Brisket and Bratwurst for a Crowd


 
S

SalP

TVWBB Member
A couple of weeks ago my wife volunteered me to smoke brisket for her grandmothers side family reunion. So we packed up the truck with the WSM and drove 18 hours to Lake Namakagon, Wisconsin.
There were around 50 there. Using half a pound a piece as a guide, I bought 3 packers at around 13.5 lbs a piece. After trimming ended up with 26 lbs.
I wasn't sure how long this was going to take. I had only smoked a brisket on the WSM 2 weeks earlier. They wanted to eat at 6pm, so I figured to be off the smoker by 3, then wrapped and put into the cooler.
I added a 3rd grate between the top and bottom using threaded rods. From the Virtual Weber Bullet Stacking Grates .
I also used a heatermeter so I could sleep and monitor the temps from my phone.

Started around 10:30pm. Being my first overnight smoke on the WSM I wasn't sure what to expect.
I really couldn't have been happier. Temps were between 215 and 280. I was shooting for 250.

Bottom brisket was at 195 around 10:30 am the other two were at 180 and 185.
So I shuffled them. At 11:00 I pulled the top one (which was the bottom one) it was at 200.
Wrapped it in foil and a towel and put it in the cooler.

Around 12:00 I pulled the other two. they were at 195, I probed and there was no resistance.
Wrapped those and put them in the cooler.

I thought these would take longer. Kept monitoring the temps in the cooler. Around 4:00 they were getting to around 150. So I threw them into the oven set at 190. When the temps got back up to 160 at about 5:30 put them back into the cooler and then moved everything to where the dinner was.

In addition to the briskets, I also smoked 24 fresh bratwurst. Put those on around 4:30 and they were done at 5:30. Wrapped those and put them in the cooler.
As a side I also made about 2 gallons of Texas Butter Beans.

The briskets turned out great. Everyone really enjoyed the dinner, well except for the two vegetarians who kept on commenting on how good the brisket looked and smelled.

Wish I would have gotten better/more pictures. Only had about 2lbs of brisket and 12 bratwurst left.

The only thing I can think of is that the ends of all 3 briskets were really over cooked and dry.

How do you keep the ends from drying out?






 
Quite impressive endeavor, Sal! As to the ends overcooking, I'm afraid it's hard to avoid without foiling if the ends are hanging past the edge of the pan, which is generally the case on the 18. Also, keep in mind that while extended holding is a good thing, residual cooking can occur in the foil. So it's generally a good idea to let the meat lose it's steam a bit before foiling and holding in a cooler.

Congrats on the cook. I would've never thought of trying three briskets on my 18. Sounds like you rolled with it and did a great job!
 
So we packed up the truck with the WSM and drove 18 hours to Lake Namakagon, Wisconsin.
Click to expand...
Thats quite the hike for us down in the southeastern portion of Wisconsin ... But for you driving from Texas ...
Everything looks Great Sal!!

Bayfield County is gorgeous in the summer
 
I thought burnt ends were a delicacy. :)
Driving 18 hours and putting on a feast like that was above and beyond the call of duty. I'm amazed the vegetarians were able to resist. Great job!
 
As said already Sal, well done. Three briskets is an endeavour for sure, thought I did well doing two last year for a party so I will certainly look at the stacking of the racks as that sounds like a great idea.
Sure everyone really appreciated the effort - including the vegetarians !!!!

Well done
 
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