people per pound of brisket?

Good looking brisket, you might just post a "how I did that" with that picture, always good to see the success stories of new users! (Hope you don't mind, I edited the posts to "show" the photo) Good Job!

Check the pro forum, there are a lot of discussion about "quantity"

It really comes down to men vs women vs children and how many/what kind of sides you have. Fill 'em up on beans, cole slaw, etc.

Brisket will vary and you need to calculate oz per serving.

Are you serving slices or chopped?

Briskets will be at least 50% weight loss (on packers) and frequently yields in the 40 to 50% range.

Hey smokin' thanks for the reply and way thanx for the edit on that pic of the brisket. My plan is to slice it up like i have done here, as far as who will be eating im gonna have to check on that one to see if i can get a good count on that one(that never even went thru my mind) After taking the class with you guys in december, Brisket has become one of my favorites to cook so next time i will take some pictures and go from begining to end and show how much the class has paid off for me from getting the chance to meet guys like you.

Yankee,

Looks mighty nice. I like to cook flats. Most of the time it's about all I can find. The flats seem to be consistant from end to end with temps. And It seems with the packer, the point and the flat will vary so much in temps, one will be over done with the other under done.

Just what I think.

RandyE

Like Smokin says,it all depends.

Seems like some folks that cater mixed crowds use 2/3 lb raw weight packer per person,if there is one meat, and toss in 10 % extra for walkins,etc to be sure.

So roughly:

70 lb X 67% =47 lbs+ [10%] 5 lbs.= 52 lbs.

That would be less than a light case, at a box store,which might run 60 lbs.

If case price is $0.20/lb less than singles,I'd buy the case at about the same cost.

You'd be covered for sure,and everybody loves doggie bags.


Well,almost everybody.

My spouse/co-cook says we have done so many practice cooks that the neighbors hide, like it is squash season.

Yup randy i know what you mean about only finding flats...out here in california i have the worst time trying to find brisket as it is. The easy meat to find out here is Tri Tip. Tom thanks for the math on the head count , i would love to buy a full case but im afraid of freezing the meat for fear of changing the texture of my end product , does that sound crazy or is there any truth to that?

Yep,flats can be less labor to serve and produce higher yield.

If you only serve sliced,you may get over 60% yield.

There are some Texas cooking classes that advocate freezing as part of the aging/tenderizing process.

Most folks buy briskets when they can get the quality,and/or price that works for them.

Many folks will try to get 2-3 weeks aging on briskets and then freeze them.

Cryovac briskets should be fine, up to a year in a good freezer.

If you use a dedicated refrigerator,as most comp cooks do,you will age,and hold your briskets,up to a couple months at around 35º.

Hope this helps a little.

Beautiful smoke ring in the pic...
Smokin's right... I need to learn how to do that.

So, how'd you do it?

Thanks,
Jim

quote:

Originally posted by smokin yankee:
Yup randy i know what you mean about only finding flats...out here in california i have the worst time trying to find brisket as it is. The easy meat to find out here is Tri Tip. Tom thanks for the math on the head count , i would love to buy a full case but im afraid of freezing the meat for fear of changing the texture of my end product , does that sound crazy or is there any truth to that?

I only cook packer cut briskets. You can get them at Sams, WinCo Foods, Restaurant Depot, and Smart & Final. The last briskets I picked up were prime grade from WinCo in Stockton. Best I ever ate. Sometimes at Sams, you have to ask for them. They keep them in the back.