How to handle a run away brisket?


 
R

Rob O

TVWBB Pro
[Hi gang. First post in a while. Nice to be back.]

All the years I've been doing this I've never had a brisket take off on me like this. Wondering if I'm handling it the right way?

Put a 16 lb packer on last night around 8:30PM. Target serving time is 7:30PM tonight. Pit temp was steady around 2:35. 10 hours into the cook and the flat is at 195. (!)

Probes are calibrated and I use 2 pit probes and 2 food probes to be sure I'm not getting a bad reading during the cook and I double checked the food probes with a Thermapen. Sure enough. 195.

So here I am 12 hours from serving and I'm at 195.

I foiled. Took it out of the WSM and put it in my gasser dialed in at 220. Then I plan to leave it alone and try to pull around 210.

Sound right?
 
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Sounds good to me. stop cooking when it's tender not necessarily at a certain temperature. When it gets to temp leave it in the foil, wrap it in some towels and put in a cooler with a good fitting lid. I will probably still be warm when your ready to eat. I have rested buts all night this way and the next morning they are still hot.

-rog
 
Forget temps!! When the probe of your thermapen slides into the meat as if it were sliding into butter its done. Do not keep in foil and towels or it will continue to cook and you'll end up with pot roast. I doubt that you'll be able to hold the brisket above 160° till 7:30 tonight. I would slice it after cooling a bit and place into a roasing pan with the cooking juices. Then reheat before serving.
 
Isn't that weird how one will take 15 hours and the other 15 minutes? I know that's an exaggeration but the difference in the times drives me crazy. Just when you think you have a good plan the thing cooks WAY too fast or WAY too slow. LOL
 
My overnight cooks always go faster , usually in the ten hour range ... I think the temps crawl up due to the amt of fuel and lack fiddling with vents while you sleep ...I just did a day cook on a 14lb and it took a solid 12 hours .. But I was able to hold temps @220
 
You never said how big of a brisket it was. I usually calculate 1 hour per pound (and add a couple hours), and cook @ 250
 
briskets are all differant. the muscle density and sructure are differant. this is what makes it a bit tricky. for sure its done when its done. i take them off when the probe goes in easily but with just a bit of resistance. by the time they are rested for 20 min or so they are just right. i've had ones done in 8 hours and others in 11.
 
Bill Farmer said:
You never said how big of a brisket it was. I usually calculate 1 hour per pound (and add a couple hours), and cook @ 250
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It was a little over 16 pounds. I shoot for a cook at 225. As a really general rule of thumb I usually figure about 1.25 hours for the smaller ones and 1.5 hours for the larger ones. With the larger ones I give myself a bit of extra time as well as I've seen them take much longer.

For real. This one just took off and never stopped going... Stall? What stall?

I held it in the gasser. Internal temp I was able to maintain at 205. Pulled it and letting it rest in warmed cooler. Foil but no towels. It's been hanging out in the mid 180s.



Well... won't be too much longer. Guess I'm going to find out whether I have pot roast or shoe leather.....
 
Al Silverman said:
Which one was it??? lol
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*Laughing* Aw shucks. Didn't know anyone would care.

Strangest brisket I've ever cooked. The point section was actually really good. Nice bark. Nicely moist.

The flat was a completely different story. Pot roast would have been an improvement. It was somewhere between oatmeal and ... well if jello had strings that's what it would have been. Tried cutting it and it pretty much just disintegrated. Tasted okay though.

For what it's worth this brisket had a disproportionately large point section. Didn't notice that when I picked it up.

Guess that just adds to the mystery. Thought a larger deckle would slow down a cook. This sure was a strange one.
 
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