Need help with cooking different meats simultaneously

[ImGonnaRecIt]

I will be smoking some ribs and a bone in pork but for a get together this upcoming weekend. I'd like to do everything on my snazzy new 700 but it's my first cook and I'd like to time everything to finish cooking/resting fairly close. I plan on resting the butt 1 to 2 hrs so I'm not sure when I should start it and cook time untill it's time to throw the ribs on. I'm open to doing 3-2-1 or 4-1-.5 on the ribs. Pork but is over 8# and 2~4 racks of ribs. How would you time these?

 

[Jim6820]

Well, I think an 8# pork butt will take 8-10 hours to cook at 225F; your ribs 5-1/2 to 6 hours at the same temp. I’d rather do a long rest on the pork butt than the ribs, so I would plan my cook as though I was just cooking ribs and then back up the start of the pork butt accordingly.

Bottom line is that I’d start the ribs about 4-5 hours into the pork butt cook. That way, if the butt gets done in 8 hours, you can just rest it longer than planned while the ribs are finishing. YMMV

 

[ImGonnaRecIt]

Would you roll @225 the entire time for both meats or up the ribs the last 60 mins or so to 275 while the butt rests?

 

[SmokeZilla]

I like the way you think. It is quite fun trying to time all the proteins in synchronicity. As Jim identified in his response, you should take the “long pole in the tent” and use that as the baseline. I personally use the 1.5 hours per pound for butts calculation. That way you will have a little fudge room during the cook. You did not say if your are doing baby back (pork loin) or St. Louis cut ribs. Each can have its own range for cooking. I like 3-1.5-0.5 for the BB back ribs and 3-2-0.5 for the others but your own tastes (e.g., fall off the bone vs. competition bite) will drive your decision. YMMV and it depends on the fat to meat ratio and other factors. Either way, when you spritz the butt it is a good time to check the ribs and when you wrap the butt, you should be on the 2nd stage of your rib cook if you allowed the butt to clear its stall (~168F). You can use a remote thermometer for the butt and just look for good bark formation and a little tenderness on the ribs before they are wrapped. Once wrapped, each protein will need to be checked on its own. I’d shoot for 195-200F on the butt and look for about a quarter of an inch of pull back on the rib bones. Each should also allow a probe or rod to go through them with ease. I like to think of as the feel you get sticking a spoon into a soft serve ice cream cup. Good luck with your cook.

 

[Jim6820]

Would you roll @225 the entire time for both meats or up the ribs the last 60 mins or so to 275 while the butt rests?

Since I think you will be pulling the butt before the ribs are done, you can bump up the temp on the ribs at that point. You should rest the butt for at least 60 minutes, so you would have time to turn up the heat on the ribs for the finishing touch.

Getting everything to finish at the same time is always the chef’s biggest challenge. As @SmokeZilla so eloquently put it, “you should take the ‘long pole in the tent’ and use that as the baseline,” then adjust from there.