16 hours- set it and forget it. Brisket on the smoker??

[trx680]

I work a lot of 16 hour shifts. Would like to slap a brisket on at midnight and when I get home at 4pm have a brisket ready to eat. On my 8 hour days maybe a whole chicken.

Am I dreaming or is there something out there that can accommodate my needs?

I noticed the Tredagar commercials on in the early AM on the TV in the breakroom at work. I see people here love or hate them.

How are the NEW Tredagars?

 

[retiredbadge]

I love my Traeger. It is almost set it and forget it as long as the hooper is full of pellets.

 

[KrisUpInSmoke]

You don't always know with a brisket. Think you'd want to get one that's at least 8 pounds for a 16hr smoke, and it'd still be hit or miss. A whole chicken will be done in 2 to 4 hours depending on the cooking temp. Can't comment on the Traeger.

 

[PaulJinVt]

I can't comment on the traeger, but I can highly recommend the Rectec Bull, I did a brisket a few weeks ago and it was awesome. Put it on at 10pm and pulled it at 4pm. I didn't need to babysit it at all.

 

[mike243]

You will want 1 with wifi controller so you can run the temp up or down,very doable and just depends on your $

 

[TomKnollRFV]

at 225f, a 11 pounder takes about 16-20 hours. If you run the heat on the lower end, yah this works. Alot of my smokes I actually start at midnight or so, and then 10-12 hours later I check and still ain't ready so.

 

[tallbm]

I work a lot of 16 hour shifts. Would like to slap a brisket on at midnight and when I get home at 4pm have a brisket ready to eat. On my 8 hour days maybe a whole chicken.

Am I dreaming or is there something out there that can accommodate my needs?

I noticed the Tredagar commercials on in the early AM on the TV in the breakroom at work. I see people here love or hate them.

How are the NEW Tredagars?

Hi there and welcome.
Its possible but the biggest issue i see is that you cant just leave a smoker unattended for that long. U gotta be near by because way too much stuff goes wrong too often. U dont want to burn down the state or throw out whole briskets cause the temp died at some unknown point. :-)

 

[noboundaries]

I do long, 225F overnight smokes all the time with my WSM, using my DX2 Guru as insurance against dropping temps. I usually bump up the temp to 275-300F when I wake up in the morning.

I'll have to try leaving it alone for 16 hours or longer.

 

[mike5051]

My WSM can maintain 225 for 10 hrs without me touching it...but I am am frequently checking on it to see if it needs touching. :rolleyes:

Mike

 

[trx680]

I do long, 225F overnight smokes all the time with my WSM, using my DX2 Guru as insurance against dropping temps. I usually bump up the temp to 275-300F when I wake up in the morning.

I'll have to try leaving it alone for 16 hours or longer.

WSM?
DX2?
Tell me more please?

 

[bregent]

Pellet grills are the most set-and-forget cookers you can get for long cooks, but they do have some disadvantages. They are relatively expensive and don't produce as much smoke flavor as some folks would like.

WSM - this is the Weber Smokey Mountain smoker. It's very popular and easy to use charcoal smoker that turns out great food.
DX2 Guru - this is an electronic add-on for the WSM that helps to maintain temperature and makes long cooks much easier.

 

[airmec]

Having owned a Traeger for 12yrs and fought with it for 10 after replacing everything but the can with non Traeger parts I finally have a good grill that works every time I can only recommend you spend the $200 or so extra and go with RecTec or similar with a modern controller and ignition system with better construction that some time and thought was put in to make their product better and make the purchaser happy. With wifi becoming standard on most you can even check on it from work one main recommendation I have is make sure the controller has a relight capability so on long cooks if the temp drops it will auto relight.

 

[airmec]

I have the Savanna Stoker controller in my pellet grill just did a 16lb brisket using the built in multi step program at 185 for 8hr then 265 for 8hr till 203 internal temp then hold at 150 worked perfect and you can easily program it to cook what ever you want even a 8hr large whole chicken

 

[tallbm]

I run an MES40 that I rewired to use a HeaterMeter PID controller and I use an A-Maze-N Pellet Smoker (AMNPS) tray. I can control my smoker via wifi from my computer and/or my phone.

My setup is as set and forget as they come but I have learned that I must always be within 1 minute of tending to my smoker due to all the crazy things that can go down.

I have had a few times where my alerts identify that the smoker got over 290F when I set it for 275F because the wind kicked up and my pellets caught fire. I was attending to my smoker in less than 1 min and the temp had already raised to 330F. I was woke up at 3am about 2 months ago due to this issue!
There is little chance that I could burn anything down due to how my setup is arranged BUT there is still a chance. We can ask Aaron Franklin how his "little chance" of burning things down reared its head after many years of leaving smokers unattended over night to then earlier this year show up to a half burned down building and business.

So far I've had breakers flip and cut off my smoker (electric here), parts fail, fuses blow, wind cause pellet flare ups, and other stuff all work to ruin a smoke or potentially cause a disaster BUT I have always been 1 sprint away or had someone 1 sprint away from handling the situation.

Please don't think I'm trying to lecture anyone on this topic, I'm just making sure a very real risk is being brought up so it can be seriously considered. I'll get off my soapbox now so I don't wear anyone out harping on about this lol.
I just want us all to be safe and eat some good BBQ rather than burn down the other half of California or another part of the country :)