Brisket Help

Wanasmoke

I'll start by apologizing- I know there's a million threads like this on here but I thought maybe I could get some fresh advice.  Bought a 17lb packer, trimmed it to about 12lbs and put it on the egg tonight around 1030. 
I had my Maverick dual probe set up and things seemed stable for the first hour, grate temp around 240. Thought I'd go check it before I got comfortable for the night and the dome temp was like 340!  IT on the thick part of the flat was around 150 at the one hour mark and is approaching 170 at the 2.5 hr mark. 

I was expecting at 15 hr + smoke and are having people over in 12 hours ....not sure what to do. I have been able to get the grate temp and dome temp to around 250 but I almost have the vents closed. Any advice on this would be welcome...both how to slow this cook down and what to do if I finish 10 hrs early!! Ugh

Wanasmoke

Update: egg seems to have stabilized at 240 dome, 220 grate. IT is 178. Going to go to sleep. I'll probe it in the morning and see where it's at. Maybe some advice will pop up once people wake up....

lkapigian

Prime cooks quicker than select, now that your dome has settled in, so will the brisket..it will hang in,the stall for hours @ 240....that will cook as quick as .75 hours per pound...enjoy the ride

Wanasmoke

Another weird development....woke up and checked everything at the 5 hr mark. The dome temp has dropped to 190 and the IT to 156???  Not sure what is going on here. I double checked the probe in the flat last night with the thermopen. Fire never went out, just cooled way down. I have it back to normal now.  I guess I'm still safe right just need to get back on track?

lousubcap

All you need to do is finish inside the FTC window and that can easily be 4-6 hours (or more) in duration.  When you finish the cook give it a good 15-20 minute cooling rack rest before the FTC to stop the carry over cooking.
On a side note, with all that has been posted about brisket around here, I am not sure what would constitute "new ideas" that would be worth pursuing.  
Here's a current and entertaining brisket related thread:
Still My Nemesis  FWIW- Happy Independence Day.

blind99

Excellent. I hate overnight cooks- glad yours is working out better. When do you need to eat? I'd let the temp start riding back up to 275-285 and finish it off. It hasn't hit the stall so I'd say that's still 4-6 hours of cooking. You may find this one finishes at a little lower temp than usual. May finish closer to 190 than 200-205. 

Foghorn

You're in great shape.  The goal overnight is just to wake up and find the fire going and the brisket somewhere along the path to goodness.  You can read the "Still My Nemesis" thread where the merits of brisket cooking are debated ad nauseum but I don't think there's a lot of great cooking advice in there.  Set your vents for somewhere in the 250-275 range and enjoy the morning.  Plan to check it every hour for while and once the meat temp hits 180 you'll need to check it more often.  

If you are planning to wrap in butcher paper or foil during the cook (I think most here don't wrap), do it when you are happy with the bark - which could be any time now.

Wanasmoke

So the 20 degree IT temp drop is ok because it stayed above 150?  It's back up to 172 in the flat. I was planning on making some burnt ends with the point on this one after the flat finishes. I guess I'll see how the morning goes!

Foghorn

"So the 20 degree IT temp drop is ok because it stayed above 150?"

Yes.  Plus, you have to recognize that any low and slow cook has a period where the meat passes through the danger temps of 40-140 for a while.  But the bacteria are on the outside being subjected to temps above 140 so it's OK. 

Don't think of it as the meat temp.  Think of it as the bacteria temp.

Wanasmoke

Thanks to all who helped me out with my brisket dilemma especially @Foghorn  Everything turned out great- flat was solid and point was cubed and made amazing burnt ends.  Sauce was a bit spicy but that's an easy fix. 

Burnt ends were incredible and the creamed corn was from the loveless cafe in Nashville. This forum is great- you all answered me at early morn hours and helped me thru the problems. I read up a bit on the the nemesis brisket thread- honestly I think there are a few negative, childish people on here that could do us all a favor and stop trolling. Otherwise a treasure of information!  Happy 4th!

lousubcap

Great result right there.  Congrats on staying the course.  

Foghorn

Looks great. Glad it worked out well. Congrats. 

This is is what makes this site great. Pay it forward.