Brisket Reality Check


 
Darrell O

Darrell O

TVWBB Fan
My butcher was able to obtain a whole packer for the Holiday Weekend. He ended up ordering a monster 15-pounder. I've cooked 10-11 pound whole packers and they typically take me 15 hours. With a 15 pound brisket should I really expect a 17.5 to 21-hour cook assuming 1.25-1.5 hours per pound? I'm going to need more beer.

I am not ready to try high heat just yet. I have a dozen or so briskets under my belt and want to get low and slow brisket down first.

Regards,
Oak
 
That used to happen to me all the time. I'd order at 12-14 lb and when I go to pick it up, they'd have a 18 lb one for me. I stopped going there as a result.

I wouldn't fear HH. It really isn't much different. Run the wsm closer to 275, and you should cut the cook time down some. Cooking is a sliding scale, not either l/s or HH. If something in the middle works, go with it. One thing I've discovered from brisket threads is that everybody does l/s and HH differently. There is a lot of grey area here.
 
Vince,

I have been foiling at 180. If I foil at 160 I assume that the cook time would be closer to 1 to1.25 hour per pound.

Thanks,
Oak
 
I just finished a high heat whole packer brisket last night and it was the best one I've ever cooked . . . it was also the only one I've ever cooked. I've only smoked flats before, never a whole packer. This one turned out exactly like I wanted it to. If the brisket next weekend at my first competition turns out like the one last night did, I'll be very happy.

So, I say all that to say I'd encourage you to give high heat a shot. It's easy and fast -Thanks to all the great information I've learned from the guys here (and Myron Mixon's method). The 16.84-poundwhole packer I smoked yesterday only took 4 hours on the smoker. Then I rested it for an hour and a half or so - but I didn't have to. I could have unwrapped and sliced it sooner.
 
Darrell don't be scarred to do the HH but I understand where you are coming from. Last brisket I did was 15lbs & 15.5lbs which I did at the same time. Temps ran between 225-260 throughout the cook. I foiled the pan only. One took 11hrs and one took 12hrs. So if you do it at 275 as JB said, you should be fine and timing should be good. Let us know how it goes and post some pics
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It all turned out ok. I wrestled with the WSM all night. I used lump instead of briquettes and I had trouble maintaining temp. It didn't help that the ET-73 smoker probe ended up under the brisket and messed around with temps for the first 6 hours of the cook. I cooked it in a foil pan so that I would have plenty of au jus. Early this morning I used a turkey baster to extract most of the collected au jus from the pan. Foiled at 180 and pulled close to 190 when the probe felt like it was going through butter. I smoked with a mix of apple and red oak, which came out very nice. In total, it was a 19.5 hour cook. I think I'm ready for high heat and smaller briskets.
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The brisket was tender and moist with just the right amount of smoke.


Sorry no finished pictures. I was too busy eating the brisket with smoky beans and German slaw.

Thanks for the advice.

Oak
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Cooking in a pan? Hmmm. Haven't tried that. At least there will still be bark on top. Can just picture soppin up the au jus on the hogie rolls. Brisket looks darn tasty by the way.
 
I love me them disposable turkey pans for brisket. I put the pan on the lower rack with a bottle of Killians Irish Red in it and let it catch the drippings. Then I usually wait till it comes out of the stall (usually around 160-170'ish) and then put the brisket in the pan with the juices (add another bottle of beer if needed). Foil the top and let it ride till the internal temp hits 205°. Makes for a super tastey moist brisket and some killer ajus for dipping, gravy, ect.
 
Originally posted by Bill S.:
Cooking in a pan? Hmmm. Haven't tried that. At least there will still be bark on top. Can just picture soppin up the au jus on the hogie rolls. Brisket looks darn tasty by the way.
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It's really not as crazy as it sounds. It especially works well with flats.
 
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