Canada Day 20 lb Prime Brisket

pantsypants

Yeah so the brisket was ok it turned out a bit dry in the flat .

I think with it being so big it would have been difficult to maintain moisture perfectly through out

It was delicious though I would rate it an 8

That said the bark was hard and crunchy as I just let the brisket cool on a rack on the counter

caliking

Was the point way larger than the flat? Usually the point gets done first and you gave to wait for the flat to catch up.

The leftover flat will come alive in chili, or my favorite - brisket spaghetti sauce!

SGH

@pantsypants‌
I hate to say this and I know I'm going to catch a lot of heat for it but I'm going to say it anyway. And remember this is my opinion and what works for me. When briskets exceeds 15 pounds its much easier to turn out a superior product cooking on a offset or vertical over a massive water pan. Now please hear what I said. I did not say that it can't be done on the egg. I said it was much easier on a offset or vertical with a water pan when cooking the very large primals. I limit brisket on the egg to 15 pounds for this reason. The big boys go on the big cookers with water. Just my thoughts and what works well for me. Your brisket looks excellent to me my friend.

pantsypants

@SGH‌
I have to agree .
The cook went perfect up until eating time I maintained the egg at 225-250
For the whole cook which in hindsight may have been my downfall.
Thinking about that size if that brisket I can't see how it would have cooked properly

Oh well it was still delicious I guess

SGH

@pantsypants‌
I will never tell you something wrong brother. I love the egg as much as anyone but when it comes to the very large primals and subprimals there are units that can produce a better end result. It's a simple matter of logistics. One the other side of the coin the egg produces about as good of poultry and fish as one could hope for. Nothing can cook them any better than the egg. I have tried a water pan on the egg. You do not get the same results as using a water pan on a reverse flow and direct bottom fired smokers. Why? I'm of the opinion it's the convection and height of the cooking chamber. In the egg the water pan is only about 12 inches from the outlet. The speed of the flue gas exiting the egg is high compared to large offsets and it is this I feel that lessens humidity build up in the ceramic cookers. Again this is just my conclusion and way of thinking. Nonetheless I'm glad that your brisket turned out good my friend.

Don_Piero

That looks great.  Maybe I missed the post, but how long did this take?

pantsypants

@Don_Piero
it took 19:35 

@SGH I agree with you , I am a bit bummed out as i thought that it was going perfectly .
This was the frist time that I did not FTC the brisket and just let it sit on the counter to cool for an hour , I did not tent it or anything ,
Do you think  this had an impact as well on drying it out ? 
The Bark was so crunchy and hard that i could hardly use my slicing knife on it . It was great

SGH

@pantsypants‌
Without witnessing the cook I can not narrow down for sure what exactly happened. But that being said I can say for certain that setting a huge hot mass of meat out in the open in a cool house will definitely rob it of some moisture. It's the long slow rest and gradual temperature drop that allows the juice to be redistributed throughout the meat. I can say that without question or doubt. Hey let me say this as well. There are some briskets that are just of poor quality. You can cook them perfect and they will still turn out fair at best no matter what you do. If it tasted good I wouldn't fret to much over it. Just next time once it's cooked cover it and let it rest a while. I think that will solve your issue. Please remember that I'm not a brisket pro. The advice that I give is what works well for me. I hope this helps my friend.

pantsypants

@SGH Pro or not I appreciate your advice .
Everything you have said makes sense and I value your input !! Thanks so much

SGH

@pantsypants‌
You are more than welcome my friend.

caliking

hey - deliciousness trumps all!

andres1987

SGH said:

@pantsypants‌ I will never tell you something wrong brother. I love the egg as much as anyone but when it comes to the very large primals and subprimals there are units that can produce a better end result. It's a simple matter of logistics. One the other side of the coin the egg produces about as good of poultry and fish as one could hope for. Nothing can cook them any better than the egg. I have tried a water pan on the egg. You do not get the same results as using a water pan on a reverse flow and direct bottom fired smokers. Why? I'm of the opinion it's the convection and height of the cooking chamber. In the egg the water pan is only about 12 inches from the outlet. The speed of the flue gas exiting the egg is high compared to large offsets and it is this I feel that lessens humidity build up in the ceramic cookers. Again this is just my conclusion and way of thinking. Nonetheless I'm glad that your brisket turned out good my friend.

i don't like cooking briskets over 11-12 lbs. If i have a large party i'll do two smaller instead of larger ones. First of all, they get done quicker, and second I've had much better luck with the smaller ones.