17lb Brisket. What do!


 

Dupree

TVWBB Fan
Long story short. I ordered a 10lb brisket. Paid by CC over the phone for a friend to pick-up. When I called to pay with CC they were busy and hadn't put my bill together. Fine. I'll give you the number you charge it. Well. My friend shows up with a 17lb brisket. ***. I have to cook this thing for a party tomorrow so there is no other option. How do I fit this on my 18" Weber?
 
First, give it a good fat trim. And if the tail end of the flat is very thin (and they often are these days), just trim off a few inches as it's not going to cook up very well.

Then bring the cooking grate into the kitchen and see how it fits. If you can shoehorn it in between the two grate handles, even if it bulges up a bit, you're fine because it will shrink during cooking. If the fit is too tight, find a large chunk of smoke wood, wrap it in foil, and place it under the brisket so it kind of arches over the wood. Still not enough? Substitute a small metal bowl...just drape the brisket over it. You can always remove it part way through the process as the brisket shrinks.

Here's a shoehorned brisket:

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Here's a brisket draped over a block of wood and shoehorned:

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Thanks. I'll give it a shot. This is the weirdest looking brisket I've ever seen. Maybe it look more reasonable after I take it out of the vacuum pack. Looks actually over-trimmed.

For context so people don't think I'm a total idiot, just a partial idiot. Donated a BBQ dinner to my daughters school fund raiser auction. Family that won it has dietary requirements to meet. So I used their butcher. Ordered the meat, 10lbs. Told the guy I ordered a 10lb brisket, on several occasions as we worked out the details. Called to pay by phone, as the guy works near the butcher and was going to pick it up for me (it's about an hour out from my house). They didn't have the bill ready so I just left my CC as he had already given my the $/lb. Guy shows up to my house with a 17lb monster... no on thought to tell me apparently. Told the guy they might be able to serve until 11pm tomorrow... Never had a butcher more than double my order and usually if they can't get the weight, or close to it, I order they call me beforehand.
 
I would think a 10lb PACKER is fairly rare? I know I've never seen one. the smallest I've ever purchased was about 13-14 pounds.
Were you expecting a flat-cut (no point)?
Either way, when my packers are too big for my 18"WSM, I drape it over a Weber rib-rack. smoke is able to hit all areas of the meat.
 
Costco often has smaller packers. I bought one that was about 10 lbs. about a month ago. I didn't weigh it but when I got done trimming I doubt it was more than 8 lbs. Last time I was in there they had some larger ones. I think the biggest was 18 lbs. I bought beef ribs instead.
 
I've always separated the flat from the point/flat (slicing through the center looking down at it) and smoked them that way.

Since the flat is thinner put it on the lower grate.
 
Long story short. I ordered a 10lb brisket. Paid by CC over the phone for a friend to pick-up. When I called to pay with CC they were busy and hadn't put my bill together. Fine. I'll give you the number you charge it. Well. My friend shows up with a 17lb brisket. ***. I have to cook this thing for a party tomorrow so there is no other option. How do I fit this on my 18" Weber?

So what happened? :D
 
I've only done one so far, 14 pounds, 12 hours, and it was delightful! I had to tuck it under handles and it was pretty tight. It will be fine, I was all set to use a foiled brick under mine but, the arch shrank out and it turned out very well. Especially for a first attempt, I had a fair bit of hand holding from Tony UK and Rich Dahl. So, thanks to the forum!
 

 

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