Two Briskets at the Same Time on WSM18


 
B

BPStucky

New member
Hello All:
I am smoking two briskets next weekend. They are 16&17 lbs. Has anyone done two of this size on the top grate? I am concerned that if I go upper/lower that the bark won't set properly on the bottom brisket due to the drippings.

I am thinking that I can prop them together until they shrink enough to sit down properly. Will that work?

Bryan
 
w0w Bryan, that's a HUGE BBQ Task.... first of all, I did not know a 16lb brisket would FIT on an 18" grate...
my words are not helpful to you, but WELCOME to the forum!
Good Luck with your cook.
 
I've done 2 briskets on the 18" but not with both on the top grate. I'm not sure you'd be able to fit both on such a small area. I'd recommend rotating them, top and bottom maybe 1/2 way through the cook. If you do manage to get them both on the top grate, please share some pictures, I'd love to get a look at that and find out how they turn out!
 
I've cooked single big ones before by wedging between the handles. You need to wrap the tips for an hour or so to prevent char but it shrinks into level pretty quickly. Im not concerned about the length of them as much as the mass. It's a whole mess of meat! Rotating is my fallback but will give two on top a go.......somehow.
 
Can't wait to hear about this one. Those two suckers will eat up a lot of BTU's!!

You'll need to use both grates. FOR SURE. I'd suggest looking into a box-style cheese grater for the bottom level. That way, you can lay the brisket over it in an arch fashion so it'll fit. You may also need one for the top grate, although the top grate's handles allow you to "wedge" in the brisket.
 
I've done a few in the 16-17# range (one at a time) and one does take up alot of space at the beginning. Two, you could prolly stand on edge and form a lean to until they shrink.
When it's time to lay them flat you would have to worry about the outside edges cooking too fast, and if you add a band of foil for protection you have to worry about the whole air-flow thing.
Good luck! :wsm:
Tim
 
Well, I got it done! Both done actually. Had to go one on each level. No way they both were ever going to fit on one level.
Put larger of two (13 lb trimmed) on top and smaller (11.5 trimmed) on bottom.

Bottom level ran 30 lower than top for first 4-5 hours then pretty much leveled out. That meant lower ran at 225 or lower for a long time. And guess what? It was done almost FOUR HOURS SOONER!!

Need to go over notes and will post a more detailed report later. I hope the smaller one holds well for almost eight hours. Both snug in cambro now.

Thanks!
 
Post results once you slice those bad boys. Was there water in the pan? That might have contributed to the time and temperature discrepancy?
 
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