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My first....brisket

GrillnTX
GrillnTX Posts: 65
in EggHead Forum
After spending a few hours reading every article on brisket I could find, I bought my drip pan, laid it on top of 4 nuts (suggestion I found on this site) and placed my rubbed brisket on the grill. I put in on around 11PM and the temp was reading right around 235. I couldn't wait to wake up to a beautiful 160 internal temp. Instead, I woke up to a grill showing a temp of 400 degrees and an internal temp of 200. Has anyone else every experienced this? I immediately took it off, wrapped it in foil, poured a cup of coffee on it and placed it in my cooler wrapped in a towel. We ate it about 8 hours later and while it wasn't the worst brisket I've ever eaten, it was far from the best. Has anyone else experienced this? My best guess as to what happened is I didn't let all my coals catch and throughout the night as my fire expanded the heat raised. Here are some pics (before and after).


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Comments

  • DaveRichardson
    DaveRichardson Posts: 2,324
    maybe the drip pain over flowed and spilled over, igniting more coals?

    LBGE since 2014

    Griffin, GA 

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  • MeTed
    MeTed Posts: 800
    OH Yea it has happened to me, but not quite so bad. I now watch the fire for about 4 hours or more before sleeping. Obviously drinking the whole time. The fire needs to stabilize before you can leave it alone while sleeping.
    Belleville, Michigan

    Just burnin lump in Sumpter
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  • Grillin_beers
    Grillin_beers Posts: 1,345
    You probably have a pretty serious air gap.  Do the dollar bill test and adjust your screws accordingly. 
    1 large BGE, Spartanburg SC

    My dog thinks I'm a grilling god. 
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  • FearlessTheEggNoob
    FearlessTheEggNoob Posts: 888
    Did you put water/liquid in the drip pan?
    Gittin' there...
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  • theyolksonyou
    theyolksonyou Posts: 18,459
    If I'm going to sleep thru the cook, stable temp at 270 or  above(no controller) for an hour, meat on, stable for an hour or more. Pass out with maverick at my side. 
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  • pescadorzih
    pescadorzih Posts: 926
    That is why I bought the BBQ GURU. It holds temp all night long and I get plenty of shut eye. 
    SE PA
    XL, Lg, Mini max and OKJ offset
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  • Hawg Fan
    Hawg Fan Posts: 1,517
    I've woke up in the middle of the night many times and found my dome temp less than 200 and nursed the fire back to 235.  I bought a BBQ Guru a couple of years ago and sleep all night now.

    Any road will take you there if you don't know where you're going.

    Terry

    Rockwall, TX
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  • GrillnTX
    GrillnTX Posts: 65
    I guess I didn't mention this but I'm new to the BGE so I only understand half of the comments, haha. I didn't put anything in the drip pan and it was almost full but not spilling over. What's the dollar bill test and what's a BBQ Guru?? If I really need to be constantly checking my temp every 30-60 mins, how do you do it without waking up at 4AM?
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  • Trixie_Belle
    Trixie_Belle Posts: 163
    BBQ Guru
    https://bbqguru.com/

    BGE novice...A Southern Belle living in Seattle.  
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  • GrillnTX
    GrillnTX Posts: 65
    WOW! Looks incredible. Until I cooked this brisket I've never had any temp issues so I'm not sure I want to make this big of an investment basically just for brisket which I won't be cooking all that often. 
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  • TexanOfTheNorth
    TexanOfTheNorth Posts: 3,951
    Dollar bill test... put a dollar bill between the (closed) lid and bottom rim. It should not move freely when you try to pull it out. I would guess that your problem was more in not letting the temp settle in than an air gap though.

    Can you provide more info on the process you used to light your egg and how you got yourself up to temp.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Well, "spa-Peggy" is kind of like spaghetti. I'm not sure what Peggy does different, if anything. But it's the one dish she's kind of made her own.
    ____________________
    Aurora, Ontario, Canada
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  • Ladeback69
    Ladeback69 Posts: 4,484
    @GrillnTX, how long was the egg at 235 before you put the brisket on and did you wait for an hour after putting it on to see if was going to stay 235?  What were your vent settings?  They should have been between 1/8" to a 1/4" on both the top and bottom to keep it at 235, that is if you caught it at the right time.  The big thing is to make sure you stabilize the egg first before putting the meat on and don't touch your setting for at least 30 to 60 minutes unless it is really dropping or going up.  Also make sure you have a big enough drip pan.  
    XL, WSM, Coleman Road Trip Gas Grill

    Kansas City, Mo.
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  • jak7028
    jak7028 Posts: 231
    BBQ guru is nice, but it is expensive.  For overnight cooks a just use thermometer with an alarm.  

    Get your fire set right, let it burn for usually an hour at a stable temp.  Put the meat it and wait usually another hour or so to make sure your temp is dialed in.

    For 235, Set a range on your alarm from 215-260 and go to sleep.  If it goes outside of that range, it will wake you up.  

    I have done this three times, twice the alarm went off because temp was too low.  I opened the vent about 1/8" and went back to bed.  The other time, it never went off and stayed in the range.

    Once BGE stabilizes, it holds and maintains heat so well.  I havent seen a need for the more expensive toys, the alarms is plenty for me.
    Victoria, TX - 1 Large BGE and a 36" Blackstone
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  • henapple
    henapple Posts: 16,025
    The drip pan is really small...use a roaster pan...or a deep-dish pizza pan. It'll come around 
    Green egg, dead animal and alcohol. The "Boro".. TN 
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  • Ladeback69
    Ladeback69 Posts: 4,484
    edited June 2015
    jak7028 said:
    BBQ guru is nice, but it is expensive.  For overnight cooks a just use thermometer with an alarm.  

    Get your fire set right, let it burn for usually an hour at a stable temp.  Put the meat it and wait usually another hour or so to make sure your temp is dialed in.

    For 235, Set a range on your alarm from 215-260 and go to sleep.  If it goes outside of that range, it will wake you up.  

    I have done this three times, twice the alarm went off because temp was too low.  I opened the vent about 1/8" and went back to bed.  The other time, it never went off and stayed in the range.

    Once BGE stabilizes, it holds and maintains heat so well.  I havent seen a need for the more expensive toys, the alarms is plenty for me.
    I have an Ivation which is like the Maverick and it works most of the time, but it sometimes loses connection and will start beeping.  I just turn it off.  It says it will go up to 300', but that is line of site and it doesn't like going through walls.  My bedroom is only 60' away from my egg.  I hear the Maverick ET-735 is better.  It's bluetooth.  I have been looking at the Pitmaster IQ120 and the Flame Boss too for controllers.

    XL, WSM, Coleman Road Trip Gas Grill

    Kansas City, Mo.
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  • buzd504
    buzd504 Posts: 3,878
    DaveRichardson said:
    maybe the drip pain over flowed and spilled over, igniting more coals?

    More fuel shouldn't generate more fire with equivalent air flow.  More smoke, perhaps.
    NOLA
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  • TexanOfTheNorth
    TexanOfTheNorth Posts: 3,951
    buzd504 said:
    DaveRichardson said:
    maybe the drip pain over flowed and spilled over, igniting more coals?

    More fuel shouldn't generate more fire with equivalent air flow.  More smoke, perhaps.
    Just to clarify... more fuel may not generate more fire (i.e., heat) but more burning fuel usually will. For that reason, when I do low & slow, I generally only light in one spot as opposed to multiple locations for hotter/faster cooks.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Well, "spa-Peggy" is kind of like spaghetti. I'm not sure what Peggy does different, if anything. But it's the one dish she's kind of made her own.
    ____________________
    Aurora, Ontario, Canada
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  • pescadorzih
    pescadorzih Posts: 926
    Ladeback69 said:I have an Ivation which is like the Maverick and it works most of the time, but it sometimes loses connection and will start beeping.  I just turn it off.  It says it will go up to 300', but that is line of site and it doesn't like going through walls.  My bedroom is only 60' away from my egg.  I hear the Maverick ET-735 is better.  It's bluetooth.  I have been looking at the Pitmaster IQ120 and the Flame Boss too for controllers.

    I had a Maverick and it kept dropping out on me even though it was only 20ft away. I took it back and bought the guru. Only had to go through 1 wall.
    SE PA
    XL, Lg, Mini max and OKJ offset
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  • GrillnTX
    GrillnTX Posts: 65
    To answer some of your questions, I use the BGE fire starters (1 cube) and I let it get up to temp and put my meat on after about 30 mins. I find it takes a long time for all of my coals to catch but for now it's my only option. My vents were closed most of the way. I also filled my firebox as I didn't want to run out of coals mid-way through. Next time I'm going to wait at least 1 hour before putting my meat on. Hopefully that'll do the trick!
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  • TexanOfTheNorth
    TexanOfTheNorth Posts: 3,951
    Yes, probably not enough time to ensure that you were settled in at the correct temp. Plus, some will keep an eye on temps for an hour or more after meat goes on. Use that time whatever way suits you... many use it to consume adult beverages but, really, anything will do.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Well, "spa-Peggy" is kind of like spaghetti. I'm not sure what Peggy does different, if anything. But it's the one dish she's kind of made her own.
    ____________________
    Aurora, Ontario, Canada
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  • gamason
    gamason Posts: 406

    Just curious, what was the weather like. I had everything going great on one of my first overnight cooks and after I went off to bed the wind picked up to about 15-20 mph. I didn't think about how that affected my temps till the next day. But even with the vents barely open if the wind kicks up it will drive your temps up. Just something to think about.

    Snellville,Ga.

    LBGE

    Minimax

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  • saluki2007
    saluki2007 Posts: 6,354
    Sounds like you didn't let your fire stabilize long enough.  I would also suggest cooking in the 250-270 range.  Less likely to flame out in my experience.
    Large and Small BGE
    Central, IL

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  • GrillnTX
    GrillnTX Posts: 65
    Wind factor is definitely not something I considered. Thanks for all the comments everyone. To say it's been helpful is an understatement
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