Ideal size and cooking temp for brisket so adding coals is not necessary


 
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Andre A

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I would like to do a 13-15lb brisket on my 22.5. I would like to cook it low and slow at 225. I would like to not have to change/add coals to the cooker during the process. I would like to not have to wrap the brisket. I will be using a Digi Q to control temp.

So for those who know, and I do realize everything is relative, are any of the things that I would like to do, not possible with the combination that I listed above. Such as it would not be possible to cook that size brisket with out refueling.
 
Use the Minion Method. I have a 20 year old 18.5" WSM and it can go close to 30 hours on a single load of standard Kingsford Charcoal Briquets using an Automatic Temperature Controller (ATC) and blower. For a 15lb brisket cooking at 225F my experience has been 1-1.3 hours per pound making the longest cook time you should need a little under 20 hours. The ATC makes the cook temperatures very stable and the use of charcoal extremely efficient. I have found this to be true for both ATCs I have used (first a now end-of-lifed BBQ Guru Competitor and now a home built HeaterMeter as discussed on another forum on this site).

PS: I have done many brisket just as you have suggested and now wrap at the stall (160-170F internal temperature) spritzed with some sort of liquid (apple juice, broth, water, ...). At 225F unwrapped the briskets come out very tender with great bark but are a little dry in the flat. I would suggest pink butcher paper as a wrap first (see BBQ with Franklin brisket videos). If you cannot find pink butcher paper then use heavy duty foil and double wrap.

Good luck.

-- Mache
 
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Any particular reason you want to cook it @225*? 250-275*, cooks faster and you get good results. You don't have to wrap, although you risk drying out the thinner flat. Water pan will help, but you eat a lot more fuel that way. You could spritz some watered down Worcestershire sauce every 1-2 hours after 4-5 hours into the cook. Either way just load up your charcoal ring. I like using lump, less ash.
 
If you 100% don't want to have to mess with coals, smoke it for 4-5 hours then chuck it in the oven.

Your next best bet for cooking at 225F is to wait until the hottest day in the summer, load as much charcoal as will fit, run a dry water pan, and use the minion method.

Otherwise, sometimes you just have to add coals. You can't make the brisket be done before your fuel runs out, especially cooking that low and this early in the year.
 
Smallest brisket I could find a couple weeks ago was 17 lbs! If you have to refuel, just refuel. It's no biggie.

When I find it's time, first I shut the top vent before I take the door off. If the coal ring is really bare, I'll pour in some lit coals in the center with a square nose shovel, and some unlit lump around as well. (If refueling with unlit briquettes, I'd push the coals left toward the center, rotating the middle section to better reach the other side if needed; unlit briquettes then added around the outside of the charcoal ring so as not to produce much dirty smoke.) If I catch it soon enough though, I'll just refuel with a sparse layer of unlit lump. It usually doesn't smoke bad and will buy me enough smoking time to finish. Just don't forget to reopen the top vent.

I haven't cooked briskets overnight for some time, preferring to cook at higher temps, wrapping with butcher paper. It doesn't need to be pink; just food grade white is fine. I'd start at 275, and then let the temp go on up to 300 after wrapping. At least that's the plan for my next one. Briskets get done when they want to get done, thickness after trimming giving you as much or more to go on than weight. They benefit from a long rest anyhow though, in case it gets done sooner than expected.
 
Dave... Snake River Farms has a deal just for you... Today their ad sez they have a couple of 100+ pound briskets for sale. The one shown in the ad is 125 pounds !
Could take all week, if at low temperature ;)
 
Bob Bass said:
Dave... Snake River Farms has a deal just for you... Today their ad sez they have a couple of 100+ pound briskets for sale. The one shown in the ad is 125 pounds !
Could take all week, if at low temperature ;)
Click to expand...

Wow. You might have to shoehorn one of those to get it to fit on the new 26.75" wsm.
 
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