Hierarchy of meats

Well, have you cooked all 3 of these previously?Why such a small butt? The butt should take 12 hours, ribs 4-5, and a 2lb turkey breast shouldn't take more than 1.5 to 2 hours. You need to focus on the temp for the butt and the breast, the ribs, well, they can be forgiving if you have a grill nearby. This is quite a mix for a single event. I might ditch the turkey breast for pre-made sausage; it's easier to monitor, it goes along way, and people love it. Try various flavors. The kids can make hot dogs with them, add some sauteed peppers and onions for the adults. You'll be a hero. Good Luck!!

L.A. BBQ pretty well summed it up.

The butt should be an ovenight project and hold in a hotbox,until ready to pull.

This will only yield about 48 oz of cooked pork,or about 2.5 to 3 oz/person.

Like L.A.,I'd cook about twice that.

Pork is cheap,easy to hold/serve,and leftovers are a good thing.It also freezes well.

1/3 slab of loinbacks should work fine,if you have two other meats and sides.

Without knowing types/weights/specifics of the slabs,I'd allow myself a good five hrs for door openings,rearranging,etc.

If you are determined to cook 1/2 breast,I'd put it in a couple hrs before the butts are done,or afterward.

Never place poultry above other meats,as it causes ugly streaking.

You could wrap and chill it,and it is probably better than hot,for my diners.

That size will only yield about 1 to 2 oz/person ,so hardly seems worth the bother.

If there are non pork eaters,that's another thing.

I fix mixed sausages,every time I do groups and mixed meats.

Precooked can work,and heated until they glisten

Easy to fix,good snack,keeps folks at bay until meal is ready.

If there are kids,I always include a pack of hotdogs and buns.

If there are chips,snacks,etc available,kids fill up and rarely get around to any bbq.

Wood is a personal thing,just don't oversmoke it.

My personal choice would be a little hickory,with some more apple.

Just a couple of thoughts,so have fun.

I agree what they said

quote:

Originally posted by FL Crackers:

I have questions:

1. Should I assume one rack of ribs for three people given everything else?
2. Where do I position the turkey -- absolute bottom? Do I tent with foil to deflect butt and rib drippings or leave it to nature?
3. What's my time-line? I assume the butt goes in first given its mass, followed by the turkey breast, followed by the ribs. If I assume a minimum of four hours for the ribs, when does the butt go in?
4. I have hickory, cherry, apple and oak - what is your recommendation?

1. Depends. Serve all that stuff, with sides and you'll be fine. YOU need to control the portions or you'll run out. Have one or two people eat just ribs and you'll need more.

2 & 3. Already answered

4. Well that's depends. You can do them all with the same wood, OR do the butt with say hickory and the ribs with cherry and the turkey with pecan. Then test your family to see if they notice a difference. MOST of the time, they won't know. then next time you'll know you can use just one wood type.

Thank you to all. I have absorbed (tried to) your collective wisdom.

L.A.: I will search for a larger butt. The only butts I have found locally have been in that weight range. All of you are right, if I'm going to "smoke it," I might as well yield some left-overs. I'll search for a larger butt or double the original count. The reason for the turkey is to accommodate those focused on "white meat." The kids, mostly under the age of 7, have all been indoctrinated in the "white meat" culinary trend. Red meats - assumed to be "mostly fat," (even hot dogs) have been shunned among the young mothers in the family and friends group we're serving. I did think of sausage because I make my own Polish and serve it every Christmas to high reviews; however, I haven't made a new batch and don't have time now... Still, I may consider hot dogs - just don't know the grilling capacity at the home we're visiting/eating.

Tom: You and L.A. drove home the fact that I should probably do the pork butt the night before. I'll re-heat mid-day, add some BBQ sauce to some and leave some naked.

Sounds like I need to reconsider the number of rib slabs. I was basically limiting them due to having a butt and breast in at the same time. If I do TWO butts the night before, I'll have twice the room for ribs, which means, twice the amount of left-overs. I'm okay with that.

I assumed I was going to have to position the turkey below everything else but you bring up a good point -- I can do the turkey early that morning and serve it chilled.

SmokinOkie: Excellent point, there is little chance I can control portions, I'll smoke more than I think they will eat and revel in the left-overs; tho, I doubt I'll be bringing anything home. There will be several side dishes. I'm not worrying about other things to eat.

With new direction I think I'll do the pork butt(s) with a few ounces of hickory, the turkey with some pecan and then wow the crowd with some apple (opposed to cherry) around the ribs.

Thanks. I'll keep a log and fill ya'll in on how it went. I'm sure it will turn out fine, but I really appreciate your collective input.

If they would accept legs/thighs as white meat,that may help you.

They cook easily,hold well for hrs[where turkey breast can go dry instantly],can cook at widely varying temps,and kids will naturally eat drumsticks.

Hot dogs don't have to be grilled,just throw them in with whatever is cooking for about 45 mins..

Ask the meat manager for a large butt.

He gets them by the case in two packs ,that average 14-16 lbs.

The only thing I can add is the problem with adding meats at different stages to a single cook: unless you're going to be adding additional wood during the cook.

Unlike a stick burner which may have a linear, consistent smoke production, Cookshack smoke seems to be most intense at first, then tapers slowely off as the cook progresses. So meats added later in the process don't get exposed to the same amount of smoke.

For kids that come to my house like that, I feed them pork (the other white meat) and you can educate them.

I also do pork tenderloins, almost no fat, really tender and they're pretty small. I buy them about a buck a piece at my asian market. Did this for a friends who's 4 year old hadn't eaten meat (really, just didn't like the taste). You should have seen the look on mom's face when the kid eat a whole pork tenderloin.

It's your cook, if you can't fit the turkey in, get some sliced turkey for them at the deli and let them eat that stuff. Or smoke the turkey in advance, say the day before, and slice it for them that way. Definitely brine the bird, gets rave reviews. Check out Turkey 101 or do a search on turkey breast. They come out great brined.

Turkey 101

Okay guys, ya gotta stop. I'm gonna have more food than can be eaten in a week.

I stopped at my butcher's on the way home this evening. Picked up a 9 lb. pork butt and 9 (read: nine!) slabs of Danish baby back ribs. They came in at more than 11 pounds. I almost had to find a wheel barrow just to get it all to the car. The wife, who has been insisting on offering the turkey, is picking that up on her way home tonight. Who knows what she'll bring home.

I've resigned myself to three seperate cooks. The butt is going in Saturday night all by its lonesome. (Will apply dry rub Friday night with a slight dusting again Saturday nite.) I'll do the turkey Sunday morning (yes, after it has steeped in brine over-night and gets its own rub). So glad I'm not attending to a fire like I used to.

I want to do the ribs, (which from the looks of it will take about all the space I can muster in the 008) at the party, if only to have guests catch occasional whiffs of the smoke. (It always drives ne crazy.)

Thanks ya'll. I can't think of anything else.

If you got actual Danish ribs,at around 19 oz/slab, they will cook much more quickly than we all estimated for loinbacks.