Sad day today for my brisket.


 
T

Thomas W

New member
So last night I bought my first full brisket that I had to trim myself. Got her all dressed up an rubbed down. Fired up the wsm with royal oak and some pecan chunks. Put that bad boy on for a midnight cook. Woke up this morning at 8 to go check. The temp of the meat was 115. Wsm temp was 120 or so. I was so bummed out. I guess the safe zone for the meat is 140?? I didn't want to chance it since I don't know how long it sat like that last night. So I tossed it. I figure it's better to be safe than sorry. It was windy last night so I barely opened 2 vents. This morning no wind. Lol. Whatever! Has this happened to you guys? :(
 
Oh boy, that stinks. Get yourself a remote thermometer. It would have paid for itself in one cook.
 
Oh nooo:(! R.I.P., noble brisket. That's why I haven't yet gotten the nerve to do an overnight cook - I'm afraid the same thing would happen. You're far more responsible than I am. I probably would have just replenished the fire and kept cooking. The rule is that "hot" food that's between 41-135 degrees for more than 4 hours is considered unsafe, so you were correct to toss it. I'm sure things will go better next time.
 
I don't have a remote thermometer or ATC. On my night cooks I check the WSM at 4 and 7 hours.

I start off the cook with the top vent fully open and one lower vent fully open. At 4 hours I usually throw a few handfuls of coals for peace of mind, and open a second lower vent 100%. At 7 hours when the sun is up I assess how much longer the meat needs. If I think the coals will die out before or anywere close to the time the meat will be done, I fully reload the ring and close a lower vent. If the coals will last, I open the last vent 100%.
 
Thomas, that is really tough. For my first brisket, I would not trust an overnight cook. You had two things going against you = closed vents and high winds. Really tough to set before you head off for zz's. My sincere best to you on your next cook. I'm still learning everytime. :-)
 
I started cooking my Biskets hot and fast between 300 - 325. Cooked a 9.5lb Brisket on Saturday, started my fire at 9am put the Brisket on at 10 fat side down. Kept the WSM between 290 - 320, wrapped it in butcher paper at the 4hr mark and checked Internal temp which was 174. Placed back on the WSM with the fat side up, it was probe tender at 6.5hrs (4:30pm) internal temp was 206. Separated the Point and Flat, wrapped the Flat back in paper and let it rest. Cut the Point up in cubes seasoned and sauced them up for Burnt Ends, put them back on the WSM for 45 minutes. Everything was on the table at 5:45 ready to eat.

I cook Boston Butts the same way so no more overnight cooks for me. As suggested above a remote therm with alarm is a great tool to monitor pit temps, my lid therm can be anywhere from 30 to 50 degrees off, no way in heck I'm relying on that.

Good luck on your next Brisket.
 
I've got my WSM dialed in pretty good. For overnight cooks, I stabilize the temp and watch for about an hour. If there is no drastic temp fluxes, I leave it til morning. Door and lid gaskets have helped me a lot with keeping stable temps.
 
Thanks for replies guys. I have a digital thermometer too. But left it at my bud’s house. I figured I wasn't going to let that stop me. Lol. It sure did though. :wsm: I'm going to be attempting another on soon. Walmart sells packers for like 12-14lb 29 bucks near me.
 
Im really sorry for your brisket.
This is the reason why now I moved to ATC.
I can sleep safely like past night.
Like You I set the brisket at midnight and I was back this mornig at 07:30 am and brisket was at 165F.
 
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