The Texas BBQ Forum

I posted this in the BBQ section also but wasn't sure where I would get the quickest response so here goes.

I will be cooking next weekend for about 50-60 folks. I plan on 4 briskets and about 20-30 lbs of chicken. I'm not sure how to cook that much meat at one time. I built a 6' smoker of 18" pipe with a 2' fire box. I know I can cook 4-6 briskets at once but not sure if I can get everything on there at once. I have all day Friday to cook and the party is at noon on Saturday. How much do I need to space the meat so it doesn't bring down my cooking chamber temp? Obviously the chicken won't go on the cooker till later in the day because it won't take as long to cook. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated... Here's a picture of the cooker I will be using. It's a little bigger than it looks. It's 18" pipe.

Cook the briskets the day/night before. Don't cook then all the way, but pretty close. When they are done wrap them in foil and then line a cooler with a towel . Put the briskets in overnight.
Saturday morning cook your chicken. Take your briskets out of cooler and they should still be warm if not hot.
Done and you're the hero and envy of all your guest.

TXLNGHRN wrote:Cook the briskets the day/night before. Don't cook then all the way, but pretty close. When they are done wrap them in foil and then line a cooler with a towel . Put the briskets in overnight.
Saturday morning cook your chicken. Take your briskets out of cooler and they should still be warm if not hot.
Done and you're the hero and envy of all your guest.

x2

If I don't cook them all the way, will they finish cooking and tender up in the cooler overnight if I wrap them in towels? i just wanna make sure that we don't end up with chewy brisket...

Also What temp and length of time would it take to get 4 ea 12 lb briskets up to 190 internal temp? This is a new smoker and i have only cooked on it a couple of times so I'm not sure how a big smoker like this will act when I put 48 lbs of meat on it... Based on basic heat distribution I would think that 250 degrees for about 10-12 hours should more than do the trick but I don's want to dry it out. Any suggestions?

xwig16 wrote:If I don't cook them all the way, will they finish cooking and tender up in the cooler overnight if I wrap them in towels? i just wanna make sure that we don't end up with chewy brisket...

I don't recommend holding them over night in a cooler you could end up with some very ill folks that don't like you much. They will continue to cook until they reach max carryover temp. if you put them in strait away. If you let them set for 20 min or so before you wrap them they will be on the cooling down side of the mountain. Since you are serving the day after I would cook them to 180 internal and rest and refrigerate then put back on the pit the day of service and cook until they pass the poke test in a few hours.

225-250 for 10 hrs or so. Pull them off say 8-9 at night let them sit wrapped in the cooler. They'll hold all night and finish cooking and will be good at 11 when you start getting everything ready for the noon party. Or.... Cook briskets on new smoker and user you're old pit for the chicken. What time do you plan on eating?

I've done the cooler thing several times. I cook 20 briskets for work the day before, pull them, put in cooler around 8 or 9 at night.
Pull them at 11 and start slicing for 11:30 serving and they come out great.
P.S. Use old towels not the wife's good bath towels.

I have held briskets for 8 hours and never went below 165 internal temp most were still to hot to handle when I pulled them out. The key is to have very little space and keep the lid shut.