In a jam need suggestions

[3montes]

I'm cooking for a out of town event on Saturday. Cooking briskets and turkey breasts. Feeding 125 and they want to eat about 1 Saturday afternoon. Plan was to take Thursday off from the business and cook the briskets at home. Rest then wrap in foil and put in the fridge. Start the smoker at the event Saturday morning and rewarm the briskets while the turkey breasts are cooking. Slice then serve at the designated time. This is at a campground so we are heading out there Friday late afternoon.

Here's the wrench. The wife had to have a torn miniscus surgery last Thursday so she is layed up. So I can't get away from the business. We own our own distribution business and we both can't be gone. Best I can do is maybe be done by 10am Thursday morning. Is it possible to cook the briskets as long as possible Thursday and finish them at the event?

My other choice is to start cooking them Friday night at the event and stay up all night and most of the next day serving. I'm not thrilled with that prospect. I'm too old to be pulling all nighters.

I have to get up at 3am Friday morning for work so that's why I can't go all night Thursday with the briskets.Theres's a outside chance I can finish them Thursday but not certain.

I have never tried the hot and fast method and I don't know I want my first try at it to be 3 or 4 whole packer briskets!

Any suggestions much appreciated!

 

[kam59]

125 folks with turkey breasts so your'e talking about four or five 15 lb briskets? If you can cook all of them at once cook hot say 275°/300° put them on around 4:00 Saturday morning you should be wrapping at around 7:00 or 8:00. This is guessing you wrap in foil or pan.

 

[3montes]

Thanks Kam I'm thinking 4 briskets around 14lbs each. I'm making beans as a side and they are providing all other sides and salads. I don't wrap briskets but I do pan them with some beef stock in the pan. I usually don't cover them with foil but I suppose that's another tool I could use to move things along. I just don't want to end up with braised beef roast.

 

[kam59]

We finish ours in pans covered in foil.
Once your briskets are rested you can uncover and put back on the cooker in the pan for about 15/30 min to firm up your bark. This is what I do and if works great.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Turkey is much more forgiving than Brisket and reheated 99% of the time when eaten at restaurants. Smoke to an IT of 145 then cool. Can be sliced, panned with broth or gravy and reheated to 165 or left whole, wrapped in foil and reheated. I would do the brisket day of. More hours awake but with better results than reheating...JJ

 

[uzikaduzi]

I like kam59's advice... I was leary about the "hot and fast" briskets, but they come out quite good... I've done them all the way to 325 and as long as you give time for a good rest and have a good trusted probe thermometer, it won't be too much different than them at 225

 

[3montes]

Thanks for all the responses! I may have found my solution. Rather than go out to the site of the event Friday afternoon I'm thinking of staying home and cooking the briskets. I could probably get them started by noon and have them done before midnight I would hope. I will pan and cover them and put them in my Carlisle food warmers to stay warm. Then head out to the event site early Saturday morning. It's about a hour drive to the event. This way I still get some sleep in. That way all I have to do is probably slice and put them in the steam table with some beef stock. The Carlisle will keep them warm for hours while resting.

I use the Jennie-O boneless cooked turkey breasts. I put them in the smoker to bring them to temp only. These are the turkey breasts the deli at your grocery stores buy and slice thin and sell for sandwich meat by the pound. They take the smoke very well and are easy peasy not to mention not one ounce of waste.

If I get to the site before 8am I will have time to get the steam table warmed up and the turkey breasts done. I'm liking this idea better than not getting the briskets started until 3 or 4 in the afternoon and staying up all night. Again thanks for all the responses gents! I will post up to let you know how things went.

 

[3montes]

5am Saturday as I type this. Had a bit of an adventure cooking the briskets yesterday. See my post in the Wood Smokers section titled Fire In the Hole!! Anyhow here's where I'm at. Briskets  are done. Two of them finished on the smoker between  6 and 7 last night. Panned, foiled and in the Carlisle food keeper and are still resting there. After my adventure yesterday I finished the other two in the oven in the house. They are going in the Carlisle in a few minutes. 

Once I get on site about 8am I will fire up the smoker and uncover the briskets and heat them up a bit to firm the bark. Slice and then in the steam table to stay warm for serving.

I will be warming/smoking turkey breasts as the briskets are rewarming. I use precooked turkey breasts so just bringing them to temp and giving them some smoke. They are easy and always come out great. Kind of like when you double smoke a precooked cheap ham from the grocery store.

I think all will come out great. I will post the results. I have to find a new picture hosting site as Photobucket no longer allows third party hosting of pics!