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My first brisket

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Vandable
Vandable Posts: 8
in EggHead Forum
I'm new to the BGE community. I got my first Egg about a month ago. I got the XL due to the fact that I have a family of 7. After a few cooks of burgers, sausages and dogs, I decided it was time to try some real food. I bought a 15.43 lb brisket from my local Costco. Very nice marble look on one side, lots of fat on the other. I trimmed the fat side down substantially. I used a rub recipe from Famous Rooster BBQ after watching his You Tube video. I let the brisket sit in foil in the rub for 7 hours. I started building my fire around 9:30 Saturday night. Had some trouble because I didn't close down the damper and daisy wheel soon enough and the Egg got too hot. It was peKing at 275 or so. After some work, I got it down to 220. I then added a water pan and the meat. This was at 11:40. Then the temperature dropped dramatically. It fell to 180. I opened the damper slightly and now I have had 199 for the last hour. It is now 1:35 AM Sunday. My brisket now has an internal temp of 91. I'm hoping to take this off at 3 PM, wrap in foil/towel, place in cooler until I meet everyone at the lake at 5:30. Am I on track? Should I bump temp up a little before I go to bed? Any suggestions greatly appreciated. Here are pics of the meat and then my rub. Finished pics to come later this afternoon. Thanks again everyone.
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Comments

  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,378
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    First up-welcome aboard and enjoy the journey.  
    I'm a bit adult-beverage challenged right now- so, all with that as a reference, doing the math you have a 15+# pre-trimmed packer and are running at 220*F on the calibrated dome-looking to finish around  3 PM (EDT).  I would dial it up as it is far easier to use the FTC  to compensate than chase the finish-line. So, where to go...280-300*F (dome) and ride it home. FWIW-
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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  • Vandable
    Vandable Posts: 8
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    Thanks for the help.
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  • TexanOfTheNorth
    TexanOfTheNorth Posts: 3,951
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    If you have liquid in your water pan, don't be surprised to see a rise in your temp as the liquid evaporates.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Well, "spa-Peggy" is kind of like spaghetti. I'm not sure what Peggy does different, if anything. But it's the one dish she's kind of made her own.
    ____________________
    Aurora, Ontario, Canada
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  • KenfromMI
    KenfromMI Posts: 742
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    This is why I just pulled the plug and bought the Party Que. Cooks like this I will no feel comfortable laying my head down for some rest and not worrying about spikes or fluctuations until I get more experience on the egg. DOn't forget pictures of the finished product.
    Dearborn MI
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  • grege345
    grege345 Posts: 3,515
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    @220 that baby is gonna take some time
    LBGE& SBGE———————————————•———————– Pennsylvania / poconos

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  • DominicMagestic
    DominicMagestic Posts: 110
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    220 is too low to finish when you want to finish. Bump to 250-275. Cook to tenderness - not time or temp. It's a good thing if it is ready a couple hours earlier.
    Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of congress; but I repeat myself - Mark Twain
    aka Frank from Houma eggin in Corpus Christi
    Geaux Tigers - Who Dat
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  • Vandable
    Vandable Posts: 8
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    I appreciate the feedback, and I will include pics once I'm done. Frank, most of what I've read says not to open the EGG until the brisket hits 185-205 (depending on who you read). How do I judge tenderness? BTW: I'm 11 hours into the cook and my brisket's internal temp is 163. For a 15 pounder, is this sounding right?
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  • Vandable
    Vandable Posts: 8
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    HELP!!! My grill temp is down to 196 and I've got the damper all the way open on the bottom and the daisy wheel open, and I can get the temp any higher. Is it possible I've burned thru all my charcoal in 11 hours? I filled it up to just above the break line, then added some hickory chunks. Ideas?!?
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  • Vandable
    Vandable Posts: 8
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    Edit: I CAN'T get the temp to come up!
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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,378
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    @Vandable-looking thru early fogged adult beverage vision-you sound like "out-a-lump" .  No quick fix-and when next the long haul, load up into the fire ring.  That's another day...
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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  • Farbuck
    Farbuck Posts: 276
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    what kind of charcoal are you using? 




    Two Large Eggs; Too Little Time

    Newtown Square, PA
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  • Vandable
    Vandable Posts: 8
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    I'm using BGE. Instead of just opening the wheel up top, I turned it all the way open, and the temp is rising! Back up to 230 and climbing! Is it normal with a temp drop like that, that my meat would drop from 174 to 160? For a finishing temp I've seen everything from 180 to 205 recommended. Any suggestions? Trying to learn.
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  • NPHuskerFL
    NPHuskerFL Posts: 17,629
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    Probe for temp (around 195℉-202℉ ish) and should be able to slide Thermapen probe in and out of brisky like buttuh.
    LBGE 2013 & MM 2014
    Die Hard HUSKER & BRONCO FAN
    Flying Low & Slow in "Da Burg" FL
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  • thetrim
    thetrim Posts: 11,357
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    Egghead nation stands anxiously by waiting for your 3pm pics. Good luck
    =======================================
    XL 6/06, Mini 6/12, L 10/12, Mini #2 12/14 MiniMax 3/16 Large #2 11/20 Legacy from my FIL - RIP
    Tampa Bay, FL
    EIB 6 Oct 95
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  • Vandable
    Vandable Posts: 8
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    I am so excited about my first brisket. After this experience, there will be many more. I must admit that I had low expectations, but I was also very hopeful that it would turn out decent. I was blown away. This XL BGE is amazing. After some temperature difficulties early on and a slight panic this morning when I couldn't hardly get the EGG back up to temp, this thing turned out amazing. It was so moist. As you can see from the photos below, this brisket had quite a bit of fat on it (next time I will trim more off) but it also had this wonderful marbling with a nice line of fat thru the center. I didn't even know that was possible! So here was my timeline so you don't have to read thru my original post: Saturday 9:30 pm: start building fire. 11:30 pm: put on brisket. Ran it at 220 until 3:00 am. Then at 255 the rest of the night. At 9:30 am, temp dropped to 187. By 10:30, had it back up to 265. At 12:30, turned it up to 295 and ran that until 2:00 pm. At 2:00 pm: FTC with 5 layers of foil. Took it out and sliced at 7:00 pm. Still very hot and oh so tender and juicy. Wife was shocked, she thought it would be cold. Thanks again for all the tips. It made for a wonderful evening. Can't wait to cook again.
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  • apinion
    apinion Posts: 470
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    Nice dark bark.
    Louisianian by birth, Louisianian by death. Austinite for now...
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  • apinion
    apinion Posts: 470
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    And don't be afraid to fill up that fire box!
    Louisianian by birth, Louisianian by death. Austinite for now...
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  • KenfromMI
    KenfromMI Posts: 742
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    Looks like that layer of fat is because you sliced the point and the flat together. Looks great, glad it turned out for you.
    Dearborn MI
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  • tarheelmatt
    tarheelmatt Posts: 9,867
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    Agree with @apinion, I would fill the box up more just above the line.  Going low and slow wouldn't make a difference, in my opinion. 
    ------------------------------
    Thomasville, NC
    My YouTube Channel - The Hungry Hussey
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  • EagleIII
    EagleIII Posts: 415
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    That looks awesome.  BTW - On a long cook, I have filled the lump past the firebox almost to the top of the fire ring and that has never failed me.  I have gone 26 hours on one load of lump when I have smoked butts, then left the egg going so I could make the Smoky Baked Beans later that day....I pulled the butts off at 11:00, left the Egg smoking along empty, then added the Beans a few hours later. at 2:00  Plenty of lump left, even after the Beans were done!

    Fantastic looking Brisket!

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