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Cooking a brisket that is too big in my large

Hello everyone,

I picked up a brisket tonight at Costco. I wasn't thinking and picked one up that is way too big for my egg (14.5 pounds). It does not fit in there lying flat so I was thinking about curving it on a roasting rack that I own. That allows it to still fit but barely, and the brisket pretty much touches the ceramic on both ends. I think that this is probably fine, has anyone had any bad experiences having to cook like this?

I've also never cooked a brisket this large. I need to have it ready by 8pm on Saturday. If I put it in a midnight would that give it plenty of time? My gut tells me yes (Ive read it takes 1 to 1 1/2 hour per pound). Though it makes me nervous b/c the last time I cooked for a dinner party my pork butt too WAY too long and I had to rush it at 400 degrees foil wrapped in the oven (which totally ruined it).

Comments

  • cp90
    cp90 Posts: 16
    don't have enough experiance to help you but i wish you luck!
  • Thanks man, I'm excited. I've only cooked one before this and it was a Select grade from HEB (I think it was $2.99 a pound). Tomorrow I am cooking a Prime I got from Costco for $2.99. Can't wait to see if its even better than my Select was!
  • cp90
    cp90 Posts: 16
    keep us updated! would love to see how it turns out.
  • U_tarded
    U_tarded Posts: 2,042
    your fine...put some foil under the overhangs of the plate setter.  It will shrink so much that by morning you will wonder what you were worrying about.  here is the last monster I did.  http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1160536/big-mama-jama-brisket

  • Haha yours sure did shrink, thanks I figured it would be OK. Do you just mean put some foil between the grate and the meat at the two ends that do not have a platesetter below it?
  • SMITTYtheSMOKER
    SMITTYtheSMOKER Posts: 2,668
    edited February 2014

    We cook large briskets on the large Egg all the time.

    Run an oversized drip pan running front to back (turkey rooster with blunt ends).  Use the rack you have and run the brisket over the drip pan front to back as well.  We keep moisture in the drip pan throughout the cook, water and broth will work. image

     

    -SMITTY     

    from SANTA CLARA, CA

  • R2Egg2Q
    R2Egg2Q Posts: 2,136
    Nice prime brisket. Costco in my area only carries flats. Wish I could find a prime.

    You'll be fine draping it over your rack. Assuming you will have a platesetter, if you don't have a roasting pan like In Smitty's pic, you can position the point end of the brisket over one of the platesetter's legs to shield it from direct heat and as suggested put some foil on the grid to protect the end of the flat that is not protected by the platesetter.

    At some point in your cook you'll find the brisket has shrunk enough that you can remove the rack and lay it flat on the grid.

    A 20 hr window is a lot of time to cook it. What's your plan for cooking temp and do you plan to wrap it at some point with foil or butcher paper?
    XL, Large, Small, Mini Eggs, Shirley Fabrication 24x36 Patio, Humphrey's Weekender, Karubecue C-60, MAK 1-Star General, Hasty Bake Gourmet, Santa Maria Grill, Webers: 14" WSM, 22.5" OTG, 22.5" Kettle Premium, WGA Charcoal, Summit S-620 NG

    Bay Area, CA
  • My plan for cooking temp is 225 at the dome, with no foil wrap or butcher paper wrap. One reason I am beginning a little early also is so that I can get around 2 hours for some burnt ends. I figure that gives me an hour a pound with extra time where it could just live in the cooler if it finishes quickly.
  • DMW
    DMW Posts: 13,832
    I would budget more time or higher temp. My 14.3lb pre-trimmed I went 20 hours about 250* dome and wish I had another couple hours to get the flat just right. Most of it was fine, but there were some parts of the flat that still had some resistance when probing. Remember if you finish early, you can always FTC.
    They/Them
    Morgantown, PA

    XL BGE - S BGE - KJ Jr - HB Legacy - BS Pizza Oven - 30" Firepit - King Kooker Fryer -  PR72T - WSJ - BS 17" Griddle - XXL BGE  - BS SS36" Griddle - 2 Burner Gasser - Pellet Smoker
  • R2Egg2Q
    R2Egg2Q Posts: 2,136
    edited February 2014
    225 dome is pretty low and even lower at the grid. I would expect longer than 1 hr/lb if you stay at that low a temp. You'll likely have to bump up that temp at some point.

    How are you monitoring pit and meat temps? Maverick? Pit controller? Hope you have something as there have been a lot of 225 unassisted/unmonitored cooks where someone wakes up to find their fire out.
    XL, Large, Small, Mini Eggs, Shirley Fabrication 24x36 Patio, Humphrey's Weekender, Karubecue C-60, MAK 1-Star General, Hasty Bake Gourmet, Santa Maria Grill, Webers: 14" WSM, 22.5" OTG, 22.5" Kettle Premium, WGA Charcoal, Summit S-620 NG

    Bay Area, CA
  • corey24
    corey24 Posts: 386
    225 at dome will be 200 or lower at grate.....you need higher temp.  More like 250 grate temp.

    XL Egg Owner Since Dec 2013 - Louisiana

  • minniemoh
    minniemoh Posts: 2,145
    I made a USDA Prime that I found at Costco a few weeks ago. Mine was 12.5 lbs untrimmed and I would guess it was about 9.5-10 lbs after trimming. It took 20 hrs to get tender at 225-250 measured at the grid with my Maverick. I thought with it being Prime, it would cook faster since it had higher fat content but that wasn't the case for me. I ended up short on time as I was thinking about 16 hrs would do it. Dinner got moved back a couple of hours and the rest time shortened to 45 minutes. Might have made it turn out even better since the dinner guests were a little more "lubed up" from all the great beers we were sampling.
    L x2, M, S, Mini and a Blackstone 36. She says I have enough now....
    eggAddict from MN!
  • buzd504
    buzd504 Posts: 3,824
    Please take photos of the cook - I'm really curious how this turns out.  I haven't gotten up the guts (or the mouths) to do a whole packer yet.
    NOLA
  • Geez, thanks for the warnings guys. I am going to put this thing on at around 9pm tonight. That will give me a solid 23 hours, and I will cook it at 250 in the dome with my CyberQ.
  • Hotch
    Hotch Posts: 3,564

    Which Costco? My local Costco won't sell prime brisket. I asked to special order it and was  told not gonna happen.

    Large BGE, MiniMAX BGE, 2 Mini BGE's, R&V Fryer, 36" Blackstone Griddle, Camp Chef Dual Burner 40K BTU Stove
    BGE Chiminea
    Prosper, TX
  • Foghorn
    Foghorn Posts: 9,795
    It almost doesn't matter what temp you use overnight - as long as it doesn't cook too much. I set my briskets at 230 or so overnight and when I check temps in the morning I adjust as needed. Usually that means adjusting up to 275 or so. Sometimes it just means leaving it alone for another hour or two and throwing in the FTC.

    XXL BGE, Karebecue, Klose BYC, Chargiller Akorn Kamado, Weber Smokey Mountain, Grand Turbo gasser, Weber Smoky Joe, and the wheelbarrow that my grandfather used to cook steaks from his cattle

    San Antonio, TX

  • QDude
    QDude Posts: 1,052
    Did you trim off the excess fat first?  Watch the Franklin video on trimming to see how to do it correctly.

    Northern Colorado Egghead since 2012.

    XL BGE and a KBQ.

  • Well? Any update on the cook? Inquiring minds want to know!
    LBGE; Adjustable Rig
    Delaware County, PA