Brisket on MES 30 time

[njt124]

A few questions for my 15 lb brisket on mes 30:

1. What is a general rule of thumb for per lb time if cooking at 225 unwrapped?
2. What shelf would you put it on low middle high?
3. I'd like to try a longer rest this time....6 plus hours, what temp does it need to cool to, to stop cooking?

 

[Gonna Smoke]

There's some good info here https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t...-of-the-1-to-1-5-hours-per-pound-rule.295201/, but the general thought on time is 1-1 1/2 hours per lb. As always, it's done when a probe slides in like butter. That may be 200℉ or that may be 210℉, or anywhere in between with 203℉ being the most prevalent temp.

For which shelf, I use the lower rack, but I'm smoking on a reverse flow, offset stick burner. For you based on what I've read, I'd use either the middle or lower rack and put the fat side towards the heat. Plenty of other thoughts and ideas and I'm sure someone will come along shortly who can better answer your question.

For the rest, I don't wrap my brisket and only rest under a foil tent for maybe an hour on my cutting board while I'm getting everything else ready for the crowd. I've never done a 6 hour rest, so I'm no help there.

 

[chopsaw]

A few questions for my 15 lb brisket on mes 30:

1. What is a general rule of thumb for per lb time if cooking at 225 unwrapped?

If you want to eat on Friday , start smoking on Weds.

Not trying to be a wiseguy , but that mass at 225 in a mes 30 will take a long time to get to temp .
Not saying it can't be done , but my opinion is you would have to pre heat the smoker at a higher temp add your meat and see where it wants to run .
I did 2 - 8 lb. butts in mine yesterday , and it struggled to maintain 250 .
Took forever , ended up in the oven . Which is ok too .
Get some smoke on it and finish in the oven .

 

[njt124]

And that seems to be my experience too, I have only done a few and it always seems to take more than 1hr/lb.....was hoping someone with the same setup could give me an idea or maybe I just need to run it closer to 250 this time

 

[chopsaw]

I have an Auber controller on mine , and it just didn't want to keep temps for that mass .
I guess my first comment should have been a question . 15 lb. brisket fit in a 30 ?

Yes , bump the temp up for sure .

 

[njt124]

Yes it should I dont think I can trust the temp probe on the unit either maybe I need to run a separate probe in the smoker too...

 

[chopsaw]

run a separate probe in the smoker too...

Yes . You need to know what the cooking temp is . Don't trust the factory therms .

That being said I normally don't in my MES and here's why . It was constantly setting the high / low temp alarm off . So I did have one in yesterday , because I knew it was struggling . I actually had 2 .

Part of my problem was air flow . My sensor is in the middle of the back , and the meat at 2 levels had an effect on that .

So use a therm to know what the cooking temp is at and position the meat so you get the best air flow you can to the temp sensor .
Run at a higher temp and hope to get 250 or so .
Be prepared to finish in the oven if that's an option .

 

[BenCarlson]

I wrap my briskets in BP so it might differ a bit, but once it is probing tender all over and Ive pulled it, I set it on the counter and let it rest til it's gone down from 203-210° to 180°~. Once that happens I wrap it in fresh BP then wrap it with two towels and it goes into a Yeti. It'll stay very warm for a long time in there. Then before slicing I put it in a 170° oven for an hour or so, sans the towels.

 

[MJB05615]

Agree 100% as Chop said above. I have an MES 40, and Briskets take a long, long time. I usually wrap in Butcher Paper after IT hits 170 until it's done. Helps create a nicer Bark. Every one I've done takes different amounts of time. I use 2 Temp Probes in the meat while cooking.

 

[njt124]

Sorry mine is also the mes 40, but yes that is what I struggle with, the electrics seem to take so much longer than 50ish minutes per lb.....seems closer to 1.5 for me at 225....I think I just need to be of the mindset if it's done early I can always rest longer vs. Trying to rush the cook. Just was trying to avoid having it finish at 3am and miss something being asleep.....

 

[MJB05615]

That's true. I usually start Briskets that big around 11pm the night before. Recheck every 2-3 hours, meaning very little sleep. Even with the cook in temp probes, I still go out at least every 3 hours overnight to make sure all is well. Hopefully it's done around 4-5pm, and after at least 2 hours rest, we eat by 7pm. Of course since no 2 Briskets cook the same, that's in a perfect world, lol. Sometimes I increase the cook temp around 2pm if it's not moving along as fast as I would like. But like I tell the Mrs., "It's done when it's done."

 

[MJB05615]

There's another thread on here about cooking them hot and fast, I forget who posted a few months ago. They claim great success, I've never tried it, you may want to look it over though.

 

[chopsaw]

Sorry mine is also the mes 40,

That's better . LOL .
Should also say all my comments above were made with a mes 30 in mind .

 

[DougE]

There's another thread on here about cooking them hot and fast, I forget who posted a few months ago. They claim great success, I've never tried it, you may want to look it over though.

Probably not the thread you were talking about, but here is thread on running higher temps on brisket,

HOT & FAST, NO WRAP BRISKET ON THE LANG

The only thing good about a hurricane is after it passes the weather is just beautiful. Lower humidity, cooler temps, and no chance of rain. I have had a 15.5 lb. Choice packer in the fridge for over a week. The weather has been so bad I didn't want to smoke it. I was planning on putting it...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

I haven't tried it with brisket, but I did an 8 pound butt last week at 275 degrees. Was at 205 in 8.5 to 9 hours without foiling. Probably one of the best butts I've smoked so I'm thinking I will do it the same way from now on.

 

[tallbm]

A few questions for my 15 lb brisket on mes 30:

1. What is a general rule of thumb for per lb time if cooking at 225 unwrapped?
2. What shelf would you put it on low middle high?
3. I'd like to try a longer rest this time....6 plus hours, what temp does it need to cool to, to stop cooking?

I smoke briskets unwrapped the entire time at a steady 275F (Auber PID controller on my MES40), also with a fan circulating smoke and air inside, and it takes me a like 1hr 5-10min per pound.

I place a standard foil pan (not a big-big one) on bottom rack. I then put an MES rack directly on top of the pan and I put the brisket on the rack. 80-90% of the brisket drippings make it into the pan even though there may be no real drippings at the end it keeps my MES from being a total mess.

So for a 15 pound brisket I would estimate about 16.5 hours for the meat to be close to probing tender (only done when tender) in my setup at 275F.
I add 4 hours to 16.5 for a total time of 20.5 hours.
So I expect that when I put my brisket into my pre heated smoker that 20.5 hours later I will be slicing, serving, and eating it.

Why add 4 hours?? Buffer time.
If it finishes 4 hours early then EXCELLENT! I tightly double wrap in foil then tightly wrap in 3 bath towels and place on the table/counter for a 4 hour rest where it is piping hot ready to serve 4 hours later.
If it doesn't finish 4 hours early.... I have 4 hours of extra time for it to get done before people attack me with forks and knives.
Win-win.

Understand that briskets don't care what temp you cook them at as long as you aren't burning them. So I would recommend maxing out your MES40 at 275F knowing that it likely will never reach that max temp so maybe you get 250F end the end which is better than 225F.

Just try and give yourself a best guess as to what temp your MES may actually hit.
Figure out roughly how many hours per pound it takes at that time then add 4-6 hours of buffer.
Start that many hours before you plan to eat and you are greatly increasing your chances of a successful brisket smoke :)

 

[leol2]

There's another thread on here about cooking them hot and fast, I forget who posted a few months ago. They claim great success, I've never tried it, you may want to look it over though.

I do mine in a Gateway drum smoker at 275. Can cook a 15 lb brisket in 10-12 hours. I set the bark than wrap in bp until tender

 

[njt124]

So the brisket is done and it's only 7am......not eating until 4pm......hoping the latest mad scientist youtube video I watched about longer rests is right......

 

[njt124]

Guessing I will also have to reheat this, anyone have any tips to not dry it out? How long, temp, keep it wrapped or not?

 

[tallbm]

Guessing I will also have to reheat this, anyone have any tips to not dry it out? How long, temp, keep it wrapped or not?

Well I'm a little late on the reply.
In this situation you rest like normal. I tightly double wrap in foil and then tightly wrap in 3 bath towels and set on the table for 4-5 hours. After that I would put the foil wrapped briskets (not the towels) in the oven on it's lowest setting which is normally like 170F and hold it the rest of the time.

That should do the trick. I hope it all came out well and btw, reheated brisket still tastes amazing. Hell it taste better the next day anyhow if you have to make it the day before eating :)