Packer Brisket Help

HDmstng

I picked up a 9+ lb prime packer brisket from Costco not too long ago and plan on cooking it tonight for our Holiday Potluck luncheon tomorrow.  Figured it would go on at 7 PM at 225 and let it go until about 7 AM when I thought it would be done.  Planned to FTC until 1130 lunch.

After all the trimming, and there was a little over 3 lbs of hard fat taken off, that brisket is sitting just under 6 lbs.  If at 225 I'm cooking at 1.5 lbs per hour, should I wait until 10 PM to put it on?  

NPHuskerFL

Why 225℉?  Just curious. Seems to be BBQ cliche 101 to go at this temperature. Not that it's wrong.  That's a lot of trimming to lose over 3#  Was there that much hard non rendering fat?  Probably close on the 10PM start time at that desired pit temp. Good Luck  

HDmstng

There was a huge amount of fat in what was the area of the point.  The 225 was mainly for timing with the hope it would be ready by the time I left for work.

lousubcap

Your call with the math-but if you run around 270-280*F (calibrated dome) you will see around an hour/lb.  And with good prep work (pre warmed cooler with hot water, dryer heated towels and an el cheapo cooler) you can hold for a good 6-7 hours.
I would fire the BGE around 8 PM- get it stable with all the accessories loaded  (no vent movement for a good 45-60 mins)- get a couple of hours sleep and then load the brisket around 11-midnight.  See where you are in the AM and adjust from there.  If you have to leave for work at a specific time-crank that into your window for punching it home.  FWIW-

HDmstng

Put it on about 30 minutes ago, 10 PM, but temps had risen to 300.  I'd pulled the platesetter and added a bit more lump about an hour or so prior and had been holding 225 perfectly.  I closed down the daisy wheel to next to nothing as I have a pretty good leak at my seals and also closed the damper on the fan down to about 1/4 open.  Lid up for a bit and temps have dropped.  Oh, and now we are getting light rain.  Hopefully things will settle down.

YukonRon

You should be fine. If it finishes early, FTC. I kept mine in the cooler wrapped and troweled on one of my recent cooks for 6 hours, and it was perfect.
Good Luck.

HDmstng

Had a few more up and downs with the cook.  The Egg wouldn't come down off 300F with my digiQ even after making the changes to the damper and daisy wheel.  Around 1230 AM I pulled the digi Q and went old school.  Temps stable at 250 at 2AM and off to bed.  Woke up at 6am, the Egg was 215 and flat was only 150F.  Opened her up a bit, went into work, and returned at 8AM.  Egg was at 350F and the flat was 215F,  DOH!

The point tasted great and was spot on, but the flat was a bit dry in places.  

Any idea on why the Egg kept creeping up even after closing down the damper on the digiQ and just about closing the daisy wheel?  Temps between the dome and the grill were evened out by then as well and both calibrated.  My seal is pretty much shot so I do get leakage out there.

YukonRon

Using the digiQ, I leave it wide open and sealed shut to the bottom vent. If air is seeping through anywhere, you will get more heat. 
I have a friend who had wrapped his leads from the DigiQ in aluminum foil to shield them from the heat, which is ok if you don't wrap them up like a mummy. He had his so thickly wrapped, he could not get a decent seal and had no way to control air flow into the egg, therefore the temps took off.
Another thing to check, is your probes, verify their readings with an Hand held IR heat sensor (@$20.00 at your hardware stores) to be sure your equipment is working properly. Don't start your fires at the top, start them as close to the bottom as you can. 
If your gaskets are indeed needing to be replaced, send a shout out to RRP, Ron does a great job with gasket replacement material an easy to follow, step by step, instructions.
good luck and have fun.