OK, this is gonna sound sorta dumb... need some advice here

smokinfam · Feb 24, 2012

So today at work I was thinking about smoking a brisket overnight and having it ready for dinner tomorrow night. I figured to have it done by 6pm, I need to get it into the smoker tonight at 6pm (my math was a bit off doh!). I was thinking from 6pm tonight to 6pm tomorrow night was 12 hours. Anyway, so I put it (11 pounder) in the smoker tonight at 6pm (it's now 7pm). I am sitting here browsing the smoking meat forums and it hits me - 12 hours would be tomorrow morning at 6am!!! And it would be ready for foil sometime after midnight probably. Ok, so now that I've screwed up my times, I am wondering what to do. I lowered the temp in the smoker to 190F as I try and figure out what to do now. It would be fine if it got done around lunchtime tomorrow. Any ideas? Should I pull it out and put it back in around 10pm? That way it would probably be ready for foil around 7am? I know times are tough to go by.

By the way here is the brisket in the smoker:

bama bbq · Feb 24, 2012

You could go ahead and cook it, wrap it, etc as normal to completion then refrigerate and heat it up for supper.

smokinfam · Feb 24, 2012

I went ahead and pulled it out of the smoker. I'll put it back in around 11pm. I bet I don't make that mistake again! I'll post more pictures tomorrow.

thanks.

roller · Feb 24, 2012

You may have a suprise ahead of you...I have never had a brisket finish in 12 hrs. What was your IT when you pulled it out of the smoker ? How long do you think that it is going to take to get back up to the temp you pulled it out of the smoker ? One thing for sure about Brisket is nothing is for sure...

shooterrick · Feb 24, 2012

Wow! I never had a brisket go 12 hrs! Certainty is not for smokers thats for sure.

chef jimmyj · Feb 25, 2012

I would think an 11 pounder would go closer to 20 hours than 12...But I don't have a ton of experience with Packers...JJ

bamafan · Feb 25, 2012

I'm with Rick. I almost always cook a full packer and I have never when 20 hours with one. 12-14 worst case. That baby will stay hot in the cooler for hours.

SmokinAl · Feb 25, 2012

I have had just the opposite experience. Mine generally go 18-20 hours, but I take them to 200-205 and smoke them at 210-220.

The other thing to consider is. Did you put a temp probe in, or inject or puncture the brisket in any way. If so you would have to get the IT to 135 in 4 hours or less. That would include the hour you had it in the smoker & the time it took to cool back down under 40 degrees. If it ever cooled back down that far.

redclaymud · Feb 25, 2012

We all certainly make mistakes. but better the meat done four hours too early than four hours too late.

No, I wouldn't have pulled it. Just cook it normal, pull it when done, wrap and let it rest. You can always bring it back to temperature later. My brother does 10-15 of these things every night and they're all ready by 8am the next day. Two or three go into the warming cabinet for the lunch crowd and the rest go in the walk-in cooler until it's time to bring back to temperature for dinner. The trick is, keeping everything at a safe temperature.

Brisket is very forgiving if you let it take it's full slow cook. I've never had the occasion to stop one before except for the time my fire went out overnight. My mistake. I was tired and I thought it had just stalled. It turned out the reason it stalled was because the fire was going out. So come next morning I wrapped the brisket in foil and finished in the over. The dogs ate well that week. I didn't want to take the chance with my family with too many of those borderline temperatures in the meat. .Better to be safe now than sorry later. Besides, I've only got the one bathroom. There are priorities and there are my own priorities. Given the choice, I'll pick mine every time.

redclaymud · Feb 25, 2012

You're all right. A full packer is an animal of it's own. A truly worthy beast that many have ridden but fewer have conquered . . . outside of Texans. Texans can cook a brisket with a single wet match and the cardboard from a used up roll of toilet paper. To this day I'm not sure how they do that. .

Lots of moisture in a full packer and it seems to take forever. Also lots of hot, medium hot, slow heat spots. I'm of the mind to only get my brisket up to and beyond those low to medium temperatures once and just once. It's just my opinion. Strikes me as a dangerous zone to go through three times for the sake of one meal.

There are times when we shouldn't eat our mistakes.

smokinfam · Feb 25, 2012

Here is the finished product. Took about 12 hours:

And here is a question. This is my first full packer. It seemed I had a bunch of left over fat which I show below in the trash. I assume this is usual, right? I picked through the fat and tried to pick out as much meat as I could...

chef jimmyj · Feb 25, 2012

Why would you throw this out???...It would be a Great base for a MeatyTomato Sauce for pasta...The Fat would render and float to the top, to be skimmed and all the meat in the mix would not have gone to waste...Same with Chili or a Taco filling...At a minimum you can use it as a Beef Soup starter...JJ

whistlepig · Feb 25, 2012

This is a good post. I have saved it. Would I throw this out? I don't think so!

davidhef88 · Feb 25, 2012

I'll take a plate of your " garbage " please. Lol. :biggrin:

cdldriver · Feb 25, 2012

with the garbage?

smokininidaho · Feb 26, 2012

I'll have a plate of garbage too!

redclaymud · Feb 26, 2012

If you love brisket you've got to love a bit of fat to it. It's not a lean piece of meat. It's a tough piece of meat to cook to perfection because of it's toughness and fat content. What you like may not be what another family member likes, etc. But the bottom line is when you do it right in the ballpark, there is no better roast. It's the toughest category on the BBQ competition circuit. The reasons are obvious.

My first guess is you took yours up to Texas style shredding temperature . . . about 190++. At 160 the meat is done but not ready, since it isn't tender yet. Try bringing it to maybe 180, rest and slice like a roast. You will have more control over trimming off unwanted fat and a line of volunteers ready to sample the scraps.

A full packer has lots of fat on it. You can trim a bit of it off in the prep process and toss it in the freezer for later. Or, some like to separate the flat from the point which gives another point of attack to remove interior fat and toss it in the freezer for later.

Save your cooked and uncooked scraps separately for another day. Place them over a chuck roast to add moisture. I'll bet there are a good hundred ideas out there. Your dogs will have a few of their own. Don't give into wasting this noble piece of meat on a dog. .

OK, this is gonna sound sorta dumb... need some advice here

Smoke Blower

Master of the Pit

Smoke Blower

Smoking Guru

Master of the Pit

Gone but not forgotten. RIP

Smoking Fanatic

SMF Hall of Fame Pitmaster

Meat Mopper

Meat Mopper

Smoke Blower

Gone but not forgotten. RIP

Smoking Fanatic

Master of the Pit

Meat Mopper

Smoking Fanatic

Meat Mopper

Similar threads

Hot Threads