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Newbie brisket questions(It's cooking as I type)

shell
shell Posts: 7
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Just got an egg, and I'm super excited about it. Have been going through the Whiz's page for the week waiting for it to arrive.
I made my first cook last night, Sri Lankan Chicken Sate. Yummy, perfect.
So, I decided to go for a brisket. I read Elder Ward's pulled pork tips, and culled some other brisket tips from other sources. I am aware of the plateau, and this is what has me worried.

I started cooking a 10 pounder at 3:06 AM, to have it ready for 6 PM tonight.

My first mistake was using too much chimney fired charcoal to start it. It shot up to 400* and took a loooong time to come down to 250*. I was hoping for 225*.
I went ahead and put the meat on once it reached 250* and was happy to see the meat/alum baking pan dropped it down to 225*.
I played around and got it to stabilize at 230* for a half hour and went to bed.

Woke up 5 hours later, and it was at 250*, closed the vents a bit. Then the Louisiana sun comes on hard and it's reading about 270*(coincidence?). I shut the vents, and now it's cruising about 250*.

I didn't have a Polder probe until I ran to buy one this morning. This is my concern:
When I opened it to mop it for the first time and probe it, it was already at 210* inside. I know we are shooting for an internal temp of 190*, so does this mean I have passed the plateau already? It was seriously easy to push the probe in, and I tried several places to ensure I was in the thickest part. All areas read very similar.

Have I shortened my cook time due to too much heat? Should I go ahead and cover it in foil now? Cook for another 90 minutes or so covered and then save it in a cooler, wrapped in towels until this evening?
Sorry for the long post, I just wanted to give a baseline of what I knew already, so you experts could tell me what I don't. :)

Thanks very much, Shell Singleton

Comments

  • skihorn
    skihorn Posts: 600
    Normally, I leave such questions to those more experienced than me, but since you need a quick answer:

    If you truly trust that 210 temp then by all means take it off. By trust I mean have you tried it in several places in the meat? Have you checked the probe's accuracy? Get some water boiling and stick the probe in the water. Assuming you are near sea level it should read 210 to 212. There is an actual calculator some where on this site that lets you plug in altitude and barometric pressure to give you the exact correct boiling point. However, in your case just make sure you are in the ball park for now.

    EDIT: For the boiling point calculator go to the "cookbook" tab and it will be one of the options under that. However, for this time don't worry about such precision.

    SECOND EDIT: Just read your post again and you did try probe in several places. Take the meat off and wrap. Then test the probe in the boiling water to make sure it is accurate, or at least close. Oh, and welcome to the family (cult). You will enjoy it and never hesitate to post questions here. You will get some great answers from people who know a lot more than me.

    Freddie
    League City, TX
  • shell
    shell Posts: 7
    Thanks man, I'll check the temp with my instant read and compare. If accurate, when I pull it, and wrap it in tinfoil, towels and cooler with mop sauce added. Sound good? You think it will stay hot until 6pm tonight? 5 1/2 hours?
  • skihorn
    skihorn Posts: 600
    Put it wrapped in an ice chest (no ice) and I would think it would be okay for that long. Most people do it routinely for 3 hours, so 5.5 hours is probably okay. However, I am not as paranoid as some people (probably because I never get sick!). I'll defer to the more Eggsperts for that answer. They will likely check in soon.

    Note, I edited my original post probably about the time you were posting with some more information. Again, welcome to the family and keep bringing your questions here.

    Freddie
    League City, TX
  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
    Also, calibrate your dome thermometer.

    If your brisket is 210° in the center the meat should feel tender which you should be able to feel when inserting the temperature probe.

    By all means pull the brisket wrap in foil, towels and put in a cooler.

    You should easily be able to hold the meet for 4 hours and probably 6 hours. If you need to get some hot water in bottles and put in the cooler.

    To keep my food warm I went to Walmart and picked up 2 yards of fleece (stadium blanket material) which is usually 52" wide. I use that to wrap up the food. I have kept a 6 pound Boston Butt hot to the touch when pulling for 5 hours.

    Let us know how your brisket comes out.

    GG
  • bubba tim
    bubba tim Posts: 3,216
    Did you check the temps in the point or the flat?
    ie the thin side or the thick side. 210degrees in 6 ours seems to quick for a 10lbs. Rule of thumb is 1 1/2hrs per lbs at 225. Even at 250 would put it around 10 hours. I suspect you may not be in the center of your beast. Check my site for more info. Good luck. :woohoo: :woohoo:
    SEE YOU IN FLORIDA, March 14th and 15th 2014 http://www.sunshinestateeggfest.com You must master temp, smoke, and time to achive moisture, taste, and texture! Visit www.bubbatim.com for BRISKET HELP
  • shell
    shell Posts: 7
    I'm sorry I wasn't more clear,I was kinda panic typing.
    The beast cooked for 9 hours at probably 250* average.
    It did reach 275 for a short time, less than an hour.
    I probed sideways along the flat, diagonally through the thick part, and several more places, being careful to have the probe deep in the meat and not close to the edges. I'm pretty confident that it was 210* internal.
    My Weber instant read probe concurred 210* as well.
    I pulled it at 1230 PM, immediately pouring the rest of the mop sauce, covering in tinfoil, swaddled in a sleeping bag, covered in a cooler(No ice) :) .
    Guys, THANK YOU for all the help, I'm amazed at the quick response. You saved my day.
    I'll update this thread later with the review of my first brisket. It's been a fine learning experience.
    Now I've gotta go pick out a dessert recipe to make use of the remaining coals, and calibrate my thermometers.
    And I need to find out if I can post pics here. B)
  • loco_engr
    loco_engr Posts: 5,759
    You takem . . .someone be be around to help you get them posted.
    aka marysvilleksegghead
    Lrg 2008
    mini 2009
    XL 2021 (sold 8/24/23)
    Henny Youngman:
    I said to my wife, 'Where do you want to go for our anniversary?' She said, 'I want to go somewhere I've never been before.' I said, 'Try the kitchen.'
    Bob Hope: When I wake up in the morning, I don’t feel anything until noon, and then it’s time for my nap
  • shell
    shell Posts: 7
    I'll put them in Photobucket and remote link if that's ok. I'll check it out, thanks.
    Also- it was SOOOO easy to probe this thing. No resistance anywhere, so I think it made it through the collagen conversion pretty well.
  • shell
    shell Posts: 7
    One more question-
    How much effect does direct sunlight on 90*-100* days have on internal egg temps?
    Does it only make the dome probe read inaccurately?
  • Misippi Egger
    Misippi Egger Posts: 5,095
    I don't think it would be a problem, as the inverse - cooking at below zero temps - seems to work OK with the BGE.
  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
    The egg doesn't seem to are what the ambient temperature is. The cook does care.

    I have had the egg cooking in as cold as -27° (without wind chill) and as hot as 118°.

    When the sun is on the eggs the temperatures will read over 100° when not being used.

    In any of the extremes my vent setting for a given cook don't change much from one heat extreme to the other.

    I think your above temperature changes were more from you trying to get to a desired temperature and your changing vent settings. Chasing temperatures is common and happens to all of us at one time or another.

    GG
  • bubba tim
    bubba tim Posts: 3,216
    another heat source...fire and sun..I try and keep mine in the shade..
    SEE YOU IN FLORIDA, March 14th and 15th 2014 http://www.sunshinestateeggfest.com You must master temp, smoke, and time to achive moisture, taste, and texture! Visit www.bubbatim.com for BRISKET HELP
  • shell
    shell Posts: 7
    Thanks GG, and mine is in the shade for most of the day Tim, thanks for your input.
  • bubba tim
    bubba tim Posts: 3,216
    btw, welcome to the forum. Nice way to break in you egg with the hardest cook on earth. Most newbies just do hot dogs..lol..This is not your first rodeo.... :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:
    SEE YOU IN FLORIDA, March 14th and 15th 2014 http://www.sunshinestateeggfest.com You must master temp, smoke, and time to achive moisture, taste, and texture! Visit www.bubbatim.com for BRISKET HELP
  • shell
    shell Posts: 7
    Thanks man, it's not hard to find the guts to try brisket with a sophicated tool like the egg. And there's so much info out here, it would take a lifetime to learn it on your own experimentation. Huge advantages are available to us, it's amazing.

    I remember seeing my Dad smoke brisket when I was younger, no probes, no mention of the collagen conversion, just a handful of spices, hickory in the firebox, beers and patience.

    I pulled it out of the cooler at 7 PM this evening. It still had a 140* internal temp! Awesome. It set wrapped for almost 6 hours.
    I used the leftover charcoal to make the blueberry almond cobbler from the BGE Dessert section, delish with vanilla ice cream. I've never had a dessert cooked on charcoal before, the taste really is different. The wife agrees. B)

    2 men and 4 women killed that entire brisket. There are no leftovers. I'm so glad it turned out alright.

    I think the biggest lesson I learned from this cook is that it is way better to sneak up on a temperature, than to try to stifle a fire that's already too big for your purpose. And I learned how easy it is to get a fire going too big. I will be more sparing with the starter coals next time.
  • skihorn
    skihorn Posts: 600
    Congratulations! And yes you are correct in your lessons learned. It is very difficult to bring down temp but very easy to raise it (unless it actually goes out and even then so long as you aren't sleeping it can be restarted easily).

    Freddie
    League City, TX