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Scheduling A Long Cook


 
M

Michael Kelly

New member
Greetings,
I'm having what I believe is a very common problem. Put simply, having a brisket ready at dinner time.

I have a 10 pound brisket I plan on smoking. I've planned on 15 hours (give or take) of smoke time.

I'd like to have people over at 6PM to eat the brisket as it comes out of the smoker. I don't want to reheat the meat.

My assumption is the only way to do this is to smoke overnight while I'm sleeping.

I'm a big fan of lump charcoal and have gotten accustomed to using it. My fear is the fire will burn out after 5 hours and by the time I get to it the next morning my WSM will be ice cold (so to speak).

I've done my homework and know about The Minion Method, but I'm scared. I've got $50 worth of meat and plenty of hungry guests and my own inner critic: I don't want to mess it up (I used the word "mess" but I had another word in mind
icon_smile.gif
). I've done enough cooks to feel good as long as I'm sitting near the smoker, but I've never started a fire and gone to bed (I even worry about raccoons).

Seems to me I don't have much choice here. What do people do if they want to have a big brisket for dinner and invite friends?

If it turns out I indeed have no choice, I thought I'd try a few minion burns in an empty smoker to see if it works.

Thanks for putting up with a question that probably comes up once a week around here.
 
You should be able to get way more than 5 hrs burn time out of full load of lump charcoal using the minion method.

Solution #2 is go high heat and cook it in 4-5 hrs. Last 8# I did took 3hrs 58min and sat wrapped in towels in the microwave for 1.5hrs.
 
Start at 6 am, cook at 250, then foil after 5 hours. I did one last week about the same size and it was done by about 4. Still had plenty of coals. I had picked a good brisket to start with.

Another option is to smoke for 4-5 hours then finish in oven. After that amount of time, the meat won't be taking any more smoke and heat is heat.
 
I agree with the suggestions to go high heat. I never really liked brisket until I started cooking them at 300-350.
 
The Minion method is not "set it and forget it" This method is designed to start your fire low, catch the temps on the way up and then stabilize. After starting with the Minion method you still need an hour or so, before the wsm stabilizes.
 
I'm not opposed to the high heat idea (and I've wrapped previous briskets in foil and enjoy the results), it's just that I thought the idea was to maintain the Low & Slow philosophy.

Perhaps I'm being too idealistic but I really wanted to slowly smoke my brisket. Practically speaking, that may simply not be possible. And really, I have to admit the goal is to have a delicious, tender, smoked beef brisket; no matter how I get there.
 
Maybe try a brisket flat instead of full packer to cut down on cooking time.

do it a few times yourself before inviting guests to get a handle on your technique and timing.

do it a day or two early, wrap it tightly and reheat flat in the oven and throw point chopped up on kettle for a couple hours with rub and BBQ sauce for burnt ends--then you get the whole pitmaster mystique going with the guests and they don't know you did some the day before.
 
Originally posted by Michael Kelly: <snip>
And really, I have to admit the goal is to have a delicious, tender, smoked beef brisket; no matter how I get there.
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Go High Heat (>275F). Go heavy on the smoke wood and plan on ~4-4.5 hours + however long of rest you'd like... Maybe 45-75 minutes in foil on the counter.

What rub are you going with?
 
I'd like to have people over at 6PM to eat the brisket as it comes out of the smoker. I don't want to reheat the meat.
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If this is your main focus for company arriving to give the effect then I would go with HH too. The Point requires a lot more attention than a Flat and you "may" have more variables with low and slow. If you go HH I think you can figure on 5-6 hours as long as you are in the 300 degree range either way I would foil it after 165 to get it up to 200. If I went HH I would simply remove the point, wrap it and return to the oven or grill to finish but it is kind of a shame not to serve some Burnt Ends
 
I'm new to smoking and have decided to wait on making my own sauces and rubs: it's simply too much for me to think about right now.

Fortunately, I have two things going for me 1) I work in a high end restaurant in Chicago with lots of very talented Chefs who don't mind answering questions, and 2) I'm a short bicycle ride from The Spice House (I like Gary Wiviott's BBQ Rub).

I take their help on faith which lets me focus on my more basic studies.
 
Originally posted by Michael Kelly:
I'm new to smoking and have decided to wait on making my own sauces and rubs: it's simply too much for me to think about right now.

Fortunately, I have two things going for me 1) I work in a high end restaurant in Chicago with lots of very talented Chefs who don't mind answering questions, and 2) I'm a short bicycle ride from The Spice House (I like Gary Wiviott's BBQ Rub).

I take their help on faith which lets me focus on my more basic studies.
Click to expand...

Do yourself a favor - go high heat with your brisket. When you take it off to rest, save the juices in that pan/foil. Look up the recipe for No. 5 Sauce in the recipes section and make that. Incredibly simple and incredibly good.
 
My previous 7 briskets were all low and slow and they came out very well(Mostly luck), this time I went with high heat and my 16 lb'er was done in 5 hours. It was delicicous. Really. Make your life simple and go with the high heat this time. When you're not worried about "timing" then go low and slow. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
 
Go High Heat if you want to but I stay low and slow. Personally I would throw the Brisket on at Midnight. Once the temp stabilizes get a few winks if you want. Because you will be entertaining I would suggest getting what you can in between checking the fire. If 15 hours is your guesstimate then the meat should be done around 3pm. Wrap in foil, place in cooler, take a shower and grab another wink or two of sleep before the guests arrive. that's how I would do it.
 
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