Labor Day Sunday Brisket cook..


 
Rusty Breaux

Rusty Breaux

TVWBB Fan
Hey boys and girls, figured id throw my cook and pix into the laborday weekend mix.

I am getting ready for a small bbq comp at the end of September, so i took advantage of the holiday weekend and picked up a Costco Prime Brisket and pulled off a decent smoke. I think i have my times nailed down for the competition. I know there is no timing a brisket, but im going to go for 11 hours total time between fire building and turn-in. I think my seasoning is good, i am comfortable holding temps around 265, and i think i have a pretty good feel for the meat (insert dirty joke here).

I am logging my cooks for reference, figure i will add that as well.
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-15.7 lbs prime from Costco
-seasoned with breauxly cow 10pm
-5 chunks of post oak wood, Kingsford blue bag
-lit fire at 6am
-meat directly out of the fridge (re-dusted seasoning) on grill 720am @255*

-720am. 255* On smoker
-750am. 262* (back up to temp)
-840am. 261* bbq 133*meat
-940am. 259* bbq 160*meat
-1030am. 270* bbq. 167*meat
-noon. 266* bbq. 173* meat
-foiled at noon
-1:00pm. 253* bbq. 190*meat
-140pm. 255* bbq. 196*meat
-opened foil to set bark till finishing
temp
-230pm. 262* bbq. 205 meat (tested, not tender enough)
-305pm. 271* bbq. 205 meat (passed tenderness test)
-305pm brisket removed and placed in insulated cooler to rest.

-Slightly overdone. Pull before butter probe tender
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OOO and i cant cook only ONE Meat if im going to light the smoker.
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rb
 
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Quick question, at 3:05PM, when you pulled it off, did you let is rest with the foil open till the temp dropped so the cooking would stop or was it just foiled and put in cooler? If so, that would account for it being somewhat overdone. Just a thought. Bet it tasted good.
 
Bob Ivey said:
Quick question, at 3:05PM, when you pulled it off, did you let is rest with the foil open till the temp dropped so the cooking would stop or was it just foiled and put in cooler? If so, that would account for it being somewhat overdone. Just a thought. Bet it tasted good.
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Bob, I pulled it all wrapped and sent it to the depths of the cooler.

How low should I let it drop before re wrapping to rest? I've read about it before but never really worried about competition doneness until now.

Thanks rb
 
I normally let it rest opened on the counter until the internal temp is about 170*. That allows the temps to drop enough that carryover cooking has stopped and then rewrap and place in the cooler with towels. With the mass of the meat still at cooking temps and tightly foiled, it is still acting as an oven for awhile and allowing the meat to continue cooking. Always have to consider this with any foiled meats. Don't worry about it since all of us have made these mistakes from time to time. That's why I love this forum, there are always people that have done what we have to help us improve. Good luck on the next one.
 
Looks good Rusty, I've learned what Bob said is very true, got to let it get out of the carry over stage before wrapping, especially large pieces of meat. I learned that when I did a slab of bacon and didn't give it the ice bath when it hit 140. 45 minutes later when I took the tin foil off it was 162IT...Surprise!
Best of luck with your completion.
 
Brisket looks good Rusty. Where are you competing at? I'm in H-Town too.

Good luck at the competition!
 
Wow that monster brisket cooked pretty fast in my book, it looks great to me and I bet it was very tasty!!! Nice color on that bird too. Good luck on the competition and let us know it turned out :).
 
Pat G said:
Brisket looks good Rusty. Where are you competing at? I'm in H-Town too.

Good luck at the competition!
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Pat, Its actually an event put on by my brother in law in Baton Rouge. Its a church event but he puts together a fun event. Last year they had 16 teams and I think they have more this year. Using KCBS rules and a host of judges. There is no money prizes but its a real good time. We had a team last year and had a blast. BUT last year the brisket i turned in was the 4th time i had used a smoker EVER (a borrowed electric drum). Needless to say we didnt do well in brisket. So i grabbed a WSM and learned how to smoke meat over the last year. :)

rb
 
Thanks guys. I have put out some good meat the last few months, but this one was my best. The smoke in this one was VERY good (maybe its the Post Oak i finally found). I am going to make sure to drop the temps before i rest the meat next time. If i get the doneness right, that is a MEAN brisket.

PS.... just ate brisket nachos w/ leftover chips/Queso from Lupe Tortilla.

rb
 
Michael C. said:
Wow that monster brisket cooked pretty fast in my book, it looks great to me and I bet it was very tasty!!! Nice color on that bird too. Good luck on the competition and let us know it turned out :).
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Michael. I have found that cooking at 265 and using the crutch at around 265-270 seems to finish my briskets averaging around 8 hrs. I am thinking of 11 hours between fire building and turn-in. Though, MAY stretch that to 12 hrs for safety.. would be better to have to rest the meat for 4 hrs, than to have to try to rush it and only rest it for 40 mins if it goes longer.

Who REALLY needs to sleep. its only ONE day right??

rb
 
Rusty, I have learned over the years that sleep is overrated. All kidding aside, with a WSM you can get a decent nights sleep. They are pretty efficient at maintaining temps. Since I don't sleep well anyway, it is no big deal. Besides, the rewards of the overnight cooks is worth the sacrifice any time. Just keep practicing and you will do very well in the comp. And of course, the family will eat very well.

Rusty Breaux said:
Michael. I have found that cooking at 265 and using the crutch at around 265-270 seems to finish my briskets averaging around 8 hrs. I am thinking of 11 hours between fire building and turn-in. Though, MAY stretch that to 12 hrs for safety.. would be better to have to rest the meat for 4 hrs, than to have to try to rush it and only rest it for 40 mins if it goes longer.

Who REALLY needs to sleep. its only ONE day right??

rb
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