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Double Smoke question, Pork Butt & Brisket

SeattleQ
SeattleQ Posts: 20
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Hello everyone,

It has been awhile since I have posted but I have a big task for this Saturday. I am having a house warming party at our new house and I am attempting a pork shoulder and brisket double smoke using the BGE grill extender.

I have done both pork shoulders and briskets individually, but have never attempted both at the same time. When I bought my egg, the sales person showed me pics of him using the grill extender to do multiple pieces of meat on his egg. I have purchased a DigiQ DX and will be using it for this attempt. I know from past experience that an 8lbs pork shoulder typically takes about 13.75 to 14 hours, the 8lbs brisket was about 8 to 9 hours for a thin brisket.

My question is, should I allow a lot of extra time for the smoke since I am doing 2 pieces of meat? I assume that my new DigiQ will keep the 225 temp that I am looking for, but I am not sure if the time that I am allowing will be enough. Below is the time I am planning on.

-Party start time 6:30pm Saturday
-Pork shoulder start time 3am Saturday morning, allowing for a 13 to 14 hour cook and than a 1 to 2 hour rest in foil.
-Brisket start time 6am to 7am on grill extender above pork shoulder. Allowing for an 8 to 10 hour cook and than a 1 to 2 hour rest in foil.
-Carving both around 7pm.

I have considered setting the DigiQ at 250 rather than 225 since I am doing a double smoke. If anyone has experience doing multiple smokes on their egg, please send me any advice or comments.

Thanks & happy smoking/grilling!
SeattleQ

Comments

  • The time will be the same for the two cuts of meat. The brisket won't know the butt is there and the butt won't know the brisket is there. B)

    Remember - You can double wrap the butt with foil and cover with towels in a cooler and hold for several hours - just make sure the temp stays above 140. Definitely would put the brisket on around 5 in case it takes a little longer - foil and hold just like the butt.

    Good luck with it.

    Two butts over a brisket B)
    IMG_1054800x600.jpg
  • Photo Egg
    Photo Egg Posts: 12,110
    Frank, you make it all look easy.
    Darian
    Thank you,
    Darian

    Galveston Texas
  • I would cook at 250, not because you have two pieces of meat on the Egg, but because that's the dome temp I cook my brisket and pork shoulders at.

    225 is lower than necessary in my opinion and in my experience, shoulders take longer than briskets however they don't need to rest as long as a brisket before serving.

    I generally pull and serve by shoulder soon after it's done cooking while my briskets sit in a cooler for 3+ hours before I slice.
  • What about trimming the brisket, the last few I did I left the fat and they turned out good. I have been doing a lot of research and there seems to be two schools of thought. I have always thought you want the fat to help flavor the meat as it smokes.
  • Cruezn
    Cruezn Posts: 317
    I trim the fat to about 1/4 inch on my briskets. Then smoke it fat side down. I like the fat cap to protect the meat from the heat. I don't believe the melting fat adds anything to the flavor or tenderness, IMHO.
  • Photo Egg
    Photo Egg Posts: 12,110
    I normally trim mine. Esp if I'm going to have a couple butts on top. Everyone has their own fav way.
    Darian
    Thank you,
    Darian

    Galveston Texas
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,668
    with that setup the butts are usually done in 14 with the same sized brisket flat done about 12 hours for me. i think the briskets dont see as much heat between the indirect setup and butt. i cook them fat down on the brisket and most of the fat taken off the butt, too much fat dripping on the brisket washes off some rub so i trim those butts up. i would put them on at the same time and shoot for 4 if your slicing ang pulling just before 7. when the meat is done wrapped in foil in a cooler with towels to keep it hot til its time to eat, it will stay hot for a good 4 hours that way.
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • :) You know it is

    Light, rub, stabilize, hook up digi Q, load, sleep, wake, remove, rest, pull/slice, enjoy :)

    Lots of verbs used in this post B)
  • I did that same cook last year and planning it again this Friday night / Saturday. Plan to eat around 4ish depending on how things go. I'll be cooking a 14+ Lb. full packer and 17+ pork shoulder. Last year I started around 11:30pm. The brisket was done in 12 hours and the pork went 15. This year I'll be using a Digi Q if it gets here in time. I'll shoot for 225 at the lower grid and brisket, with the pork somewhere between 225 and 250. If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions...I'm all ears.

    Jim
  • Thanks to everyone for their advice. my feeling is that your typical butt is usually about the same thickness, the brisket can be a different story. I have not yet seen the meat, picking it up at the butcher tomorrow and looking forward to another smoking adventure. Below is my house warming menu:

    Hickory Smoked Pulled Pork
    Hickory Smoked Brisket
    Homemade BBQ Sauce
    Homemade BBQ Baked Beans
    Homemade Red Potatoe Salad
    Homemade Cole Slaw with Fennel

    SeattleQ