Smoking VS Barbecuing a Brisket for a Wedding or Other Event

Smoking meat, as opposed to traditional barbecuing, sounds more intimidating to the novice. Yet the truth is, smoking can be easier than barbecuing, and is a far more efficient way to cook for a large crowd. Recently we prepared the food for our daughter's wedding, and discovered that smoking meat for a crowd of 100 was less problematic than flipping burgers or steaks on the grill.

The first step was finding a smoker. Initially we considered renting, but my husband wanted his own smoker, so we took a trip down to Home Depot to see what we could find. There was a nice smoker with a side firebox for about $160. It turned out the groom's dad wanted his own smoker, so he bought one too, giving us two smokers to cook up the wedding food. It would have been possible to do the task with one smoker, but two cut down our cooking time.

We ordered seven briskets, each around eight pounds. Cooking or smoking the meat took place the day before the wedding. Preparing the roasts for smoking took place the night before the smoking. Some people use marinade, but we decided to use a rub, which is a mixture of seasonings that are then rubbed all over the brisket the day before. There are hundreds of rub recipes available online. Ours was a recipe from my husband's cousin, who does competition barbecuing.

Each roast was rinsed off with water and pat dry with a paper towel. We sprinkled the rub evenly over the roasts, and rubbed it into the meat. Each roast was wrapped up tightly in aluminum foil, and placed in the refrigerator.

The next morning my husband got up early, to start smoking the briskets. He took the roasts out of the refrigerator, to remove the refrigeration chill while preparing the smoker. In the firebox he started a fire using charcoal and lighter fluid. If you want a smokier flavor, you can add some wood chips, which come in a variety of flavors. We prefer to use very little.

On the grill side of the smoker, with the meat, we usually put a pan under the rack to catch the drippings. We also add a pan of water, to keep the roast moist. You can either place the pan on the grill, or fill the pan to catch the drippings with water, to do double duty.

Before putting the meat on the grill, he waited for the temperature to drop to about 225º. It can be very hot at first, so he let it cool off before putting the roasts on the grill. Don't forget to remove the foil (and don't reuse). If you reuse the foil, the raw meat residue can contaminate the food.

Cooking time is based on the weight of your largest roast. Estimate approximately one hour cooking time per pound of meat. If you have three roasts, each about eight pounds, the cooking time will be about eight hours.

Keep the lid covered on your smoker, and add a handful of charcoal to the fire every hour. You will also want to spray your meat with apple juice, to keep it moist. Do this about three times during the cooking process.

The briskets will be done when the internal temperature reaches 180º. Remove the roasts and allow to cool. If you are planning to serve the meat the following day wrap the cooled roasts in aluminum foil or plastic wrap, and refrigerate.

The next day, unwrap your roasts and slice into thin strips, against the grain. Trim off any fat. Neatly stack in an aluminum foil pan, spray with apple juice, and cover the container with foil. To warm, relight the smoker, and set the covered pan (or pans) in the hot smoker for about two hours.

Although the smoking process takes many hours, it takes a minimal amount of labor when preparing the main dish for a large group. And if you are serving some cold beer while smoking, it can turn the process into its own event.