Brisket shrinkage

[jonjoniam]

I have a Masterbuilt dual fuel smoker. The racks are 12"x 12". I want to smoke a whole packer brisket and keep it in one piece. I looked at a 10 pound one in the store and that was about 15" long. I've seen how a flat shrinks up a good bit when cooking, and I think that if I would start that one over a rib rack or something I would probably be able to lay it out flat diagonally after a bit. Ideally I would like something in the 12-14 pound range. Do you think that one that size would shrink enough to fit on a rack?

 

[oldschoolbbq]

jonjonium, Hello. I really think your stuck with smaller Briskets , a 12lb. one may be 16 in. long .  You could cut it and do it that way and have good luck.

You don't really want to do a 12lb. one , you'll get Jaded sitting with it to the finish , not that you couldn't finish it in the oven .

Have fun and . . .

 

[themule69]

You could stand it up and kind of roll it and tie it. You don't want to roll it tight.

Happy smoken.

David

 

[miller51]

I think that if you cook it bent over something, it will most likely retain that "bent" shape after it shrinks some, not only that, but the shrinkage takes a while. I just smoked a 12.5 lber after the trim, and even after the cook, I don't think it would fit without hitting the sides in my vertical smoker. I actually bought a different smoker (Kamado) for bigger cuts of meat, full racks of ribs, and longer smokes, but still have my vertical if I need to do a lager volume of meat(haven't fired it since the purchase though...lol)...

Just my 2 cents, good luck in what ever you decide!

 

[jonjoniam]

I've seen what is labeled "whole brisket" in the 6 - 7 pound range in the grocery store. Something that small, can that be have both the flat and point? I'm not sure exactly how much I need. I'm looking to feed 8 - 10, plus have some burnt ends.