Just did a 15.5# packer that I got from Sam's for my father in law's 100th birthday--March 15. I do it "backwards"--I inherited a large cast aluminum roaster from my mother , who had borrowed it from a friend and the friend told her to keep it. Sam's has choice briskies--and this one bent when I picked it up, lots of marbling. Cut off the excess fat, rubbed with beef base then used my variation of Jeff Phillip's rub (excellent if you haven't tried it--you're welcome, Jeff!), let it sit over night. Placed on rack in roaster, poured in a can of beef broth and cooked at 275 for 6.5 hours, no peeking. Checked out at 205--perfect, IMHO. Let cool, poured off broth, wrapped in foil til two days later--the day of the big feed. 15 people for Sunday dinner! Up early Sunday and out on the grill, indirect heat til temp reach 190. Took a while longer than I thought. Also had one of Murphy's Laws or Peter's Principle's apply that morning--the sewer backed up! Lordy, lordy, lordy! Emergency call to get that taken care of. We new we HAD to have plumbing working with that many people in the house! F I L also wanted everyone to go to church in a group, SO, younger son stayed home to monitor the brisket and the plumber. Came home, plumber had come and gone (to the tune of three arms and six legs since it was Sunday!) and coaxed the fire up a big more. Finally made it. BUT, it was one of the VERY best briskets I have done with this method by far. Also, Saturday, after the broth was cooled, disposed of the fat at the top and made sauce with the rest. Basically used Jeff's recipe again and let it cook WAY down. It was a bit sweet for me, so I didn't use but a tad, but the rest of them lapped it up like it was candy! Did it this way so we could have other grills available IF we needed them. Found room on the CB940x for asparagus (for a salad), but did potatoes and roasted root vegetables on SRG. It was a great weekend to be sure. How many of you have gotten to celebrate someone's 100th birthday and have ALL kids, grandkids and siblings with you. Made it VERY special.
