BIG brisket question

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tugtor

Newbie
Original poster
Aug 29, 2009
2
10
Plano, TX
Hello all...

I've got a really big brisket (18+ lbs) to smoke in a couple of weeks for my daughter's first birthday party.  No, she won't be enjoying too much of the brisket, but I will be feeding a lot of family with it.  I've only done a couple of briskets before, so I practiced this past weekend with an 8 1/2 pounder.  I followed many of the recommendations on the site.  Set smoker temp at 230, added smoke three or four times, foiled it when it reached 160, and let it go until it hit 205 internal temp.  It was really good and tender and the Mrs. loved it.  Over all, it took about 14 hours.  My question...how long should I expect an 18 pounder to take?  Should I plan on it take 1.5+ hours per pound?  If so, that's pushing 30 hours!  I'm starting to think I should go back and get 2 8-pound briskets to keep the cooking time reasonable, and save the big one for another time.

Russ
 
I've only done a couple so far but my last one was a 12 pounder that I couldn't fit in my MES 30 so I cut it in half. The small end came out in about 12 - 13 hours and the big end went for 16 and a half.
 
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