A Backyard Feast on the Meadow Creek SQ36 Offset Smoker

Prepping the Meat

I put the brisket on at 6:00 and the pork butt at 6:15, then added the rest of the foods between 8:45 and 9:15.

The sausage, chicken, and beans will cook within 3 hours, so it's the perfect way to cook two meals in one day. Chicken and sausage for lunch, and brisket and pulled pork for dinner sounds like a good day to me! The sausage was done in less than 2 hours, the chicken in less than 3 hours, and the beans are flexible, but they are happy with about 3 hours in the smoke.

The brisket was prime grade from Sam's Club and the pork butt and sausage links were from my local Weis. We picked up the chicken leg quarters from Martin's and my wife mixed the beans. 

Because green beans were in season, we decided to add some variety instead of using only baked beans. If you are using fresh green beans, you'll need to pre-cook them. Mix all of the ingredients and smoke them for several hours, stirring them occasionally to mix the smokey flavors.

Barbecue Beans

• 1 can Bush’s Original baked beans
• 1 can pinto beans
• 1 can of green beans
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1 clove garlic, finely diced
• 1 cup Meadow Creek Hickory Smoked Sauce
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon Butcher BBQ Grilling Addiction rub
• 1 teaspoon real salt
• 1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

This recipe makes a bigger batch than what fits into a loaf pan like I used in the photos. Adjust as needed.

First on is the brisket and pork butt.

Nice looking brisket

I trimmed the brisket and seasoned it with Lane's Brisket Rub.

I seasoned the pork butt with Meadow Creek Brisket Rub.

Pork butt ready for the smoker

Chicken leg quarters seasoned with Meadow Creek Barbecue Seasoning

SQ36 loaded with brisket, pork butt, chicken, sausage, and beans.

Managing the Pit

Now that the meat is all on, we keep feeding the smoker and patiently wait until each meat is done. We maintain heat in this smoker by feeding it every 45 minutes or as needed to keep the fire burning and the temperature between 225–250 degrees.

I use mostly 100% hardwood charcoal, but throw in a piece of wood occasionally for a robust barbecue flavor.

A hot bed of coals and a flame

Everything is fine.

The sausages are done, actually a bit overdone.

A live fire for the pitmaster in you.

Another delicious glance

The optional second tier grate nearly doubles the cooking surface.

Chicken and Sausage for Lunch

As I explained above, I planned this cook so that we could eat chicken, sausage, and beans for lunch while we waited on the brisket and pulled pork.

The next generation at work

Delicious sausages!

The chicken sizzling, skin side down.

Time to eat!

The beans

Fire is looking great

Brisket and Pulled Pork

The pork butt and brisket were on the smoker until 8:10 pm, a total of 14 hours. I rested them both in an empty ice chest for a couple of hours before slicing and pulling the meat. Because it was so late, we didn't eat much of it that evening, but we had to sample it at least! 

The pulled pork was some of the best I've eaten in a long time. It was juicy and pulled easily. The flavor was on point with a nice balance of smoke flavor.

The brisket was also one of the best I've cooked. The flat was tender and juicy, and even the thinnest part of the flat was not too dry to eat.

At 2:30 pm, 8 hours into the cook, I wrapped both the brisket and butt in Burnt End butcher paper to speed up the cook and to help retain moisture. At the time of wrapping, the bark was looking great and it tasted delicious and sweet. A bitter bark means you over-smoked the meat, which can easily happen in an offset smoker.

It can be a bit tricky knowing when these meats are done sometimes. The pork butt was probe tender everywhere before some parts of it reached 200 degrees internal temperature.

The brisket climbed over 200 degrees in the flat and reached 200 degrees in the middle of the brisket, on the side toward the heat. Some stress cooking a brisket until it's probe tender, but in my opinion, a typical choice or prime grade brisket is lean enough that the flat may never get 100% probe tender, at least not before you overcook it. Some of the point was definitely probe tender and some was still a bit probe resistant, but I wanted to make sure I don't dry out the flat, so I decided it was done.

Brisket and pork butt on the SQ36

Pork butt ready to wrap

Nice color on the brisket

Wrapping the pork butt

Ready for the smoker again

Brisket ready to wrap

Wrapping the brisket

Wrapping the brisket

Back on the smoker

Pulled pork

Slicing the brisket

Tender, juicy slices of brisket flat

End view of the cut piece

A slice of the flat

What an amazing experience, biting into a juicy and tender piece of meat that's bursting with flavor from hanging out in a wood-fired smoker all day. The flavor was incredible!

You could whip up a memorable feast the day of the cook and serve these meats with the beans and your favorites sides, such as mac 'n cheese, a slaw or potato salad, etc. Or you can vacuum seal the meats in meal-sized portions to reheat later for a bunch of quick sandwich or taco meals.