Advice Needed to when to Start Large Brisket


 
C

Chris OH

New member
Hello,

We're going to be having a backyard BBQ this Saturday with a large (just over 20 lb untrimmed) brisket and two 8 lb pork shoulders in my 18" WSM. I run the WSM without water in the pan to aid in cleanup, so the temperatures aren't as stable as they'd otherwise be. I'm hoping the brisket will fit in the lower rack after I trim it; if not, I'll use the top rack at least to start until it shrinks.

Ideally, we'd like to have everything ready to eat around 6:30 PM on Saturday. Anyway, there are two options on when I can put the brisket on: around 4:00 PM on Friday or closer to bedtime that evening around 10:30 or so. Either way, I plan on putting the pork butts on before bed at the later time since they're much smaller. Usually, something goes wrong in my cooks, so I almost always appreciate starting early, but my concern is that starting around 4:00 on Friday, which would be over 24 hours ahead of time, is too much time, but I wanted to get everyone's thoughts on this. Either way, I'll rest the meat in a cooler once it's done and can use the oven to hold it if it's done more than a few hours ahead (i.e. too long for the cooler alone). Any suggestions on what time you'd recommend starting the brisket with this setup? Thanks in advance.
 
Holding brisket in a well insulated picnic cooler for 6-8 hours isn't a problem, with the obvious caveat of keeping it above 140 degrees F. You can preheat the cooler with hot water (be careful to not warp the sheet plastic, that's easier than you think,) or add thermal mass like a couple of wrapped bricks you've heated up.
 
Welcome to the rabbit hole which is brisket cookery!
First, good for you to ask on Thursday and not Friday night!!
Now, I am an 18” WSM guy as well, I do my cooks a little differently than many here. I use a combination of Enrico Brandizzi’s “sidewinder” method whereby you fill the coal ring as full as possible and then I put the center section on and light the coal with a torch through the door. Torching for three to five minutes generally.
The other thing I do is use Harry Soo’s smokewood under the coal trick, I use a fair amount of chunks spread across the bottom (10-15 depending on size)
The 20# brisket, I’d put on the top grate and “shoehorn it in” between the handles, there will be shrinkage. I find that works very well without adding a brick or anything else to have to move after the cook. Some use a piece of smoke wood just seems like an unnecessary messy thing to clean up. I’ve needed roughly an hour a pound on briskets but, they can fool you! Be vigilant.
I’ve not done both butts and brisket but, butts below will add a significant amount of time and fuel to the project butts seem to run between nine and twelve hours for me using the same method.
Have a couple of coolers on hand (thank you for the gifts from Omaha steaks!) and, towels on hand (old ones, as little fragrance as possible) so you can foil wrap and, drop in the coolers when they reach proper temp and feel (FEEL is most important, in my opinion)
I like a three to four hour rest when possible, sometimes they go longer sometimes not as long. I’ve had a brisket rest as long as six and it was incredible!
I think your timeline seems pretty good.
I Start two hours earlier than I think I want and results do not suffer! If things get a really long rest, it will give you time to get the party zone set up and still have a chance for a celebratory beverage before guests arrive!
Good luck, let us all know how it turns out.

P.S.
JKalchick is right about a foil wrapped brick (with a towel) as a “pre heater” for the cooler.
 
Hot hold in your kitchen oven at 140-160F.

Much better than the cooler/towels method. Because you can do it for up to 24 hours -- and maybe even longer.

The hot hold is THE power move for landing the brisket plane on time. The main trick is to figure out how to get the oven to run low enough.

My oven (like most) has a lowest setting of 170F. Most folks advise a hold temperature of about 150F. My oven (who knew) has a setting that lets you adjust the temp up/down by 35 degrees. After testing with a probe thermometer, I found that a 185F setting and a minus 35F adjustment works out to exactly 150F for my oven. That's on convection roast, butcher paper wrap, and with a big pan of water at the bottom of the oven. My oven can run for many many hours on end within 1-2 degrees of the 150F target.

It makes the cook's job soooo much easier. Even more so if you do the last few post-wrap cooking hours also in the oven.

And improves the brisket too (by melting/rendering the fat more completely). I mean Aaron Franklin does it every day for about 12 hours.

Last brisket I did was done at 11 AM after an overnight. Dinner was supposed to be at 6 PM. Guests got delayed in traffic and we ate at 8:30 PM. 9.5 hours -- no problem. Brisket was perfect.

Fearless leader Chris explains further.



P.S. On my WSM 18, I usually separate the flat and point and cook separately using two grates (point below; flat on top). Since you are doing pork butts too, that may not help with your space allocation.
 
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Jim C in Denver said:
Hot hold in your kitchen oven at 140-160F.

Much better than the cooler/towels method. Because you can do it for up to 24 hours -- and maybe even longer.

The hot hold is THE power move for landing the brisket plane on time. The main trick is to figure out how to get the oven to run low enough.

My oven (like most) has a lowest setting of 170F. Most folks advise a hold temperature of about 150F. My oven (who knew) has a setting that lets you adjust the temp up/down by 35 degrees. After testing with a probe thermometer, I found that a 185F setting and a minus 35F adjustment works out to exactly 150F for my oven. That's on convection roast, butcher paper wrap, and with a big pan of water at the bottom of the oven. My oven can run for many many hours on end within 1-2 degrees of the 150F target.

It makes the cook's job soooo much easier. Even more so if you do the last few post-wrap cooking hours also in the oven.

And improves the brisket too (by melting/rendering the fat more completely). I mean Aaron Franklin does it every day for about 12 hours.

Last brisket I did was done at 11 AM after an overnight. Dinner was supposed to be at 6 PM. Guests got delayed in traffic and we ate at 8:30 PM. 9.5 hours -- no problem. Brisket was perfect.

Fearless leader Chris explains further.



P.S. On my WSM 18, I usually separate the flat and point and cook separately using two grates (point below; flat on top). Since you are doing pork butts too, that may not help with your space allocation.
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Thanks so much - this is very helpful and what I anticipate doing; I've also done it in the past. My oven's keep warm mode goes as low as 140, so 150 should be easy enough. I think at this point, my biggest concern is fitting all the meat on the 18" WSM for the reason you mentioned. Unfortunately, due to the number of guests coming, not to mention the limited number of briskets Costco had on hand, I didn't have the luxury to get anything smaller that would fit better.
 
I'd do the brisket and butts serially. Not simultaneously. While you can fit it all into a 18.5 (barely) I'd personally be worried pulling off a cook of so much meat at the same time.

I'd do the brisket alone Friday overnight split into two pieces. Into the oven Saturday morning (for a couple hours of finish cooking if needed and then a long hot hold).

Then do the pork butts alone beginning Saturday morning. Which would give you enough space to butterfly them to speed the cook time up. I do it all the time with the boneless butt two-packs I get from Costco. Again, Leader Chris explains.

Or you could do the brisket during the day on Friday with an even longer hot hold. Then butts overnight Friday.

 
I like Jim’s divide and conquer method, if you can do the 150* hold for the brisket(I always do mine full packer) perfect! Take the brisket off, drop the butts on, go back to bed!
I’ve never done it that way but, im thinking that I should pretty soon!! More feasting? More good time!!
 
suggestions for cheat codes here.

if you don't need or want to cook a 20# brisket, trim off some flat and make that for future burgers. when forming/shaping a brisket, you can easily cut off 2# when rounding the flat. the skinny end of a flat will burn anyways so i'd still remove that. watch any trimming video to see how.

i'd cut a bunch of the fat off that 20 for a wsm cook. you DON'T want to render all that fat into the WSM as the fat will burn and impart an acrid flavor on your smoking brisket. trim the fat cap to around .75" thick. save the fat and render on stove to for fresh tallow. you can fridge or freeze the tallow. tallow makes the best fries and you can easily cook with it once you make it.

cook the brisket fat cap down on a WSM. if you're going to start the brisket on the top grate, dome it by placing wood chunks or foil wrapped bricks under the center of it so it "domes" in shape. this is the easiest way to shoehorn a brisket onto a 18.5 WSM.

on your PB's halve them so you get more bark surface are and reduce the cook time. this method helps ensure an even cook and the bonus is more bark. and everyone like the bark so it's a win win.

hope this helps. i'd use the oven as my brisket hold vessel. super easy to use and you're not dealing with hot beef juices that can hurt when they hit your skin. and a large tray makes a jiggly 20# (it'll be 16# when you cook it if you trim it) easier to manage.
 
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Sounds like a great cook. Agree with others. I’d go option 1 of starting earlier at 4pm Friday.

PS - I’m wondering if I’m the only one who thinks brisket and pulled pork reheated tastes better than fresh off the pit 😅 Sliced and quick warm up on the pan the next day…delicious!
 
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