I've smoked a few briskets the past 4-5 years, but this one has me a little puzzled. Started with a 6 1/2 pound flat from Sam's. I rubbed it and refrigerated overnight. Set it out for an hour or so the next morning as I got the smoker up to temp. Put the meat on at 9 a.m. and pretty well followed the Okie process. I logged the meat and smoker temps every hour and didn't see much out of the ordinary in terms of the plateau and such. My plan was to go to 200IT and then wrap it in a cooler. But just before 11 p.m. the temp was only at 190. I was absolutely whipped, so I pulled it at 190, wrapped it in towels in a cooler and went to bed.
I agree with the guideline to cook by temp and not by time, but 14 hours sure sounds like a long time for a 6 1/2 pound flat to get to 190. I kept the smoker right around 225, but did let it climb to 250 the last 2-3 hours, trying to move things along. I was afraid after 14 hours it would be dried out and tough as shoe leather, but it sliced and ate just fine.
If you go by the guideline of 1 1/2 hours per pound of brisket, this thing should have cooked in about 10 hours. I let it go almost 14 and still was only at 190. Any ideas, or should I just shrug and write it up as experience? It would have been a problem if I'd been trying to feed a group at a specific time.
Kentucky Carpman
Louisville
