Prep Question for Christmas Day Dinner


 
BenM

BenM

TVWBB Fan
I'll be smoking a 20 pound brisket for Christmas Day dinner. I won't be back home on Christmas Eve until very late, but want to prep the brisket before leaving for the night.

Is it okay to season the brisket and leave it in the refrigerator overnight until place it on the smoker later that night or early the next morning?

Also, given the size, if I want to serve the brisket at 7 pm, when would I place it in the smoker, at what temp?

I've cooked several briskets before, but always in warmer temps, (I live in NYC) and always without much pressure. The last thing I want to do is screw up Xmas dinner for 20 people. Hence, the reason for this particular post.
 
Last edited:
dry seasoning and fridging exposed is a preferred prep method. personally, i'd only salt it the night before, leave it exposed in the fridge and then finish the seasoning before smoking the brisket.

here's a link to a bible of sorts on brisket cooking: https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/beef-and-bison-recipes/smoked-brisket-texas-style/

me personally, minimal trim. leave the fat on it for a better brisket is now my goto method. salted exposed overnight in the fridge lets the meat pick up a lot of flavor. just don't add more salt when you add the other rub ingredients (black pepper and gran garlic are my goto's). never separate the flat and point. cook as a single piece of meat. i don't add liquid on the wrap. i would consider adding rubbed on tallow though for my next cook and then wrap, in pink butcher paper only; never foil. and going over 202F in the flat will begin to dry the flat out from my experience. you're going to rest the beast so it'll have enough time to rise in temp anyways. i rest the beast, wrapped in its paper, in a large foil pan and cover the pan with kitchen towels and let it all sit in the oven with the oven OFF. a 4 hour rest is like a miracle. one hour rest would my minimum. i'd always try for 2-4 hours rest if time permits.

i am concerned about your times though. i just did a 21# brisket in late Sept in my WSK and it took 13 hours. i am betting the same brisket in the WSM will run longer on time due to different thermal properties of the WSM AND your potentially cold weather, which could extend your cooking times to much longer, say 15-18 hours. others can chime in more on their WSM winter experiences to validate/invalidate my assumptions here.

i'd recco starting that brisket the night you come home, say 12A-2A time frames and then assume at least a 13 hour cook at 225/250F. i'd target getting out of the stall at 8-10 hours into the cook, say 171/172F. then wrap the brisket and run up to 300F till 202F at the point.

feel free to ask any questions. you can refer to my rosh hashanah cook here for more details on my last jumbo brisket cook:

tvwbb.com

21.11# Rosh Hashanah smoked brisket coming up - Sat night overnight cook

And so the cook off begins. Bought a jumbo fatty. Wish me luck. The action starts this weekend.
tvwbb.com tvwbb.com
 
Last edited:
I’d do an overnight to be honest and start it about 6:00 but, that’s just me. After seeing some of the fantastic feasts I’ve see Brett post, his ideas sound good to me too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top