Plan & soliciting feedback for big weekend cook

[Frank Mahovlich]

The job: 16 lb brisket packer & 9 racks of St. Louis spares. Big family party that I want to nail this cook for. WSM 22. Ideally would like to have the cook wrapped up and be on the road by 11:00am Saturday morning. Need to transport meat about 45 minutes across town.

The plan: Gonna put the brisket on Friday evening for a low & slow overnight cook. Shooting to cook at 250 using hardwood lump. Gonna inject with beef broth / worcestchire mix. Gonna wrap after bark has set, and put into a foil pan to finish cooking. Main purpose for this is catch as much of the aus jus that I hope turns out like liquid crack as it has for me in the past. Been a coupla years since I've done it this way, but that's what I'm shooting for.

Planning on getting the brisket off the smoker by about 7am. I can finish the brisket in the oven if time constraints become an issue. Gonna separate the point & flat. Let the flat rest down to about 160, then wrap and throw into the faux cambro. Gonna add some more fuel to the cooker up to about 280 or so. At this point, will throw the spares onto the smoker using rib racks.

Gonna cube up the point, toss in sauce and throw a bit more rub on. Then back on the smoker while the ribs are cooking.

Hoping to pull the ribs about 10:00 - 10:30. Will rest ribs for a bit, then foil and into coolers for the ride.

Then pull burnt ends, throw into foil pan, cover, and into the cambro for the ride.

Upon arrival, gonna slice up the bones and cover to keep warm until serving.

Gonna set up a carving station and slice brisket flat to order for sammiches so it stays hot & moist.

Anyone see any issues with this plan or have any suggestions to improve it? Any & allrecimmendtions appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
FM

 

[aks801]

Overall it looks like you have a good plan, and having this done ahead of time will help you when things start getting "crazy" (i.e. you can still get it done without stressing out).

So: the ribs. To me that is the issue. Specifically, I think they'll need more time in the WSM than you have allotted. If you pull the brisket at 7, then allot time to crank up the heat then the ribs really aren't on until 7:30 and you are saying you'll pull them by 10:30. Baby Backs might be done in 3 hours, but I don't think the St. Louis will be. It would be great if you could put the ribs on the lower grate while the brisket is still up top but 9 racks won't fit.

How about adjusting your target time for pulling the brisket to 6 at the latest. You could put in the ribs immediately, open up the bottom vents and add some more fuel. That gives the ribs 4.5 hours which should be fine.

 

[jdefran]

Will 9 racks of ribs and a pan of burnt ends fit at the same time? Do you have kettle you can use?

 

[Frank Mahovlich]

Thanks Alan- You are probably right on the money with the ribs- thanks for bringing this up. Getting the ribs on earlier would be better, but then my concern is resting the brisky that long. Not sure I could keep it warm / safe from 6am until 1:00pm, assuming it would be done by 6. Maybe I'll just plan on finishing it in the oven. Wouldn't be my first choice, but shouldn't really cause any harm.

JD- Yeah, I will have room for 9 racks (rib racks save an amazing amount of space) and burnt ends. Should also have room for a pan of Keri C's famous beans, as well.

Thanks again for the assist, gents. Would love to hear thoughts from anyone else.

Thanks,
FM

 

[Evil-g]

I'm with AKS801 with the ribs. I try to give myself a hour and half leeway for Murphys Law. Work your plan and have a good cook.

 

[McSpazatron]

Last week I cooked a similar sized brisket. Needed to be done at 3pm, so I started at about 12am, but that turned into about 12:30am (murphy's law or being too slow on trimming), I kept the fire at about 275, anticipating it finishing around 1pm. Took until almost 2:30pm to probe tended however. By the time it rested, wrapped it, and transported to the home about 5 minutes away, it was a little after 3. I sliced and panned the brisket around 3:30.

I would give yourself more than an hour of cushion just in case . If the brisket is not done by the time the ribs need to go on, throw the brisket in the oven at a low temp, like 220 or something. If you set a real nice bark on it before going in the oven, it should be fine.

 

[Evil-g]

How many people are you cooking for?

 

[pjtexas1]

i would not let the brisket cool down to 160 and the hold for 3 hours. i would vent the brisket for 15-20 minutes and then wrap it up and hold it. if it starts to drop below 150 i would throw it in the oven on the lowest setting. if you can't tell i'm one of those guys that gets paranoid with food temps when serving to others.

on big important cooks i like to give myself an extra hour, 2 would be better. all kinds of things can go wrong and the extra time will help you from stressing and/or not having the food ready on time. big cuts of meat can be held for several hours so if you get done early then you have time to shower and other things we forget about when all we can focus on is cooking.

 

[Frank Mahovlich]

Thank you for all the advice, much appreciated! :thumb::thumb:

Cooking for a group of 35-40, kids and adults. There will be hot dogs and tons of sides, as it is a pot-luck type BBQ.

Far as holding the brisket- is 15-20 minutes of venting a safe guideline before wrapping and putting it into the cambro?

Probably be a good idea for me to pull the brisket closer to 6:00am. If it's not completely done I can finish it up in the oven. But I'd probably feel more comfortable knowing the ribs will be on and cooking by 6:30.

Holding: I am planning on using coolers to hold the meat. Plan is to warm up the inside of the coolers with hot water, vent the meat for a couple of minutes so it doesn't continue to cook, wrap in foil and stack into the coolers. Any thoughts or flaws in this logic?

Thank you again,
FM

 

[McSpazatron]

Good luck with it, sounds like a good plan. The only thing I would say, is don't be a slow poke like me and start prepping the ribs to late. That brisket should come off, done or not, when it's time for the ribs to go on. Those ribs will probably need every last minute.

It won't be a shame if you have to finish it the brisket in the oven. Just call it "enhanced holding."

 

[landarc]

I agree with PJTexas1, his advice is spot on.

 

[Frank Mahovlich]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Ended up pulling the brisket off the fire about 6:30, had to finish it in the oven for the last hour to get the ribs on.

Thanks for the suggestion to plan things a bit earlier. I'da been way behind schedule had I not.

Brisket's holding in the faux cambro, ribs on the smoker now, Keri's Apple Hog Beans in the crock. Getting ready to hit the road in about an hour and a half.

Many thanks again, Brethren.

 

[landarc]

Thanks for the feedback, always appreciate hearing how these things go when someone asks for advice.