Shortening brisket cooking times

Unknown

A lot of people on this forum seem to do briskets routinely. I'd attempted to cook on on a metal grill some years ago, and the result was a big slab of tough and greasy meat. Although I'm learning quickly how to build a lo and slo fire, I have some real doubts that I'll be able to do an overnighter. So for my first brisket attempt, I was wondering if there were any tricks to speed up the cook, or ways to save a brisket if the fire goes out too soon.[p]I've considered a few things. Say I put the brisket in a 9 p.m. and find the fire out at 5 a.m. but the brisket internal temperature is above 140. Can I just foil wrap it and put it in a cooler, get the fire going again, and put it back on within an hour or so? Or, does cutting the brisket into chunks appreciabley shorten the time for the heat to penetrate? Or, (as I've done with ribs on metal grills) can I do a partial cook by braising or nuking on low, so as to get the on the grill time down to 9 -10 hours, which is the amount of time I'm confident I can maintain the coals.[p]Any ideas much appreciated. After decades of grilling, the egg widens the horizon so much that I'm a little stunned.[p]gdenby

hayhonker

gdenby,
I am no-way no-how an authority on brisket. That being said, the three that I've made have all been done in 6 hours.
I use the BBQ guru to monitor internal tem and set the pit temp at 230. Pull the meat off at 190 and wrap in foil for a few hours. For some reason they always hit 190 in 6 hours. The recipes talk about going for 15 hours but I've never had one go half that. Might need to do one at 200-210 just to see.

Unknown

hayhonker,[p]That's good to know. I have a Maverick remote, so I can watch the temps at least while I'm awake. [p]Were those brisket flats, points, the whole thing? [p]gdenby

hayhonker

gdenby,
Those were flats. About 9 pounds I believe. I'd actually say that they were over cooked just a tad. They were tender but I pulled at 190 and they were over 200 after sitting in foil for awhile.
I think next time I'll pull at 180 and see what happens.

Sandbagger

gdenby, I got confidence in you that you can work a lo and slo. Here is a suggestion. Try cooking one on the weekend. Start at 5 or 6 o'clock in the morning with a 5 to 6 pound brisket flat. At 225 to 235 grid temp, indirect, it should be done for a late dinner, 7 or 8 o'clock that night. This way you can hang out at the house, do some honey do's and keep an eye on it. It's just a thought from a frustrated breakfast eating guy. T

Unknown

gdenby,
Do you have a maverick 73? If so you can set the alarm on it to let you know if the fire is going out. You can set high and low grid temps. If it drops below say 200 then the alarm will go off and wake you up so you can tend the fire.[p]I am no brisket expert either but like hayhonker my flats have all been done in about 6 hours and that is at a constant 225.

Unknown

Whitetail,[p]I think its the 73. Just got it last weekend, and used it on a slab of ribs. Didn't figure out the alarm settings, and sort of wondered if the batteries would hold out for 9 - 10 - or more hours. I'll definitely check out the alarm feature.[p]gdenby

Herm

gdenby,[p]Although I haven't done a brisket yet, I did do a butt overnight and had no problems at all. I too was nervous about it, but I went to bed with the dome temp. at 250, and woke up 8 hours later to the dome temp at 250. Give it a try!

Unknown

Sandbagger,[p]Yes, I thought I might try from early morning to early evening. I am pretty convinced I can keep at least a 10 hour fire going, and then a few hours in foil should finish it.[p]gdenby

Haggis

gdenby,[p]Alarm settings are a little confusing on the 73 and I recommend working your way through the instructions. They aren't hard once you understand the logic (?) but they are not intuitive.[p]Batteries will last a considerable time. I've used mine on multiple long cooks with no difficulty.

fishlessman

Haggis,
they did make that confusing, you cant back temps down, you have to increase them til they start over. you set the temps, however the alarm wont go off until you turn the alarms on too.after you figure out the quirks it works fine, unless you dont use it for a while and have to relearn it