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Brisket taking forever

easttexasaggie04
easttexasaggie04 Posts: 108
edited August 2012 in EggHead Forum
I put a 13 pound brisket on last night at 9 and set the DigiQ to 250 degrees with the plate setter.  It is now 1:22pm and the brisket is still only 150 degrees.  Seems like this brisket is taking a heck of a long time.  I pumped the temp up to 275 on the DigiQ and let it keep rolling.  Seems like to should be 195 by now.

Thoughts?

Comments

  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,162

    Each hunk behaves differently and the old saying "it is done when it is done".  Your temps sound fine. Thermos all good??? Here's a great link on briskets-worth a look while waiting for the finish-line.

    http://www.amazingribs.com/recipes/beef/texas_brisket.html 

     

     

    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
  • michigan_jason
    michigan_jason Posts: 1,346
    edited August 2012

    You may be in the stall, if you are, when you get out it will climb pretty fast. I think you are on pace for dinner at 5-6pm

    Just make sure your thermometer is accurate and start checking for tenderness at or around 190 give or take a few degrees



    "Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity, and are able to turn both to their advantage."

  • Eggdam
    Eggdam Posts: 223
    Not unusual to take 2 hrs a pound. I would say you are not far off.
  • travisstrick
    travisstrick Posts: 5,002
    Do not fear. 13lber may take 18 or so hours. +1 with Jason, check your thermos 

    Be careful, man! I've got a beverage here.
  • I feel like my DigiQ is pretty accurate.  I'm gonna try to sneak off from work in a while and go home and check it with a second thermometer (second opinion).  Now I can see why the wifi kind would be nice.  But mine was  freebie so I'm not complaining.
  • Now its 4:00 and the brisket is still only reading 165.  Dang, slowest brisket ever!
  • You had one of those long stalls, it happens. Foil it and push your temp up. Cook to temp and then finish the last bit out of foil to harden your bark. You got this...



    "Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity, and are able to turn both to their advantage."

  • Not planning on eating until 7:30, but I'd like it to be done by 6:30 so it can rest an hour.  Hopefully it is now out of the stall and will get to 195 in 2.5 hours.  Grill temp has been at 275 since 1:20.
  • tazcrash
    tazcrash Posts: 1,852
    +1 on foiling that trouble maker.
    Bx - > NJ ->TX!!! 
    All to get cheaper brisket! 
  • cazzy
    cazzy Posts: 9,136
    edited August 2012
    It doesn't need to rest. Moisture doesn't have to redistribute like a steak. What you think is moisture is gelatin so you'll be fine to get after it.
    Just a hack that makes some $hitty BBQ....
  • This is the first time I heard you don't have to rest a brisket!
  • cazzy
    cazzy Posts: 9,136
    Stike made a very convincing post about why you don't have to. I just did a brisket this weekend and I followed his advice. Best brisket I've Done thus far. I hate the flat and I even liked the flat this go around.

    The proof is in the pudding so I just say...compare the difference and form your own opinion.

    I'm sure many will be on different sides of the bubble on resting briskest and butts.
    Just a hack that makes some $hitty BBQ....
  • Mighty_Quinn
    Mighty_Quinn Posts: 1,878
    The rest in briskets and butts is just to keep warm if done before ready to serve...cazzy is right about the moisture thing.
  • cazzy
    cazzy Posts: 9,136
    the post that changed my stance on resting butts or brisket

     Posts: 15,320
    the idea of resting originated from resting a roast or a steak.  even then, you wouldn't rest a roast (or steak) under foil or  in an insulated environment, because it would keep cooking. 

    people here it seems (old forum, actually) started to conflate the two separate ideas: resting a roast; and keeping pulled pork warm when it's done early by wrapping in a cooler. they are unrelated ideas, but they got melded.

    it's been said that "juices" redistribute in a resting steak/roast.  not quite what is happening.  the roast cools, and that means less juice flows out when cut.  the cooler the meat is, the better able it is at holding juices in.  imagine the roast as leftovers in the fridge the next day.  juice is still there, but it certainly isn't running out when you cut a slice.

    so, we rest in order to allow the meat to continue cooking a bit (carryover) and then to actually cool.  that's why a half hour rest for a roast is often what's suggested.  takes a while.

    barbecue isn't moist because of juices in the meat.  those juices are mostly long driven off by overcooking the meat to 200 or so.  there's SOME moisture from water in the meat, but not as much as if you'd stopped cooking it at 140, and sliced it.  but then, for ribs or PP, it'd be tough.  so we overcook it, the moisture is unfortunately driven off (mostly), but the meat falls apart.  the melted fat and gelatin (from converted collagen) 're-wet' the meat in a sense.  fooling you into thinking it is moist (from water).  it's not really.  

    so, if you wrap and rest barbecue, you will steam it a bit, softening the bark.  the non-existent juices aren't there to rest, and the meat is well overcooked anyway, so no need to care about carryover.

    eat it right away.  or maybe allow the pulled pork to cool before shredding (i don't though).  if you try to allow it to cool in a cooler, you're fighting logic. it'll stay warm.

    and so that's why it's done.  simply to keep it warm.  your butt is done 4 hours before the guests arrive? cooler it.  it'll be piping hot four hours later.

    but it is ready to eat, and (IMHO) at its peak quality, the moment it comes off the BGE

    Just a hack that makes some $hitty BBQ....
  • JWBurns
    JWBurns Posts: 344
    Well, how'd it come out??
  • Pretty awesome actually. Best I've done so far. When it got to 6:30 and it still read 180 I put it in the oven at 350 to finish it off. I was hungry and it smelled to good to wait any longer.

    Lesson learned: smoke at 275 grill temp.
  • There you go. Also, no reason to transfer to the oven, just bump the egg up to 350 to finish. Glad it worked out and sounds like you are all on your way to brisket mastery. Show all the E. TX pork eaters what real BBQ is all about :)
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • And when you put BBQ in a cooler, it's a hold, not a rest. You are just tying to keep it warm. It's kind of symantics but you are really trying to accomplish 2 different things
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • I had to resort to the oven because the BGE had been cooking for about 20 hours and couldn't muster the strength to get up to 350.  It had done all it could do.  Next time I'm going to start at 275 to begin with.  It should lower the cooking time quite a bit I would think.
  • brewbq
    brewbq Posts: 52
    You can avoid the Stall if you foil at around 150. Unfortunately, you'll also soften the crust which is desirable by many. Most of the guys on here recommend just waiting through it, and i agree. If you are rushed though, foiling is an option. You can also take it our of the foil at about 180 and finish on the egg to try to rebuild the crust.
  • I had similar problems on the first few long cooks I did with my new DigiQ. Problem was I had clipped pit probe to the dome thermo. I was actually cooking at 30 degrees lower than I thought. Pretty hard to get to 190 when your only cooking at 195-200! I now place it ~1 inch away from the meat; works like a charm. Rookie mistake!