Brisket Help!!!

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bigred

Newbie
Original poster
Jul 24, 2008
7
10
Hey guys, I have a 15 lb brisket that I put on my pellet smoker about 5 hours ago, my smoker temp is just around 215 degrees. The brisket is already at 178 degress (I wrapped at 165) and it's in an aluminum pan that has plenty of brisket juice in the pan. My guests aren't arriving till about 4 and I have no idea why this thing has cooked so fast. Am I in trouble here? At this pace, it'll be done fairly soon when it reaches the required 195-205 temp. I'm thinking that by keeping it going in the bath of brisket juice that it'll hopefully braise and therefore tenderize it further??? I plan to pull off and leave in pan of juice and put in cooler and wrap in towels. Any other suggestions that can help? 2nd time on my pellet smoker that a full packer brisket is cooking way quicker although only being no more that 220 temp.

Keith
 
interesting. First I would make sure you check the temp and tenderness of the brisket in several places to determine when done. Also check the smoker temp with a probe and see if the set temp is accurate. the timeline seems way too short for the size of the brisket.

15 LB packer at a cook temp of 215 should take about forever...i mean a very very long time. I never cook that low so I couldnt even guess how long. I cook brisket at 275 and a 15lb at 275 would be a 12+ hour cook.

as for what to do if its done early, just leave it resting in a cooler or oven turned off (thats what I do because I dont have a cooler big enough)
 
interesting. First I would make sure you check the temp and tenderness of the brisket in several places to determine when done. Also check the smoker temp with a probe and see if the set temp is accurate. the timeline seems way too short for the size of the brisket.

15 LB packer at a cook temp of 215 should take about forever...i mean a very very long time. I never cook that low so I couldnt even guess how long. I cook brisket at 275 and a 15lb at 275 would be a 12+ hour cook.

as for what to do if its done early, just leave it resting in a cooler or oven turned off (thats what I do because I dont have a cooler big enough)
Thanks, I do have an oven thermometer in the barrel as well and it's in that same range so I feel good with that. I'm guessing because it's sitting in that liquid (I injected it with beef broth prior to placing on smoker) and therefore it's speeding up the process. Should I not worry as much about internal temp and just keep going until it's tender all the way around?
 
Thanks, I do have an oven thermometer in the barrel as well and it's in that same range so I feel good with that. I'm guessing because it's sitting in that liquid (I injected it with beef broth prior to placing on smoker) and therefore it's speeding up the process. Should I not worry as much about internal temp and just keep going until it's tender all the way around?
Seems like the flat is still pretty tough at this point (I'm about about 195 degrees) but the point seems pretty tender. Afraid I'm going to lose the flat!
 
Sounds to me like your in good shape, the flat will take longer to get tender, as said above probe it in multiple locations, and when they all probe like butter, it’s done.
If that is too early, just wrap it in foil & wrap a couple of towels or blankets around it & it will stay hot for hours.
Al
 
And you probably won't eat 'til 7 .
I've had them race to 180 , then the wait was on . For me , that's a low smoker temp . Sounds like you're on the right track though . Relax and enjoy yourself .
Make use of the oven if you need to .
Thank you. So if my flat is still kind of tough but the point is in better
 
Sounds to me like your in good shape, the flat will take longer to get tender, as said above probe it in multiple locations, and when they all probe like butter, it’s done.
If that is too early, just wrap it in foil & wrap a couple of towels or blankets around it & it will stay hot for hours.
Al
Thanks sir. I guess I misunderstood that if I just kept it cooking that the flat will get worse and not better (more tender) even though the point was done. This is only my 3rd time doing full packer brisket. Didn't realize I should continue to probe everywhere until it's all butter like.

Sincerely appreciate the help.
 
SmokinAl SmokinAl said and I will agree 100%. the point is almost always done before the flat, but continue till its all done.
 
I almost never bother probing the point. The key is probing the flat all over for tenderness. Should feel like going into a jar of peanut butter. NOTE: if it's tender to your satisfaction, pull it BUT let it rest open on the counter for 10 min in order to stop any carry over cooking. After that re-wrap and place in a cooler with towels to rest until dinner. It will easily stay warm for 4 hours or more. I do however keep a remote probe in the brisket so the temp can be monitored while it rests.
 
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