First Brisket - 18 Pounder! Need Advice on my Planned Cook Process


 
J

Jason D. Florida

TVWBB Member
Hello,

So I’m either crazy, stupid, or both as I’m getting ready to going to smoke my first Brisket next weekend for a BBQ. It’s a full 18 pound packer Angus Beef USDA Choice.

My guests will be here around 12 pm and I would like to serve it no later than 1pm. I’ve read countless times that “It’s done when it’s done” but I need to make sure its ready. I understand from reading these forums that it takes about 1 to 1.5 hours per pound. I’m really not sure if I should cook it at 225 or 275 degrees.

Below is the first draft of my plan to cook this monster. I’d appreciate any advice/input so the Brisket doesn’t turn out like dog meat.
- Use a basic salt and pepper rub applied an hour before the meat hits the smoker
- Fire up the smoker around 9 pm, dial in the temp to 225 and add the meat fat side up around 10 pm, using a mixture of hickory and apple or cherry wood.
- Keep an eye on it for a couple hours to make sure my temp is dialed in around 225 degrees, then go to bed. And wake around 6:30 hoping its going as planned.

I’m initially planning on not foiling at the stall but I’m not sure if that’s a good idea or not. My plan is to:
- Take it to 195 degrees and probe it until its tender and then remove from the smoker
- Let it rest on the counter uncovered until the temperature drops to 170 degrees, then wrap in foil and place in a cooler full of towels until I can slice it by 1 pm.

Is there anything you guys would do differently? Also, this might be a dumb question but, I always read to foil at 160-165 degrees. If this Brisket was taking too long to cook, can I wrap it at say, 180 degrees to speed up the cooking process without damaging the meat? Or is the 160 degrees the general rule of thumb

I’m stressing out this turns out ok so my guests leave here satisfied.

Thanks for your input.

Jason
:wsm22:
 
I can't really add much. What I did notice, & I'm sure someone far more knowledgeable than me will correct me if wrong, is your schedule. There may not be enough time for it to cook let alone rest for several hours. 18 pounder -you may want to figure 16 hours cook time for that monster.
 
Good luck, My mistakes have been caused by over thinking and over drinking, avoid those and you'll be fine.
 
Jason, I would allow a minimum of 24 hrs for a brisket that size at 275. If it finishes early you can hold in a cooler for a good 5 hrs if need be. At 225 you are looking at 24+ hr cook. Good luck.
 
Jason, I usually Smoke mine @ 230-240 and pull anywhere from 195-205 (or when it's done); and figuring your 18 LB Brisket at a ball park 1 1/2 Hours per pound average.....thats 27 hours. Plus, I aim for about a 2 hour rest so now we're up to 29 hours.!!!! Foiling or "Texas Crutching" is optional and totally up to you (I have done it both ways), but crutching will help get you over the stall quicker and thus reduce your overall cook time. Your stall temp range of 160-165 is good, but remember its an average. Stalling can occur a few degrees sooner or a few later. I had a brisket stall at 155 before for 4-5 hours! Hope this helps and All The Best....Bill
 
Hi Jason. If i was cooking that brisket, i would kick up the temp to around 250-275. It's a big piece of meat and can handle even higher temps than that. I did a 16 plus pounder a couple weeks ago, initially didnt plan on foiling but the stall was brutal. Temp didnt move for four hours. I decided to foil to speed it up. Im glad i did. Everyone foils at different times due to preferance, i.e. Temp, or getting the color they want. I'm not that good with planning my cooks to a certain time. I basically go for around what time i'd like to eat then hope for the best. Sometimes it's sooner, other times its later. Dont sweat that part too much because with a nice piece of meat you definately want to make sure its ready when its ready. Be patient. I've found my magic internal temp is around 203-210. I usually salt mine the day before to allow the salt to penetrate the meat. Yes you can foil at any point after you bark is set. Dont be intimidated. Make your plan, record it for referance, stick to your plan, be patient, and enjoy your cook. I always add into my notes how the cook went, anything i would do different and how the meat turned out. Good luck, let us know how it goes.
 
Hi Jason and All,

Just wanted to post and say hi! I'm really interested in how this story will unfold as I am a fellow newb smoker that hasn't ventured into briskets yet (did some ribs a few weeks ago). I've been perusing the local market at the beef counters looking at wonderful briskets, packer and super trims, just wanting for good weather to do a smoke!

Appreciate all the advice! :)
 
Thanks for all the responses. Based on what you are all saying I'm modifying my planned cooked. I figure I will cook it at 275 degrees and start around noon on Friday. My BBQ is at noon on Saturday.

I'm thinking I may keep it on the smoker for 12 hours and then bring it inside and put it in the oven at my smoking temperature overnight. The most I've gotten out of my smoker was about 15 hours on a full load of KBB. I don't really like to do this because I like the keep it in the smoker but I know the oven will keep a steady temp and I can sleep for a few hours.

When I wake up I'll assess the meat. If it's done I can hold the temp until my guests get here. If not I can let it go. I think this might be my best plan of action. I'll keep very detailed logs as I always do and share it when I'm done. If I need to do anymore tweaks, I'm open to all suggestions.

Thanks for all the advice.
 
Jason,

Looks like you have a good plan. Wishing you an Enjoyable Cook and some Great Eats !

Once the internal temperature gets into the range where you're starting to test for tenderness, if some areas of the brisket are getting tender, don't hesitate to check more often for tenderness. You will find the time period where the brisket is nearing tenderness perfection to be very short. Once found, follow your plan !!!

If holding in the oven, let it, the oven, cool down to below the cooking temperature also....
 
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So many ways and methods to do this but do keep in mind that whatever you do PACE YOURSELF so you can enjoy the company and the food. I've cooked several briskets close to that size and have never taken more than 8.5 hours start to finish. 275 degrees, 4 maybe 4.5 hours fat side up, wrap then check for tenderness after 3 hours (or start checking when internal temp gets 198 dg). I recently cooked a 15lb brisket in a local competition and it was off my Weber 22.5 after 8 hours resting till turn in. I started at 4 am and put the brisket in the warmer around noon. Prep in advance and give your fire at least 45 minutes prior to starting the brisket. Again, there is a ton of times, temps and ways to pull this off so go with what will net you the most time to enjoy the event and not just work and wear yourself out getting it ready. Good luck for a great time!
 
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Jason, the oven-finish is a good plan. You might want to consider foiling it in the oven. If you have a temp probe with a warning function, you may want to set that at around 190 to wake you up before it's overcooked. Noe's correct above -- you can hold that in a cooler for a good 5 hours. Have fun.
 
The suggested cook time per pound isn't really linear. Your original plan wasn't really that bad. You might have started a few hours earlier. That said, the new plan works too. Good luck on your brisket!
 
TroyS said:
So many ways and methods to do this but do keep in mind that whatever you do PACE YOURSELF so you can enjoy the company and the food. I've cooked several briskets close to that size and have never taken more than 8.5 hours start to finish. 275 degrees, 4 maybe 4.5 hours fat side up, wrap then check for tenderness after 3 hours (or start checking when internal temp gets 198 dg). I recently cooked a 15lb brisket in a local competition and it was off my Weber 22.5 after 8 hours resting till turn in. I started at 4 am and put the brisket in the warmer around noon. Prep in advance and give your fire at least 45 minutes prior to starting the brisket. Again, there is a ton of times, temps and ways to pull this off so go with what will net you the most time to enjoy the event and not just work and wear yourself out getting it ready. Good luck for a great time!
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Wow. that is a very short cook time at 275. I guess if I don't foil at the stall it will take a lot longer.

Thanks again for all the information. I think my plan may be tweaked a little but I will be starting the smoke in the afternoon at some point. I checked my oven last night and the lowest it goes is 170 degrees which is fine.

I have a Maverick ET-732 thermometer so I'll I will definitely use that and set my timers. Tomorrow night I will check the accuracy of my oven to see how well it keeps temperature as well as the accuracy of it.

Jason
 
Well, I got the Brisket and a pork butt on the smoker at 6:10 pm and all is going as planned so far. I decided to start it a little later than my other plan. I'm running the smoker between 255-275 degrees. The temp in the brisket is already at 161 on the top grate and the pork butt is 144 on the lower grate. I suppose the brisket will begin to stall now. I have my remote thermometers set to alert me if the brisket internal temperature goes above 190.
 
Well......my first Brisket was a success. It came out great and all my guests raved about it. The 18 pounder was totally gone.

A few things to summarize my experience and things I would do differently.
1. I put the meat on the smoker (22-inch WSM) at 6:10 PM. It was so big it barely fit on the top grate. For those who can’t decide on the 18 or 22 WSM, get the 22-inch! You won’t regret it. I wouldn’t have been able to fit it on the 18-inch.
2. My target temperature was 250 degrees. My actual temperatures fluctuated between 235-280 early but then settled in later on.
3. Used 3 chunks of Hickory and 2 Chunks Pecan wood. I liked the combo a lot.
4. Added a coarse kosher sea salt and black pepper rub (3 table spoons of each)
5. The temperature rose very quickly to 160 after 2.5 hours. I thought it would stall but at 10:30 it was up to 168 when I went to bed.
6. At 4:30 am my remote thermometer alarm went off at 192 degrees. I probed it and the point was like butter. The Flat still needed more time.
7. I probed it again at 195, 197 and then at 200 degrees I took it off….at 6:10 am. Exactly 12 hours later, unwrapped. I used a toothpick and it went in without any resistance. My average temperature was about 254 degrees with a few normal spikes.
8. Since It got done do early I let it rest to 170 and then placed it in a cooler for about 4 hours. When I check it at this point it was about 138 degrees to I set my oven to its lowest setting and babysat it for a couple more hours.
9. Finally at 1:30 pm I sliced it up and it looked and tasted great. It was juicy and had a great smoke ring. It pulled apart very easily. It was a little gray, I guess from messing with it in the oven to keep it warm.

Things I would do differently next time:
1. Start it later so it doesn’t finish so quickly.
2. Possibly lower the temperature to 225-235 degrees.
3. Make burnt ends with the Point.

Otherwise I wouldn’t change much. The cook was a lot easier than I expected. I set my timers and temperature settings on my Maverick ET-73 thermometer and basically took it from there.

For those who never cooked a Brisket, relax. It's not that hard. Just make sure you have an accurate remote thermometer and watch your temps. You will be fine!

J-
 
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