Which to smoke--Tri tip or Brisket?

Hoping Bob Henrick and Carl Eppig will pipe in here (as well as others!).
We are having a Memorial Day barbecue for about 24 people. We usually do back ribs on the BGE (Big Green Egg), but I don't think ribs for that many people will fit. So, I will do my favorite oven rib recipe that I recently posted for Maria, will make marinated grilled chicken thighs on our ample gas grille and thought we would make either several briskets or tri-tips on the BGE. Any thoughts on which would be a better cut for smoking? I'd like nice juicy, on-the-verge-of-falling-apart slices.

Brisket takes a long time to smoke to that falling-apart stage. Like 10 or 12 hours. And it's important to get packer-trimmed brisket that still has the fat cap on it, otherwise it'll dry out. Most brisket I've seen in supermarkets has the fat cap trimmed off; I've always had to order untrimmed brisket from a specialty butcher when I've barbecued it.

I've never cooked tri tip so I can't comment on it.

-Paul W.

Agree with Paul that briskets would be best. Tri tips are best for marinating and thowing on the barbi. Try to get brisket with the fat cap, but depending on the smoker, they could be done in four or five hours.

And I agree with Carl and Paul. Marinate and BBQ the tri-tip, smoke the brisket.



Mike

And I agree with Carl and Paul. Marinate and BBQ the tri-tip, smoke the brisket.

Minor point of nomenclature: by "BBQ" here, I assume you mean "grill over a fire", as opposed to what I had in mind--Southern-style barbecue, which is a slow-smoking process using low, indirect heat.

-Paul W.