Brisket Quanity Question-HELP


 
M

M D Baldwin

TVWBB Super Fan
OK,
First of all we have done our share of Briskets, but we are planning a get together in a few weeks for about 40-50 people. I am planning to do 2-3 full fat off Briskets of about 12 lbs. each. It looks like I can only fit 2 full Briskets-one on top, one on bottom, any suggestions to increase the quantity? Also, should I use water in the pan and how long-the usual 1 1/2-2 hors per lb?
 
You could get the Big Green Egg grid extender mentioned in the "increasing capacity" section of TVWB. I just purchased one a couple of weeks ago and used it when I did 2 trays of ABTs recently. That would allow you 2 briskets up top, plus the one on the bottom.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by M D Baldwin:
OK,
First of all we have done our share of Briskets, but we are planning a get together in a few weeks for about 40-50 people. I am planning to do 2-3 full fat off Briskets of about 12 lbs. each. It looks like I can only fit 2 full Briskets-one on top, one on bottom, any suggestions to increase the quantity? Also, should I use water in the pan and how long-the usual 1 1/2-2 hors per lb? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

First of all, you state you've done your share of briskets. If they were good, don't change your strategy. If you used water in the pan, do it on this cook also. No need to complicate things.

Craig and Todd have some good ideas. Here's a couple more, good or bad.

24 pounds of brisket (after trimming) will come close to feeding the 40 to 50 people. Depends on the make up of the crowd. Could you fill in with other goodies like beans, pasta salads, etc.?

Another alternative would be to cook a brisket ahead of time, and have it ready to reheat if neccessary.
 
I built 2 expansion racks using 4 6-inch lenghts of threaded rods attached to a replacement rack. The rods have nuts and washers on the bottom that allow the expansions racks to stand on one of the WSM racks. This gives me 4 cooking levels. One of my regular cooks have a brisket on bottom, beans on an expansion rack butts on the top rack, and ABTs on the top.

These racks have been a great addition to my WSM.
 
I had to do the same thing a couple of weeks ago, but I cooked 1 brisket the weekend before, and froze it, then the other two the following weekend.

Before I put it in the freezer, I wrapped it securely in foil, and added about 2 cups of beef broth. I brought it out on Thurs p.m. to use on Sunday and let it thaw slowly in the fridge. It was still a bit frozen Sunday a.m., so I put it in the oven at 200 for about an hour, then sliced it. It sliced so smoothly and tasted like fresh cooked. It had absorbed most of the broth. I did an overnighter with the other two; sliced them all and put them in those big aluminum pans from Sam's. I did add some sauce (thinned with AJ) over the top and held them in the oven to stay warm till we left, since there were no warming facilities at the picnic.

They were very well received by the group (motorcycle club). There were about 35-40 people. Someone brought chicken too, but no-one ate much of that. There were tons of sides and desserts too, and I brought home about 3/4 brisket which they want me to freeze and hold for another party. I may just chop that when it comes time to resurrect it.

Thom
 
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