First over night cook planned (Brisket)


 
K

Ken Serwatowski

TVWBB Fan
Although I have about 8 or 9 years with my WSM 18 under my belt I have never felt comfortable going to bed with the smoker running over night. I usually get up very early in the A.M. and just take cat naps later throughout the cook. I'm planning my first overnight cook with a 17 pound Brisket that was given to me when i purchased a BGE as a gift from the supplier. I'm not comfortable enough on the BGE yet to attempt this cook overnight for sure and am planning on using my old friend. I know all Briskets are different etc but can you guys give me an educated guess as to how many hours I should be comfortable sleeping without over cooking the flat. I'm planning on separating and foiling the flat at around 165 and making the point into burnt ends. My WSM18 loves locking in at 250 degrees dome temperature with Kingsford Comp Briquettes so I'm not worried so much about temperature peaks or drops and I know I can get at least 12 hours because I have done 12 hour smokes on pork butts in the past.
I appreciate any advice or suggestions, Ken
 
The dome temp of 250 might be 275-300 at the grate, but still low enough to go for 8 hours or so without any risk of overcooking. I did a 17-pounder in a WSM 18 a couple of months ago. I had to lop about 3 inches off the flat to shoehorn it in between the handles on the top grate. (That actually worked out fine, since it was the thin part of the flat that was removed. The thicker flat was tender at about the same time as the point.) I put it on at around 11:00p and it had a nice color at around 8:00a. It was just starting to go into the stall. I wrapped it in butcher paper and it was done and delicious at around 1:00p. I only cook brisket overnight anymore -- the first 8 hours or so requires no tending, so it's perfect for me. I think you'll be fine.

On a related note, I put in a strong Father's Day hint for an iGrill2 temp monitor. It links to your iPhone or iPad via bluetooth and in addition to monitoring and alarms, shows you a line graph of your temperatures over the course of your cook. I'm kind of nerdly excited to wake up in the morning and check to see how my pit and meat temps have proceeded while I was asleep and dreaming of burnt ends.
 
My upper grate temperature is actually lower than my dome temperature and my lower grate is lower than both when I use the water pan. I get about 15 degrees les on top grate and 12 degrees lower than that at lower great confirmed by probes.
 
Ken Serwatowski said:
My WSM18 loves locking in at 250 degrees dome temperature with Kingsford Comp Briquettes
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That's pretty much what mine does too. I don't have thermometer "at the grate" but mathmatically, my cooks seem to indicate that my dome thermometer is pretty accurate. Good luck with the cook today, I've never done a 17LBS Brisket, that hefty chunk of meat. Unfortunately here in kalifornia (at least in the Bay Area) 17LBS would set me back $75+
 
I'm actually not making it today but soon. I recently bought a Big Green Egg from a small family owned business and it came with two bags of lump and a gift certificate at a small local meat market for a free brisket or pork butt. I told the butcher I'd take the brisket (expecting a flat) and he walked out with a 17lb beast. Actually 16.76lbs but who's counting LOL
 
Ken Serwatowski said:
I'm actually not making it today but soon. I recently bought a Big Green Egg from a small family owned business and it came with two bags of lump and a gift certificate at a small local meat market for a free brisket or pork butt. I told the butcher I'd take the brisket (expecting a flat) and he walked out with a 17lb beast. Actually 16.76lbs but who's counting LOL
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Wow! You have some friendly people up there in MI. Do it overnight. What do you have to lose? It was free! I did my first and only full packer last weekend and it came out great. Started the charcoal at 11 pm and meat went on at 11:45 pm, woke up at 7 am. Looked great, I never even wrapped. Total cook time was 11 hours. I will do it again.
 
Yeah, it's a small family owned home and garden center. I was shocked that they did that. It was supposed to be only one bag of lump but they threw in a second bag that had been ripped in shipping but was still full. The price was exactly the same as it was at other stores and included free assembly (many places charge) and free delivery within so many miles (I was outside this area unfortunately and picked it up). As far as what do I have to lose, possibly some disappointed dinner guests and I don't want to serve a bad Brisket LOL
 
Ken Serwatowski said:
My upper grate temperature is actually lower than my dome temperature and my lower grate is lower than both when I use the water pan. I get about 15 degrees les on top grate and 12 degrees lower than that at lower great confirmed by probes.
Click to expand...

Great info! And what if the water pan w/o water in ? I guess the lower grate higher than the upper maybe 50F and the lid therm lower than both the grates about 30 F.
What do you think?
 
I like the sounds of this cook! (But then, I like high disaster factor cooks!)

For overnights, I really keep temps down. My last 13 lb. overnight packer was 235 grate, 205 lid. I usually stuff the ring with KBB, not KCB, and even then I need to choke the bottom vents and fill the pan with cold water.

I seem to sleep for no more than 5-6 hrs max in one stretch during an overnighter and then, if the temp has flagged, I'll open the vents and add some lit briquets and maybe some lump mesquite. Comes right back.
 
Monty, your upper grate temperature is higher than your dome temperature like J Hass too? I calibrated mine when it was new and then never checked it again. Maybe I better do a re check. It's been a long time since I checked grate temps as well. I usually do dome and internal.
 
Yes, mine has a nut on it like my instant read or so I thought. I should have said tested it when it was new. It showed the right temp for boiling water so I didn't turn the nut. I just assumed I could do it the same way as my instant read but I use ice water for that since thats what the directions recommended.
 
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