First Brisket Cook

[UKMeatMan]

First post so hello fellow BBQ lovers!

I need a bit of help with my first brisket smoke so here I am asking the experts.

I have found a 14-15lb whole packer brisket here in the UK (tough challenge for this side of the pond) and have a group of friends over for a big bbq dinner on Saturday... I am aiming to get the brisket and then ribs cooked by then.

I have an 18inch Weber smokey mountain so need to split the cook up, my plan is as follows:

• Get brisket on smoker at 10PM friday night at around 250 degrees
• Hit the sack at midnight with the maverick temp thing setup to alarm if it goes below 210 or over 280
• Get up at around 8AM and wrap in foil with some beer/apple juice (i guess the temp will be over the 150 that normally is when you should foil, but I have never done it so dont know..) back on smoker until the ribs need to go on, at around 11.30 AM.
• If brisket needs longer it can go in oven in the foil to carry on cooking for a bit, then I am to let it cool to around 180 degrees, triple foil and hold in a cool box until 5PM when we can eat ribs and brisket all together.

Does this sound reasonable?

I checked rough times for cooking brisket and it said 75 mins hours per pound at 225... but I cant find anywhere that tells me how much difference it will make with cooking in the foil, and the slightly higher temp.

Basically, I want it out of the smoker about 6-7 hours before eating so I can make the ribs. That probably means I need it in the oven to finish off before I hold in the cooler, as I dont want it in there for like 6 hours...

Thanks in advance guys!

 

[Scott Eisenbraun]

I'm no expert, but have done a few briskets. My best briskets went at least 12 hrs on the smoker @ 225f. Another target is the meat temperature, which is slightly over 200 degrees f. The easiest test is to probe the meat when you think it is ready. It should offer very little resistance. Probe at 180 degrees and you will feel the difference between too early and done.

 

[UKMeatMan]

Thanks, so your 12 hours+ seems a lot less than the 18-19 hours I had calculated based on the 75 mins per LB guide times I saw online. Is that using a similar sized brisket cooked at 225 and foiled at 150 ?
Maybe the foil takes a lot of time off.

Regards knowing if it is done, will be doing the probe test from 190/5 up to 203/5 and looking for the wobbly effect that i have seen in videos etc. As I keep trying to tell the missus, BBQ is done when it is done, times can vary... hence I want to get this done with plenty of time to spare for it to sit and hold so I'm not hours late serving dinner.

My worry is either starting the brisket way too early and it being 'held' in the cooler for too long... or underestimating the time it will take. I dont think starting this cook in the morning will be possible, it wont give me enough time, and I struggle to get the WSM up over 260 consistently for some reason.

Ideally, I want it to finish about 1-2 PM so it can be held for a few hours then served at 5PM.

Maybe I wont need foil during the cook at all, I have 13 hours in the smoker plus about 3 more in the oven as needed...

 

[jervid]

hi
i did one a couple of weeks back on a WSM 22" - it was like 10-1/2lbs ... i put mine on about about 2am.. i'm smoking at 250 went back to bed ..woke about about 7 ..never wrapped or foiled ..came out great and ontime ..

 

[Scott Eisenbraun]

I've foiled all my briskets after 6 hours. But you have a water pan in your WSM, so may not be necessary. Briskets vary as far as time and tenderness. I think you can shave a couple hrs off the schedule, but you nailed the It's done when it's done, quote. Keep the beer flowing.

 

[UKMeatMan]

hi
i did one a couple of weeks back on a WSM 22" - it was like 10-1/2lbs ... i put mine on about about 2am.. i'm smoking at 250 went back to bed ..woke about about 7 ..never wrapped or foiled ..came out great and ontime ..View attachment 377509 View attachment 377510

Wow that looks fantastic! So you got up at 7AM, but surely it was not finished then, how long did it take in total?

 

[UKMeatMan]

I've foiled all my briskets after 6 hours. But you have a water pan in your WSM, so may not be necessary. Briskets vary as far as time and tenderness. I think you can shave a couple hrs off the schedule, but you nailed the It's done when it's done, quote. Keep the beer flowing.

I was going to try not adding water to the pan this time, apparently as the water evaporates the temp goes up, and I wont be there to add water or adjust the air flow. Also I heard the steam effect of water in the pan is not ideal for brisket... (but that will be what the foil will do anyway I suppose)...

Maybe I'll shoot for nearer 225 and put it on at 11 instead of 10PM.
Then in the morning assess the temp and foil wrap if I feel its needed.

 

[bvbull200]

First post so hello fellow BBQ lovers!

I need a bit of help with my first brisket smoke so here I am asking the experts.

I have found a 14-15lb whole packer brisket here in the UK (tough challenge for this side of the pond) and have a group of friends over for a big bbq dinner on Saturday... I am aiming to get the brisket and then ribs cooked by then.

I have an 18inch Weber smokey mountain so need to split the cook up, my plan is as follows:

• Get brisket on smoker at 10PM friday night at around 250 degrees
• Hit the sack at midnight with the maverick temp thing setup to alarm if it goes below 210 or over 280
• Get up at around 8AM and wrap in foil with some beer/apple juice (i guess the temp will be over the 150 that normally is when you should foil, but I have never done it so dont know..) back on smoker until the ribs need to go on, at around 11.30 AM.
• If brisket needs longer it can go in oven in the foil to carry on cooking for a bit, then I am to let it cool to around 180 degrees, triple foil and hold in a cool box until 5PM when we can eat ribs and brisket all together.

Does this sound reasonable?

I checked rough times for cooking brisket and it said 75 mins hours per pound at 225... but I cant find anywhere that tells me how much difference it will make with cooking in the foil, and the slightly higher temp.

Basically, I want it out of the smoker about 6-7 hours before eating so I can make the ribs. That probably means I need it in the oven to finish off before I hold in the cooler, as I dont want it in there for like 6 hours...

Thanks in advance guys!

Thanks, so your 12 hours+ seems a lot less than the 18-19 hours I had calculated based on the 75 mins per LB guide times I saw online. Is that using a similar sized brisket cooked at 225 and foiled at 150 ?
Maybe the foil takes a lot of time off.

Regards knowing if it is done, will be doing the probe test from 190/5 up to 203/5 and looking for the wobbly effect that i have seen in videos etc. As I keep trying to tell the missus, BBQ is done when it is done, times can vary... hence I want to get this done with plenty of time to spare for it to sit and hold so I'm not hours late serving dinner.

My worry is either starting the brisket way too early and it being 'held' in the cooler for too long... or underestimating the time it will take. I dont think starting this cook in the morning will be possible, it wont give me enough time, and I struggle to get the WSM up over 260 consistently for some reason.

Ideally, I want it to finish about 1-2 PM so it can be held for a few hours then served at 5PM.

Maybe I wont need foil during the cook at all, I have 13 hours in the smoker plus about 3 more in the oven as needed...

Take the time per pound with a grain of salt. A short, thick brisket weighing 12 lbs will take longer to cook - all else equal - than a long/wide, thin brisket weighing 17 lbs. How long it takes to cook the middle of the meat is really the factor in the time it takes to cook.

I cook on Ugly Drum Smokers, so a similar environment to your WSM. I've never had a foil wrapped brisket take the time that you're proposing. It is always much shorter (~7-11 hours?). That said, if you have a decent cooler and a few towels, you can rest your brisket for a very long time (provided you keep the cooler shut). It is significantly better to finish way early and rest for, say, 5 hours, than it is to serve late without properly resting it.

My hunch, and it is just that as all meat cooks differently, is that, if you put it on at 10 p.m. and wrap at 8 a.m., it'll be done by 10 a.m., unless your cook temps stay down around 225* all night.

For what it is worth, if you start later and it seems behind, you can wrap it in foil earlier to speed up the cook. It'll sacrifice some bark, but not much (in my opinion).

Certainly lots of factors at play. The more you cook brisket, the more you'll pick up on what you can do during the cook to slow or speed up the cook to get closer to your desired finishing time.

Good luck!

 

[UKMeatMan]

Take the time per pound with a grain of salt. A short, thick brisket weighing 12 lbs will take longer to cook - all else equal - than a long/wide, thin brisket weighing 17 lbs. How long it takes to cook the middle of the meat is really the factor in the time it takes to cook.

I cook on Ugly Drum Smokers, so a similar environment to your WSM. I've never had a foil wrapped brisket take the time that you're proposing. It is always much shorter (~7-11 hours?). That said, if you have a decent cooler and a few towels, you can rest your brisket for a very long time (provided you keep the cooler shut). It is significantly better to finish way early and rest for, say, 5 hours, than it is to serve late without properly resting it.

My hunch, and it is just that as all meat cooks differently, is that, if you put it on at 10 p.m. and wrap at 8 a.m., it'll be done by 10 a.m., unless your cook temps stay down around 225* all night.

For what it is worth, if you start later and it seems behind, you can wrap it in foil earlier to speed up the cook. It'll sacrifice some bark, but not much (in my opinion).

Certainly lots of factors at play. The more you cook brisket, the more you'll pick up on what you can do during the cook to slow or speed up the cook to get closer to your desired finishing time.

Good luck!

Great advice, thanks very much. I will check the brisket when I unwrap it and see how thick it is and estimate a time from there.

Reading this, I'm leaning more towards putting it on around midnight and seeing how its going at 7-8AM. Then I can foil if I think I am going to be behind, or leave without foil and continue in the oven when I need to do my ribs.

It's not going to be perfect first time I'm sure, but hopefully it be edible and taste good at the end of it - otherwise my dog will think its Christmas and his birthday in one!

Also, I have never actually eaten BBQ brisket... so hopefully I like it...