Brisket Boot Camp

Brisket Sides, Sauce and Serving

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When I am serving up brisket I like to keep things simple and let the brisket be the star of the show.

In that spirit I will keep this post simple as well.  Here is what I serve along side my brisket along with guidance on how much brisket you need to feed a crowd.

Potato Salad

  • 3 pounds baby red potatoes
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 3 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 1 Tablespoon brisket rub
  • 2 stalks celery
  • 4 hard boiled eggs

Boil the potatoes for about 20 minutes until they are fork tender.  Drain, rinse under cold water and then slice into quarters.

Slice the celery and hard boiled eggs thinly.

Combined all ingredients and toss to coat the potatoes thoroughly.

Pinto Beans

  • 1 pound dried pinto beans
  • 1/2 cup barbecue sauce
  • 1 Tablespoon brisket rub
  • salt and pepper to taste

Soak pinto beans in a pan of cold water over night.

The next day drain and rinse the pinto beans.  Cover the beans with cold water, add the barbecue sauce and brisket rub then simmer the beans for 2 hours until tender.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Brisket Barbecue Sauce

I don’t even want to hear that junk about “real barbecue doesn’t need sauce.”  That might be correct but in the real world 98% of people WANT sauce.  Here is what I serve.

  • 2 Cups water
  • 1 Cup ketchup
  • 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 cup cider vinegar
  • 1 Tablespoon beef base concentrate (Better than Bouillon brand)
  • 2 teaspoons black pepper

Combine ingredients in a saucepan, bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes.

How Much Brisket Do You Need to Cook?

When I am cooking for a crowd I figure that each guest will eat a 2/3 of a pound of brisket.

So, if I am going to have 10 guests I will need to have 6.7 pounds of finished brisket.

I also figure that I will lose 40% of a whole packer brisket to trimmings, etc.

When you divide 6.7 pounds by 60% you see that you will need to start with an 11 pound packer.

10 people will need about an 11 pound packer brisket.

So…instead of twisting your brain doing math you can get a good rough estimate by saying a little over a pound of untrimmed packer brisket per guest.

Of course other variables come into play.

  • Do you want to have leftovers?
  • Are you serving other proteins like sausage, etc?
  • Are you feeding a bunch of teenage boys or the local church function?

Adjust your meat purchase accordingly but use the pound of untrimmed brisket per guest as a solid starting point.