When do you start your slow-cook?

[JOhnH]

Suppose you have a piece of meat that is going to take about 14-15 hours to cook and you want to eat around 6 or 7pm?

You could start the smoker around 2am and put the meat on at 3 am and 15 hours later it will be 6pm. But my slow cooks always take longer than I predict.

And who the heck wants to start a smoker at 2am?

Do you start it the day before? Maybe let it cook overnight and take it off in the morning? Do you refrigerate it and reheat it later? How? The microwave sounds sacrilegious!

This is why I often use smaller cuts; around 6 pounds or so. I start them around 6am and they are usually ready around 6pm, give or take an hour or two.

 

[TCABM]

Brisket on at 8p or 10p, depending on size. Comes off around noon or a little later. It’s gotta set a bit and then can be kept warm until serving time.

 

[flyingron]

I do a pig every Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. I used to start it around 6PM with the goal of having it done at noon the next day. Now I start it earlier. We usually take it out of the smoker at 8Am or so and then start shreding. I put it in foil steam table trays (covered) and stick it in the oven at "keep warm" (170F) until the party starts around 6.

 

[JOhnH]

I do a pig every Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. I used to start it around 6PM with the goal of having it done at noon the next day. Now I start it earlier. We usually take it out of the smoker at 8Am or so and then start shreding. I put it in foil steam table trays (covered) and stick it in the oven at "keep warm" (170F) until the party starts around 6.

Thanks. That's what I was wondering. I was worried that keeping it warm (170) for several hours might dry it out? Apparently not.

 

[flyingron]

Keep it covered up. A few hours isn't a problem as long as you keep the heat low. Just remember that if you're going to hold it you want it under 40F or over 140F.

 

[455 Bravo Uniform]

You can start 4 hours earlier and wrap and place in a cooler for 4 hours.

I wrap my pork shoulders in 2 wraps of heavy duty foil, then 3 bath towels and place into a cooler for up to 4 hours. When I go to pull it 4 hours later it’s still way too hot to handle.

9 lb shoulder butt, 18 hours on the heat, 4 hours in the cooler.

 

[FormerHangie]

If I'm doing a whole butt, I start it about four hours before I'm going to bed, wrap it in foil after that same four hours, and turn the heat to low. When I get up, I check the meat temperature and adjust the cooking schedule depending on the temperature. Granted, I'm using a gas grill set up for indirect cooking, and it's plumbed into the natural gas, so there's no action needed for the overnight period. If you're using a conventional smoker, that's probably not going to work, but it should work fine for a pellet grill.

 

[Jim K]

I have a stoker that maintains the temp for me, and a remote thermometer with an alarm. I get it going the evening before and the stoker takes care of it all night. If something goes wrong I have the thermometer next to my bed and the alarm is loud enough to wake me up.

If it gets done earlier than expected, I've had good luck wrapping it up in towels and putting it in a cooler. I actually kind of plan to do that now as our seems to make the meat even more tender and juicy. I suppose keeping it hot that long before cutting into it allows for even more rendering.

 

[Sac Arrow]

Order from a bbq joint. Brisket is too much work.

 

[flyingron]

Order from a bbq joint. Brisket is too much work.

Brisket isn't hard and it goes relatively quickly compared to heavier cuts like pork butts. We just don't do much of it down here in Carolina. BBQ is pork.

 

[Sac Arrow]

Brisket isn't hard and it goes relatively quickly compared to heavier cuts like pork butts. We just don't do much of it down here in Carolina. BBQ is pork.

Huh. I thought it was the other way around. 8-10 hours in the crockie works just fine for pork butts. But I've never tried to smoke one I guess. Never been able to pull brisket off successfully.

 

[GaryM]

You can start 4 hours earlier and wrap and place in a cooler for 4 hours.

I wrap my pork shoulders in 2 wraps of heavy duty foil, then 3 bath towels and place into a cooler for up to 4 hours. When I go to pull it 4 hours later it’s still way too hot to handle.

9 lb shoulder butt, 18 hours on the heat, 4 hours in the cooler.

This, exactly. Ever since I started cooking early, then wrapping the brisket or pork butt and putting it in a cooler a few hours before serving, I don't have to stress about the meat finishing in time to serve.

My brisket will be wrapped in butcher paper when it comes off the smoker, pork butt may be unwrapped when it comes off, but I'll wrap it in butcher paper then, put the meat paper-wrapped meat in another layer or two of clean paper or a trash bag (that risks steaming the bark and making it soft, though), wrap that in a couple of old towels, then put it in a cooler. You can leave a remote thermometer in the meat to track temp, but it will stay in the safe zone (above 140F) for quite a few hours.

 

[TCABM]

Brisket isn't hard and it goes relatively quickly compared to heavier cuts like pork butts. We just don't do much of it down here in Carolina. BBQ is pork.

Packer briskets run 12-18 lbs and run 30-60 mins/lb on the smoker. Now if you’re talking just the flat, yeah a pork but will take a couple hours longer, but why do just the flat unless you’re making corned beef?

 

[CJones]

Yep. Another vote for remove and wrap in foil + towel and into the cooler. Helps finish off the internal slow cook without throwing more dry heat at it as well. Also, I usually wait until the last minute to pull (pork) or slice (brisket) to keep it from drying out while waiting for feeding time.

 

[Matthew]

I work backwards from feeding time to start time, then deal with catching a nap somewhere. As others have said, you can hold it at temp in a cooler, too.

 

[PPC1052]

Suppose you have a piece of meat that is going to take about 14-15 hours to cook and you want to eat around 6 or 7pm?

You could start the smoker around 2am and put the meat on at 3 am and 15 hours later it will be 6pm. But my slow cooks always take longer than I predict.

And who the heck wants to start a smoker at 2am?

Do you start it the day before? Maybe let it cook overnight and take it off in the morning? Do you refrigerate it and reheat it later? How? The microwave sounds sacrilegious!

This is why I often use smaller cuts; around 6 pounds or so. I start them around 6am and they are usually ready around 6pm, give or take an hour or two.

Start earlier. You can put your meat in a cooler when they are finished to rest until you are ready to eat. The meat needs to rest anyway. If you want to eat at 6, plan for it to be done at 4 and to put it in the cooler until you are ready. If it goes over by an hour, it only sits in the cooler for an hour instead of two, which is still plenty of rest time.

 

[PPC1052]

You can start 4 hours earlier and wrap and place in a cooler for 4 hours.

I wrap my pork shoulders in 2 wraps of heavy duty foil, then 3 bath towels and place into a cooler for up to 4 hours. When I go to pull it 4 hours later it’s still way too hot to handle.

9 lb shoulder butt, 18 hours on the heat, 4 hours in the cooler.

I have one of those old 1980s style plastic six pack sized coolers which is a perfect size for one pork butt. I don't even need to wrap it. Just drop the pork butt in and put the lid on and it stays way too hot to handle when it comes out. They are great for taking a smoked pork butt to someone else's house for dinner.

 

[JOhnH]

I’m about to start my first overnight cook. An 8 pound Bone-in Boston butt on the Green Egg.

 

[455 Bravo Uniform]

6 butts (48 lbs) for a graduation party. For most sessions and meats I let the smoke calm down to a light wispy almost blue color (about 30 minutes), but for butts I throw the choo-choo train at ‘em - meat and smoke on at the same time. I call it heart-burn smoke. I’m sure it’s not the healthiest, but the low surface area ratio gives folks the smoked flavor they’re looking for.

 

[JOhnH]

And it’s on.



My thermometer is WiFi so I can check it on my nocturnal bathroom breaks. Hopefully I can test it at lunch and have it ready for guests by dinner.

 

[flyingron]

Well, we had our annual pig roast yesterday. About 13 hours...

 

[Matthew]

I’m getting ready to head out on a road trip to Greeley CO for a competition. This’ll be the first time I’ve cooked at altitude (4700’). I have things pretty well dialed in for 1,050’, so the new temps and times are going to have to be figured out at game time. I have a pretty good idea of the adjustment that have to be made, but sometimes you just have to jump and figure it out on the way down.

 

[GaryM]

I smoked bacon-wrapped, coke marinated chicken breasts and chipotle-rubbed andouille sausages yesterday, both gone before I could get pictures...but the highlight was 4 lbs of pork belly burnt ends, rubbed, smoked for 4.5 hours, and lightly sauced with Head Country Spicy, thinned with bourbon. They also went pretty fast.

 

[Matthew]

Pork belly burnt ends are pig candy