Big Brisket Cooking Time

Meeeshigan22

I’ve done a number of briskets over the years, but never anything bigger than 14lbs. I have a 23lb(before trimming) SRF that I’m about throw on for the UM/PSU noon game tomorrow. I find the waygu briskets cook faster than everyday brisket, never had one go more than 8 hours. Im thinking 12 hours for this one. Cooking at 275’ish

What do the experts think?

kl8ton

Send it! Go blue!  I agree with SRF cooking faster.  But you can always foil towel cooler it for multiple hours. Err on the side of caution so you don't miss any of the game.

kl8ton

I also wanted to add that one of my best briskets finished way early.  I wraped tightly in foil and put it in my oven on a warm and hold setting. It stayed in there probably four or five hours.  Then FTC to a party.  It was right up there with one of the best briskets I've ever done.

JohnInCarolina

Black or Gold?

Also, what temp are you running at?

Meeeshigan22

JohnInCarolina said:

Black or Gold?

Also, what temp are you running at?

It’s a black, but it’s a nice one. Great marbling and as soft as I’ve seen. 275. 

And yeah I like to do the FTC thing, but I try not to do it more than 2 hours with brisket. Maybe I’m nuts but I think there’s an optimal window with brisket, butts can go much longer IMO. 

JohnInCarolina

Meeeshigan22 said:

JohnInCarolina said:

Black or Gold?

Also, what temp are you running at?

It’s a black, but it’s a nice one. Great marbling and as soft as I’ve seen. 275. 

And yeah I like to do the FTC thing, but I try not to do it more than 2 hours with brisket. Maybe I’m nuts but I think there’s an optimal window with brisket, butts can go much longer IMO. 

OK, now we’re talking.

I did a 13 lb SRF Black recently at 275.  It was done in 6 hrs.  Now, this was in the KBQ, and not the BGE.  The KBQ definitely cooks faster.

Generally on the BGE I’ve found 14 pound SRFs to finish under 12 hrs.  But a 23 lb brisket is huge.  That is one giant piece of protein. 

You can definitely wrap to push through the stall if needed.  It’s not going to suck no matter what.   So you’ve got that going for you, which is nice.

lousubcap

Finish early as mentioned above.  The longer the hold the better the finished product.

You will likely lose 4-5 lbs in the trim and you can always dial up the temp (300-325*F) after 4-6 hours in the smoke to move it along. You also have the Texas Crutch to bring it home.

Just make sure it gets at least a 2 hour rest (or more if you can).  That is quite a treat for those who will savor the feast. 

Independent of any side bets you do have some serious "skin" in the game. Enjoy the day and banquet.

Meeeshigan22

Worked out pretty good, 10 min shy of 12 hours with temps hovering around 250-275, wrapped in paper at 160. To the cooler it goes.

Thanks guys. 

Best news is I even got a little sleep and didn’t indulge in too much bourbon. 

kl8ton

Meeeshigan22 said:

Worked out pretty good, 10 min shy of 12 hours with temps hovering around 250-275, wrapped in paper at 160. To the cooler it goes.

Thanks guys. 

Best news is I even got a little sleep and didn’t indulge in too much bourbon. 

That's great news!  That news would be better with photos!  😉

Money_Hillbilly

I have also switched to long oven holds with the last few briskets.  6 hours or more and they only get better. 

JohnInCarolina

Money_Hillbilly said:

I have also switched to long oven holds with the last few briskets.  6 hours or more and they only get better. 

An oven hold is a new one for me.  I assume you keep them wrapped so they don’t dry out.  What temp do you use?

Money_Hillbilly

@JohnInCarolina I have 2 ovens one electric and one gas.  The electric one goes down to 80 degrees and the gas one 160.  I like to hold @150 but if I have multiple briskets I use the larger gas oven and 160 works just fine.  The long oven rest really upped my game.  There are a number of YouTube folks that pull @190 or so and go for extended oven rests for 10-20 hrs.  I guess it emulates the long alto shaam holds that the Texas bbq joints use.  Regardless it will up your game for tenderness and juiciness not to mention taking away all the pressure worrying about serving time. 

alaskanassasin

OH!

Captnrontx

I have a 20 pound brisket thawing for a cook this weekend. Question:  when cooking, the direct air flow from around the place setter over cooks edges of a large brisket. What do you guys suggest. I’ve thought about using smaller ceramic plates from my Primo to cover those areas. 

Meeeshigan22

kl8ton said:

Meeeshigan22 said:

Worked out pretty good, 10 min shy of 12 hours with temps hovering around 250-275, wrapped in paper at 160. To the cooler it goes.

Thanks guys. 

Best news is I even got a little sleep and didn’t indulge in too much bourbon. 

That's great news!  That news would be better with photos!  😉

I thought about that, but with the busy schedule and 10 people standing around watching me carve it up, it was just time to eat. I’ve gone from the guy that had more photos of BBQ than my kids…to never taking pics of food haha. 

lousubcap

Captnrontx said:

I have a 20 pound brisket thawing for a cook this weekend. Question:  when cooking, the direct air flow from around the place setter over cooks edges of a large brisket. What do you guys suggest. I’ve thought about using smaller ceramic plates from my Primo to cover those areas. 

See what you end up with size and shape-wise once trimmed. You can place a foiled brick under the brisket to shorten the length.  Also, foil protect anything that over hangs as well.  I use HDAF to extend the protected area beyond my air gapped drip pan all the way to the edge of the cooking grid on a 6/12 o'clock orientation.  Plenty of space on the sides for air-flow.  FWIW-

Meeeshigan22

lousubcap said:

Captnrontx said:

I have a 20 pound brisket thawing for a cook this weekend. Question:  when cooking, the direct air flow from around the place setter over cooks edges of a large brisket. What do you guys suggest. I’ve thought about using smaller ceramic plates from my Primo to cover those areas. 

See what you end up with size and shape-wise once trimmed. You can place a foiled brick under the brisket to shorten the length.  Also, foil protect anything that over hangs as well.  I use HDAF to extend the protected area beyond my air gapped drip pan all the way to the edge of the cooking grid on a 6/12 o'clock orientation.  Plenty of space on the sides for air-flow.  FWIW-

I used a foiled brick for the big brisket, it barely fit but the brick certainly helped. Bit of foil to protect the parts that darkened quickly worked well. I won’t be doing anymore 20+ pounders on the large, but you can make it work. 

Mark_B_Good

15 lb brisket is the largest I did ... took just over 6h to cook and then another 1.5h to rest, but turbo brisket method. Dome was controlled between 275F and 310F ... took 3h 15 min to hit stall around 160F ... then wrapped in foil, and took another 3h to probe like butter.  Towel wrapped and cooled in cooler box for 1.5h or so before serving.

I injected with vegetable broth before I started cooking, and then again before I wrapped in foil, which protected it from the higher dome temps ... and it tasted FANTASTIC.