So often we start inviting people over for dinner, only worrying what to serve afterwards. Then, as the guest list balloons, there’s a sudden dread of being able to feed so many people, with the parameters of space bad budget coming into play. Brisket is a wonderful food option. It can be cooked ahead of time, serves a lot of people, and it easy to pair sides with. But how much brisket per person should you get? This large chunk of meat can often be deceiving. It can cook down quite a bit as it slow roasts and you may also overcompensate for the appetites of your guests. To help you purchase the right amount of brisket for your next dinner party, we’ll provide you some guidelines to work with.
When it comes to brisket, first make sure you know what cut you are getting. Brisket comes from the lower chest of a cow and is quite tough, which is why it is usually slow cooked all day to become tender.
Within the cut of brisket, however, there are usually two divisions Trusted Source Brisket - Wikipedia Brisket is a cut of meat from the breast or lower chest of beef or veal. The beef brisket is one of the nine beef primal cuts, though the definition of the cut differs internationally. The brisket muscles include the superficial and deep pectorals. As cattle do not have collar bones, these muscles support about 60% of the body weight of standing or moving cattle. en.wikipedia.org . There is the flat cut, which is leaner and often used if you are braising your brisket. Then there is the pointcut, which is fatter and often used if you are grilling or smoking your brisket.
You can decide to cut your brisket up into two pieces with the use of a handy meat cleaver, or you can ask your local butcher to do the cutting for you.
Because of how you will cook your brisket, along with its fat content, expect your brisket to lose up to half its weight while cooking. This is especially true with the fattier pointcut.
Now it’s time to do a bit of math. As always, make sure you know your crowd. There are some people who just eat more than others. Furthermore, you want to think about extra factors. Do you want there to be leftovers? If so, make sure you cook more than the allotted amount per person.
Also think about what sides you want to add to the meal. Potato salad and beans are common sides, both of which are quite filling. Macaroni and cheese and biscuits are also common additions that take up a lot of room in the stomach. If you have a lot of side dishes, then you don’t have to worry too much about adding extra servings of brisket.
If you’re at a loss of where to start on your brisket journey, there are many expert cookbooks, including The Brisket Chronicles: How to Barbecue, Braise, Smoke, and Cure the World’s Most Epic Cut of Meat. In it you’ll find thorough explanations of how to season and cook this tender meat.
When talking about how many pounds of brisket per person to allocate, the numbers always refer to raw brisket. This is because, depending on the cut and the cooking method, the brisket will shrink by different sizes. Therefore, you need to think in terms of raw meat.
As a general rule, you want ¼ to ½ a pound of raw brisket per person if you are cooking a flat cut of brisket. On the other hand, you want at least ½ to ¾ of a pound of raw brisket per person if you are using a pointcut of brisket. Again, add or subtract these amounts depending on the crowd you are serving.
When it comes to smoked brisket, you will definitely want to add more brisket than originally recommended. Smoking brisket takes a long time and, in that duration, most of the fat slowly drips away. What you’re left with is a large chunk of incredibly tender meat.
Definitely aim to cook at least ¾ of a pound of brisket per person if you are using the pointcut for smoking.
Grilling your brisket and deciding on the serving size is similar to smoking. You will most likely use the flat pointcut which is fattier. As this fat drips away, you are left with a leaner, and smaller cut of meat. To help you with your grilling habit, there are plenty of grill sets that will get you started.
Aim to cook ¾ of a pound of brisket per person when grilling a pointcut.
When it comes to oven-roasting, or braising your brisket, there’s a bit more wiggle room with your portions. You will most likely be using the flat cut which is a leaner cut. Therefore, you will not lose as much of the total weight during cooking.
Aim to use about ½ a pound of brisket per person when cooking in the oven. If you aren’t sure about the amount, you can always add more as having leftover brisket is never a bad thing.
Once your brisket has been cooked to perfection, it’s time to enjoy it. The average meat serving per person is about the size of your fist, so you can think about cooked brisket in this manner. Brisket can either be shredder or sliced. If you decide to shred it, then simple forks work well. If you decide to slice it, make sure you have a sharp meat knife, such as the Mercer Culinary M23011 11-inch knife.
Once sliced or shredded, find a suitable place to present your brisket. Whether it’s a ceramic dish or a rustic butcher block, presentation is the final step in sharing your culinary creation.
One more serving way can be when you are serving the burgers or sandwiches with smoked brisket. Here’s the recipe, enjoy:
Feeing a large group of people is no easy task. There are many factors to consider, not least the ability to produce a large amount of food so that it is ready at the same time. Brisket is a wonderful cut of meat as it can be braised, grilled, or smoked, and makes for an easy meal to make. When deciding how much brisket per person to cook, remember that the end result will be smaller as the fat content cooks away. While the flat cut is leaner, the pointcut is fattier. It’s best to allot between a ¼ to a ½ a pound of brisket per person. If you’re worried about portions, you can always increase this to a ½ to a ¾ of a pound, just in case. If there is leftover brisket, your guests probably won’t mind taking some home with them.
