1st Brisket - Advice welcome!

Gdfein

New BGE XL owner and forum lurker. Have done a few birds, pizzas and steaks but this is my maiden voyage on brisket and I have high hopes. I have a 12lb prime packer got at Costco today and washed, trimmed and seasoned with S&P. The meat had one side that had a very thick fat cap.

Some questions;

- Planning to cook around 250, so how much time should I plan the cook for (approx)?
- Place on grate fat cap up or down?
- Does anyone put a pan or foil on plate setter to catch drippings?
- Should I use a water pan?

I've read many brisket cooks and will read many more before starting this baby but I welcome any input from the group here!

Q-On!

Thanks,
Greg

grege345

Welcome aboard. General rule is 1.5 hours per pound but in my experience its more like an hour per pound. All I can say for sure is its better to be done 3-4 hours before serving than it is to be done "on time". Drip pan isn't a bad idea just remember to put a little air gap between bottom of drip pan and plate setter. This will keep drippings from scorching. Little foil balls will work. Don't use a water pan. It screws with temps as the water evaporates and the egg holds the moisture in. Fat cap up or down. No idea. Pork butt I do fat cap down. Brisket I do fat cap up. Good luck and post pics.

theyolksonyou

Welcome. Brisket virgin so no help. Post pics of your cooks.

anton

My results from similar cook, at 250 cook could take 12-20 hrs
I don't have a fat cap preference,( usually down for me. Don't have a reason, still experimenting).
Drip pan for sure. no water pan.
Good luck.

theyolksonyou

I will say if your platesetter is not wrapped in foil, do so. Also, make sure to have an air gap between platesetter and pan.

SGH

@Gdfein‌- First let me say welcome aboard. Next I will offer my thoughts on the questions at hand. Let me say up front that this is just my opinion and what works well for me. Others mileage may vary greatly. First if you maintain a solid 250 degrees from take off to touch down you are looking at around 1 hour per pound, give or take a little. There are many things that can effect this time but no need to delve into them here and now. This guide is reasonably close. Next, on the egg I prefer fat cap down. There is no advantage to turning in up on the egg unless you encroach very high into the dome. A offset wood fired pit is a differnt story. Next, yes a drip pan is highly recommended. Next, no a water pan is not necessary on a Kamado style smoker. It smolders instead of burns and also it's well insulated and almost air tight. However there is no harm in using a water pan if you should chose to do so. Be warned that cook time will be increased in a very humid environment. Short of this, there is little difference. Good luck and I will be standing by for the finale.

SGH

@Gdfein‌- I would like to add one final thought on a water pan. In general they offer little or nothing on ceramic cookers. As with most things there is an exception and I would like to share it here. On some large cuts that contain a lot of intramuscular adipose and heavy connective tissue, a water pan can be justified on a ceramic cooker. Example- A whole unseperated beef clod from a very old bovine. Not saying that even then it's necessary, but it can be beneficial. Why? Simple. Pound for pound meat will cook slower in a extremely humid environment versus a dry environment. This exposes the meat to the cooking temp for a longer period of time thus aiding in breaking down connective tissue. I have cooked about everything that you can imagine and tried it both with and without a water pan. The results are usually identical except for the above mentioned. I have almost exclusively got away from using water except under a few limited circumstances. Again there is no harm in using a water pan. It just increases the dwell time in the smoker. Short of this, no problem at all.

nolaegghead

This might be splitting hairs, but my thoughts are a water pan doesn't impact the cook time by increasing humidity as much as it creates a cold spot in the cooker and it does it by the fact water can't get hotter than 212F and there's an evaporative cooling effect from the evaporation of water in the pan, which increases the heat load (lowering the temp of the cooking chamber) with a given amount of heat.

We both have the same conclusion, but different reasons.  The reason I say high humidity isn't the issue is because the humidity in foiled meat is 100% and it cooks faster.

SGH

@nolaegghead‌- You are probably correct on the "why" it slows cook time. However I do know when the water is used cooking time is increased. I always assumed it was simply the added moisture in the air. Even on Unit #1 which is actually a water cooker, the dwell time becomes unbearable if water is used. And again, for some cuts of meat this can be a good thing. You have raised my curiosity, I'm going to research it and see what I can come up with on the subject.

nolaegghead

@SGH - I'm not sure of what I said is actually true, it's just a theory and my thoughts.  Heat transfer is a complex thing, for example, foiling creates a radiant barrier, yet things cook faster wrapped in it.  Counter-intuitive, isn't it.  Convective heat heats the foil, not radiant. 

I have an instrument that measures humidity.  I'm curious to measure the humidity in an egg with and without a water pan.  My gut tells me humidity is actually lower than we think given the amount of air that passes through the system. I'm as curious as you.

stemc33

@Gdfein‌, welcome to the forum. I've only done one brisket, so not qualified to give advice on brisket. As you can see there's a world of wisdom on the forum and sometimes it's contradictive. Sometimes I just pick a method and run with it. Fat up, fat down, water, no water, foil, no foil, etc. etc. It all works. Just have fun with it.

@SGH, I am going with @nolaegghead‌ on this one. My understanding of why meat hits the stall is due to evaporation that prevents the internal temp from raising in the meat. When the meat is wrapped(100% humidity) the evaporation is stopped allowing the internal meat to rise. Am I wrong on this?

SGH

@nolaegghead‌- This is one of those things that would should research and figure out. I would like to know the reason. If nothing else, just to satisfy curiosity.

nolaegghead

Scotty, I concur. We can work together and figure this out. We'll master this mystery one day.

Gdfein

Wow thanks for the responses!

I'm a little nervous that my 5a start time could leave us eating next weekend (20hr!) so I may let it run a bit higher than 250 but it's on for now and we're cooking! It's a cool 57 dry breezy morning here and not supposed break 62 all day.

stemc33

Good luck

grege345

Someone will be here all day just in case. Good luck and keep us posted.

johnmitchell

Good luck..Also will be following your brisket cook....

Gdfein

Running hotter than planned so far. Time/Grate Temp/Meat Temp

0500 / 250 / 52
0530 / 290 / 52
0600 / 345 / 63
0630 / 365 / 84

I think the breeze is stronger then I thought and is giving my cook more air than I'm used too. Closing the vents more and now venting as pictured. About 1.5" open at bottom and wheel is 50%. Let's see if I can get this to settle down.

DMW

I would close your bottom vent about 50% more than it is now if you want to head toward 250*.

Jeremiah

Whoa! Back that thing down!

grege345

My 250° setting leaves my bottom vent open a sliver. Thickness of a quarter

AUCE

My xl is a 1/2" inch lower and 1/8 upper for 225 fwiw

Jeremiah

I'm shooting for 275-300:

lousubcap

Welcome aboard and enjoy the journey.  If you get your BGE stabilized around 280-300*F on the calibrated dome you should (key word) see around 3/4 hr/lb  to the finish-line.  However, they all behave as they wish.  Just use the feel of the thickest part of the flat for the end-game.  When it probes "like booth" then you are there.  Enjoy the eats.

Gdfein

K, just backed things off way more. Lower is 1/4" and wheel is just a sliver.

lkapigian

SGH said:

@Gdfein‌- First let me say welcome aboard. Next I will offer my thoughts on the questions at hand. Let me say up front that this is just my opinion and what works well for me. Others mileage may vary greatly. First if you maintain a solid 250 degrees from take off to touch down you are looking at around 1 hour per pound, give or take a little. There are many things that can effect this time but no need to delve into them here and now. This guide is reasonably close. Next, on the egg I prefer fat cap down. There is no advantage to turning in up on the egg unless you encroach very high into the dome. A offset wood fired pit is a differnt story. Next, yes a drip pan is highly recommended. Next, no a water pan is not necessary on a Kamado style smoker. It smolders instead of burns and also it's well insulated and almost air tight. However there is no harm in using a water pan if you should chose to do so. Be warned that cook time will be increased in a very humid environment. Short of this, there is little difference. Good luck and I will be standing by for the finale.

You just answered my today's issue...last Saturday's 12 lb packer I used water in the drip pan 14 hours today's 14 lb packer with a 10 lb butt no water in drip pan 8 hours OMG sat very high in the dome...ran a little hotter today but still sub 300

Jeepster47

Gdfein said:

K, just backed things off way more. Lower is 1/4" and wheel is just a sliver.

Doesn't seem to make sense does it.  They give you a 4" bottom opening and then you only have to use a small sliver of it to get your target temp ... a beyond sanity type of small sliver.   As a fellow newbie, I've got to tell you that's the hardest hurdle to overcome ... just doesn't seem right to throttle it down so much, but that's what works.

Oh yes, and relax.  I've worked hard at proving folks wrong, but honest, it's really hard to screw up a cook.  It might not be an award winning cook, but it'll be a good meal none the less.

Welcome and good luck.

logchief

theyolksonyou said:

Welcome. Brisket virgin so no help. Post pics of your cooks.

Me too, gotta do one soon though and Welcome, you've come to the right place.  Don't forget to post pics

grege345

@Jeepster47‌ I remember those days. I kept sliding it shut to get temps down and was like no way this is enough air. Low and behold a sliver it is.

Gdfein

It is totally crazy it can get enough air. But looks to be under control now.

0500 / 250 / 52
0530 / 290 / 52
0600 / 345 / 63
0630 / 365 / 84
0700 / 351 / 118
0730 / 320 / 145
0800 / 279 / 165
0830 / distracted chef didn't check
0900 / 265 / 174
0930 / 252 / 178

I must confess I peaked at 0900. I feel shame. But it looks and smells so dang yummy my guilt will be short-lived.

Gdfein

Ok, it probed real easy. Going to wrap and rest.

0500 / 250 / 52
0530 / 290 / 52
0600 / 345 / 63
0630 / 365 / 84
0700 / 351 / 118
0730 / 320 / 145
0800 / 279 / 165
0830 / distracted chef didn't check
0900 / 265 / 174
0930 / 252 / 178
1000 / 257 / 178
1030 / 259 / 181
1100 / 253 / 185
1130 / 259 / 189
1200 / 275 / 192
1230 / 272 / 199
1245 / 272 / 201

7.75 hrs.

My temp got away from me out of the gate but got it under control at the 3hr mark.

Forgot to mention this started as a Costco prime packer 12.2# for $3.89/lb.

As I was wrapping it up a couple of crispy bark pieces accidentally fell into my mouth.