Brisket BBQ - Help - had to take off over night mid cook -

jeff9360

So I threw an 11lb brikset on my large egg at around 4pm (thought it was a little earlier) Using a platesetter, drip pan, kept it a steady cook at 250.  The brisket took a bit longer than expected.  It got to about 155 degrees at about 12am.  My plan was to pull it around 160-165, foil it and finish the cook. However, it was just very late. I completely underestimated time it would take and I wanted to call it a night. 
So after reading online options to continue the cook the next day, here's what I did;  I pulled the brisket off, wrapped it in aluminium, put in a sealed garbage bag and tossed in a cooler with a ton of ice over night.  
Now it's 8am, the brisket is back on, no foil, and i'm trying to pretend all this never happened and continue the cook. 
Question. 
1. am i going to die when i eat this thing?
2.  is it going to be gross?
3.   am I ok? (the brisket looked/smelled ok out of the ice and back on grill)
4.  am I dumb for starting a brisket at 4pm when I had no interest staying up past midnight.  (no answer necessary)


thanks!

jeff 

RedSkip

1. You're good, you can eat it and will be fine.  I'd only worry if the ice was gone.
2.  It will taste and feel like nothing happened, just more time required because you cooled it down.
3. Your fine.
4.  No, you're just new and not comfortable with overnight cooks.  That will change with time.  Brisket cooks typically take 12-18 hrs, so next time you'll start early (2am) or you'll muster the courage to go overnight.

Many will say ou don't need it, but invest in a pit controller.  "Set it and forget it", this will help your sleep consumption without the worries.

jeff9360

Thank you! Been back on for a little over an hour (without foil) internal temp is about 90. Will see how things go.

JohnInCarolina

If you die, please let us know!  Good luck!

blasting

@jeff9360   Everybody on this forum has had a similar moment on a low and slow.  "Could I possibly have screwed up any worse?"

Best case is sometimes screw ups taste amazing.  Worst case scenario,  you are making the main ingredient for some delicious brisket chili. 

pgprescott

As an alternative, you could have put it in the oven @200-225. It has likely absorbed all the smoke you will need. I would wrap it if I were doing this as the loss of moisture in the oven is far greater than the egg. Good luck. I like to start my long cooks the night before with a controller of course. Also if you bump the temp and wrap at 160 you would be done in 8-10 hours total. Lots of options. 

lousubcap

Given the unpredictability of any low&slow cook, you sort of boxed yourself in with an 8 hour window to get it across the finish-line.  But at least you are back in the same saddle today.  With all the comments above, you will end up with a great result.  
BTW-welcome aboard and enjoy the journey.  It can be quite a ride as you have just experienced. 

jeff9360

I'm alive! 

Had it back on at 8am. It hit 160 at about 1130am.  Wrapped it up, dumped a little hop slam beer on it.Then it hit 190 around 1. I then wrapped in foil and tossed in dry cooler with a few towels.   Pulled a little before 5 to slice. 

Came out great. Very tender. 

Thanks for the support and tips  - gave me confidence to get the cook done today. 

pgprescott

I will say that is one of the finest smoke rings I have ever seen. You may have stumbled onto something here. Maybe having cold brisket twice during a single cook is a new technique for a proper smoke ring. Looks outstanding!

pgprescott

Hey @jeff9360 what wood did you use?

blasting

I think that ring is photo shopped!

jeff9360

Thanks! I was real thrilled when I saw that smoke ring.  When I first tossed the brisket on, I just used 3 decent size chunks of pecan wood.  Then this morning, when I put the cold brisket back on, I pulled the partially charred chunks off as I've had problems with too much smoke in the past with other foods and cooked it with no wood. 

Dos_Eggys

WOW. Killer smoke ring. looks great!

bob.bud

with that last photo, looks like it is time for the TX turn.

Glad to see it all turned out... nice looking brisket.

minniemoh

Wait.... did you say you poured Hop Slam Beer on it?!?! There's where you went wrong. You should have drank the Hop Slam at midnight, then you could have powered through to the finish. Brisket and eggs makes for a great breakfast. But seriously, nice cook. Glad it turned out for you.

Begger

I'll bring the Horse Radish.    

A little dab'll do 'ya.

SmokeyPitt

Man that is beautiful.  Now everyone is gonna start double-smoking their brisket and it will become "The jeff9360 method".  Just start a new thread called "Brisket....how I do it" and explain the double smoke technique.  

jeff9360

haha. Definitley was just beginners luck. here is the method in case anyone wants to give it a try. 

1 Brisket on egg. 3 big chunks of pecan. 250 w/ drip pan / platesetter. (3-4pm)

2. drink beers. over estimate how long you'll be able to stay up with brisket and continue to drink. 

3. When you beer buzz fades, people are asleep, and you are now alone and sad, pull brisket from grill right before it hits 160 (after about 6 hours) wrap in aluminum. Put in water proof bag and stick in cooler with a ton of ice. Go to sleep.  (I did this around 12am)

4. 7am Wake up. Drink coffee. Light egg. (I pulled the semi charred pecan chunks and didn't add more wood. Just a few more lump chunks) Unwrap brisket and put it  back on till it hits 160. About 4-5 hours. 

5. Wrap in aluminum with a little beer. Put back on till it hits 190 and then pull. About 2 hours. 

6. Add another layer of aluminum. Wrap in towels and put in dry cooler. Let sit for 3-4 hours or so before slicing.  

 

DaveRichardson

Killer looking cow!!!!

pgprescott

jeff9360 said:

haha. Definitley was just beginners luck. here is the method in case anyone wants to give it a try. 

1 Brisket on egg. 3 big chunks of pecan. 250 w/ drip pan / platesetter. (3-4pm)

2. drink beers. over estimate how long you'll be able to stay up with brisket and continue to drink. 

3. When you beer buzz fades, people are asleep, and you are now alone and sad, pull brisket from grill right before it hits 160 (after about 6 hours) wrap in aluminum. Put in water proof bag and stick in cooler with a ton of ice. Go to sleep.  (I did this around 12am)

4. 7am Wake up. Drink coffee. Light egg. (I pulled the semi charred pecan chunks and didn't add more wood. Just a few more lump chunks) Unwrap brisket and put it  back on till it hits 160. About 4-5 hours. 

5. Wrap in aluminum with a little beer. Put back on till it hits 190 and then pull. About 2 hours. 

6. Add another layer of aluminum. Wrap in towels and put in dry cooler. Let sit for 3-4 hours or so before slicing.  

 

You will need to add detail such as brand of foil, exact contents and quantity in the drip pan, size and type cooler, not to mention the coffee.  People will do anything exactly as you did to achieve these results. Oh yeah, what color of towel did you use to FTC? Nice post.