If you are planning an event or even a family Sunday dinner, you need to consider how much brisket per person will be needed. We all love BBQ brisket, it’s probably one of your go to best smoking recipes, especially for a crowd on a special occasion.
How Much Brisket Per Person? Cooked and Raw?
Aim for one pound or 0.45 kg of raw packer brisket per person.
To make sure you have enough brisket to go around it’s best to think of 1/2 pound of cooked beef brisket per person.
When you smoke the brisket for all those hours it will lose moisture and weight – probably around 35-40% of its weight altogether to shrinkage.
Obviously how much brisket per person will depend on your sides and how you serve the brisket.
We like to serve brisket with coleslaw in a bap or sliders.
Serving smoked chicken wings as appetisers or side dishes is an absolute winner as well.
Serving 321 Baby Back Ribs along with your brisket might just make you the talk of the neighbourhood and beyond.
You could have a look at our recipe for spare ribs 321 method.
How Much Brisket Per Person Depends On Side Dishes
Always make sure to serve plenty of side dishes to make certain your guests are full.
Classic side dishes to serve with brisket include BBQ baked beans, mashed potatoes, ribs, smoky mac and cheese, fries, bacon and cheese potato skins, smoked potatoes with cheese or corn on the cob.
How Much BBQ Brisket Per Person – Stretch Out Servings With Brisket Burnt Ends
Once you have smoked the packer brisket, a great way to make it stretch further is to remove the crispy ends of the sliced beef brisket and put them back in the smoker for awesome brisket burnt ends.
This involves cutting the crispy ends into cubes, saucing them, and putting them back in the smoker to crisp up.
If you need a recipe for Brisket Burnt Ends try here:
https://www.greatbritishchefs.com/recipes/burnt-ends-recipe
It’s a highly effective way to use up leftovers and make the brisket go further, increasing how much brisket per person can be enjoyed.
How Many Pounds of Brisket for 10 Adults?
Generally speaking, it’s best to think of around 1/2 pound of cooked brisket per person, or 1 pound raw brisket per person. A 10 pound brisket will feed 10 adults, depending on what you serve it with and the appetites of your guests.
You will probably have some leftovers because some guests will eat more than that, but most will probably eat less than 1/2 pound of cooked brisket.
How Many Will A 5 Pound Brisket Feed?
Plan for about 1 pound of raw beef brisket per guest. A 5 pound brisket will feed around 5 guests.
Smoking Brisket Times and Temperatures
When smoking meat you should always cook to internal temperature because timings vary according to the heat in your smoker environment, the size of the meat cut, the fuel you use to mention just a few variables.
The correct internal temperature for brisket is 195-205°F. You need to use a meat thermometer for this, and take the reading at the thickest part of the meat for accuracy.
Remember that the brisket internal temp will keep increasing (sometimes as much as 10°F) when you take it off the grills, so you may want to take it off at around 185°F for best results.
If you are wrapping your beef brisket for the middle stage of the smoke (which we would recommend) the smoking time for 10 pound brisket at 225°F will be in and around 18-20 hours. A good rule of thumb is to factor in 2 hours smoking time for every pound of meat.
You will also need to plan to let the meat rest for around 30 minutes as well.
If you need some ideas for beef brisket recipes have a look at our article.
If you got value out of this article try our ‘Brisket Recipe for the Smoker,’ blogpost.
Or our ‘Top Recipes for Smoked Brisket’ article.
