So I get married in about a month, I guess I'm in charge of most of the food (MEEAAAATTTT!!!!) and I've decided I'm just gonna fire up the smoker, have some drinks and cigars and enjoy the weekend while smoking a bunch of meat! Not sure on how many people I'm gonna have but it will be under 75 and I want to smoke a variety of stuff so that I can cater as much as possible to everyone.
My list of potential meat (cut/prices/size)
Boneless Rib Eye Loin: $4.59lb average 9-12lb per package
Brisket: $3.59lb average 11-15lbs assuming these are full packers
Chicken: Thinking whole chicken, usually .89 per lb
Pork: Thinking about 2 full loins to slice and 2 bone in butts for sammiches on the side for evening/next day
Fish: Our lake has awesome fishing, fresh walleye and perch right off the dock, I know it's not technically kosher to smoke these like traditional meats above but these might go in for a short time after everything is done and I can up the temps.
Ok, so I'm not sure if the prices above for the beef are good or not, but they seem reasonable overall. I'm assuming 60 people will show up which means I need 30ish lbs of meet minimum to be safe. I plan on making extra as most are staying up for the weekend and I want to be able to feed lunch the next day when everyone returns to the lake to swim and enjoy the weekend.
Few questions:
The boneless rib eye loin scares me and I'm not sure why, my thought is to put these above the brisket to shield them from the updraft of constant heat. I know they won't take as long as Brisket but I'm wondering if anyone has a clue as to how long they will take? Should I reference those who smoke prime ribs as a guide?
Brisket will be salt/pepper, if it's a whole packer I'm 85% positive I want to keep it whole, but this will be the first brisket in a very long time and the first brisket on this new smoker (I'm crazy!)
Timing: Brisket will obviously be on the night before, wedding is at 3pm and I'm hoping to have the brisket off and into a cooler by 1pm, so at 15lbs max I'd be looking at getting it into the smoker around 10pm the night before at a minimum? My plan is to smoke till 165, wrap in paper, get it to 200/205 and then wrap in towels and cooler it for a few hours. With that said, I'm assuming the bonless rib eye is going to take 5 hrs or so and chicken/pork loin I'm clueless about (2 hours max on pork loin?) so any help appreciated.
Seasoning: I plan on going simple, feeding the masses means I'm going to be making simple rubs and if people want a sauce I will have it there. I plan on making a sweet bbq, carolina vinegar and golden bbq sauce which will be out for eveyrone to enjoy. Season for brisket is salt/pepper, should I bother doing anything other than that for the other meats?
Smoke: Preferred wood for smoking a variety? I'm thinking of using Mojo bricks competition blend as smoking wood in this area is limited a bit and taking these with me up north is simple and easy. I plan on making a quick basket for a offset smoker and making plates so I get an "S" burn on the charcoal to prolong the burn, adding the bricks mixed into the charcoal will be easy and if I want more smoke I can always throw one on top of the coals that are lit.
Not sure what I'm overlooking, my smoker looks like this:
It has plenty of space inside (6 or 7 racks) and like I said I plan on making a coal basket to elevate the coals a bit and allow more room for longer burns.
Anything else I should consider? I'm working on getting a few more thermometers and one to set on the rack to monitor air temp in the smoker as well.
I have that same smoker and did a whole Rib Eye Roast last year for Christmas... I fed 35 people and had a ton left over. Below is the video I followed. By the way, congratulations and good luck with your party!!
I did brisket with salt pepper worstersire and olive oil, turned out superb. Did brisket today with traditional rub (chili powder salt cumin .......) it's very good as I'm eating on it as I type this, the olive oil was the best by far. I'm still experimenting with different rubs, temps, techniques. I'd definitely do the butts for sandwiches and some chickens that would be the most cost effective way to cover 75 people I think. Good luck and congrats on the nuptials.
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