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Good question. Next time, I'll trim the fat caps thinner. I left a little more than usual, because Chris from Cajun Bandit said the 3rd grate and water pans are slightly closer to the fire. Turns out that wasn't an issue at all. The lower briskets cooked just fine.

Hi folks: Saturday's 5-brisket BBQ is in the books. I installed a 3rd grate, and smoked 5 briskets (around 75 lbs). I put 2 on the top grate, 2 on the middle grate, and 1 on the bottom grate. I used the Minion method, with around 25 lbs of briquettes and a few oak chunks. Top vent was at 100%...

Good question. I'm curious too! In my experience, the briskets on the top grate cook faster than those on the bottom, even though the lower ones are closer to the coals. I suspect the water pan is acting both as a convective air deflector and a radiant heat shield. What I'm curious about is how...

Hi Joe: I loved your comment. Really put a smile on my face. Believe it or not, I am happily married (at least, I think) and this is indeed taking place at our house. But you're right: my wife isn't thrilled with our hosting 85 people :) Though we've hosted 120 people before, where on top of...

Thank you all for the added advice. I agree that getting a 2nd smoker would be the easiest solution, but I don't have the extra room to store 2 smokers. I like your suggestions to add more time to my estimates, and just hold them for longer. I'll definitely do that. I agree that serving...

Hi folks. I appreciate all the responses. Yes, airflow is the challenge here. For the last 15 years, I've smoked four 16-18 lb briskets (64-72 lbs of meat), and even though they initially take up the entire surface area of both grates, they're done after 10-14 hours (depending on weather and...

I'm having a BBQ for around 85 people, and I want to smoke 5 briskets at once. The most I've ever smoked in my bullet are four 16-lb briskets. I was debating whether to buy a 2nd smoker, but then I saw that Cajun Bandit sells something called the "Extended Rack Support Kit25" which adds a 3rd...

I think if I keep the WSM's thermometer in the 225-250 range (with the occasional dip or spike), it should be sufficient to keep the meats (regardless of grate placement) in the 225-275 degree range for most of the time. I'll try to document the process along the way, with photos and notes, as...

Thanks again to everyone for their responses. For this weekend's 4 briskets, I'm just going to put the 2 largest on the bottom grate, and the 2 smallest on top. Bam. Done. When the top ones are done, I'll take them off and then check the bottom ones (which will be much easier now without 20...

Thanks for the link to the temperature tests. According to those tests, the bottom grate runs cooler than the top grate. I thought that the bottom grate would be hotter. I'm confused. Which is it? (I'll be smoking 4 11-13 lb packer briskets: 2 on top; 2 on bottom). Regarding the suggestion...

Thanks for the responses. I was wondering this not because I wanted to obsess over exact calculations; quite the opposite: I wanted to avoid checking the meat on the bottom grate, until *after* the top meat is done and removed from the top grate. Otherwise, I'll need to pull off the top grate...

From what I understand, when there's water in the pan, there's a 5-10 degree difference in temperature, between the top and bottom grates. But what if the pan's empty? I presume that the bottom grate will be hotter. But by how much? I tried searching the forum, but couldn't find an answer...

OK, so my trial run is done. My 11 lb brisket took about 11 hours to cook. I even managed to squeeze in a few hours' sleep. Here are the meats of my labor: http://picasaweb.google.com/ds...tAttemptAtBBQBrisket Based on how the brisket came out, I'm cautiously optimistic that I'll be able to...

Hi Tim: So, would you say that, as a complete beginner, I could use lump charcoal just as easily as briquettes? They wouldn't burn hotter? Using the Minion method, would I be able to maintain the temperature of lump charcoal, for as long as the Kingsford briquettes? (Or would I need to stay up...

Thanks for all the great advice. Very helpful. In terms of temperature control, I'll try to keep the temperature in the 220-250 range as much as possible. I imagine there'll be some dips and spikes along the way; I'll be sure not to overreact. I'll make sure the water level is between 50% to...

Then hot water it shall be, in both cases. I just figured that 4 briskets would act as their own heat sink, especially in the first half of the cook. Could I substitute sand or bricks? Or is it better to stick with water, since I'm new to all this?

Excellent. Then briquettes it shall be. The size of the brisket will likely be in the 10-12 lb range; I'll see what's available at the Restaurant Depot this Saturday afternoon. I'll do a test-fire this Saturday (one week before the main event), using just one packer brisket. For the main...

Yes, yes. I know I'm foolhardy, and ridiculously over-ambitious. Still, I'm confident I'll be able to pull it off. I just have one question: should I pore the liquid smoke directly on the meat, or over the coals? Just kidding. My question is about lump charcoal. This site's recipes call for...