Prime Brisket for Real Cowboys on Friday

erniemcclain

So it's cattle branding season again.  On Friday this week I get the pleasure of playing cowboy for a day and will be vaccinating, castrating if needed and branding approximately 400 calves and working with some of the finest cattle producers in Wyoming.  After we are done we get to eat.  I picked up a 18.6 pound prime Costco brisket.  I need some help back calculating time to put on.  (I know that cow drives the cook) I am assuming I will end up with about 15.5 pounds of meat.  I need to be heading to the ranch about 6 am local time.  I plan on FTC because we will be eating about 12:30.  Pink butcher paper is on hand.   If I need to pull at 5:30am do you think its safe to put on at 250* at about 3:00pm on Thursday and let it run all night?  That would be 14.5 hours.  Thoughts?

GoooDawgs

That sounds pretty good to me.  Do you have a temp controller?  May want to run slightly hotter so you can make sure it's ready at 530. 

Foghorn

That sounds like a good start, but it has potential to go longer than 1 hour per pound at 250 degrees.  The key is to be flexible.  I'd reassess somewhere between 10 PM and midnight as you may need to raise the temp a little to power through the stall.  (You may not - I've had a 13 pounder only take 7 hours at 250).  Also be aware that the Costco prime brisket I got last weekend did not require much trimming.  

With your plan, I think you're finding a good balance between "brisket cooks too fast" and "brisket cooks too slow".  Worst case scenario, you wrap in butcher paper at 1-2 AM while it is still in the stall and you are not yet happy with the bark and let the egg ride up to 290-300 to get the job done.  I've had to do that several times.  The pic of the whole brisket isn't that pretty because the bark didn't progress to the level that I would like, but the brisket taste was outstanding.  

Here's an example of one of those "worst case scenarios"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI6J3y44ds0

And you probably know this but you can FTC quite a long time.  I did 4 hours in a regular (not expensive rotomolded) cooler with room temperature towels last week and the meat temp was still over 160 when I took it out.  With pre-warmed cooler and towels and a higher quality cooler you can go longer.  But you have to recognize that it takes a lot of heat to pre-warm a Yeti or equivalent.  

Good luck and take pics - of the brisket and the cowboying.  It sounds like a great day.

thetrim

Are you using Cowboy lump in honor of the real cowboys?

Thapco

Don't forget the calf fries.  Go good with the brisket or by them selves.  On a ranch cook like this, gotta have them.

erniemcclain

No cowboy lump...BGE.  
No calf fries tomorrow. But they are good. 
Egg genius says 169 IT after 4 hrs.  Pit temp started @250 but changed target to 230 since it’s cooked as fast as it has.  I know the stall is coming and might be here but I’ve got 7 hours left to gain 30*.   It will FTC until the work is done. Pics tomorrow. 
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erniemcclain

Pictures and updates below. Thanks.  

So we ended up branding about 150 calves and heifers near Veteran Wyoming along the WY/NE border.  Back to the brisket. I am pretty pleased with it.  Learned a couple things for the next.  It was a bit hard on the bottom side of the flat. But it all went.  

pasoegg

sure beats the h_ll out of what I've done today...enjoy every moment of it...people pay big money to do what you have done today....