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Ronbo19
Ronbo19 Posts: 4
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Attempting to cook my first brisket. Have my egg holding steady at 250, and the brisket is just a tad over 6 lbs. I've looked around the forum and googled it, I've seen varying cook times. In your opinion what is the approximate cook time I am looking at, and is 250 an OK temp? I've also seen a lot of people say 225 but I seem to have a hard time keeping the temp that low. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
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  • Desert Oasis Woman
    Desert Oasis Woman Posts: 5,604
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    250 F fine; some EGGs have their own cruise control B)
    now briskets and butts, they vary without rhyme or reason :)

    Welcome to the Forum B)
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  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
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    You won't see or taste much difference if cooking at 250° or 225°

    If you are cooking the meat to 200° and the temperature is 225° you can see that is going to take some additional time. Longer time possibly may equal dryer texture.

    I cook food to temperature and the time ends up where it ends up. I figure 1 to 1.5 hrs per pound for a whole brisket. When I cook the flat as a rough guide 45 minutes to an hour.

    GG
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  • FearlessGrill
    FearlessGrill Posts: 695
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    Ronbo,

    250 dome temp will work fine. There is a 20-25 degree differential between the temp at the dome and the temp at the grid, so a 250 dome will give you about 225 where the meat is. Since you will be trying to get the brisket into the 200 degree range, going much lower will make it hard to get it up to final temp. Make sure to calibrate your thermometer in boiling water to make sure it is accurate. If it's off by 20 degrees high, your brisket will never finish.

    In terms of cooking time, the general rule of thumb for brisket is about 90 minutes per pound, though a smaller one like yours may go faster than that. Don't forget to leave time to get the Egg up to temp and stabilized, and for the meat to rest for at east 30 minutes when it's done. I usually build in a buffer of an hour or two. If it finishes early, wrap it in foil, then a couple of cloth towels, and put it in an empty cooler. It will stay warm for up to 4 hours this way, and you can serve it when you are ready. You're much better off being done early (or lowering the temp if it's cooking too fast) than having it run long and keeping your dinner guests hungry.

    Remember that when cooking brisket, time is less important than internal temp, which is less important than 'feel'. Once your brisket hits 185 or so internal, begin checking it regularly, using the probe from your meat thermometer. Once it slides in AND OUT without resistance, it's done. This might be at 190, or it might be at 200. Others describe this as the 'fork test'. If you pull it before this, it will seem dry.

    Good luck,

    -John
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  • Ronbo19
    Ronbo19 Posts: 4
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    How do you tell if it is a flat brisket? Got it from my local butcher shop up here in NJ, and just asked them to order a brisket and didn't specify what type. Thought I read somewhere that a lot of the briskets up in the northeast were flat. Sorry about all the question but I'm new to all this.
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  • Eggsakley
    Eggsakley Posts: 1,019
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    Call the butcher and ask if you cannot determine by visual inspection. The Point end should be much thicker than the flat. I would guess it was a flat, but maybe not. Best of luck :)
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  • Shiff
    Shiff Posts: 1,835
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    At 6 pounds, it is probably a flat. I put some web pages at the end which are a great source of info on briskets and how to cook them. Make sure to check for tenderness before pulling it off the BGE. I use a fork and twist it and remove the brisket when the fork twists easily.

    Two great sources of brisket cooking information are:

    http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/03/brisket.html

    and

    http://bubbatim.com/Bubba_s_Brisket.php
    Large BGE
    Barry, Lancaster, PA
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