Cooking brisket for a big crowd

[Stonebriarfarm]

In two weeks a good friend is having an open house at their farm, last year they roasted a pig and this year they want to have brisket. 75 people attended last year. As soon as I heard the words brisket I got a bit worried, this isn’t a cook for the faint of heart! My last, albeit cheep ungraded brisket, the point was wonderful the flat (well the dogs loved it). I thought that as a friend I might intervene. I called to ask to speak to her husband about the cook and found out he doesn’t cook at all. My bad, my husband doesn’t BBQ why would others be different.

So I’ll go to Costco and get briskets which I know will be Canadian AAA, how many do you think I will need to serve 100, I just hate running out of food? Can I somewhat judge the timing and cook here, wrap and transport for serving time at 1 pm?

I have a pit barrel regular and a PB Jr., a Webber kettle and a propane grill. The Pit Barrels cook way faster than other cookers but still this makes me a bit on edge. What are your thoughts?

[Jerod Broussard]

Figure on a 40% yield and 1/4 pound per person cooked if you have sides.

65lbs or so from the grocery store should cover it.

Cooking ahead and reheating works like a charm. I did 12 on a Pit Barrel over 3 days with most reheated the day of.

I did 14 last spring with everything reheated the day of.

[Jerod Broussard]

J-Melt sometimes I can hit 42% but 40% just allows a little more if it is a bit higher. It seems to be about 20 on trimming and 20 on cooking.

[BigD]

Jerod Broussard, I have to cook 12-14 in a couple weeks for a catering. What is the required time to get it back to 165 on the day of if I'm using a pellet grill? I feel like cooking and then reheating would decrease the stress level tremendously!!! I also need to factor in a hold time for travel which is currently at around 2 hours. I have a cambro that I might just have to preheat to get it there.

[Jerod Broussard]

BigD It's best to get it done in 3-4 hours. But it's not critical with a hunk of meat taken to 203. This ain't egg or chicken salad. I had two that were reheated at 225, taken to 165, thrown in a cambro and served over 3hrs later. After they get down to 135-ish I bring them down to under 40-F in the freezer then place in the fridge.

[Stonebriarfarm]

Jerod thank you for the reply, very kind.

[JeffJ]

For my younger son’s Grad party I hung two packers in the PBC. We had about 85 people and did run out late in the party. An open house is a bit different than a party though. 3 should be more than enough and the PBC can handle 3 no problem.