Big Boy

[wcasey]

HI guys. I need some help. Have a huge gathering at the house on Friday night. I'm going to smoke a brisket for them. I went to Costco and got a 17lbs. packer trimmed brisket. Easy question, how long a smoke and approximately when do i start it. Thanks.

[Wildcat]

Welcome to the forum wcasey!  Answer is simple.  4 hours of smoke then keep cooking at 200 or so until proper internal meat temp is reached.  Then FTC  for 2 to 4 hours.  Check out the link below for recipes, etc.

[Wildcat]

Additional note - This may be a 24 hour ordeal.

[Habanero Smoker]

wcasey;

Welcome to the forum. As for myself; I can't give you any time frames, because every smoke is so different. Also, it looks like you have a full brisket and I've never done a whole one. Many seperate the point from the flat prior to smoking. If a crowd is expecting to eat at a certain time, the best thing is to prepare it ahead of time, and reheat just before serving. The brisket will easily store in the refrigerator for at least 5 days to a week. When I store my brisket; either by refrigeration or freezer, I slice it first. This exposes more of the meat's surface to the bark and gives it a nice flavor throughout.

To reheat; some use a crock pot, but I found that placing it in a roasting pan, adding some apple juice or beef broth or a combination of both, tightly seal with foil and placing it in a 300°F-325°F preheated oven. Sometimes I will also add some rub when reheating.