First Brisket, not unbridaled success but good anyway, any advice?

sprinter

Hey All,[p]I had a brisket in the freezer for a couple of weeks and just HAD to try it this last weekend. I originally thought it was about an 11 pounder but it was 16.5, pretty good size. Anyway, I thawed it, rubbed it down with a rub that I've used in the past, and let it sit in the fridge for 24 hours. I used the EW method of building a fire, though I didn't sit and sort all of the lump I did pour it into a big bucket I have and chose the right pieces from there. Anyway, the process is as follows, chime in wherever you feel that you can add some of your own expertise - I have a medium BGE by the way:[p]After lighting the fire, starter sticks placed on the top of two sides of the coals, I let it get to about 150 then started dampering it down and it settled nicely at about 220 or so. This part worked perfectly.[p]At about 10:30am on Saturday I put on Mr. Chunk O' Chest and closed the lid, the brisket barely fit but it did with plenty of room to radiate heat around it. I did not have it covered in foil. From there, I was like a new father with his daughter (I know this too 'cause my daughter is 4 months old) carefully watching and wondering what was going on. I resisted the urge to micromanage the fire and it stayed perfect for several hours at 220-240 with the ceramic top canted on the top and the bottom opened up about an eighth of an inch. I was very pleased so far.[p]That evening I took my son to the high school basketball game, got home at 9pm. I checked the fire and it had dropped down to about 175. I opened the bottom to about 1/2 inch and came back out an hour later and it was still at 175. So, I opened up the BGE and found that it was out of coals. I took the brisket out, cleared out the old coals, and built a new fire. This took about 30 minutes to get it back to 220 as I simply used some of the already lit coals to restart the new. Worked beautifully. At this time the temp. of the meat was about 160. After I got the fire stabilized I went to bed.[p]I got up at 5am, (not because I wanted to but my daughter was humgry) and I checked the egg, perfect at 220, man was I psyched. I checked the temp and it was about 180, thougth this thing was nearing completion. So, I wrapped it in foil and kicked the heat of the fire up to about 300. I let it go until about 10am and the temp was at 195, this is all I could take.[p]Heres where it goes south a bit. I took the foil off and tried to cut the thin end and it was pretty tough and dry. There was about 3/4 of an inch inside that was perfect but the outer meat had dried out. This was kind of the same for the rest of the brisket as well. The outer meat was dried out and "shingle like" and the inside was perfect. The thick side of the brisket was a bit dried also but in that it was thicker there was more "good" meat on it. I would say for the 16 pound brisket I got about 8 pounds of good meat off of it after it had shrunk a bit in the BGE and I gave the shingle parts to my St. Brenard, who by the way, loves my BGE now.[p]Heres what I've learned from this attempt. Please correct me if I'm wrong or advise as to other methods.[p]1 - Use indirect heat, it will help keep the meat more tender.[p]2 - The medium BGE will hold a good low and slow temp for 12 hours tops the way I build the fire, I built two and both lasted 12 hours.[p]3 - Dont use a rub with a high concentration of sugars in it, it will only char to black in the heat - this may be different if I change to indirect heat for long burns.[p]4 - I was expecting 25-30 hours for this brisket at least - didn't take that long. Low and slow cooking times for a brisket are between 1.5 to 2 hours a pound? I've heard up to 3 hours. Pay attention to the thermometer, use it as your guide.[p]5 - RESIST THE URGE to micro manage the fire, once its set, let it go and only do VERY SMALL adjustments to the bottom vent. It will settle out just fine, the BGE knows how to burn low and slow.[p]6 - Don't start the fire in 2 places, only one. May account for the faster burn of my load of coals?[p]7 - TRY ANOTHER ONE SOON!!![p]Well, thats the skinny. Thanks for any advice anyone can give on this. Sorry for the long post. Any help or advice on this is greatly appreciated as even this brisket was awesome. Best barbecure that I've ever had. I got two shoulder roasts at the store this weekend, buy one get one free deal. In the freezer waiting for the right time. Cant wait.[p]Thanks - Troy[p]

Nature Boy

sprinter,
Sounds like a great learning experience.
The one thing that stands out for me is the foil. You don't need it, especially if you aren't in a hurry. Save the foil for after removing from the egg. [p]Sugars are okay, and shouldn't burn on indirect lo/slow.
Turbinado sugar is nice, and doesn't burn easily. [p]I agree about lighting the fire in only one place for low/slow. Your initial time estimates are pretty accurate for indirect, 225 dome and NO FOIL. Give it another go, sounds like you are one step away from chunk-o-chest heaven![p]NB

Cat

sprinter,[p]Briskets are easier to dry out than pork butts, so I always do them over indirect heat. A drip pan filled with water works best for me - the water temp can't exceed 212 degrees, so as long as you keep the pan full the bottom of the meat is buffered. [p]You may also have cooked it too long. Every brisket has its own timetable; I take them off when a fork stuck in the top twists easily. Sometimes that's at 185 internal, sometimes it's 200. [p]It sounds like you learned a lot from your first trial, and enjoyed some good eating besides. Congratulations, and don't wait too long to try again![p]Cathy

Elder Ward

sprinter,[p]Great post. I think Cat has it about nailed down. Each piece of meat is different. Unlike PP which is the most forgiving piece you can cook,because of all the fat. Chunk of Chest varies greatly even when lots of fat is left on. Some times you do everything right and it is just tough meat. Next time that occurs you can save the whole mess by chopping it up, dry part and all. Then put it in a crock pot with a western finishing sauce for about 2 hours and you'll swear it was the best you ever had. [p]Your dog will be pissed though.8^))[p]If you got em smoke em, [p]Elder Ward

sprinter

Elder Ward,[p]Thanks for the bit of information. Wish I'd have thought of that on Sunday AM. Would have had about 12 pounds of awesome Q rather than 8. Oh well, that's what I love about this forum, great information shared willingly and graciously. By the way, I mentioned your idea to my dog and he growled his disapproval. Thanks for the great advice, hopefully next time I won't need it but its great to know.[p]Troy

Unknown

sprinter,[p]Good post. Great info from the folks here. My own 2 cents is that if you are going indirect (over firebricks) you can use a higher temp and not get that shingling effect. Once the meat is around 185*, stick the polder (or a skewer) horizontally thru the meat. If it goes in and out easily, it's done. Some take longer than others.[p]Regards,
Jobu