my first brisket

[smokinwelder]

well i got a 16 lb brisket. how many hours would I need to cook it at 225 in a reverse smoker?

 

[ats32]

Roughly 1.5 hours per pound and a 1 to 3 hour rest after. All briskets are different...start checking for desired tenderness around 190F. I usually pull mine at 200F. After a few hours of getting smoke and rising temp you can wrap in foil, add a little beer/applejuice/beef stock/ whatever you want to avoid the stall as much as possible if you want. Some like wrapping, some don't. Just depends on your timeline and patience.

 

[smokinwelder]

Roughly 1.5 hours per pound and a 1 to 3 hour rest after. All briskets are different...start checking for desired tenderness around 190F. I usually pull mine at 200F. After a few hours of getting smoke and rising temp you can wrap in foil, add a little beer/applejuice/beef stock/ whatever you want to avoid the stall as much as possible if you want. Some like wrapping, some don't. Just depends on your timeline and patience.

to avoid what stall?

 

[turnandburn]

the stall the meat goes into when it wants to play with your mind and drive you absolutely mental...it just causes me to drink more..haha

 

[ats32]

to avoid what stall?

Brisket temps will stall around 160F (give or take 10 degrees). It's when the tissue is breaking down and the fat is melting. Sometimes you may even drop a degree or two in temp during this time because the meat is "sweating" to cool down. Many people will double wrap their brisket in foil at 150F to help the brisket get through the stall faster.

 

[bruno994]

Did I ever mention I hate the stall?  Smokinwelder, I run a RF pit as well, although every pit cooks differently, depending on wood btu's, outside temps, barometric pressure, slope of the earth, distance from the sun, etc, but I have found that my rig is closer to 1 hour per pound and under, really closer to 45 minutes per pound, but as always, briskets are done when they are done and done is determined by when you can, as ATS32 put it, when you can easily slide in a toothpick into the flat portion of the brisket in several places.  Should feel like probing a dish of butter.  This may occur at 195 IT, may not happen until 210 IT.  Once mine reach 195, I'll start checking them every 5 degrees or so. 

I don't know if your a fat side up or fat side down guy, but with a RF pit, I would strongly suggest fat side down, to protect the meat from the radiant heat coming up from the RF plate.  Works for me...

Good luck and don't forget the pics!

Jeff

 

[smokinwelder]

ok.....heres what I am planning....let me know if you would change anything. 

day before trim some fat of fat cap, inject, score fat cap, add rub, let sit. bring smoker up to 225-240, place brisket fat cap up. every 1.5 hours spray with mop with melted butter, apple juice, and cajun seasoning. one temps reach 150 degrees double wrap in aluminum foil with 1/4 cup of apple juice. when temps get to 185 degrees remove point, and rewrap in foil, place in cooler to rest. replace the point unwrapped in the smoker for burnt ends..... how does that sound?.....when should i remove the point?, then how do i make burnt ends?

 

[roller]

Just my experence I would say at 225 it will take 24 to 26 hours..Your going to go through a pretty long stall with one that large...good luck it will seem like forever.

 

[turnandburn]

You'll be there for an eternity opening it up and mopping/spraying every 1.5hrs. And at those temps as already said will keep u there for-evvvveeeeerrrr! Lol. Nothing wrong with smoking that long, but hell I can't drink that long. Haha.:sausage:

 

[smokinhusker]

Keep in mind that since you said you are going to inject you have to get from 40 degrees internal meat temp to 140 degrees internal meat temp within 4 hours. Use a reliable thermometer. By injecting the meat, you are compromising it and allowing bacteria to go deep into the meat. If you don't inject, the food safety rule doesn't apply. 

Here's the last packer I did and made burnt ends

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/142013/packer-brisket-and-flat-in-the-propane-smoker

Good luck, don't get overwhelmed and be sure and take some pics for the rest of us! 

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/f/181/food-safety

Some Guidelines are Standard on SMF...It is important for your Safety, that any Meats that have been Punctured, Probed, Injected or Ground be cooked or smoked at a temperature, typically 225*F or greater, that gets the Internal Temperature of the meat from 40*F to 140*F in 4 Hours or less...Frequently called the 40 to 140 in 4 Rule. (This does not include meats containing Cure #1, Cure #2 and Morton's Tender Quick.)

This is how the rule was established...

A Guideline like 40-140 in 4...aka the Rule (less letters than Guideline) is, Easy to remember, Provides a margin of Error, Has been gleaned from information provided by Multiple sources, including but not limited to, Professional Food service organizations, The American Culinary Federation, The ServSafe program, the USDA and Food Service Professionals with Years of Experience... Is, " 40 to 140*F in 4 " written down in any Government Food Service Law Manual, or Word for Word on any fore mentioned Website or Charter?...NO...But it Has been adopted by This Site and others to protect our members...

 

[bruno994]

No mop, if you feel the need, spritz with just a quick shot and the door slightly cracked.  Being a RF, your pit will recover heat from the door being open pretty quick, but mopping is overrated, very little of the flavor penetrates the meats surface and it really does nothing for internal moisture, mopping can help build an awesome bark though.  It's just like anything else in smoking or cooking, you have to cook to your personal preferences, if you like it, then do it.  If you want to mop, then mop, but it will extend out your cook time.  As far as pulling the flat at 185, you can, and it will be good, but I can guarantee you if you want melt in the mouth, tender brisket, you need to cook it to toothpick tender, whether that be at 185 IT or 205 IT.  You can separate at 185 if you choose or you can wait until the flat is done, I separate after the flat is done, then cube up the point, some au jus from the brisket, some Q sauce and back in the smoker or oven for a couple of hours more. 

Good luck with your smoke.

Jeff

 

[grande]

The last couple briskets that I smoked, I removed the point prior to cooking. This allowed the meat to come to temperature a little faster & I was able to prep & cook the burnt end a little longer while the flat was still in the smoker. It worked great.

 

[sqwib]

Just my experence I would say at 225 it will take 24 to 26 hours..Your going to go through a pretty long stall with one that large...good luck it will seem like forever.

That settles it, I'm never doing a brisket

 

[jirodriguez]

Just my experence I would say at 225 it will take 24 to 26 hours..Your going to go through a pretty long stall with one that large...good luck it will seem like forever.

Nah... I've done a few dozen 13-17 lb. briskets at 210-230 range and never had one take more than 16 hrs. (even unfoiled), but I don't open the smoker unless I absolutely have to - every time you peak, mop, whatever you add 10-15 min. to your smoke. So if our one of them folks that mops every hour your adding close to 3 hrs. to your total smoke time.