1 Week or More Before Feast
■ Buy any items you need on Texas BBQ Essentials and Outdoor Cooking Essentials lists.
■ Order wood.
■ Order briskets.
■ Order offset smoker.
3 Days Before Feast
■ Do your big grocery shop.
■ Make dry rub.
■ Make blue cheese dressing for salad.
■ Make barbecue sauce.
2 Days Before Feast
■ Make vinaigrette for salad.
■ Make topping for crisp.
■ Make ice cream base.
1 Day Before Feast
■ Stuff and wrap quail.
■ Soak beans.
■ Cook greens.
■ Make croutons.
FEAST DAY
13 Hours Before Feast
■ Make strong coffee.
■ Fire up smoker.
■ Take brisket out of refrigerator or cooler.
■ Apply rub.
■ Make mop sauce.
■ Start cooking beans.
9 to 12 Hours Before Feast
■ Load briskets into smoker.
4 to 5 Hours Before Feast
■ Make tortilla chips.
■ Make salsa.
■ Prepare mac ’n’ cheese.
■ Prepare peach crisp.
2 Hours Before Feast (after briskets come off the smoker)
■ Grill lettuce and tomatoes for salad.
1 Hour Before Feast
■ Grill quail.
■ Bake mac ’n’ cheese.
■ Warm greens.
■ Have guests churn ice cream.
During Feast
■ When guests are seated, put crisp in oven.
To make brisket, I use a competition-grade offset smoker (see Sources). “Offset” refers to the fact that the fire comes from the side, not from underneath the cooking area. This helps ensure that whatever you are smoking gets cooked from the smoke and indirect heat, not from the direct heat of the fire. A lot of newer grills have an offset smoker component. You could also create a makeshift smoker with a gas or charcoal grill (see directions for 8-Hour Smoked Brisket); note that depending on the size of your grill, you may need more than one to accommodate the meat in a single layer on the grill. In addition to the smoker, you will need the following.
One 15.7-pound bag mesquite natural lump charcoal
4 to 5 bundles seasoned hardwood, preferably oak (see Cooking Fuel Comparison Chart)
4 large heavy-duty aluminum roasting pans
Instant-read meat thermometer 1 sheet tank board
Large plastic cooler a little bigger than the briskets’ combined size. Don’t use Styrofoam.
Large towel, such as a bath sheet
Barbecue mop
Alarm clock