp lower than you usually would for brisket to adjust for the reflective heat?  

I think I'll put the FB300 probe on the brisket rack at 240 or so to play it safe. 

My egg settles in at 235

GoooDawgs

Man this cook is going to take awhile.  17 pound brisket, trimmed to probably 15 pounds, will take about 1.25 - 1.5 hours per pound - that's nearly 19 hours.  Three 9 pound butts but will be around 2 hours a pound at this temp, so at least they should all be done between the 18-20 hour mark.   This will be a glorious cook!

DoubleEgger

GoooDawgs said:

Man this cook is going to take awhile.  17 pound brisket, trimmed to probably 15 pounds, will take about 1.25 - 1.5 hours per pound - that's nearly 19 hours.  Three 9 pound butts but will be around 2 hours a pound at this temp, so at least they should all be done between the 18-20 hour mark.   This will be a glorious cook!

That’s what I thought and everything cooked ridiculously fast. I had to hold that brisket for 8hrs. 

lousubcap

I'm always with the brisket on top (cow vs pig...;)  ).  If nothing else you need to focus more on nailing the finish line with the brisket and top access is easier.  That said, it will cook faster up in the dome so be ready for that.  But a brisket and FTC are a true match.  The piggies will be in hog heaven.  Enjoy the cook and follow-on eats. 

fishlessman

GoooDawgs said:

Man this cook is going to take awhile.  17 pound brisket, trimmed to probably 15 pounds, will take about 1.25 - 1.5 hours per pound - that's nearly 19 hours.  Three 9 pound butts but will be around 2 hours a pound at this temp, so at least they should all be done between the 18-20 hour mark.   This will be a glorious cook!

it is faster than you think, my guess is to maintain cooking temps up top with all that cold meat you are starting with a much bigger fire below which increases heat flow.  be careful in the beginning, the cook i posted had a 1000 degree fire below the indirect with a dome temp below 200, i had to back everything off for a few hours before the temps caught up

Legume

You may struggle to get a brisket that large on the top of an AR - length and height.  The setup @DoubleEgger shared with brisket down a level or two would probably be better if you have more than one set of rails and oval rack.

GoooDawgs

Did a trial run this morning to figure out the best position.  Even with the brisket down a level or 2, the size of it puts it about 2 inches away from the dome.    And with 3 - 9 pound butts below its hard to get the top grate down any further. 



Right now I think the way to go is put the brisket in the middle of the main grate at the felt level, and have the butts positioned on the outside of the top grate (that will be a level or 2 from the top).  I think I can preserve 80% of the bark this way.    



In the setup above, I think if I have the butts pushed against this top ring the brisket can ride as normal.

Should be fun.  

SonVolt

How many people are you serving? You could always cook just the flat and save the point for another cook. 

GoooDawgs

SonVolt said:

How many people are you serving? You could always cook just the flat and save the point for another cook. 

That's blasphemy!   The point stays! 

Canugghead

How about having the brisket back on the upper level, with the middle propped up like a roller coaster?  Kind of like this ...

DoubleEgger

GoooDawgs said:

Did a trial run this morning to figure out the best position.  Even with the brisket down a level or 2, the size of it puts it about 2 inches away from the dome.    And with 3 - 9 pound butts below its hard to get the top grate down any further. 



Right now I think the way to go is put the brisket in the middle of the main grate at the felt level, and have the butts positioned on the outside of the top grate (that will be a level or 2 from the top).  I think I can preserve 80% of the bark this way.    



In the setup above, I think if I have the butts pushed against this top ring the brisket can ride as normal.

Should be fun.  

I’d rather have my butts basting in brisket drippings than pork dripping on my brisket. 

fishlessman

i like the bottom pic, add two butts on each side of the brisket, add the top grid with 3 more butts

GoooDawgs

Maybe I should just go buy another egg... 

fishlessman

GoooDawgs said:

Maybe I should just go buy another egg... 

then you could cook 2 giant briskets and 14 butts

SmokeyPitt

Shift the brisket to one side a little and then you can fit two butts plus the brisket on the main grid and then cook one butt on top (positioned over the others). 

Just another thought is you could turn the top butt into pork butt burnt ends. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hG68omW470Q

GoooDawgs

I went with @SmokeyPitt 's recommendation above.  Never had this much protein in the egg before... 

littlerascal56

When I get that much to cook, it goes on the gravity feed... i use hotel pans for drip pans!

Scantron

How did it turn out, @GoooDawgs ?