Holding brisket in oven or mes

[Thomas The Tank]

Hey all! I am right under a year of smoking experience and doing my 4th brisket for Christmas.

I know weight is only one factor but it’s about a 15lb prime packer. I plan on smoking it this next Saturday at 6pm through overnight and have a 3hr drive to serve this bad boy at my in-laws. I have to leave between 10-11am Sunday morning.

Has any of you had any success holding a brisket in an oven or mes at a lower temp if it happens to finish early? Or is turning the smoker temp down if it does go faster to slow the cook a better option?

Cooking ahead of time refrigerating and reheating is not an option. I also might separate the point and do separate cause last time I had to trim a part of the point off the side and smoked it separate and it was to die for! I will obviously wrap and put it in my cooler for the drive

 

[fivetricks]

Yeah, I wouldn't worry about where to hold the packer. Get yourself a cooler that can fit in your mode of transportation and wrap that thing up in foil (I use HD plastic wrap) , a ton of towels and toss it in the cooler .

It'll hold for half a day if you really need it to. Still be more than warm too.

 

[chef jimmyj]

As the others said. In a cooler you will get 4-6 hours easy. Don't panic if the temp drops below 140. It is sterile going in and no way any bacteria is going to get past the cooler lid, towels and foil. It will be safe even if it cools to room temp...JJ

 

[schlotz]

Interesting, in all the discussions there's no mention of temperature which plays a significant role in the amount of time it takes. Point of reference, a full packer trimmed to 14 lbs and smoked at 275º will get close (every brisket is different) in approximately 10-11 hours. I've had some take less and others take more time. My rough guideline for a brisket smoke at 275º is 46 min/lb. Obviously at 225º it's going to take MORE time. Note: the stall you get at 225º basically doesn't happen at 275º-280º

Do agree with others, well wrapped and in a cooler with lots of towels will work for a 3-4 hour trip.

 

[gmc2003]

I'll offer another suggestion. Let the brisket cool to about 170* before wrapping and putting it into the cooler. This will help prevent overcooking the brisket.

Chris

 

[Thomas The Tank]

Interesting, in all the discussions there's no mention of temperature which plays a significant role in the amount of time it takes. Point of reference, a full packer trimmed to 14 lbs and smoked at 275º will get close (every brisket is different) in approximately 10-11 hours. I've had some take less and others take more time. My rough guideline for a brisket smoke at 275º is 46 min/lb. Obviously at 225º it's going to take MORE time. Note: the stall you get at 225º basically doesn't happen at 275º-280º

Do agree with others, well wrapped and in a cooler with lots of towels will work for a 3-4 hour trip.

Guess I did forget to mention the temp... I plan on setting my mes to 250 so that’s why I was thinking 6pm the night before that would give me 16-17hrs before I have to wrap and leave for the 3hr drive. I may start at 4:30-5pm jut to give a little more time.

If I separate the point and flat then i am assuming it will take less time.

I’m not so much worried about food safety, but want it to be still hot and not room temp when I get there.