Internal temp above cooking temp?

[charleskelly]

If I smoke a brisket and keep the smoker at a constant 180 degrees, the internal temp could not possibly ever go above 180, correct?

 

[seenred]

Correct.  You're gonna eventually have to bump up your cook temps...I go to at least 225*...but usually 250* for my brisket cooks.  Why do you want to run the smoker so low?  225 is plenty low and slow for me.

Red

 

[forluvofsmoke]

Correct, but you'll be waiting an eternity for brisket to ever get tender. I've had whole brisket take over 24hrs in a 225* smoke chamber to get probe tender (approx 195-200* I/T). It's all about temperature differentials and the time it takes for the meat to absorb that thermal energy...higher chamber temp = less time. BTW, 180* is not really considered a safe chamber temp for fresh meat of that size...pasteurization the surface of the meat is a priority. You may want to check out the heading in the FOOD SAFETY forum for more info.

Also, drop by the ROLL CALL forum and give us a little run-down on your smokers and other cookers as well as your cooking experience so we can properly welcome you to the SMF Family, and, give you better advice about questions you may have in the future.

Eric