Is it possible to smoke 4 small briskets in the large WSM?


 
T

Tom V

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I need to make brisket for 80 people. I was wondering if anyone has tried to smoke 4 small 12-13 briskets in the 22.5 WSM. I just wanted to see if it was possible. If not, I need to figure out something else out.
 
You might fit them on with some judicious trimming, but I would worry about airflow with both racks jammed. The famous and revered Salt Lick smokes their briskets in industrial-sized smokers until almost done, then wraps them in heavy plastic wrap and refrigerates them. As needed, they are then unwrapped and reheated/finished on the Salt Lick's open pits where they are mopped with sauce as they heat. You could easily do two at-a-time on the 22, then reheat the first two as the second pair rests after cooking..
 
You could try one of these modifications to fit more. Will brisket be the main thing you're serving at this event? I'd be concerned that 4 briskets might not be enough for 80 hungry people.

You could do two at a time, and finish wrapped in the oven. 6 hours to set the bark on the first batch, then load up the second as the first goes into the oven.
 
Robert-R said:
I think you could if you hung them. Wrap in foil or parchment paper.

I hung a full packer in the 14.5: http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?588...4-5-with-Kraftwrap&highlight=full+packer+14.5

The 22.5 is HUGE !!! You should have ample room.
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The problem there is it's 50+ lb of meat. I have the 18" WSM rack and assuming the 22 is made of the same material, I doubt the bars could hold that much meat without bending. Unless he has a homemade rack as seen elsewhere on this site (it's in the Gallery but I don't remember who posted/made it), it's not likely to have a successful outcome.

In an aside, with ~ 50% final product, 25 lb for 80 people, as YYang suggests that is not going to be enough for one sandwich each, even if you have sides. Once people taste it, 2/3 of a sandwich is not going to leave many people happy. If it's going to be sliced (on a plate with sides), even more will be unhappy.

edit-->why not just do 2 at a time 3-4 days before the event and do a re-heat in yours (and another cook's) home oven the day of the event? With 4 people warming one brisket each the day of, it's very doable (just remember, 4-13 lb'rs may not be enough).

Here's a bunch of ideas regarding a smoke one day/re-heat the next
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/108891/brisket-smoke-one-day-and-oven-the-next
 
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Thanks for the help. I will probably cook it ahead of time. The extra challenge is this is going to be a cub scout camping trip, so I won't have access to an oven or electricity for that matter.
 
Tom V said:
Thanks for the help. I will probably cook it ahead of time. The extra challenge is this is going to be a cub scout camping trip, so I won't have access to an oven or electricity for that matter.
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In your shoes, I would likely cook them ahead of time and reheat them on-site. Rest them unwrapped until 170 internal; tightly wrap in foil; refrigerate; transport to site in cooler with ice; fire up the WSM; reheat in foil to 170; rest for at least an hour; slice.
 
Just for reference. Four 13 pound briskets will fit in a 22.5" WSM. It's a really tight squeeze at first, but once the brisket shrink, you have plenty of space.
 
Tom V said:
Just for reference. Four 13 pound briskets will fit in a 22.5" WSM. It's a really tight squeeze at first, but once the brisket shrink, you have plenty of space.
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Four 12# full packers can fit. I cooked two briskets (12.5 & 10.7 #s trimmed) in my 22.5 WSM. You will need to place them on their edge in the beginning. As they cook and shrink, you will be able to place them flat on the racks. You could foil the flat edge that extends past the water pan to prevent overcooking and flare ups. I got 9 hours at 220-260 before I panned and wrapped each brisket to finish off in 300 ovens (kitchen oven and Genesis).

Plan on plenty of charcoal. Extra table/counter top, oven and cooler space is needed. An extra set of hands or two always helps.

Good luck.
 
I always ask my butcher for a couple 16 pound briskets and they can't always get them. I have found that a 13 to 16 pound brisket takes up 90% of the rack. The other option is to hang them, hanging them will enable 4 briskets. Use a lot of hook, the meat gets pretty tender and may fall off the hooks, which is why I leave the bottom grate in and use the expansion section.



 
Craig Wallace said:
I always ask my butcher for a couple 16 pound briskets and they can't always get them. I have found that a 13 to 16 pound brisket takes up 90% of the rack. The other option is to hang them, hanging them will enable 4 briskets. Use a lot of hook, the meat gets pretty tender and may fall off the hooks, which is why I leave the bottom grate in and use the expansion section.



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Killer!!! Are you wrapping them? Or just letting them cook? Do they ever get horizontal?
 
Tom V said:
Thanks for the help. I will probably cook it ahead of time. The extra challenge is this is going to be a cub scout camping trip, so I won't have access to an oven or electricity for that matter.
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As a fellow cub scout cook, I applaud your effort. FWIW, I've done two ~12# packers at the same time on just the lower rack of my 18.5. I modified a rib rack to hold them on edge and used some bamboo skewers to keep them in place until they shrank a bit. Using that method, I'd bet you could probably get 4 on the 22. However, it would be a gamble you probably can't afford to take with a bunch of hungry kids & parents. Trust me, I've been there.

Personally, I'd...
  • cook them ahead (at least a couple of days) and pull them short of being "probe tender"
  • stash them in the fridge overnight
  • slice them cold (an electric knife would be helpful)
  • arrange the slices in foil pans
  • heat the pans in the WSM at 225-250, adding 1-2 cups of beef broth or au jus to each pan to guard against drying out - cover the pans tightly with foil

Also, our pack has an unwritten rule that every dinner has at least two proteins. Someone is not going to like brisket (*gasp!*), or be anti-red-meat (it causes cancer, you know), or just want something different. Our last trip, we did prime rib (donated by one of the parents), pulled pork (which is pretty much a requirement on every trip now), and boneless/skinless chicken thighs. We fed 90+ people and most adults had a bit of PR and PP; the chicken was mostly consumed by the scouts.

In your situation - assuming this is for Saturday's dinner and you're camping over Friday night - what I might recommend is starting a couple of butts Friday night so they'll be close to done by about noon Saturday. When they're close to done, foil 'em up and stash them in a cooler with some bricks heated up on a grill or in the campfire (line the bottom of the cooler with a thick towel or they'll melt into it!). Using that method, I've held butts for a solid 4 hours and they practically shred themselves after that rest.
 
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