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Brisket Again,

I just finished thawing out a 16.5 lb packer and I plan on trimming it up and applying rub in the morning after I get off work. I want to cook it overnight while I am at work using my stoker to control the egg. I need the brisket to be ready around 5 pm friday to slice it up and refreeze in food saver bags for my lunches at work later.( I am the only one that eats brisket in my house)  What would be the best time thursday to put it on the egg and what temp? I'm Gonna use OO up to the top of the fire ring to make sure I have enough charcoal for a long burn and a few chunks of hickory.

Cleveland, TN.

LG BGE, PSWOO2, Stoker WIFI.

Comments

  • SGH
    SGH Posts: 28,791
    There are many solutions but im going to offer this one as it is very easy and fool proof. Not saying you are a fool brother so please don't misunderstand that. When cooking brisket and you have limited time to tend to or watch the cook I go low and slow for obvious reasons that need no further explanation. I always give myself a 24 hour window of time. The reason for this it gives you ample time to make final adjustments during the last few hours of the cook if needed. Also if the cook completes on schedule there are ways of holding a cooked brisket for many, many hours with out sacrificing quality. I will explain that later if the need arises. So all that being said this is what I would do. Please remember that this is just my opinion and how I personally  do it. If you are targeting 5:00pm Friday I would have my egg up to temp and stabilized at 5:00pm Thursday. At 5:00pm Thursday load your brisket into a preheated and well stabilized egg at 215-225 degree egg. I usually start with the former and work toward the latter or higher if needed toward the end of the cook. Now understand that no two meats cook identical but in the 225 degree arena you should be very close to 24 hours of dwell time give or take a few depending on several factors that I have covered in other post so I wont go into them here unless needed. If your brisket finishes early you can safely and easily hold it at 150 for many hours until ready to eat. I can give detail on this again if needed but I have covered it in other post as well. If your brisket seems to be lagging behind in the final hours you can start bringing the temp up as needed to finish on time. I like to this if the need arises in the final 1/3 of the cooking. Just seems to work for me so I stick with it. The 24 hour 225 degree rule buys you a lot of adjustment time and hold time just depending on how the meat in question responds. Again if you need further direction on holding the brisket if it finishes early just ask. I will be more than glad to offer what help that I can. Also if you are not sure when and how to start bumping temp if the need arises by all means just ask and I will be more than glad to offer what I can. I hope I have answered your question my friend and if you need further direction just ask. Good luck brother. Oh and please remember if you chose to try this method be sure to stay at or below 225 degrees for the first 15 hours. This way you give yourself a huge window to adjust for a longer or shorter cook depending on how the meat responds.

    Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.

    Status- Standing by.

    The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. 

  • bo_mull
    bo_mull Posts: 363
    @SGH Thanks, I am not going to eat it right away so the window to finish should be a large one, anywhere from 3pm to 8pm. I'm just going to slice it up later and freeze. 215 @ 5pm sounds good to me and like you said I can always bump up to finish. My main concern is it finishing too early while I am sleeping. If it finishes later than 6 then I can always refrigerate it and slice it the next day after I get off work. I don't own a maverick and nobody will be at home to wake me up when its close to time to pull it So if I get it on at 5pm then I need it to cook at least 22 hours but no more than 27 hours.

    Cleveland, TN.

    LG BGE, PSWOO2, Stoker WIFI.

  • SGH
    SGH Posts: 28,791

    @bo_mull

    One last thing. I just re-read your post and wanted to say be carful with the hickory if you are not accustomed to cooking with it. More meat has probably been ruined by hickory and mesquite than all other woods combined. This is not to say that they are not great woods it just takes patience and practice to master them. Some of the best brisket ever made was cooked in south west Texas over mesquite but those fellows have been using it since time was first recorded. Again they are both great smoking woods but can become over powering or bitter real fast in inexperienced hands. My personal favorite is a 50/50 mix of oak and pecan. Proceed with caution my friend and as always good luck.

    Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.

    Status- Standing by.

    The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. 

  • SGH
    SGH Posts: 28,791

    @bo_mull  

    One last thing that I forgot to mention. The recommended temps are for the grid not the dome. When cooking large primals and subprimals the dome temp becomes irrelevant.The only time it plays a factor is if you start to encroach into the dome which should be avoided on long low and slow cooks as you do not want to be imparting reflective heat to the top side of the meat. This can cause over cooking to the top side and affect texture dramatically. Again on shorter cooks this is not a issue but you are shooting for a particular finish time and you don't want to do any thing that will affect your set time. Encroaching into the dome can and will do that very thing. Again I hope this helps and good luck my friend.

    Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.

    Status- Standing by.

    The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. 

  • SGH
    SGH Posts: 28,791
    If you don't mind holding it for a while or bumping temps to finish which ever way it works out you can start as late as 9:00pm but be warned you may or may not have to start raising temp to finish. You are not trying to win a comp, that being said you can adjust as needed at will and still turn out a superior product almost every time.

    Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.

    Status- Standing by.

    The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. 

  • SGH
    SGH Posts: 28,791
    bo_mull said:
    @SGH Thanks,

    You are more than welcome my friend. I hope this helps in some way.

    Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.

    Status- Standing by.

    The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. 

  • bo_mull
    bo_mull Posts: 363
    @SGH Thanks again, Yes I will be using grate temp to cook with since I am using the stoker. You also mentioned about encroaching in the dome. My brisket is too long for the egg so I planned to set my rib rack underneath the brisket to make it fit. I wonder if this will put it too high in the dome?  I could possibly fire up my stick burner for about 3 hours and maybe get the smoke flavor I want and possibly shrink it some before I put it on the egg to finish.

    Cleveland, TN.

    LG BGE, PSWOO2, Stoker WIFI.

  • SGH
    SGH Posts: 28,791

    @bo_mull


    I find as long as you can keep 4 inches or more you are good at these low temps. The higher the temp the more clearance you need.

    Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.

    Status- Standing by.

    The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. 

  • SGH
    SGH Posts: 28,791
    bo_mull said:
      I could possibly fire up my stick burner for about 3 hours 
    That's never a bad idea brother!!!!

    Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.

    Status- Standing by.

    The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. 

  • bo_mull
    bo_mull Posts: 363
    SGH said:
    bo_mull said:
      I could possibly fire up my stick burner for about 3 hours 
    That's never a bad idea brother!!!!
    This might be my plan after all.

    Cleveland, TN.

    LG BGE, PSWOO2, Stoker WIFI.

  • KenfromMI
    KenfromMI Posts: 742
    I agree with the hickory comment. I've been smoking BBQ for about 9 years and I don't even keep hickory in the arsenal and haven't for years. I switched over a long time ago to other woods and everyone said it was my best this and best that etc when they came over for dinner. That being said the only thing I changed was smoke wood, used the same rubs, same sauces etc. If I want something close I use pecan. My favorite is cherry, followed by apple though. For fish I switched to sugar maple and everyone raves about it.   
    Dearborn MI
  • NPHuskerFL
    NPHuskerFL Posts: 17,629
    edited May 2014
    @bo_mull‌... Wait a second here>>> "16.5# packer brisky I am the only one that eats brisket in my house". Are you sharing this or is this ALL YOURS? Just curious :-)
    LBGE 2013 & MM 2014
    Die Hard HUSKER & BRONCO FAN
    Flying Low & Slow in "Da Burg" FL
  • bo_mull
    bo_mull Posts: 363
    It is all mine. I vacuum pack in small portions for my lunches at work.

    Cleveland, TN.

    LG BGE, PSWOO2, Stoker WIFI.

  • cazzy
    cazzy Posts: 9,136
    I'd make sure to keep your stoker alarm near you.  While I think you'll be fine through the night, crazier things have happened.  I've seen peeps put there brisket on at 10pm and wake up to an overcooked brisket.  You have a big hunk of meat, so i'm sure you'll be good.  

    I'd have that bad boy done in 14 hours, but I'm not a pro like SGH so he'll lead you right.  

    Good luck!
    Just a hack that makes some $hitty BBQ....
  • bo_mull
    bo_mull Posts: 363
    Thanks @Cazzy but I'm 7 miles away from my egg at work right now. I just checked and the brisket temp is at 129 and the pit temp is at 214.8. I hope I hit the stall for a for a while, cause I still got 7 more hours here at work.

    Cleveland, TN.

    LG BGE, PSWOO2, Stoker WIFI.

  • cazzy
    cazzy Posts: 9,136
    You will hit it hard...that low, you'll cook that thing forever.
    Just a hack that makes some $hitty BBQ....
  • bo_mull
    bo_mull Posts: 363
    Thanks @Cazzy, Good to know that, I'm running at 215 grate and  around 230 dome when I left the house.

    Cleveland, TN.

    LG BGE, PSWOO2, Stoker WIFI.

  • bo_mull
    bo_mull Posts: 363
    It's 4:30 am here and the egg has been holding at 215 since 6:30 pm. 10 hours so far and the brisket is at 157 degrees in the thickest part of the flat. It has been in the mid 150's for the last few hours.

    Cleveland, TN.

    LG BGE, PSWOO2, Stoker WIFI.

  • grege345
    grege345 Posts: 3,515
    What time you plan on eating this thing?
    LBGE& SBGE———————————————•———————– Pennsylvania / poconos

  • grege345
    grege345 Posts: 3,515
    Never mind. Saw 5pm. I think your in good shape. I'd let it roll and tweak at noon if need be. Good luck
    LBGE& SBGE———————————————•———————– Pennsylvania / poconos

  • bo_mull
    bo_mull Posts: 363

    19 hours @ 215. This brisket is done

    Will post pics later

    Cleveland, TN.

    LG BGE, PSWOO2, Stoker WIFI.

  • SGH
    SGH Posts: 28,791
    @bo_mull‌
    Hey my friend how did your brisket turn out? Was you able to time out close to where you wanted? Hope it was a success.

    Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.

    Status- Standing by.

    The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. 

  • bo_mull
    bo_mull Posts: 363
    @SGH Well the flat was a little dry and the point was mostly fat. I came down with the flu that night at work and felt like crap the next day, when the brisket was done so I just cut it up and vacuumed packed all of it. I thawed some of it out last week and it was pretty good. I think I will just stick with flats from now on and leave the packers to the pros.

    Cleveland, TN.

    LG BGE, PSWOO2, Stoker WIFI.

  • SGH
    SGH Posts: 28,791
    @bo_mull‌
    Brother don't give up on the packers. If you do you are depriving yourself of some of the most enjoyable eats there is. Nobody hits it perfect every time. No one. Brisket takes practice and patience and then more practice. When you figure out what it is you are looking for when cooking brisket it will become much easier I assure you. But even then you will still produce less than perfect briskets at times. Just the nature of the beast. You refer to leaving the packers to the pros. That being said if the pros will be honest even they can't produce a perfect 10 brisket every time. If you remove whole goat from the equation, brisket is without question the hardest meat to master. But once you do you will be glad that you didn't give up my friend. Good luck in the future and keep cooking packers my friend.

    Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.

    Status- Standing by.

    The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out.