Niece 30th, need brisket advice

[Nefarious]

So, my niece turns 30 on 2nd of January and she wants brisket, what's a guy to do?

How much brisket do I need to feed a party of 20? About 15 of them will be in the 30ish range. I'm also serving Mac and cheese, some with shredded point and some plain, and roasted fingerling potatoes.

My plan, silly me, was to make two 15lb briskets and have a ton of leftover. I went to Costco today and they only had larger ones. I still got two, but not sure if I need both. It will just be much easier to make one, though I will if it is needed. I'm not trying to save $ by only smoking one, just effort.

One is prime at 19.9lbs the other is choice at 18.5lbs. what do you think?

 

[SmokingUPnorth]

I’m sure someone will step in with weight pre cooked per person. But I’ve been fooled once by underestimating how much they shrink after they are cooked

 

[Nefarious]

I’m sure someone will step in with weight pre cooked per person. But I’ve been fooled once by underestimating how much they shrink after they are cooked

Yep, and a lot of it is fat.

 

[02ebz06]

If you go with 1/2 lb per person, that's only 10 lbs.
You would have to lose more than 8.5 lbs of fat and shrinkage to be less than that.
Having Mac & Cheese and taters (both filling foods) as well I think one would be good.
But you could be safe and cook both, then vac seal and freeze what's left in amounts for a meal or two.
Just my 2 cents...

 

[gmc2003]

I'm pretty sure I remember you can expect about a 60% loss between shrinkage and fat removal. So it sounds like the 19.9 should just about do it. I wouldn't expect everyone to eat a 1/2 pound of brisket. Some may eat more some less. You just gotta hope it all works out in your favor. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

Chris

 

[Redicans]

For me I would do both. I have been surprised by how much people will eat when it is really good. If you end up with a lot of leftovers send plates home with everyone. Im sure it won't go to waste!!

 

[Smoke-Chem BBQ]

One may do it, but the alternative doesn’t have to be making both. You could cook one full packer, plus just the point or flat from the other. Maybe convert one point into all burnt ends.

 

[Jonok]

One may do it, but the alternative doesn’t have to be making both. You could cook one full packer, plus just the point or flat from the other. Maybe convert one point into all burnt ends.

I do a lot of briskets for gatherings. For 20-25 people you will need 2 10-12/lb briskets (trimmed and pre-cooked weight). Cooking just a flat or a point is fraught with peril if the other piece in the smoker is bigger. On the other hand, if you want to whack off the front part of the flat on both, cube it and stick em in a pan with some juice when you wrap the remaining points and flats, it actually makes better burnt ends. Wasting the points on burn ends seems like heresy to me…

 

[Nefarious]

One may do it, but the alternative doesn’t have to be making both. You could cook one full packer, plus just the point or flat from the other. Maybe convert one point into all burnt ends.

I had a similar idea, I need more flat than point for the party, I was thinking of cutting off some point from each of them and freezing them. This makes the size of each more manageable.

I only need enough points to pull for some Mac and cheese.

 

[Jonok]

The point is the delicious fatty part. If you need to make pulled brisket, make it from the extruding (fat-poor)flat by adding Better than Bullion (not too much salt) and cooking it in the smoker (in a seperate pan covered) until it turns into potroast…

 

[Jonok]

Y

 

[bigfurmn]

Personally i would do both. I'm sure your niece (like mine who loves brisket) would take some home to reheat. Plus you'll have leftovers for breakfast or dinner. Again my thoughts and I come from a family of eaters.

 

[Nefarious]

Personally i would do both. I'm sure your niece (like mine who loves brisket) would take some home to reheat. Plus you'll have leftovers for breakfast or dinner. Again my thoughts and I come from a family of eaters.

She leaves the very next morning to return home to LA. I just smoked a brisket last week for practice and had brisket for 4 meals. I don't need any more brisket, and personally it's not my favorite.

I will probably do both but trim the points to make both the same size and more manageable.

 

[Jonok]

She leaves the very next morning to return home to LA. I just smoked a brisket last week for practice and had brisket for 4 meals. I don't need any more brisket, and personally it's not my favorite.

I will probably do both but trim the points to make both the same size and more manageable.

You do realize that the point is the piece on top, right? The flat is the big non-marbelelled piece that it all sits on. It has very little fat in it…

“trimming the points” will just expose more flat and dry everything out more.

 

[Nefarious]

You do realize that the point is the piece on top, right? The flat is the big non-marbelelled piece that it all sits on. It has very little fat in it…

“trimming the points” will just expose more flat and dry everything out more.

I guess that depends on how much of the point is trimmed. I'm not thinking of cutting it all off, just enough to make it more manageable.

I never thought of one being on top of the other, I'll look closer at that when I cut these up. I just know the flat is the thin part that we like the slices from. The point is way more fatty.

Maybe this is why I'm not a big fan, we typically eat much more lean meat.

 

[bigfurmn]

FedEx will accept dry ice shipments of brisket!

 

[Nefarious]

FedEx will accept dry ice shipments of brisket!

The point is the delicious fatty part. If you need to make pulled brisket, make it from the extruding (fat-poor)flat by adding Better than Bullion (not too much salt) and cooking it in the smoker (in a seperate pan covered) until it turns into potroast…

I think I wasn't clear about how i want to cut them. My thoughts is to cut a few inches off the thick end of the briskets, which will take some of both the flat and the point.