Internal temp on the brisket

Unknown

At around 3:30 P.M. I put an 11lb. brisket on the egg. I've got the Polder in the thickest part of the meat. I've got the dome at a steady 250*, cooking indirect with an inverted plate setter on the fire ring, with water in the drip pan inside the setter, and the brisket is sitting on the main grid. [p]It's now almost 7:00 P.M. and the Polder is already reading 132*. Isn't that awfully fast? I know the plateau is 160*, but dang! I shouldn't be reaching that temp until late tonight or early in A.M.[p]Will someone calm me down? I REALLY don't want to have to lift that lid.

JJ

DavidS,
Relax, things are going just fine. Have yourself a nice night cap and watch some TV. If the internal temp gets too high you can lower the dome temp to adjust.

Nature Boy

DavidS,
Like JJ says, it sounds pretty normal. It is the 140-170 range that takes hours and hours.[p]If you are sure your dome thermometer is calibrated, I would relax. Remember too, if it is done a bit early, it will hold nicely for up to 4 or 5 hours, wrapped in foil and towels and in a warm cooler. And you can always step it down in the am if it is moving too quickly for you. [p]Also couldn't hurt, for peace of mind, to do a 3 am check on it, and make any very minor adjustments. [p]Grab a beer, and enjoy the evening!
NB

Unknown

Nature Boy,[p]Thank you and JJ for the reassurance. It finally leveled off at around 170* and around 3:00 A.M with dome at 235* and slowly declining about 5* every half hour. That's when I went to bed. I got up at 7 and saw the dome at 200* with the internal at 195*. And it was raining. (Naturally, it always rains on me when I do a lo and slow) After I made a make-shift hood cover out of aluminum foil to put over the slide daisy, I saw the internal starting to drop. So I yanked opened the vents and brought the dome up to around 300*. It's now 9:30 and the internal is now around 203*. I'm going to lift the lid at 205*. By the way, everytime I go out and adjust the slide-daisy, I get a whiff of what's cooking in there. It's smells like heaven has come down to earth. [p]