First time brisket

lafromla1

First time doing a brisket on a LBGE. Did a lot of research and got caught up in the horror stories of how long some took.  Had a 9 pound packer and prepped it the night before. Coated with olive oil and used a great beef rub that was cracked pepper heavy. 

Woke up early and got the egg up to 275 pretty quickly using Jealous Devil lump considering it was 37 degrees outside at 4am. While it was getting to temp I had put the conveggtor in the oven at 200 so it wouldn’t be a heat sink when I put it in. Added two large handfuls of BGE Applewood chips and in the drip pan put a 1.5 medium gatorade sized bottles of water and a kids lunch sized apple juice.  Put the meat in and the temp dropped to 225. waited till the temp locked in at 245 and went to play hockey. 

At 9:30 check the bark and it was perfect, so flipped it and checked the IT.  It was already at 165.  Strange it got up so quickly.  Left it unwrapped for about another hour to get the fat cap a little browned then wrapped it in butcher paper for another hour and a half.  IT was showing 201 - 206 in the flat (point was a little higher).  Took it off the egg and let it rest for about 4 hours.  

Total cook time was about 8 hours. I was worried that it went too quickly but everyone loved it including my wife that doesn’t like smoked meats. Can’t wait to do another.  

Foghorn

That looks phenomenal.  Great execution.  Don't slack off on the details on the next one - avoid the sophomore slump.

lafromla1

Thanks.  Understood.  Might use a tequila lime rub next time in a smaller one to see how it comes out.  

Main thing I learned is cook to IT and not time.  Have a javelin duo that was recommended by many in this group. 

lousubcap

Great cook right there.  When the consumers enjoy it, you win, every time.  
Exceptional smoke ring for a BGE cook as well.  
Regarding horror stories always remember, "The friggin cow drives the cook."  Using a 10 lb post-trim packer as the benchmark here I have seen them finish in anywhere from 7.5-15 hrs, same temperature range 250-275*F.  There are things you can do to speed the cook or slow it down, but those data points were not manipulated by me during the cook.  You never know...