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    Packer Questions

    GM and Happy Father's Day to All,

    We bought an 18.5 lb full packer yesterday for Jul 4th. This is my first packer and I have several questions. I know this is the place to come.

    My rig consists of the following:
    1. Weber 22.5
    2. SnS (fer sure!)
    3. KBB
    4. I have to cut this thing in half in order to get all of it on the cooker. I plan on orienting the point towards the fire side.

    Here are my questions so I can plan accordingly:
    1. How long is the cook going to take? Cooker is going to be running between 225 - 275.
    2. How much charcoal should I plan on using?
    3. Average length of stall? I'm hoping that the 2 halves will stall for about the same time (if at all).

    I'll pull Meathead's and Aaron's books, but any hands-on advice it greatly appreciated.

    Thanks to all in advance; have a great day!

    --Ed


    #2
    1. How long is the cook going to take? Cooker is going to be running between 225 - 275.
    My experience, for this size packer (and assuming it’s prime grade) is that it will take 14-16 hours at 225F and 12-14 hours at 250F. I tend to run my WSM about 250.

    2. How much charcoal should I plan on using?
    Hard for me to say, since I use a WSM not a Kettle plus SnS, but I need about 20 lbs of KBB on my WSM for that long a cook

    3. Average length of stall? I'm hoping that the 2 halves will stall for about the same time (if at all).
    Every piece of meat is different. That said, I normally see the meat run up to 160 pretty quick, like 3.5 to 4 hours, stall for about 4 hours, and the rest of the cooking takes between 4 and 6 hours, give or take.

    Don’t forget that you need to factor in holding the meat at 170 for 1-2 hours.

    Definitely read Meathead and Franklin on brisket.

    FWIW, here is my own brisket method write up

    Comment


      #3
      Take a look at this, too .... Baby Back Maniac did a bunch of how to videos for SnS .... this one is for a whole packer :-)

      Comment


        #4
        ecowper Thanks for the info and the links. Have a great Father's Day and Fourth!

        Comment


          #5
          Last thing on the SnS and charcoal consumption. My understanding is that a full load of KBB in the SnS lasts about 6-8 hours. Assuming that you need 14 hours for the brisket, you would definitely have to reload the SnS once.

          Comment


            #6
            If the brisket is just a little too big after trimming, you might try a rib rack flipped upside down or a brick wrapped in foil to "drape" the brisket across rather than cutting it in half. The brisket will shrink up considerably as it’s cooking and eventually you can take whatever is underneath the brisket out.

            Franklins book is excellent, esp as you get to trimming it up.

            Comment


            • Medusa
              Medusa commented
              Editing a comment
              Yes, I have his book out now. Thanks for the tips. Yeah, I think I'm going to check out the rack idea - great!
              Last edited by Medusa; June 22, 2020, 09:33 AM. Reason: Comment about rack idea.

            #7
            Like USMCCrashCrew89 says, there are ways to get that packer on without cutting it. I get a packer that size on my WSM 22. Once trimmed, it just takes a bit of squeezing here and there. After a couple hours cooking it fits fine as it starts to shrink.

            I would highly reccomend not cutting it. If you must cut it, separate the point and flat rather than just randomly cutting in half.

            Here’s a 16 pound brisket, well trimmed, on my WSM 22 right at the beginning of the cook
            Click image for larger version

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            Comment


            • Medusa
              Medusa commented
              Editing a comment
              Thanks for the advice on separating vs. cut in half. We'll see what it looks like after I trim it.

            #8
            Awesome video. How to separate point / flat, make burnt ends, do the whole she-bang! So, this is what I plan on doing for the 4th!

            Thanks for the help

            Comment


              #9
              Cook at 275, will save you a lot of time. I've done plenty of briskets on a Weber 22 with the SnS, no need to cut it. As others have said, it will shrink. You will have to refuel, but that's easy. Just drop new briquettes in before it reaches the 'end', that way it will reverse by itself and just keep going.

              Comment


                #10
                Originally posted by Henrik View Post
                Cook at 275, will save you a lot of time. I've done plenty of briskets on a Weber 22 with the SnS, no need to cut it. As others have said, it will shrink. You will have to refuel, but that's easy. Just drop new briquettes in before it reaches the 'end', that way it will reverse by itself and just keep going.
                Henrik, you answered my charcoal question before I even asked- Perfect! So you don't think I should separate them until the end of the cook? I've read about it being done both ways. One guy does his burnt ends while the flat rests.

                The cooker will probably run around 275.

                Thanks,

                --Ed

                Comment


                • Alabama Smoke
                  Alabama Smoke commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Henrik, since I am contemplating a larger kettle than my 18", I am interesting in your comment on refueling the SnS for the 22". You don't need to remove the SnS, dump the ash before adding the new briquettes? If so that would be great. My 18" uses the SnS basket, which is of course smaller and I have found some loss of air flow if I do not dump the ash prior to refueling each time. Please comment and thanks!

                • Henrik
                  Henrik commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Hey Alabama, I don't touch a thing. Just flip open the grates, add more briquettes, and let it keep running. I've done this several (8-10) times, and it hasn't failed me yet. If you want to it's quite easy to just stir the ash a bit if you like, but I haven't felt the need for it. I love the fact that it's so easy to reverse the fire in the SnS.

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