5 briskets in the WSM

[Dimitri]

I’m kinda curious,
So if you cook 5 or 6 briskets the exact same way at the same time in the same cooker do they all turn out the same?
I bet they don’t and knowing why would be interesting.

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 that third grate will affect airflow. Will the middle grate's briskets get the most heat? We'll see.

I'll try to document everything with photos, metrics, and final results.

My goal is to develop a solid bark and smoke flavor (maybe around 170 F) before finished them in my oven, followed by a long hold at 150 F, for 10 or so hours until the event.

I'm not too concerned about them being in the danger zone. The brisket surfaces will surpass 140F within the first hour, and the smoke should inhibit bacterial growth. I'll also rotate the briskets during the cook and closely monitor the coals to avoid any temperature dips. I won't be adding water to the pan, as six briskets should release plenty of moisture on their own.

 

[CaseyMcC]

I have some sort of moral qualm with oven finishing, I just see whatever I'm doing through outdoors, it takes as long as it takes. I'm not recommending my own rigidity in that area though as it is just emotion talking.

Speaking of emotion, if I put 78 pounds of brisket in our oven for three hours on a day when 85 people were expected, my wife might have an emotion or two to share with me. I take it either you are single or this BBQ is not at your own house? You sound brave either way. Good luck!

Oven finishing anything that has 4 or more hours smoke on it also runs a high risk of a baked in smoke aroma in your kitchen for a few days. It's nice at first, but it's annoying to still smell Sunday's cook on Wednesday evening.

 

[Brett-EDH]

Oven finishing anything that has 4 or more hours smoke on it also runs a high risk of a baked in smoke aroma in your kitchen for a few days. It's nice at first, but it's annoying to still smell Sunday's cook on Wednesday evening.

i few teaspoons of cinnamon into an aluminum foil boat and bake for 30 minutes will clear most oven and house smells.

 

[timothy]

Not that I have a problem with BBQ smells but that's why I have a whole house fan esp useful for frying.
Mom always said if you want the house to smell good, fry up some onions and peppers.

 

[Jay Jordan]

Looking forward to hearing how this works out.

 

[Dimitri]

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%, with 3 bottom vents at 50% each throughout the cook.

7 hours in, I moved the briskets to different grates, to ensure they continued to cook evenly. Color on all of them was event. Nothing looked burnt or undercooked. I then added 20 unlit briquettes, for some insurance.

Total time to reach 195 F was 10 to 12 hours. I wrapped them in foil and tallow, and held them in a 150 F oven for 12 hours.

At the 12-hour mark, the Typhur probes were still reading 250-280 F. I'm confident that I could've smoked 6 briskets.

Took some photos early on, but forgot to take photos of the unwrapping or slicing. It was a little hectic, as I was carving and serving to order.

The briskets all had nice smoke rings with great flavor. Not over-smoked at all. The points were juicy and tender. The flats, while not as juicy as I'd hoped, were still tender and passed the weight and pull tests.

Overall, I'm very happy with how it all turned out. Left out a lot of little details from my post, but I'm happy to answer any questions, while it's fresh in my mind.

Thanks for everyone's great advice!

Dimitri

 

[AndyK]

That is a whole lotta brisket put out by a wsm.
I can barely get a large one squeezed into my wsm 18 and I’m really shoe horning, wood blocking and foiling the ends to get it in there.

Would you change or modify any part of the cook?
As long as you are happy with the results I say good on you.

Me? I’d love to take on an occasional commercial gig or cater a party so I could justify a nice multi rack smoker, but it sounds too much like work.

Once again, congrats.

 

[R Chin]

How about grabbing a cheap Masterbuilt electric smoker off of CL to use as a holding oven?

(Me thinking of a reason to keep my masterbuilt electric smoker around…)

 

[Dimitri]

That is a whole lotta brisket put out by a wsm.
I can barely get a large one squeezed into my wsm 18 and I’m really shoe horning, wood blocking and foiling the ends to get it in there.

Would you change or modify any part of the cook?
As long as you are happy with the results I say good on you.

Me? I’d love to take on an occasional commercial gig or cater a party so I could justify a nice multi rack smoker, but it sounds too much like work.

Once again, congrats.

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.