First Brisket in real time

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sadfjnb

Newbie
Original poster
May 13, 2009
23
10
Hey guys... 13 pound packer brisket on a brinkman electric, started at 430 this AM CST... holding right around 225 pit temp. at 630 this AM the meat was at 125 does that seem to high to fast? Where can I expect to hit the plateau?
 
Yeah that seems a little fast but no worry. If youre sure your pit temp is 225 then its all good. And yeah its gonna stall. Some stall at 140, some at 150. Ive had them stall repeatedly. A real test of patience... but thats when all the good stuff is happinin.
 
Near 160 things will definitely stall. This is the magic time when good things are happening and your brisket is being transformed from a tough cut of meat to the sublime.

Keep us posted.
 
thanks guys... another question... how long do I keep it on smoke and nut just cook it? Its been on smoke since 430 am should I keep it on smoke all the time? Im going to wrap it once it get to round 165 Im assuming after that smoke will do no good....
 
I keep thin blue smoke going until I wrap in foil.
 
It now been 8 hours and Im only at 145 meat temp... the smoker is hovering around 210 only... I was orginally going to let the meat get to 165 before I wrapped and poped it in the oven, but Im not sure when itll ever get there with this low smoker temp. What am I losing if I wrap and put it in the oven to early? its now 1230 CST and I was hoping on serving around 5 or 6.... Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks guys

Scott
 
It generally takes (me anyways) about 16 or 17 hours to do a 12 pound packer with a smoker temp running in the 240s. If you have your heart set on eating brisket tonight at 5 or 6, I don't see how you are going to get there. When I do a big one like that and want to serve for dinner, I usually start it at midnight, or even a little earlier if I have guests coming. If it finishes a little early, it can set in a cooler wrapped in foil and some towels for several hours.

If you can make alternate plans for dinner, (like pizza or something) I would just ride it out. That will at least give you a reference point for what to expect from your smoker the next time. If you don't have the time to let it ride, I would put it in a foil covered foil pan in the oven at 250° or even 275° but realize that this is not optimal and it stilll most likely won't be ready by 5 or 6. You don't want to "force" it to the finish temp by cooking at higher temperatures, because the meat has to spend a certain time at the magic temps to make it really tender.

Dave
 
thanks guys... with that smoker sitting at 200 -210 I pulled it, foiled it in 4 or 5 wraps of foil and put it in a 300 oven... We'll see what happens I have been worrying about this thing even since I decided to do it and invited folks over... we have plenty of sides incase this doesnt turn out and many pizza joints in the area
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thanks for the help guys and keep your fingers crossed for me haha
 
Not to start this argument in the middle of your smoking headache. But it WILL continue to take on smoke. The ring may be done forming, but it will still benefit from being in the smoke.

If you can, hang in there til you hit 165 then wrap in foil and put in the oven and take it the rest of the way. Then at least you don't have to babysit the temps. And if you don't eat it tonight, you've got a ton of meat you can freeze for sandwiches for a while.

I don't know your smoker, but can't you get the heat back up in the 225-240 area?

Sorry for the timing not turning out the way you'd hoped. But hey, next time you'll be prepared with the knowledge you've learned on this one.
 
Don't ruin it! Keep the oven temps down where it should be for smoking! You've got to give the connective tissues time to break down.

You may get it up to temp this way but you're going to be eating hot shoe leather. Keep it low and let the meat do what it must. You have no control over it at this point. It needs to break down in it's own way!

Not to be a fear monger, but don't let the meat and a whole day be for not.
 
Right on Dude... Its my first time using my smoker so I more than likely should of not jumped into the deep end with it haha by doing a packer brisket but like you said... live and learn... It does concern me that I was only able to squeeze about 220 out of my smoker... Ill have to play with it... when I was seasoning it it hit mid to upper 300's without meat and or water in it... time to experiment... Im sure you guys will be seeing more questions from me in the near future... please tell me that Im not the first one to screw up my first smoked ANYTHING let alone my first brisket....
 
No your not and most of us still have smokes that don't quite go right. I'd back that oven down to 250 or so and let it finish it will rise much faster now that its in the foil.
 
yeah I jsut backed it down to 250... since there is no rush of getting it done tonight would it be better at say 225?
 
Some would say yes others say no personally if I put it in the oven after foiling I go with 250
 
225 to 250 would be ok. Just don't rush it. Also, take you're internal temps in a couple of different places in the meat. I had one that read 165, and when I went to foil I check in another spot and it said 150. I'd go with the lower reading or average the two or three.

I've got to run. But good luck man. Be sure to post some picts.
 
I don't know much about the Brinkman electric. I use a Brinkman charcoal. But I'm wondering if you pushed the envelope with a 13 pounder? Maybe someone else who uses a Brinkman electric can tell you if your smoker is behaving normal or not.

My friend, you really-really jumped into the deep end of the pool doing this for your first smoke. Don't get discouraged though. Magic Johnson didn't hit his first few three pointers.
 
thanks again guys... yeah if anyone else uses the brinkman electric have you ever done a full packer?
 
Right you are, Dude.

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An empty smoker behaves much differently than a loaded one. My UDS does not like to stay below about 290° empty. But throw 10 pounds of pork butts on it or a 12 pound brisket and it will cruise nicely anywhere in the zone. It seems pretty happy at around 240° as long as there is a heat sink. But towards the end of the cook when the meat is approaching the finish temps of 195°+ and there's not much heat being absorbed by the meat, then it wants to creep a little bit and I have to throttle the air back.

You got that right, Piney.
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And don't worry, sadfjnb. I don't think you've screwed up your first smoke. It's just taking a little longer than expected. Now, the first spare ribs that I smoked . . . talk about screwed up. They had so much creosote on them it made my tongue tingle. (I thought it was the pepper at first.
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) It all gets better with experience.

In my humble experience and according to all I've read, there is not much benefit to be gained from smoking at the bottom of the 225° to 250° range. I've read where some folks start low say around 225° and then let it creep up towards the middle or end of the cook. I think many more people cook at the high end 250° or even in the 260s and 270s than cook at the low end the entire time. And from what I have been able to gather, there is almost no gain at all from trying to smoke at 200°. It just takes longer and often times just dries out the meat. Just my opinion and what I have observed from reading others experiences.

Sadfjnb, take this brisky to the end (however long it takes) and show us some pics of it sliced and you'll get points from me for hanging in there.
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Nothing wrong with starting big as long as you're able to improvise. He who improvises best, wins!!

Dave
 
Good post Dave. I agree with every point you've made. There are no absolutes when it comes to cooking temperatures.

One of the biggest varibables is the meat itself. Some have a lot of fat and connective tissue and some don't. Some come from the higher end of choice and other are select. Some steers ate more grass and sat around while others ran around and forgot they were steers.
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