Brisket cook time?

piney

I am going to cook a 14lb packer to be ready to serve @1pm tomorrow, I have noticed different cook times ranging from 1 to 1/2 to 2 hrs per lb. What temp should I go for,  how long should it take, temp dome or grate?

Ktim

I too am doing my first brisket today it is a 11 pound packer, and from what I have read I am planning on 2 hours per pound at 250 dome. I hope one of the greats will chime in. Anyway good luck brother!

TexanOfTheNorth

There are a lot of variables involved that make answering this question. Cooking at around 250* (dome), 1 to 1 1/2 hours per pound is a decent guideline. You can speed the cook up if you see that you're not going to finish in time by wrapping and bumping your temp. You can also safely FTC for 4-6 hours if you get done early.

Unfortunately, there are no consistently "right" answers to this question and you just have to be prepared to adapt to your particular cook.

piney

Thanks Texan, I think I will plan on 11/2 per with a little rest time built in, so if I go 250 dome what should the grid temp be 225? I have a Digi-Q and will use that.

fljoemon

I am doing the exact thing .. shooting for dome temperature of 250 and setting up the Flame Boss for a grid temperature of 230. Good Luck!

piney

Thanks fljoeman please keep me posted I will start this afternoon around 6

TexanOfTheNorth

I just go with dome temp. As the cook progresses they move towards one another

fljoemon

Here's the 14.8lb beast ... a little too big for the first timer

fljoemon

On the BGE ...

Crutches being used :-)

SGH

@fljoemon‌
Looks good thus far. I concur with @TexanOfTheNorth‌ statement above. The only thing that I prefer to do different is to measure smoker temp at grid level where the meat lies instead of dome temp. But that being said brother TOTNorth is correct that ultimately they will equal out over time. I'm just old and stuck in my ways. Good luck with the cook my friend.

piney

Looks good so far, the 14lb packer was started at 6pm it is now 815am and the temps are 250 grid/182 brisket I got 4 1/2 hrs till time to serve I think I'm ok. Thanks to all for the help!!

Boileregger

Yeah you're in good shape. Mine always seem to be done more quickly. I have a 16 1/2 lber before trim on now at 250 grid, and 9 hours in I'm at 180. When it hits 190, I'll go probe around a little, maybe I don't have it in the right place.

piney

Boileregger, I also have a butt on the medium egg that I'm a little behind on...I started it at 12 midnight 250 dome, checked it at 6:30 am to find 200 dome and butt at 130 internal, so now I have it at 350 dome trying to wake this thing up. Wish me luck!!

HendersonTRKing

Put a 15.5 pounder on at 11 pm last night, grate temp at 250, aiming to FTC at 3 or 4 pm today, slice and serve at 5 or 6. This bad boy is at 201 IT now -- a mere 10 hours later. This is a lesson in YMMV. The great ones say don't cook to temp -- use it as a guide and cook to feel. When you probe the flat like buttah, it's done. Of course that won't help me with my guests 6 hours from now! Good luck to you.

BuckeyeBob

@HendersonTRKing‌ Same thing happened to me for the Fourth. Wrapped tightly in foil with a little bit of beef broth and put in the cooler with warm towels. Held for almost 5 hours for me.

piney

I just pulled brisket...Looks Great!! I will post pics later. I think the Butt is going to be right on time at 6:30am I converted it to Mickey's Turbo Method and now it is 185 IT. Thanks to all.. This forum is great!

flexfusion

What does "FTC" mean?  Clueless here!  

tarheelmatt

FTC = foil, towel, cooler

fljoemon

Pulled it off at 3:30 pm after it went in at 9:30pm last night. Temperature on the Flame Boss and Maverick both showed around 198 to 200. Checked with the Thermapen and temperatures ranged from 196 to 202 in different spots. FTCd for 3 hours as we atr dinner around 7:30pm.

Finished brisket:

Had a hard time cutting it into slices .. this is my first one and I do not have a good knife

Bark a little bit too firm for my liking

So what should I correct for the next brisket cook?

1. Should I use a Brisket injection as the meat looked a little dry and could not slice properly. Bark on top kept shredding the meat

2. I did not use any liquid in the drip pan. Sould I have used some liquid?

3. I did not foil. Is it necessary to foil at 165 and use the crutch and pull off at 195?

4. I already ordered a brisket slicing knife (Brisket knife)

5. I cooked fat side down .. don't know whether that made any difference.

6. Temperatures ranged from 225 to 250 grate level .. should I decrease this temp?

7. I did a complete clean of the BGE with a ShopVac and filled it with Royal Oak lump . Ran out of fuel at around 2:00pm when temperature of the grate dropped and meat temps. ung arounf 178 and then came down to 172. Thanks goodness for the PSWoo2 which made it real easy to lift out everything and put fresh lump in the fire pit. Had to wait another 30 minute for smoke to clear and temps to stabilize. The Royal Oak lumps were much smaller in size that my BGE lump and I had filled it to the line too... looks like I might need to use better charcoal lumps .. maybe another brand like Ozark Oak or Wicked or St. Louis to getter bigger lumps that can sustain the fire longer, especially for these brisket cooks.

All your suggestions are welcome .. I am a very willing learner :-)

Thanks!

DMW

@fljoemon I am far from a brisket expert, but I will attempt to answer the questions you have posted. Hopefully some other brisket experts (Texans) will chime in.

1. Should I use a Brisket injection as the meat looked a little dry and could not slice properly. Bark on top kept shredding the meat.

No injection needed. A good slicing knife (which I see you have on the way) should take care of the "shredding" problem. The flat will be drier than the point. Perfecting the point is nirvana which I have not achieved. I thought I was close until I had flat from BrisketTown in Brooklyn. After that I seriously considered never trying to cook brisket again.

2. I did not use any liquid in the drip pan. Sould I have used some liquid?

No, in an egg, not needed.

3. I did not foil. Is it necessary to foil at 165 and use the crutch and pull off at 195?

No need to wrap in foil in an egg.

4. I already ordered a brisket slicing knife (Brisket knife)

=D> Good, make sure you have a way to keep it sharp.

5. I cooked fat side down .. don't know whether that made any difference.

No real diff in an egg.

6. Temperatures ranged from 225 to 250 grate level .. should I decrease this temp?

Nope, good temps, not too high. Maybe a bit low, but definitely not too high.

7. I did a complete clean of the BGE with a ShopVac and filled it with Royal Oak lump . Ran out of fuel at around 2:00pm when temperature of the grate dropped and meat temps. ung arounf 178 and then came down to 172. Thanks goodness for the PSWoo2 which made it real easy to lift out everything and put fresh lump in the fire pit. Had to wait another 30 minute for smoke to clear and temps to stabilize. The Royal Oak lumps were much smaller in size that my BGE lump and I had filled it to the line too... looks like I might need to use better charcoal lumps .. maybe another brand like Ozark Oak or Wicked or St. Louis to getter bigger lumps that can sustain the fire longer, especially for these brisket cooks.

How full did you fill it? You can fill it to where it is almost touching the plate setter. I didn't see what size egg you have, but if you fit that size brisket on, you should easily be able to run a full cook on a single load.

SGH

I concur and agree with @DMW. He called it all right on the money.

fljoemon

DMW said:

How full did you fill it? You can fill it to where it is almost touching the plate setter. I didn't see what size egg you have, but if you fit that size brisket on, you should easily be able to run a full cook on a single load.

I have a Large BGE. Tried filling the huge chunks (only had 3 or 4 large chunks) at the bottom first careful to not block the holes on the fire ring and then filled it up with the smaller chunks right up to the fill line of the fire ring. Next time drfinitely filling it up to the plate setter as you suggested. Thanks for your suggestions!

mstang1988

My cook time very's, with a prime brisket closer to 45 min/lb at 225f grate temp to 2hr with a few choice briskets.  Your rub will help determine how dark and tough the bark is.  Watch the Franklin's BBQ video on cooking a brisket.  Trim it, salt, pepper, cook at 225 grate and take off and let it rest up to target temp.  If the crust is getting too dark foil it early.  

TexanOfTheNorth

SGH said:

I concur and agree with @DMW. He called it all right on the money.

+1

DMW

I just re-read my post from last night and found a glaring error. There may have been several reasons for that error...

I said "Perfecting the point is brisket nirvana"

That should have read "Perfecting the flat is brisket nirvana"

Getting the point just right is much easier than the flat...

tarheelmatt

I did my first brisket cook Saturday and here are a few recaps of my cook. I am definitely by no means an expert.  I am a NC pork guy so you can take it with a grain of salt.  

It took roughly 14 hrs for the 10.49lb untrimmed to cook. 

I filled the box full and probably up to the PS.  I laced with pecan and hickory too.  I didn't hand place at all.  Just dumped.  Oh and I used Cowboy.  I usually use RO, but decided to try Cowboy. 

Kept at 225° the entire cook.  The thing stalled around 160° for almost 5 hours!  Yes I was getting worried. 

I had a drip pan I used and put water and some Worcestershire sauce in just for the heck of it. 

Placed Maverick probe in the thickest part of flat. 

Waited... I took a metal skewer at IT of 200° and slide into the flat without resistance.  The point I felt the thing would have slid through it was so tender. 

Sliced beautifully and I have no exact knife.  Just a JA Henkel knife.  It is one of my sharpest knives though. 

As per @DMW said, the point is just along for the ride.  The flat appears to be the difficult one. 

I am eager to try another one soon though. 

You can see it here: