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Need Help Please - I'm the Labor Day Cook

B bmccoyMember
Will have about 20 people over for Labor Day (actually, it will be Sunday) get together and I've been chosen to cook for this crowd (as I usually do). However, I am more of a grill chef than a smoker. The menu for this weekend is brisket and ribs. I have a Cookshack model 55 that I have only used a few times (shame on me) and I'm a little uneasy about the timing of things.

Sitting in my refrigerator right now are two briskets weighing about 10 lbs each and four full slabs of baby back ribs (I think about 6 lbs total). I need some help on when to start what so that at 5PM on Sunday, I'll be able to serve tender, juicy and hot meat to our guests.

My thoughts were to rub and wrap everything tonight. Then, put the briskets in the smoker about supper time or later on Saturday and check things out Sunday morning. Continue cooking until the internal temp is 190, then remove, wrap and cooler the briskets. I figured to put the ribs in about noon on Sunday, which would give me a full 5 hrs of cooking time.

I cannot remember when or where I read the details about coolering the meat and how long I can safely keep the brisket in the cooler before serving. For instance, if the brisket is done early Sun AM, will it be ok to leave it in the cooler until 5 PM? The closer to noon the brisket is done, the less I concern I have.

Obviously, I want to err on the side of finishing the brisket early rather than late as I will still have to cook the ribs. But, not too early.

These are my first briskets (of course, I should have done a few before subjecting innocent bystanders to my experiment), but I promised brisket and the guests are expecting it. The folks that are coming are all good friends and won't be too hard on me if things don't turn out right. I can fire up the grill and serve burgers if this is a total bomb.

Any and all advice would be appreciated.
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T tomMember
Don't season your ribs,until a few mins before going in the cooker.

If they are packer briskets,I'd take them to 195� in the flat.

Heavily insulate and cooler and they will hold 6-8 hrs.

If they are choice packers,put them in at 200� late at night and let go over night.

If you want to do them earlier,start them at 180�

They can be kicked up in the morning.

You can figure that choice packers take about 1 1/4 hrs /lb at 225�.

Don't open the door.

Hope this helps a little.

Allow yourself 6 hrs for ribs,and they'll finish sooner.
FM Former Member
Good start by Tom.

One of the main recommendations, which is too late, is NEVER cook something the first time for a bunch of friends.

We can certainly help you get close, but Rule #1 always wins...

It's done when it's done

Take the brisket to at least 195, maybe even 200. For a first time you want it really closer to tender. If you can get it done by noon, it will hold (just get an ice chest, no ice and put it in the smallest cooler you have, it will work like a warmer). Or keep it in the oven, lowest temp you have.

Ribs, really depends on size. BB's come in small and large and there are several hours difference in them. Start them at noon. Cook four hours. If they're done, take them out double wrap in foil and put in with brisket. If they're not, put them back in for a hour. Take them out after an hour and check. If they're tender (just stick a toothpick through the meat between the ribs, does it go through easily?) then take them out and sauce them for at least 15 to 30 min then serve.

Did I say don't smoke the first time for guests because the timing is hard?
FM Former Member
Hey bmccoy;Geez you like a challenge don't you. Smokin & Tom covered it preaty good. Temperature is everything with briskets. I always use two temp. probes with them. Cut a slice off the flat tip across the grain before ya cook it so you can identify it when it's done. Adjust the slices thickness to how tender the brisket is. You"ll do just fine I'm sure.
B bmccoyMember
Thanks for the replies. I'm well aware of Smokin's Rule #1. Unfortunately, I made a commitment at our last get together that I would do brisket and ribs the next time we assembled. Time kind of sneaked up on me and. well, that time has arrived. I've done a few racks of ribs before with acceptable results and a few butts that were good.

My last violation of Rule #1 was last Thanksgiving when I smoked the holiday turkey for the big family meal. I lucked out and served a delicious smoked bird (thanks to some research on this forum). To be honest, this group I'm feeding tomorrow is much more forgiving than my family would have been had I botched the bird at Thanksgiving. Now, that was pressure. If I blow this one, I'll have some steaks or burgers on hand that I can do quickly. No one will go hungry. To me, even mediocre smoked meat is better than excellently prepared other things so I'll be happy either way.

Thanks again to all for the tips. I'll report back afterwards on the results.
B bmccoyMember
SUCCESS!!! Thanks again for the advice. I got the rub on the brisket about 8AM yesterday. Put it in the CS about 10PM with 3 pieces of hickory (sorry, I'm not sophisticated enough to to have a scale and weigh the wood)and set it on 200. Raised the temp to 225 about 8AM and let 'er cook till internal temp reached 197. Why 197? Cause it was about noon and I needed to get the ribs in in smoker. I wrapped and coolered the brisket as instructed.

This was probably my 3rd attempt to remove the membrane on ribs. I just can't seem to get the hang of it. So, I just rubbed them down, put them on hooks and put in 2 chuncks of hickory and set the CS at 225. At the 3 hr mark, I sprayed them down with apple juice. Checked the tenderness at the 4 hr mark, re-sprayed and cooked for another hr. At this point the ribs were tender but not fall-off-the-bone tender. Decided it was time to eat so I removed them from the smoker, cut them up and added sauce.

The brisket was extremely tender and moist. Good flavor. I used a commercially-prepared rub instead of homemade. It was OK but not superb.

On the ribs, I used the CS rib rub. I asked my wife to critique the results. She thought I may have put too much rub on the ribs but was pleased with the smoke intensity and tenderness.

The guests went back for 2nd's (some had 3rd's) and everyone took home some of the leftovers (yeah, I cooked way more than enough) so I guess I passed the test with them.

Again, thanks to everyone on the forum who takes the time to share their advice, recipes, etc. Makes it easy for us newcomers to enjoy some degree of success even without much experience.
FM Former Member
Congrats, glad it worked.

Yeah, even with a video, it's hard to "show" how to do it.

Like Coffeebluff says there are two and if you're trying to remove both of them it's hard.

I do like he says, with a fingernail, get it started, looking for the 2nd membrane to still be untouched. Grab it with a papertowel and gently pull (hate it when it separates and you have to start all over).

Sorry the rub wasn't right, now you have an excuse to do more ribs. You have to practice taking the membrane off and you need to find a good rub...practice, practice, practice.

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