Honestly, now...I'm clergy, so don't fib!!!

Smokin' Padre · October 2010

OK ~ last Monday night, I did the insane and cooked baby back ribs (6 racks) and two pork butts for a group of clergy who met at my church last Tuesday for lunch. I won't go into a long winded explanation, but my reputation, thanks to the Egg, as a BBQ fanatic, had spread ~ and so, when I was asked to host the next clergy gathering with my bishop, I agreed and decided to go "whole hog" so to speak...without using the whole hog. I call it insane only because one pork butt decided that it didn't want to be like the other, and raced to the finish line. So by the time I was finished dealing with it, the second one was ready for its turn which, in reality, meant no sleep for me on Monday night...which meaant it was harder than you know what to stay awake for the actual meeting.

All this is to say that the lunch was VERY successful. For those who have not yet discovered, Adam Perry Lang has a wonderful book out and I used his recipe, along with my own twists and turns, for the pork butt. It was well liked and I was glad of the sacrifice.

Now the question ~ that requires honesty ~ because, believe it or not, I am indeed clergy and God will tell me if you are fibbing ~ but in order to make all this work...that is, cooking the pork butts and the baby back ribs...I made an Excel spreadsheet with times so that I could be sure that nothing was missed. My wife, who loves me, calls this a "bit" anal retentive...I call it being organized. Anyone else out there guilty of making themselves a spreadsheet? I found it IMMENSELY helpful. Even though one butt raced ahead of the other so that I recieved absoulutely NO sleep on Monday night, I'd do it again in a heartbeat...and, in fact, am doing it again on Saturday night for some friends.

So, what say you? Do you play it by ear or do you play it by schedule? What works for you...and what doesn't???

In closing, I love God...but I am also MIGHTY fond of Adam Perry Lang and his book "Serious About BBQ"....

Frank from Houma · October 2010

I do plan but I haven't made a spreadsheet. Just do it in my noggin.

I feel like I just went to confession

WessB · October 2010

No 2 pieces of meat will ever cook exactly the same.....but if it makes you happy..keep documenting..

dhuffjr · October 2010

For competitions I've got a schedule that we go with. For home I've been known to play with the temperature and use such devices as foil to get er done when I want it done.

As far as spread sheets.... I have one of message's I've preached, the when where and what being the items of interest.

Mr. & Mrs Potatohead · October 2010

Padre:
Spreadsheet...NO!!
But, documentation when I'm doing a BIG one...YES!!
Last spring I had better then 85 people come through the door(so to speak)and I had check lists and notebooks galore!
When I catered for 50, for a week...I had even more notes :woohoo: :woohoo: !
If I'm just cooking for me...It's mostly a wing and a prayer

!

2Fategghead · October 2010

It's just Cindy and I with company once in a while so maybe a piece of paper cause my noggin was abused as a youth. 16 years clean and sober if I counted right.

I did give it all to God. Sometimes I try to take it back but, I stay firm and force it back.

Frank I did confess. :woohoo:

It can't hurt.

Oh and give the bishop my best. I need all the help I can get.

[Deleted User] · October 2010

I need to write down my game plan by hand whenever I have a big cook (for me) and there is a timetable I have to meet.

Examples:

- cooking 4 Butts for a school function that need to be delivered at a certain time.
- cooking a standing rib roast for a family gathering that I don't do more than once a year
- cooking stuff to bring to someone else's house and I want to be there by a certain time.

Excel is just a tool so if that's what you're comfortable with, have at it!

SmokeyPitt · October 2010

Padre,

I too have done a spreadsheet on multiple occasions. I am a computer geek by trade, so maybe it does not count.

I don't usually print it out or even refer to it during the cook. I mainly just use it to calculate the "light time" and the "meat on" time. If I were doing a complex cook I wouldn't think twice about printing out my schedule. My wife already knows that I am at least a tad OCD so she wouldn't be surprised

.

SmokeyPitt · October 2010

Padre,

I meant to ask- could you provide some brief details on how you managed 6 racks and 2 butts? Did you do any of it at the same time? You have 1 large correct?

deepsouth · October 2010

WessB wrote:

No 2 pieces of meat will ever cook exactly the same.....but if it makes you happy..keep documenting..

this.

and wess should know. he's a documenting fool!!!

;o)

Smokin' Padre · October 2010

Hi, Smokey ~ I cooked the two pork butts on my large BGE but...uh...used my "other smoker"

....for the six racks of ribs.

It's heresy, I know... I've done four butts on the large and that worked well, but I couldn't figure out a way to manage it otherwise at the time.

In hindsight, depending on the size of the PBs, I could consider using the two tier rack and move them up to the second tier before putting the ribs on to start cooking on the grill grate. That way the PBs would help baste them. (I wouldn't want to put a raw product over a partially cooked product!) In this case, however, the PBs covered almost the entire bottom grill, so I'd have to go smaller. So I think that it could be done but I'd want to test it out before engaging company with it. I think the time would be extended.

Smokin' Padre · October 2010

Smokey ~ how do you use your spreadsheet?

I use three columns on mine: Time; Action; and Actual Time. I print mine out and fill in the actual time as I go along. When cooking more than one product, I found it to be helpful to write down everything regarding that HAS to be done so I don't miss a step and beat myself up later; and looking at past charts gives me a relatively good sense of WHEN things will need to be done which then gives me an idea of when other things (like making sauces and wrapping mixtures)CAN be done.

fishlessman · October 2010

most i ever do is write the time it went on in pencil on the fridge door :laugh: bet it says 9:00 on the camp fridge from last years tday turkey :laugh:

SmokeyPitt · October 2010

As long as your other smoker was a medium big green egg that is no problem at all :P

I knew it had to be something like that- it would be a really tight fit! I think it would be difficult to do more than a couple of racks with all those PBs.

For my next gathering, I am going to try cooking the PBs the day before so I have my egg available to cook other things the day of. IMO, pulled pork is just as good reheated. Maybe that is heresy! Just to keep things legit, I will reheat the pp in a foil pan with some BBQ sauce added. I'm thinking that might come out pretty tastee because the sauce would soak up some smoky goodness.

icemncmth · October 2010

I do just follow the link

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AnoEPeLfdrc7dFNuVzd2MkZyRnhvT096ZHA0Ull6NEE&hl=en&authkey=CNjyoL8F

SmokeyPitt · October 2010

Hi Padre,

I haven't used the spreadsheet to track the actual times yet- but I think that is a great idea. I usually just plug in numbers such as:

hour per lb (err on the high side)
weight (lbs)
cook time
target eat time
meat on time
grill light time

If I am cooking multiple items I will have multiple rows.

Beli · October 2010

Padre I notice you are a bit uptight even if you don't want to accept it :laugh: , I find it extremely relaxing to share my cooking time with friends & instead of following a military procedure , normally just use general common sense & play it by ear & trust my senses of smell & sight. Let go & enjoy it you & your padre friends will be happier

Don't forget the egg is very "religious"or shall I say forgiving

. Now since we are being very honest here, you said you have a wife so you must be a minister?

deepsouth · October 2010

Beli wrote:

Padre I notice you are a bit uptight even if you don't want to accept it :laugh: , I find it extremely relaxing to share my cooking time with friends & instead of following a military procedure , normally just use general common sense & play it by ear & trust my senses of smell & sight. Let go & enjoy it you & your padre friends will be happier Don't forget the egg is very forgiving. Now since we are being very honest here, you said you have a wife so you must be a minister?

with the wife, i wondered the same thing. episcopal?

stike · October 2010

i look at things as though it all works out in the end, and that whatever will happen will happen, despite my desperate (and merely human) attempts to control things.

we cannot affect the outcome of god's work, or the bbq gods. in short, 'no'.

i guesstimate, and then roll with it. life's too short (IMHO) for trying to fit the bbq in a time slot. as you learned, a butt will do what a butt is gonna do anyway.

stevesails · October 2010

You cant sleep with an overnight cook? You should trust the egg. How often do you adjust the vents on the egg during the night.

Like a 16 year old driving, after they solo for month or two, you trust them. I sleep through an overnight cook often is not always. a little tough getting to sleep, and i do get up quick in the morning to check.

lowercasebill · October 2010

bbq guru cyber q and the stoker both have graph funtions .. so you can follow along , go back to see what happened when. i have never saved my guru log but have seen some saved stoker logs of cooks.
pass on the excel and get a cyber q and a bit more sleep as well

Smokin' Padre · October 2010

Yep! Episcopal.

Smokin' Padre · October 2010

Hi, lowercasebill and stevesails ~ I do have a BBQ guru and it was working just fine. The reason for the lack of sleep was that one pb was smaller than the other. So instead of getting to deal with both at the same time, I was having to deal with them separately.

Braumiester · October 2010

I just set my stoker up and when the alarm goes off at 190° I go and check my PB.

Gator Bait · October 2010

I think your wife is a smart lady! :laugh:

2Fategghead · October 2010

Smokin' Padre, I have a brain fart in the future why not make all the butts the same size. That is if you had a 5 and 10 pound butt maybe you can cut the 10 pound butt in half. That way they would all get done close to the same time. Tim

Smokin' Padre · October 2010

Hi, Braumeister ~ I was trying Adam Perry Lang's method for the first time. It was labor intensive with several steps, but the results truly sang adn I'd do it again. But I gotta say ~ I would much rather cook for a supper crowd than a lunch crowd!!

Gator Bait ~ you and me both! :laugh:

Tim ~ that's a great idea!!!!

Firetruck · October 2010

I let the meat decide when it's done. I just use gerneral rules of thumb. I do try to allow myself room for error on the safe side. Meaning if I miss my scheduled time, I'd rather have to put the meat in a cooler or even reheat than to push it to get done in time.

Bottom line...no organization for me. :blink:

Honestly, now...I'm clergy, so don't fib!!!

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