My annual brisket party was on Labor Day weekend. Two years ago it was one brisket on my 18.5. Last year it was 3 briskets on my 22.5, and chicken parts too. I stay up almost all night, starting at about 10 PM, with the party starting at 3 PM the next day.
This year I went big: 99 pounds of meat.
Four Briskets, total 63 pounds:
slicing brisket by gilaadm, on Flickr
sliced brisket by gilaadm, on Flickr
Beef ribs, 21 pounds:
ribs with sauce by gilaadm, on Flickr
And three turkey breasts, 15 pounds:
smoked turkey, 1 of 3 by gilaadm, on Flickr
More pics are in the photo gallery:
http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?35880-99-pounds-of-meat-post-1-the-brisket
http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?35881-99-pounds-of-meat-post-2-the-ribs
http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?35882-99-pounds-of-meat-post-3-the-turkey-and-miscellany
First, the brisket. Four big ones. Total 63 pounds. Overnight smoke with burnt ends.
1) Marinate for at least a day in equal parts Red Wine Vinegar, Guinness Stout, and Apple Juice, with minced garlic, chopped scallions and sun dried tomatoes. After marinating, reserve the marinade and boil it. Rub the brisket with Fire & Flavor’s Coffee Rub.
2) Minion set up with Hickory, Mesquite and Apple chunks over Kingsford briquettes, on my 22.5 with a CajunBandit stacker. This set up takes 3 grates, but with beer cans I can place another grate so I can smoke all 4 briskets.
3) Started at 10 PM. Sprayed with mixture of Apple Juice and Espresso every 3 – 4 hours. After 3 hours the top brisket was at 127 degrees.
4) At 4 AM (6 hours), the top brisket was at 150 degrees. I put the briskets in foil pans with some of the boiled marinade, foiled the tops tightly, and put them back on the smoker. At this time, since I had to disassemble the stack, I replenished the coals and put on another lit chimney with 20 coals.
5) At 8 AM (10 hours) the brisket was just under 180 degrees. We cut off the tips to make burnt ends, and re-rubbed the exposed surface. Put the briskets, still in pans but unfoiled back on the smoker, to create a good bark. Kept them in the pans to gather the juices.
6) At 11 AM (13 hours) hours I poured the juices into the rest of the reserved marinade and cooked it down for a few hours. I also took off the briskets, wrapped them tightly, and put them in a cooler. They kept cooking in there for at least 3 hours.
7) Cubed the tips, rubbed with more of the Coffee Rub. Put them on the smoker and increased the air flow to bring the heat up from the low 200s to the high 200s. Spritzed them periodically.
My biggest challenge throughout the brisket cook was that I had to replenish the coals a few times. I think the added volume created by the CajunBandit stacker, combined with the 63 pounds of meat, was the main reason for this. I had a ceramic flower pot plate, and bricks – all foiled – in the water pan. I like using ceramic and brick to help maintain temperature, given how much heat you lose when you open the smoker.
Second, the ribs.
Minion set up on the 18.5 with Hickory chunks. Marinated for a day in an India Pale Ale. Rubbed with a special blend of spices made by my friends Erik and Rhona, who flew into Chicago from Philly for the meat fest. Put the ribs on at 8 AM. Towards the end of the cook, about 6 hours, basted them with a BBQ sauce that they created. Erik doesn’t like to tinker once he gets set up. We really didn’t do much to the ribs or the smoker during the cook.
Turkey
I saw the Smoked episode of “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” and was intrigued by Big Bob Gibson’s Turkey Breast. I found the recipe online:
Smoked Turkey Breast Roast with Honey Maple Glaze, Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book
1 Boneless skinless turkey breast, about 4 lbs
Wet Rub
2 teaspoons brown mustard
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
Dry Rub
1 Tbsp dark brown sugar
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp paprika (used my home made stuff)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (used my home made stuff)
Glaze
4 Tbsp butter (1/2 stick) -- we're Kosher, so I used margarine
3 Tbsp Maple syrup
1 Tbsp Honey
I like the skin, so I got breasts with skin. I rubbed the turkey breast in and out with the wet rub first, then with the dry rub, then tied them back up. Each was about 5 pounds. Put them on the 22.5 smoker with the Burnt Ends for 2 hours in the low to mid 200s, but I realized that the 22.5 was down to about 195 degrees. So after we took the ribs off of the 18.5 we put the turkey on it and cranked the heat up to 250 – 275 for another 30 – 45 minutes, until a temperature of 165 or so.
It was a blast, and I have to say that this site has been invaluable. Thanks to everyone who posts on here for your suggestions, and for the Virtual Weber Bullet site.
- Gil
This year I went big: 99 pounds of meat.
Four Briskets, total 63 pounds:
slicing brisket by gilaadm, on Flickr
sliced brisket by gilaadm, on Flickr
Beef ribs, 21 pounds:
ribs with sauce by gilaadm, on Flickr
And three turkey breasts, 15 pounds:
smoked turkey, 1 of 3 by gilaadm, on Flickr
More pics are in the photo gallery:
http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?35880-99-pounds-of-meat-post-1-the-brisket
http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?35881-99-pounds-of-meat-post-2-the-ribs
http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?35882-99-pounds-of-meat-post-3-the-turkey-and-miscellany
First, the brisket. Four big ones. Total 63 pounds. Overnight smoke with burnt ends.
1) Marinate for at least a day in equal parts Red Wine Vinegar, Guinness Stout, and Apple Juice, with minced garlic, chopped scallions and sun dried tomatoes. After marinating, reserve the marinade and boil it. Rub the brisket with Fire & Flavor’s Coffee Rub.
2) Minion set up with Hickory, Mesquite and Apple chunks over Kingsford briquettes, on my 22.5 with a CajunBandit stacker. This set up takes 3 grates, but with beer cans I can place another grate so I can smoke all 4 briskets.
3) Started at 10 PM. Sprayed with mixture of Apple Juice and Espresso every 3 – 4 hours. After 3 hours the top brisket was at 127 degrees.
4) At 4 AM (6 hours), the top brisket was at 150 degrees. I put the briskets in foil pans with some of the boiled marinade, foiled the tops tightly, and put them back on the smoker. At this time, since I had to disassemble the stack, I replenished the coals and put on another lit chimney with 20 coals.
5) At 8 AM (10 hours) the brisket was just under 180 degrees. We cut off the tips to make burnt ends, and re-rubbed the exposed surface. Put the briskets, still in pans but unfoiled back on the smoker, to create a good bark. Kept them in the pans to gather the juices.
6) At 11 AM (13 hours) hours I poured the juices into the rest of the reserved marinade and cooked it down for a few hours. I also took off the briskets, wrapped them tightly, and put them in a cooler. They kept cooking in there for at least 3 hours.
7) Cubed the tips, rubbed with more of the Coffee Rub. Put them on the smoker and increased the air flow to bring the heat up from the low 200s to the high 200s. Spritzed them periodically.
My biggest challenge throughout the brisket cook was that I had to replenish the coals a few times. I think the added volume created by the CajunBandit stacker, combined with the 63 pounds of meat, was the main reason for this. I had a ceramic flower pot plate, and bricks – all foiled – in the water pan. I like using ceramic and brick to help maintain temperature, given how much heat you lose when you open the smoker.
Second, the ribs.
Minion set up on the 18.5 with Hickory chunks. Marinated for a day in an India Pale Ale. Rubbed with a special blend of spices made by my friends Erik and Rhona, who flew into Chicago from Philly for the meat fest. Put the ribs on at 8 AM. Towards the end of the cook, about 6 hours, basted them with a BBQ sauce that they created. Erik doesn’t like to tinker once he gets set up. We really didn’t do much to the ribs or the smoker during the cook.
Turkey
I saw the Smoked episode of “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” and was intrigued by Big Bob Gibson’s Turkey Breast. I found the recipe online:
Smoked Turkey Breast Roast with Honey Maple Glaze, Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book
1 Boneless skinless turkey breast, about 4 lbs
Wet Rub
2 teaspoons brown mustard
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
Dry Rub
1 Tbsp dark brown sugar
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp paprika (used my home made stuff)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (used my home made stuff)
Glaze
4 Tbsp butter (1/2 stick) -- we're Kosher, so I used margarine
3 Tbsp Maple syrup
1 Tbsp Honey
I like the skin, so I got breasts with skin. I rubbed the turkey breast in and out with the wet rub first, then with the dry rub, then tied them back up. Each was about 5 pounds. Put them on the 22.5 smoker with the Burnt Ends for 2 hours in the low to mid 200s, but I realized that the 22.5 was down to about 195 degrees. So after we took the ribs off of the 18.5 we put the turkey on it and cranked the heat up to 250 – 275 for another 30 – 45 minutes, until a temperature of 165 or so.
It was a blast, and I have to say that this site has been invaluable. Thanks to everyone who posts on here for your suggestions, and for the Virtual Weber Bullet site.
- Gil
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