Turkey and brisket at the same time?

[GasPasser]

just received my PBC 2 weeks ago. I've done 2 cooks so far - chicken the 1st time and chicken/ribs together the 2nd time. Both cooks the food came out great!
For T'giving I'm planning on making a turkey (~12-14 lbs) and a brisket in the PBC (partly to show it off to my family!).
My question is: since turkey is best cooked at ~325 and the brisket lower and slower say around 250-275. Is it possible to do both simultaneously? I was thinking of maybe starting the brisket early and adding the turkey after 2-3 hrs and the letting the barrel temp increase (by cracking the lid?)
Does this sound reasonable?
Thanks!

[Jerod Broussard]

I did a turkey, a brisket and chuck roast. I did it all hot all at the same time. Had more charcoal on the turkey side, which to me burnt the legs, folks I cooked for said it was the best. Think the brisket was done in 5.5 hours, all barked up. Rested for 2 hours before chopping.

Welcome to the PIT!!!

[DWCowles]

Welcome GasPasser

[JeffJ]

That's a great screen name! GasPasser

[freddh]

Concur-it could be an old time reference to an anesthesiologist, circa "MASH" the movie.

[fuzzydaddy]

Welcome GasPasser. We'd love to get an intro from you over in the Introduce Yourself channel when you get a minute.

[Voodoo]

Hey hey there GasPasser! Great question. Not sure what your history is in the world of BBQ. That may play into what you can or should do. What Jerod is saying is Brisket does not need to be cooked low and slow to be fantastic (despite rampant thoughts contrary to that), but turkey needs a crisp skin to be edible and that happens at higher temps. So when he cooked them together, he opted to ramp up temps for the sake of the turkey. Worked great I'm sure. My only concern about that is controlling your temps at 350'ish if you're not real comfortable on the PBC yet and watching your foods closely so you don't blow right through their finishing temps. Jerod has a ton of experience and I'm sure it was easy for him.
Pushing higher temps is not that hard, but you do have to watch. Practice helps. Also, those higher temps mean your meats have to come off quickly when it's time, no lolly gagging around lest they be overcooked.
An alternative to a hot and fast cook with turkey and brisket is to cook them together at the PBC normal temps, but pull the bird at about 150'ish, then finish that bird on a high temp grill skin down (if you spatchcock it and I really love a spatchcocked turkey from the PBC). If another grill isn't available, then the PBC works great once everything else is off. Run it with the lid off. It'll get hotter than south Texas in July. Watch closely.
Good luck.

[GasPasser]

Thanks! Lots of helpful info. I think the grill idea is a good one. I was planning on spatchcocking the turkey anyway. 😊

[PaulstheRibList]

Haven't cooked those 2 together on a PBC, but did cook them together this past weekend on my new rig. When we put the turkey breasts on, I kept the heat at 275-285, and it seemed to work great. Helped me get that final render on the Beef Ribs and Briskets, and the turkey turned out very good as well.