Another first Brisket thread

NoobZero

Ok, tried one for the first time and it was an adventure. Started out having temp stabilization issues. It helps if you plug the fan into the CyberQ. Ok, got that out of the way, put the meat on before it got to the target temp of 225, got busy doing other things, checked back and temp had spiked to 275. The meat temp went up with it to about 170, then dropped with the grid settling at around 160 after putting the ceramic cap on to lower temp, took about two hours for that.

Then the meat stalled after around 2 hours before slowly starting to climb. After a couple ore hours at IT of around 175, I decided to wrap it. Temp still hovering around 175 for another hour and a half, now I'm getting worried, I then decided to bump the grid temp up to 250 to power through. Pulled at 200 IT.

I'm not sure of the weight, but I'm thinking maybe 5-7 pound flat. Total cook time 16 hours!!!! Ok, what did I do wrong? Well, I realized what happened with the temp issues to begin, but should a small brisket take this much time? I noticed no smoke ring, did I not add enough wood? I used Alpha Rub, mustard, salt and pepper. The wife and I were satisfied with the taste.

Ladeback69

With the weight you think that it would be about 2 hours a pond and at 225 for most of the cook on just a flat it could take that long.  That's why I like doing packers and I cook between 250 and 275.  When you wrapped it should have taken it a little higher like 275 to 300 if you needed to get it done.  Briskets can be trouble, but the pictures it looks good.  Stalls can last a while like you experienced or longer. 

tonyled

i would eat that!

Foghorn

1) I would very much enjoy eating that.
2) Eggs don't tend to produce as much smoke ring as offset smokers where the fuel source is generally 100% wood.  That's OK.  If you really want a smoke ring, you can usually get one if you have a fair amount of wood lit during the early part of the cook.  Sometimes it is hit or miss when the wood is just mixed in - like in the cook linked below where we did the brisket first and just kept cooking.  The brisket has a small smoke mark on one side and the beef ribs cooked later have a small smoke ring all the way around.

http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1179678/brisket-and-beef-ribs-and-pork-ribs-and-wings/p1

3) As @Ladeback69 pointed out, it is not uncommon for a brisket to take 2 hours/pound when cooking in the 220-225 range.  Think of it as the difference in temp between the meat and the environment.  If the brisket is 190 and the grill is 220 there is only a 30 degree difference so the meat temp rises very slowly - particularly at the end.  At a grill temp of 275, you would be 85 degrees above the meat temp when the meat is at 190 - roughly triple the difference compared to 220 so that part of the cook goes much faster even though you are still at a temp that most people would consider "low and slow". 

Keep up the good work.