I have a 13lb packer cut brisket, which I want to serve at 5 to 6 pm Friday the 4th.
I was planning to cook at 200 to 225o....when should I place in the CookShack? (recognizing that its done when its done..)
Originally thought to start at 11.00pm the night before but it may be done to soon. Ideas? (short of getting up at 2 in the morning!..
Thanks!

I haven't done one that big, alan, so others will "weigh in..."

But you will need to put it in the night before, cause there won't be enough time if you start early the next morning.

You'll probably have to fold part of the thing under itself to fit it in. I would go for the middle rack. I would put it in at midnight at 200... then monitor and bump it up as you wish the next day. It will probably take a good 13-15 hrs. Whenever it's done (195 internal?) just foil it up double in HD foil and put in a cooler, with towels over it. It will hold temp for the whole afternoon if needed. Pull and slice when ready. To be sure, you can keep a polder probe in it when you foil, and monitor its temp from outside the box. You can always put the foiled monster in the oven to bump up temp around dinner, if needed. you need to keep it above 140 once you are holding it hot.

Done of few of these.

Probably the hardest thing to do is to finish at a particular time when you're doing something new. It will probably be a 10 to 13 hour cook, everyone is reporting faster times (although not me).

Try this. Put it in, say 10pm, @ 200 giving it a low, overnight smoke. At 7am when you check see where the internal temp is. It probably will hang around 160's, so I'd go ahead and bump it up to 225 or 250 to finish it off. You could add more wood at this time. If it's done early, double wrap in foil, double. and it will stay hot for 4 or 5 hours. I place it in the bottom of a small cooler that's just bigger than the brisket.

If you're worried about it, you could start it at 10, do 225 and see whenever it's ready the next morning, take it out, let it sit and hour or so, slice and then reheat later.

See, easy answers.

Good advice from both!...My sincere thanks!

Good luck and you owe us a report back and let us know how it went.

Well the results....
13.5lb packer cut brisket. I trimmed it lightly, dry rubbed it with a homemade rub for 12hrs. Placed in cookshack (flat folded under) at 12.30 am at 200o. Used 6oz of hickory. At 8.30 am temperature was 161o, Raised thermostat to 225o. At 1.00pm took it out when it reached 195o. Double foil wrapped placed in cooler with probe in place and covered with towels. Held til 6.00pm with temp still at 165o. Served and watched it disappear in a fraction of the time it took to cook. So much for leftovers!
Another Cookshack triumph!


Ps. one of the guests recently ordered and took delivery of his own cookshack, can't beat word of taste advertising!

sounds great. did you just pull out the monster and slice as it was, or did you separate the point from the flat? lots of fat between the point and flat? did the folded-under part fold back out during the cook?

Well....at the 160o stage it had shrunk enough to be able to fold it flat (with a curve in it)..over the last hours of cooking it flattened out completely so that was not am issue.
I kept it whole and carved around the fat cap and middle fat..not to difficult all in all!.