Do I REALLY have to plan on 21 hours??????


 
Jon K

Jon K

TVWBB Super Fan
Just bought a beautiful 17 lb. choice brisket from Restaurant Depot to smoke for Sunday dinner.
I know that smoking time is just a guide as to when to start checking for tenderness but figuring on
trimming 2 lbs. of fat that leaves me with a 15 lb. brisket and @ 90 min/lb. we're talking
21 hours. Yikes! It is a choice cut and it's really nicely marbled from what I can see.

Just trying to figure out when to start smoking. Dinner's at 5:00 p.m. Sunday so "ideally" I'd like to take
it off the smoker by 1:00 p.m Sunday so what do you think, put it on at 7:00 Saturday night?
Thanks.
jon
 
Dwain Pannell said:
21 hrs?!?! Absolutely not. In fact, I recommend higher heat. Here's some info. http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/brisket4.html http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?7188-High-Heat-Brisket-Method-A-Compilation
Click to expand...
I haven't done a high heat cook as Dwain suggests (but I want to) I have done a low heat cook (225 / 250) and the total time is approx. one hour per pound. The last hour or two is tiring as you're checking for tenderness (tooth picking) and you're stressing.....Was it more tender at last check or is it more tender now.....:confused:

I'd do a high heat brisket if they would ever come down in price. They're still pretty much $7+ per LBS where I live
 
ChuckO said:
I haven't done a high heat cook as Dwain suggests (but I want to) I have done a low heat cook (225 / 250) and the total time is approx. one hour per pound. The last hour or two is tiring as you're checking for tenderness (tooth picking) and you're stressing.....Was it more tender at last check or is it more tender now.....:confused:

I'd do a high heat brisket if they would ever come down in price. They're still pretty much $7+ per LBS where I live
Click to expand...

I was really surprised at how low (everything is relative) the price was at R.D. ($3.79/lb.) for choice.
 
The first brisket i ever cooked ( along with a bottom rack of pork butts) was a 12lber before trimming, and took it about 16 hours, and i hovered around 230-250 the whole cook. The second time Some aim for 275, which will reduce the cooking time. My 2nd brisket was injected and seasoned ahead of time and it seemed to cook faster that time.
 
Jon K said:
Just bought a beautiful 17 lb. choice brisket from Restaurant Depot to smoke for Sunday dinner.
I know that smoking time is just a guide as to when to start checking for tenderness but figuring on
trimming 2 lbs. of fat that leaves me with a 15 lb. brisket and @ 90 min/lb. we're talking
21 hours. Yikes! It is a choice cut and it's really nicely marbled from what I can see.

Just trying to figure out when to start smoking. Dinner's at 5:00 p.m. Sunday so "ideally" I'd like to take
it off the smoker by 1:00 p.m Sunday so what do you think, put it on at 7:00 Saturday night?
Thanks.
jon
Click to expand...


O.O 17 HOURS?! Are you masochistic? Been hitting the pipe a bit much (poke poke...)? :cool:

Do a high heat brisket and crank that puppy out in 7 hours. 17 hours is for crazy people....:rolleyes:

Nuts man....17 hours......who IS this joker......that is just crayzee.......
 
Seems most want to do HH or L&S, I'm a middle of the road guy.
I have made butts and brisket both ways, and prefer to keep the smoker's temp around 275>300 (that's low for me) for at least a couple of hours for the smoke, then let her slowly run up to 350>375.
Cook times vary of course, but never go longer than 12 hours. YMMV

One of the best briskets I've made was without anything between the coals and the top rack on my 18.5
 
I have only done one brisket in my life and it was phenomenal.

Smoker was at about 270-280....put brisket on at 6am.....I foiled at 11am and brisket was at 162 (thickest part of the flat)

Pulled brisket off at 2pm brisket was at 205 (this was a select brisket)

Let breathe out of foil for a while....separated point from the flat and wrapped flat in foil/towels and put in cooler.

Made burnt ends from point.

Ate at 5pm
 
I'm a low and slow guy. I cook in the 225 to 250 range. It shouldn't take that long. I find that 1 hr a pound is a good guide line. Its not exactly linear though. You probably do want to get that bad boy on about 9pm saturday night. You can rest it up to 5 hours in a faux cambro if it cooks fast for some reason. Once the WSM settles in, its really not that big a hassle to keep it going. Depending on your weather you might have to add charcoal at some point. During the summer I can go 24 hours and a full ring no problem. If you find you are running late, wrap.
 
We cook our competition briskets at 250 for first 4 hours and then bump up to 275 after we foil. We try to start with a 15lb. brisket. Goes on at 2 am and generally off by 10:30 am.
 
Like a couple of others here like the modified high heat method, about 275* until internal hits about 165-170 then place it in a disposable pan with about a cup of beef stock then foil over the pan until IT hits 195 and start probing for tender. A 15 lb packer takes about 8 hrs and another hour max to rest.
 
Thanks all for your info. I put the brisket on last night around 10:30 and have been doing a modified low and slow keeping the temp between 245 and 275 all night.
Got up at 6:30 this morning and have been in a stall @ 142 for a few hours now. Can't wait to get this thing off and tasting it later.
Again thanks for all of your input.

jon
 
I regularly smoke large volumes of meat on weekends. I once smoked two full packers on the top rack because I try not to use the lower rack. Once the dome is on, I won't remove it for nothing. I use the Minion lighting method on a full+ ring with KO then run my 22.5 WSM as long as possible, usually 8-10 hours >225F; internal temp varies to due many variables. I pull, pan and foil the meat individually then finish off in a 300 oven or gasser to 205F int temp.

I've read on this and other sites meat does not absorb anymore smoke flavor above a certain temp; I think it is 140F. After that, you are cooking to desired tenderness. While I envy the smokers who can cajole a 22.5 WSM for 12-14+ hours on one ring, I just don't have the time nor patience to do it plus my dome is not snug as it could be. If I start the smoke late Friday evening, I'm usually done (setup, prep, smoke/cook, 90+ min rest, cool, portion, seal in bags & final cleanup) early Sun afternoon.

I hope this helps. Good luck.
 
So, when all was said and done it was a 16 hour smoke, averaging about 250 degrees for the 1st 14 hours and then hiking up to 325 for the
last 2 hours. I ended up with a very good brisk and outstanding burnt ends with NO leftovers. Thank you all for your information.

jon
 
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