(2) 13lb. briskets to be done for 5:00 p.m. 4th of July meal. Re-heat?

[Raindog]

I have been chosen to smoke 2 13lb briskets for 4th of July. Using a WSM 22. The dinner is at 5:00 so I'm looking for suggestions on meeting this time frame. Years ago, I would get brisket from Rudy's in Texas shipped on dry ice and then heat up before meals. I would prefer not to be up all night tending to the cook so thought I might cook a day in advance and then re-heat. I know it's not the best approach so maybe someone can help me with a better idea. Thanks in advance.

[bbqking01]

My advice is once it reaches your desired doneness, if it's wrapped, place it in an ice chest. Wrap it in towels. I've let mine rest in the ice chest for 6+ hours before....still almost too hot to handle at that 6 hour mark. My usual rest in cooler goal is 4 hours.


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[cigarman20]

Yes, that! If you pull at 203F and wrap in a towel it takes a looongggg time to reach carving temps of 140F


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[Raindog]

Thanks guys. Think I'll get up early and take a stab at it with the cooler wrap.

[bbqking01]

So you can get it done several hours before dinner time...let it rest until time to eat. I've seen some let it rest an hour, some longer, some cut right away. The towel wrap gives you a lot of flex ability to pull and carve when ready to eat. You can start it and pull when finished a quater day ahead of time to eat.


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[AZ2FL]

I've smoked two briskets at a time on my WSM 22 a few times.

Here's my time line.

Brisket on at 6:00am
Run WSM at 300-325F

Wrap when bark sets ( 160-170 IT)

Pull when probe tender and not by temp.

Brisket cook will take 5-7 hours.

Let rest in cooler, wrap in bath towels until ready to slice.

[michaelmilitello]

I start briskets and shoulders the night before 10- midnight.   Usually finishes at 9 to 10 am.   Allows for a long rest if serving for dinner.   Warm oven on the lowest setting is perfect to hold bbq.  I usually cook sides on a kettle so I can use the oven to hold. 


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[Raindog]

Thanks everyone. I wimped out and cooked today. A choice one cooked in 7.5 hours but the slightly larger prime cooked in 9.5 hours. I hadn't done a brisket on the 22 before and was worried about finishing on time. I have a wooden deck and didn't want to start the night before. Appreciate all of the advice. I'll have more confidence in next attempt and probably do on my concrete driveway.