When is a brisket done?

ShortRib

What internal temp am I looking for? Right now I am looking at 165 degrees for temp. Should I pull it at 200?

Steve-B

ShortRib,[p]Here is a link to Dizzy Pigs brisket recipe. It describes the "fork" test. I usally pull them at 188°. I have had 1 brisket that wouldn't pass the fork test until 198°.
[ul][li]Dizzy Pig Brisket Recipe[/ul]

UnConundrum

ShortRib,[p]Again, opinions vary. I pull mine at 185. At that temperature, it's still firm enough to cut/carve without the meat shreddding. Some prefer 190 - 200. At the highter temperatures, the meat shreds very easily... which might be a good thing if you're doing pulled beef.[p]Just remember, the longer it cooks, the more moisture it will lose. I know someone will post that they cook to 200 and it's always moist... of course, we don't know how moist it would have been if pulled at 185. A lot depends on the quality of the meat you start with, which also affects cooking time.[p]Also, remember that it will take longer to go throught the 160's and 170's than it took to get to 160....

ShortRib

UnConundrum,
I put it on around 9:30 this morning, thinking that it would take about 6 hours to cook. It has already reached 172. Does that seem too fast????

UnConundrum

ShortRib,[p]Yeah, it does.... depending on size and meat quality... A prime brisket will cook faster than a choice brisket, a choice quicker than a select....[p]Same thing with size... a smaller cut will cook much faster than a full packer cut...[p]What temperature are you cooking it at? Are you using a guru (in which case, Fred suggests a starting temp of about 275 and the meat cooks faster) ?[p]You can see a live graph of a chuck roast I've been cooking since last night at: <a href= "http://new.princelaw.com/bge/bge_cook.php"&gt;click here</a> Now that's a 16.5 pound roast...and you can see how slowly the internal temperature is rising..

btw, you can also call in to check the cook at (610) 845-0047 and enter extension 70599

ShortRib

UnConundrum,
I am at 185 as of 1:15. I put this 3.56 lb brisket in the egg at 275. I have maintained this temp the whole cook. I bought this one at Costco. It is a choice cut. I was expecting to pull it off the grill around 4:00. But now I am only 3 degrees from giving her the fork test.

Skipper in VA

UnConundrum, How are you getting real time data on the roast you are cooking. The is really neat, I would love to know how you are doing this? Many thanks.[p]Cheers,
Skipper

UnConundrum

Skipper in VA,[p]I have a handheld meter with thermocouples that outputs IR and an IR reader attached to a linux box. The linux box is connected to my network by a wireless nic, and inserts the readings into a mySql table. The web page is relatively simple php code that reads data from a sql table and creates the graph.