Smoking for 12 Sat night; Critique my plan?

[McGurk]

Having a family get together on Sat night and decided to smoke up a feast. 1) 10 lb pork butt, 1) 18 lb turkey, 3 doz MOINK balls, 2 doz ABTs, plus sides to be brought by the rest of the family. I have a 2 rack UDS w/ a Weber lid, and a separate Weber kettle. People should show early afternoon, and Dinner is planned for 6PM, and my plan is this:

Fri night: prep MOINKs and ABTs and keep them overnight in the fridge. Turkey and Butt will be thawed by Fri night. Rinse Butt (prepackaged in a salt solution now), slit the fat cap, mustard slather, and apply the rub. Wrap and *edit* back in the fridge. Clean, rinse, and then Spatchcock the turkey. Rub herb butter between skin and meat, and season outside. Wrap and back into the fridge. Prep UDS

3AM Sat: Start Smoker, and get to temp (225 deg +/-). Unwrap butt, and get it on! After confiming temps and a good spritzing with 1/2 apple juice and 1/2 coke, go back to bed.

7AM Sat: Wake up and continue spritzing. Start watching for 165 deg at about 9. Get Weber ready for slow cooking.

(When it happens): When butt reaches 165 deg, wrap in foil and place back on smoker.

NOON: Start Weber for indirect cooking.

1PM: Put on 1/2 the MOINKs when it's ready.

2PM: Put on 1/2 the ABTs.

3PM: Pull and serve 1st MOINKs, and put on the rest of the MOINKs.

(When it happens): When butt reaches 195 deg, pull, and place in a small cooler to rest for a few hours. Place towels inside to take up extra space. Place turkey on Smoker, and raise temp to 300 deg.

4PM: Pull and serve 1st half of ABTs, and place the rest on.

5PM: Pull the rest of the MOINKs, hopefully pull the turkey, cover, and let it rest. Prep for dinner. Cut Turkey, shred Pork Butt.

6PM: EAT!

Any thoughts, Good or Bad? Thanks in advance!

 

[Bbq Bubba]

You can NOT leave a butt out all nite.

 

[KSims1868]

You can NOT leave a butt out all nite.

That's what I was going to say.
I think that would be WAY too much time left out on the counter.

I'd suggest putting the butt out maybe 1 hour (2 at most) before cook time. Doesn't have to be at room temp...just let it warm up for an hour or so should be good.

 

[McGurk]

Thanks for that. I didn't think 5 hours would be that bad. Anything else? I know this sounds overly-thought out, but I've got pride on the line (my family doesn't get into smoking) and I don't have a whole lot of experience yet!

 

[landarc]

It seems workable to me, seems like you put a lot of thought into it and have left extra timing, which will be good.

 

[McGurk]

Well, the plan goes into motion tonight. Wish me luck! The good news if it all works: I'll have turned out some decent grub for my family, and a good time will be had by all. The bad news if it works: if it indeed turns out to be some good eats, I'll be expected to do this all summer long!

 

[thirdeye]

Since you decided to foil finish the butt, you could always just do that in the oven. The butt won't know the difference and you may need the grill space for something else.

 

[McGurk]

Thanks for the tip, my oven goes to 250 deg at its warm setting so I suppose I could do that. I am planning on doing an extended rest (2-3 hours) in a small but well insulated cooler while the turkey is on, so I don't think room on the UDS is an issue. The MOINKS and ABTs are going on a Weber kettle staggered throughout the afternoon, so I don't need the UDS for that.

 

[deez butts]

You might want to consider a brine for the turkey too, just my preference.

 

[McGurk]

I've brined one before and thought I'd pass on it for this cook. Is there more than just added flavor involved in doing so? I didn't notice a texture difference with the last one.

 

[Big Frank]

Try Google search for honey maple brine

 

[PimpSmoke]

I've brined one before and thought I'd pass on it for this cook. Is there more than just added flavor involved in doing so? I didn't notice a texture difference with the last one.

1/2 cup kosher, 1/2 cup of brown sugar to a gallon of water. Make enough brine to cover. You can throw some spices in there if you want. It does keep the turkey breast from drying out in a cooker. The added moisture content will actually make the meat come to temp faster as well, so keep an eye on it.

You also may want to dip some cheese cloth in melted margarine and warp the bird. Take the wrap off when you have about thirty minutes left to cook. This keeps the bird from drying out and keeps the skin from turning a super dark color from smoke. It will still get all the flavor.

Alternatively, I have ahd success pulling up the skin on the breast and jamming a bunch of butter under there.

 

[aquablue22]

Thanks for the tip, my oven goes to 250 deg at its warm setting so I suppose I could do that. I am planning on doing an extended rest (2-3 hours) in a small but well insulated cooler while the turkey is on, so I don't think room on the UDS is an issue. The MOINKS and ABTs are going on a Weber kettle staggered throughout the afternoon, so I don't need the UDS for that.[/QUOTE

Plus......It will make your house smell good!:thumb::thumb:

 

[chambersuac]

My suggestion is that for 12 people, make more MOINK balls. Serving 1.5 dozen to a dozen people with no more food offered for an hour just doesn't sound like enough. I've seen more than one person eat 6 or more by themselves. And, MOINK balls are easy and pretty cheap to make.

 

[ModelMaker]

If your planning on slicing your butt, 195* and a rest will pry work but if your thinking pulled pork, 205* then rest is a better number. However if pulling pork it's not the temp your looking for but the ability of a probe to slide in with very little resistance (butter) all around the roast.
I have gone to 200 or better and still could not pull the meat for shredding...
Ed

 

[Chef Jim]

Just my .02. but with a turkey that size I would inject with Chicken stock and then spray stock on it through out the cook. Makes nice skin and a moist bird. IMO brine just makes it salty.

 

[Meat Burner]

Stick with your original plan pretty close. It sounds pretty good if you make a few changes suggested. Don't try to do too much!! The good news, you will probably be asked to this this all summer....pretty cool brother. Good luck and I bet it turns out great!

 

[Torch]

You will need more time on that turkey than 2 hours.

 

[McGurk]

Recap: All in all, everything went well. The UDS started easily (minion w/ 8 briq's, pecan wood) and got to temp pretty quickly, so the Pork butt and a bacon-weaved fattie went on at 3:30 AM. Maintained temp well, so after a spray I wnt back to bed.

Woke up at 6:30, and found the UDS temp to be 175 (PANIC!!!), so I quickly yanked the lid, opened 2 capped nipples, and gave it a couple of ash kicks. After 10 minutes it got back up and I sprayed it down and covered her back up. Pulled the fattie at around 8. Maybe a little overcooked, but tasty none-the-less.

Butt hit 165 deg at 10:30, so I foiled her up, juiced it, and put her back on. Took care of a couple of other things and took a nap.

Woke up at 1:30 PM figuring that it would be fine, and found it at 210 (PANIC!!! #2). Pulled it wrapped in a towel and put her in a cooler covered with a couple of other towels. Turkey went on, along with 20 of the 40 ABT boats I premade. Smoked them for around 1 1/2 hours, and swapped them out for all of the MOINKS I made.

Turkey smoked well, and was done around 4:30. Pulled it off and put the rest of the ABT boats on. Covered the turkey for resting, and went to work pulling the pork and prepping the rest of the dinner.

Results: Turkey= great. Pork= good texture, but not as smoky as I'd hoped, mediocre bark. Fattie= good enough. MOINKS= disappointed, I guess, after all of the buildup. ABT boats= HUGE HIT!

Thanks for all the input, and you were right MeatBurner; They all do want me to smoke again!