A packer and a big ol butt (first time)

[Steve B]

Hey all, this Friday night will be my first overnight cook. A 15lb bonless butt and a 13lb packer. I was looking for 2 smaller butts but this is what RD had. I plan on dinner on Saturday around 5:30-6:00 pm. I'm also doing the cook on my LSG offset using stubbs briquettes with a charcoal basket. And planning to run around 225-230 degrees. I do have 2 mt-733 to keep an eye on things inside and have a fux cambro all ready. Thanks to everyone here in the pit I feel pretty confident but do have some questions.
1. What time should I put these bad boys on to get them done on time. I know every cut is different. And I'm seeing a lot of different times posted here.
2. Should I put both on at the same time?
3. Would preheating the pit with a weed burner be a good idea? I have noticed that when I use the basket putting a small amount of lit coals in one corner by the time the pit is up to temp and stable about 1/4 of the basket is already lit. My thought is I can keep my vents more closed to save fuel.
Thanks everyone, all thoughts and guidance will be much appreciated. Here are pics of the labels.

[RonB]

I'd cut that butt in half. It may takes several years for that huge butt to cook whole. I can't comment on the time to cook for an offset as I have not used one. BTW - if you cut the butt in half, you get more bark.

[Steve B]

I was thinking of doing just that because it is quite huge. Thanks.

[ecowper]

Like RonB said, I'd cut that butt in half. Heck, I'd probably cut it in quarters. Then I'd tie them with butcher's twine to get uniform sizes.

[Steve B]

Halving and tying it is what I'm going to do. Thanks.

[ecowper]

I'd put those pieces of meat on at the same time. I'd run my temp at 250'ish. Pork butt can handle higher temps and gets through the stall much easier at 250-275. Brisket will be just fine at 250. That brisket is gonna be 14 hours without wrapping, 12 hours with wrapping. If you cut the butt in half, at least, it should be a 10-12 hour cook.

[ecowper]

I think if you start at midnight, the brisket ought to be done in 14 hours ... 2 PM, which gives you 3.5 hours of slack in case the cook goes long. You could have that brisket take 16 hours and still be fine.

[ecowper]

If you put the meat on an hour earlier, 11 PM, then you should be in even better shape for your timing. Figure 12 hours for the pork butt and 14 hours for the brisket.

[Steve B]

I'm thinking midnight at 12 hrs for the butt and 14 hrs for the brisket should give me the right timing. Hopefully. Thanks ecowper.

[smokinfatties]

Are you sure the boneless butt isn't already in 2 separate pieces?

[ecowper]

It might be, that sounds suspiciously like to butts in a cryovac, for that weight.

[smokinfatties]

Thats what I would think, especially if they're boneless.

[Steve B]

I'll find out tomorrow night when I open up my bundles of joy. After trimming and salting I'll do another update with more pics.

[Steve B]

Ok the meats are trimmed, tied and salted done Thursday night. Any comments or criticism as to the job i did would be welcomed. I'm always trying to do better.
Next pics are rubbed MH dust on butts and just pepper and granulated garlic on the brisket.
Should go on at midnight. @ecopower smokinfatties you guys got it right. 2 butts in one package.

[GirlpoweredBBQ]

Guest, Guest, I did use Kosher salt, but perhaps too much. Probably too much. Steve b, I honestly can't remember if there was salt in the rub that time, because it was a few months ago. I may have written it down somewhere. I did it on ribs. Is that something I shouldn't have done?

[Steve B]

GirlpoweredBBQ , Biannna, nice to (not meet you) haha. Next time remember 1/2 teaspoon Mortons kosher salt per pound. No more. And all I used for a rub was 2 tbsp fresh ground pepper and 1 tbsp granulated garlic. Nothing fancy.

[GirlpoweredBBQ]

Thank you, Steve b. Duly noted. And lovely to (not) meet you, too.

[Steve B]

ecowper Sorry for the miss spelling

[ecowper]

Those look great Steve .... was that one huge pork butt, or did it turn out to be two?

[Steve B]

It looked like 1. Opened the package still looked like 1. Went to take it out and low and behold it was 2.

[GirlpoweredBBQ]

Steve B--same thing happened to me. I don't think they make 'em that big! :-) But it seems like all of those huge packages are the boneless ones.

[Jerod Broussard]

How are things progressing?

[Steve B]

Right now 1:30 pm they are crutched. Supposed to be leaving for my sisters around 3:00. Brought pit temp up to 325ish. Butts are at 189 and 194. Brisket is at 196. I'm not panicking but getting ansey.

[Steve B]

WOW. Everything turned out perfect. I can't believe I just did this. Jerod Broussard ecowper smokinfatties . Thanks to all you guys. You helped me Pull this off. 14 1/2 hrs with clutching. 1-1/2hrs sleep. I'm tired so I'll let the pics talk.
Thanks again.

By the way GirlpoweredBBQ hope you're doing well. This cooks for you. Thanks for your input and helping to make this site fun.

[GirlpoweredBBQ]

GORGEOUS!!! Nice job! The brisket looks amazing! You really pulled this off. Bravo! You're so SWEET saying this cook was for me. I love you guys! You're the best friends I've never met. Ha ha. By the way, just by way of actual introduction, my name is Brianna.

[Rdrjsm]

Wow, awesome job! Great pics... 645 am and I'm hungry for brisket now!

[ecowper]

That brisket looks awesome

[GirlpoweredBBQ]

Hey, ecowper -- question for you. Last weekend I cooked a 10 pound brisket. I pulled it when the flat was 190-195, because the when I stuck the probe in, it seemed pretty soft. Interestingly, the point got to temp earlier than the flat (which seemed backwards, but I'm not sure). I did put it in the faux cambro for about an hour afterwards. The flat came out incredibly dry (devastating). The point was perfect. Did I pull it too soon or too late? A week later, I'm still sad. Ha ha.

[GirlpoweredBBQ]

Makes sense, ecowper. I think next time we'll also leave on a bit more fat.

[GirlpoweredBBQ]

Wow, Steve B!! 209? You did get lucky! And I'm glad you did.

[ecowper]

The joint between flat and point is lots of fat and connective tissues ... it will get hotter than the meat.

[DWCowles]

Beautiful!

[Jerod Broussard]

Geez Luhweez, if I didn't know you any better I would have to accuse you of photoshopping that smoke ring.

[Steve B]

Thanks Jerod. I was pretty shocked when I saw that beautiful ring. I didn't expect that. I did look up pics on line after to show my wife what it's supposed to look like, she's not much of a bbq fan btw. She was impressed my outcome.

[RonB]

That's some great looking meat Steve - congrats on a successful cook.

[Steve B]

Thanks RonB It came out way better than I thought it was going to.

[HawkerXP]

Super smoke ring! Wow!

[Steve B]

That's crazy ain't it. Didn't expect that deep of a color. The butts came out the same. Just hope I can do that again. Thanks HawkerXP