2 briskets, 1 egg

Jameson19 · October 2016

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I guess this is a story of recovery and some good luck, so here it goes...

I grabbed two 16 pound prime briskets ($2.89/pound) from Costco for my daughter's first birthday party. We had about 30 confirmed attendees. I trimmed the briskets similar to an Aaron Franklin youtube video that was recently posted here, seasoned very lightly with salt and pepper, and tossed them in a 290 degree large egg. I used the adjustable rig in the large egg for the two cooking levels. Even then, they barely fit. I had several home made beers, so there were no pics of the stuffed egg. The starting temp of 290 was an accident due to the French Saisons we were drinking.

On went the BBQ Guru set to 250 degrees and to bed I went. That was around 1am. Woke up at 6:30am to find the egg around 150 degrees and the briskets at 139 and 140 internal temps. Apparently the BBQ Guru fan adjustable lever got closed down, so even when it tried to push air into the egg, no air was entering.

So, I quickly fixed the situation by opening the guru's fan lever and adjusted the unit to 275. Within an hour the egg was at 275 and each brisket was in the 150's internal. I told my wife we might have to order pizzas...

As soon s the briskets got into the high 160's, the FedEx guy rang the doorbell. Pink butcher paper had arrived. I wrapped the briskets in the butcher paper and the internal temps were like some magical cruise control. They both powered through the stall, if there even was one, and went right up to 197 in about 2 hours. At that temp, they were both soft and had the right amount of jiggles you'd appreciate on a Saturday night. Due to the chaos of a kid's birthday party, they cruised to 199 by the time I actually got them out of the egg. I put foil on the bottom of them in a semi-wrap, then a towel, then into the cooler for about 2 hours.

As you can see from the above pics, they came out to be the most tender and juicy briskets the egg has ever given us, even with all the initial issues. The bark was there and the pink butcher paper held the moisture like magic.

What I would have done different: little more seasoning (maybe) and not screw up the initial temps. What will I always do from now on: pink butcher paper wrap before the stall in the 170's and trim it like Mr. Franklin. In the past I've cut way too much fat off resulting in a dry flat and an ok point.

Far to say: I got lucky...but I'll take it!

Thanks for looking!