My first Prime Brisket cook - serving tomorrow evening.

SamIAm2

Our great niece is coming over from Tampa on Saturday and will be working all day as executor of her grandad's estate.
Will be staying with us overnight so we wanted to do something special. Bought a 10 pound prime brisket from our favorite butcher shop in Melbourne.
I will be busy most of Saturday so I wouldn't be able to do the cook in time for dinner so I started this morning.  I only had to cut a small, ragged corner off the meat and season it.

Looks a little light for seasoning but this was the bottom. Did the fat side, loaded it up with rub, and put in refer while I set up the large egg. Added 5 chunks of peach wood an egging neighbor brought down from Georgia into a full load of Royal Oak. Put the brisket on at 12:30 pm.
Wrapped fire bricks raised the grid a bit above the gasket level keeping the drip pan from being crushed as normally happened when I did briskets previously.

For a 10 pound chunk this one is pretty long. Put aluminum foil at the back to protect the point and closed up the egg.
It has been an hour and the internal temperature is at 96 degrees. Grate temperature is at 234 and I am now trying to slowly adjust it back to 250. Internal temp is creeping up as I adjust which is just fine. 

Here is where I would really appreciate your input. My current plan is to cook till the internal temperature is 205 degrees, pull it and place in a clean aluminum pan with the drippings, cover with a lid and place it in the refer for tomorrow. When I get back to the house on Saturday, I will put the covered pan in the oven at 2:30 pm at 170 degrees and let it warm until our great niece arrives. Then I will slice and serve with red taters and mixed white and yellow corn.
Thanks for any suggestions.

lousubcap

I would cook til you get the "feels like buttah" probe in the thick part of the flat before taking off the BGE-temperature is only a guide.  Then give it a good 15-20 minutes on a cooling rack before wrapping and packing for the fridge.  
When time to reheat make sure it is tightly wrapped in the pan with the juices and reheat to around 140*F and then slice on demand when ready.  Just make sure you don't lose any of the drippings during the reheat-needed for the moisture factor.  FWIW-

SamIAm2

lousubcap said:

I would cook til you get the "feels like buttah" probe in the thick part of the flat before taking off the BGE-temperature is only a guide.  Then give it a good 15-20 minutes on a cooling rack before wrapping and packing for the fridge.  
When time to reheat make sure it is tightly wrapped in the pan with the juices and reheat to around 140*F and then slice on demand when ready.  Just make sure you don't lose any of the drippings during the reheat-needed for the moisture factor.  FWIW

Thanks @lousubcap, I can handle the first part of your suggestion but the oven we have starts at 170 degrees. I have done something similar with pulled pork when I take it to church for potluck and I made SURE there was a lot of drippings.

I could try to get the large to 140 degrees, not certain I could do that ... might be worthwhile. Put a smaller amount of lump and feed it more as the time gets nearer to serving??  

lousubcap

The 140*F temp applies to the brisket-not the oven.  You will be fine.

SmokeyPitt

SamIAm2 said:

lousubcap said:

I would cook til you get the "feels like buttah" probe in the thick part of the flat before taking off the BGE-temperature is only a guide.  Then give it a good 15-20 minutes on a cooling rack before wrapping and packing for the fridge.  
When time to reheat make sure it is tightly wrapped in the pan with the juices and reheat to around 140*F and then slice on demand when ready.  Just make sure you don't lose any of the drippings during the reheat-needed for the moisture factor.  FWIW

Thanks @lousubcap, I can handle the first part of your suggestion but the oven we have starts at 170 degrees. I have done something similar with pulled pork when I take it to church for potluck and I made SURE there was a lot of drippings.

I could try to get the large to 140 degrees, not certain I could do that ... might be worthwhile. Put a smaller amount of lump and feed it more as the time gets nearer to serving??  

Not to speak for Lou but I think he meant reheat until the IT of the meat is around 140. The oven temp can be much higher than that. 

Actually, you may want to reheat at a higher temp than 170 oven. It could take a long time to get up to serving temp. If you have the time then no big deal but I would probably start out a little hotter (say 300 oven temp) and then drop the oven temp down to 170 when the internal temp hits 130 or so. 

SamIAm2

lousubcap said:

The 140*F temp applies to the brisket-not the oven.  You will be fine.

Totally misread that Cap. Thanks for the correction. 3 hours in and the internal is 162 degrees, grate temp at 253 degrees. There is some shrinkage visible.
I will probably need to separate this into flat and point to fit the foil pans I use. Do you see any issue?
@SmokeyPitt - thanks. I will take your reheating suggestion and run with it. 

SamIAm2

Update 5 hours into cook. Internal temperature is 189 degrees and grate temp is holding well at 250. First probe of flat is not "feels like buttah" yet.

More shrinkage is visible at the point which makes sense, that is the hot spot for this large egg.

There is a lot of dripping liquid in the pan so that will be good if I don't lose it. Thanks for looking. 

SamIAm2

Update - 7 hours into cook and the nightly (for us) rainstorm has just arrived. Rotated the grid 180 degrees to get the flat in the hot part of the egg after the storm passed.

Relocated the probes and took this shot of the temp at the point. Getting there. Flat temp shows 166 so not ready yet. More to come.

CanDid

@samiam2 Curious, what set-up are your probes connected too?

SamIAm2

@CanDid - Smoke, I keep it under the granite so it doesn't get soaked during the storms.

lousubcap

Coming along nicely.  As above-the finish-line indicator is the feel in the thick part of the flat.  Pay no attention to the point as the high fat content will protect it til the cow declares victory.  Bring it home and enjoy the follow-on eats.

SamIAm2

@lousubcap - Came out of the stall and the flat internal is now 185 and grate temp is 257. Not changing anything. I'll check for "feels like buttah" in a bit. Thanks for your insights. Forgot to show the shrinking brisket picture.
Acting like I'm going to need to stand mid-watch on this thing. Oh well, sleep is highly over rated.

SamIAm2

Pulled at 12:13 am and rested for 20 minutes per @lousubcap suggestion above. Wrapped and in the refer. 
Brisket doesn't quite fit but I think it will be OK till it is time to warm and slice. Large part of the flat was like buttah in several places so it should be ok. I have lots of drippings. Skimmed and in two containers if there is a need.
Will post photos of the sliced brisket tomorrow. Thanks for looking.

Hibby

Make sure you update us with how it ultimately turns out. Looks like you're in good shape.

lousubcap

Looks like a banquet waiting to happen right there.  Sounds like all is well on-track.

kweitz

Holy cow! I'm putting a 14 pounder on at midnight tonight (my first brisket), and by looking at your pics, I'm guessing a pizza pan will not do for a drip pan??

SamIAm2

kweitz said:

Holy cow! I'm putting a 14 pounder on at midnight tonight (my first brisket), and by looking at your pics, I'm guessing a pizza pan will not do for a drip pan??

 I only do the drip pan because I want to add it to the AL pan for reheating.  Others here will say it isn't required. You could put aluminum foil in the pan and just let it burn off if you didn't need/want drippings.

Wow, 14 pounds on a large!! Good luck and welcome to the forum.

kweitz

Thank you! I'm gonna have to use a wrapped brick under it to start, but it's not really much longer than my grate, unless it grows when I take it out of the cryo packaging. 

lousubcap

@kweitz - If the draping over the brick still leaves some exposed to direct heat use a double layer of foil under it to ensure a barrier.  I also cover the thin end of the flat with some foil for the first few hours of the cook to help with moisture retention.  Sometimes it works, sometimes not as well.  Enjoy the cook.  FWIW-

SamIAm2

Brisket is in the oven getting warm. Unfortunately our great niece had to cancel dinner and staying over with us. On the bright side, more for us!!
Here is the setup for slicing I will be using. Does anyone see any problems, other than moving stuff out of the way! Knife is a Cutco 9" serrated.   

lousubcap

Where are the adult beverages??  
Here's the best video I have seen for slicing the brisket.  Takes all the mystique out of the process.  Slice on demand.  Enjoy the groceries.  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMIlyzRFUjU

bgebrent

Slice on demand...key point.

SamIAm2

@lousubcap-Where are the adult beverages??  Here you go. Unfortunately this is probably going to be the best of the photos to come. Thanks for the link.
My knife/skills were not up to the task. You may want to avert your eyes. At least I didn't throw away the top cap. You've been warned.

After this bit of butchery I needed that Black and Tan. Thinner slices were not possible with the knife. 
There is a very small smoke ring. I moved on to the point.
 
Separated the meat and put in two pans, flat on left  and point on right.

 Made up my plate.

Good flavor. SWMBO said she'd eat that again. Thanks for looking.

lousubcap

Great looking outcome.  Congrats as when you get the SWMBO seal of approval you are golden.  Nailed it.  Where's my plate??  
I would offer that next time, ply your knife skills with specific orders for lean or moist cuts as that will reduce the drying factor.  You cannot believe the meat will give up moisture, especially the lean aka flat as quickly as it does. FWIW-

SamIAm2

You are indeed correct about SWMBO S of A. Funny thing, since my retirement the cooking duties shifted to me and that's OK. I do think a new knife is in order and much more practice. My experience with knives is cutting the bite size pieces off steaks and pork chops.

CanDid

SamIAm2 said:

 I do think a new knife is in order and much more practice. My experience with knives is cutting the bite size pieces off steaks and pork chops.

Look into the electric carving knives. You can get a really nice one for under $50 and it will cut thru any meat like butta.

SamIAm2

CanDid said:

SamIAm2 said:

 I do think a new knife is in order and much more practice. My experience with knives is cutting the bite size pieces off steaks and pork chops.

Look into the electric carving knives. You can get a really nice one for under $50 and it will cut thru any meat like butta.

Thanks for your suggestion CanDid, I do appreciate how helpful folks in the forum are however, I already have one and was always frustrated with it when cutting brisket. Power cord not long enough to stay out of the way and always wound up having to clean the two knives, the body, and the cord. Then putting it all back into the case just heaped on the frustration. I just want to go simpler with the correct knife for the task that is easy to keep clean and sharp. Maybe like https://shun.kaiusaltd.com/knives/knife/kanso-12-in.-hollow-ground-b...  Need to balance that cost with how often I would use it.

lousubcap

Here's a thread that provides good brisket knife info:

Recommendation for Brisket Slicer knife  

SamIAm2

Thank you for the link Lou. I bookmarked it after viewing and will research later today. This forum never fails to amaze me with members willingness to provide valuable information.