Butt and ribs

Excellent questions!!!!

Were it me, I'd add new wood just prior to loading the ribs. That will introduce some new smoke and dump some of the heat. Your ribs will probably finish a bit sooner but not by much. By the same token, opening the door twice may add a bit of time to the PB's. You can always FTC one or the other.

I'd go ribs on top. The PB will drop juice and stain the ribs. If that's a non-issue, doesn't matter.

The only change should be temp recovery from opening smoker.
It should not affect very much.
I would put them above the butts, so that any dripping would not affect appearance of ribs.

You can always time your butts to come off and FTC, and THEN start your ribs. Two butts if FTC will be still too hot to handle after 4-6 hrs.

LOL, beat me to it Max. Great point on adding wood.

Like the good cooks above said.The butts can cope with anything,so it is really a question of getting the ribs correct.

Thanks guys, I really appreciate all the good advice.

What time is dinner?
We use an FEC so can't help on the smoke, but always put the raw meat below the cooked meat so you do not contaminate.

Thanks Gary, I had that concern as well.

I made the mistake of bringing some samples of my pulled pork into work. Now I have several people placing orders! Most of the pulled pork will be sealed up and delivered on Monday...

Your ribs will cook about 15 minutes faster by using a preheated smoker, of course this will depend on the weight of the ribs.

My neighbors at the lake always wants me to throw some of their ribs in. I add some more wood and the PBs never seem to know any difference, but if you are afraid of them getting too much smoke, I would suggest foiling them about the time you add the ribs. I'd put some type of marinate in the foil...Yum,Yum.

Yep, big MISTAKE offering other folks some of your que, oh well! Live and learn.

Follow up...I decided to get the butts finished before adding the ribs. Everything worked out great, the butts finished up right on time and went into FTC mode while 2 racks of ST. Louis cut ribs and all the little extra trimmings cooked.

Just before I pulled the ribs from the smoker I got all of the pork out and pulled and bagged (most of) it up. Was it ever tender and juicy. I've become a real fan of the FTC method. I think it really helps the meat retain the juices. Theres nothing worse than slicing a brisket or pulling a shoulder only to see the juices running all over the cutting board.

Again, thanks to everyong for the great advice.

On a side note-learn from this bonehead mistake. Don't try to use whiskey soaked applewood chunks! We visited the Stillhouse at Belmont Farms, Culpeper VA. They had a large baggy of the charred applewood chunks that they flavor their VA whiskey with. Perfect size, I thought. And only 10 bucks, I'm all over that. Whiskey applewood smoked butts...mmmm, mmmm. I'm sure ya'll can guess what happened...about 20 minutes into the cook... BOOM. long story short there wasn't any damage to anything and I replaced the wood with some dry cherry I had. What I'm wondering is if I let the wood dry out for a while would it be safe to try again or should I just burn it in the fire pit and enjoy the aroma of Virgina whiskey from a safe distance?

Karl

I'd try it again the way it is. Others have had the boom with dry wood. If it happens again, then dry it out.

If the boome continues, buy a fifth of Virginia whiskey and add some to Smokin's finishing sauce. Seems like it might accomplish the same thing.

Great idea Pags. I bought a large bottle and I'm making a batch of sauce tonight. I think I'll add a splash of the Kopper Kettle VA whiskey to the sauce.

I throw Jack Daniels or reg bourbon into my BBQ beans, sauces and marinades sometimes.

I threw a pretty basic East Carolina vinegar sauce together:

White wine & apple cider vinegar (1/2 cup ea)
A very small amount of ketchup (for some body more than anything) (1 TBLS)
Water
Louisiana Hot Sauce (3-4 good splashes)
Honey (1 TBLS)
Black pepper (Several turns)
red pepper flakes (To taste, 1/8 teaspoon)
salt (Pinch)
And...a couple shots of the Kopper Kettle VA whiskey.

This worked very well with the pulled pork. Not too sweet, a little spicy and the whiskey flavor was subtle but there, on the back end of the flavor spectrum.