17 packer on large BGE

Dubblbubbl · May 2020

I’m about to do the first brisket (17 pound untrimmed) on my new large BGE and have a couple of questions. I want to cook it at 250 and based on 1:00-1:15 per pound and I’m looking at a 15-20 hour cook assuming 2lbs of trimmings. This was the best looking brisket in the case at Costco, anything smaller didn’t look near as well marbled.

So how to get a 20 hour 250 degree burn on the BGE? I really want to keep this one low and slow to see what the BGE can do.

I am thinking about wrapping at the stall to save some cook time. How much time could this save?

Now to find butcher paper.

johnnyp · May 2020

1) Getting the long burn- fill ‘er up. As much charcoal as you can get under the plate setter, do it.

2) how much time does wrapping save- it’ll work through the stall faster. I’d imagine it would shave a couple hours off. Unsure how to calculate anything specific for you.

Good luck

bradleya123 · May 2020

Welcome aboard!! I'm doing a full brisket this weekend as well! I smoke mine at 225 deg for ever how long it takes. Never wrap my briskets just let go until the meat is done, remember the meat drives the cook!

Foghorn · May 2020

Wrapping in butcher paper probably won't affect the timing enough to worry about - unless you do it really early in the cook. Of those of us who use it, most wrap after they are happy with the bark - which typically be a little while after it comes out of the stall.

With regard to your question about timing, for big briskets (I recently did a 19.9 pounder) I usually start the egg sometime the night before and get it set with minimal airflow and see where it settles - which is usually 220-240. I put the brisket on right before I go to bed (usually about 11 PM) and then don't worry about temp (after putting a big hunk of meat like that on, the dome temp will sometimes read 180 or so - but I chalk that up to "there's a big piece of cold meat not very far from the temperature probe). I wake up whenever I wake up - usually around 6 AM and check on things. Then I have the option of adjusting the vents - or not, or wrapping - or not, depending on how it looks and my target time for feeding folks.

TN_Egger · May 2020

Load up selectively. Larger chunks of lump is key for a long burn.

ColbyLang · May 2020

good luck with fitting that hunk of beef in a Large. Did a 15.5 pre trimmed the other day on a large at our camp. Had to drape it over a rib rack to make it fit and remove the dome thermometer. Cooked in 10.5 hours. Prime from Costco as well.

Good luck with your smoke, fill the fire box to the plate setter with lump and let er rip.

brentm · May 2020

You should probably consider an automatic temperature controller, if you're worried about the temperature.

Don't let that oil cook under the brisket for THAT long. It'll wear out and start smoking and give your food a nasty taste. Others will disagree. Let your eyes and nose be the judge.

dmourati · May 2020

Hmm. I'm considering doing something similar. My last two brisket cooks have felt rushed and I had to crank up the temps. If I put one one Saturday night late I could keep the temps more reasonable and hopefully build a better bark.

unoriginalusername · May 2020

ColbyLang said:

good luck with fitting that hunk of beef in a Large. Did a 15.5 pre trimmed the other day on a large at our camp. Had to drape it over a rib rack to make it fit and remove the dome thermometer. Cooked in 10.5 hours. Prime from Costco as well.

Good luck with your smoke, fill the fire box to the plate setter with lump and let er rip.

This is how I get a 22" brisket to fit on an 18" grid. Use a v-rack for the first few hours

https://youtu.be/Nco-3gEUj6w

Dubblbubbl · May 2020

Gonna bump my own post with an update from the cook.

Started the fire about 5:30pm last night and put the trimmed brisket on at 6:15. Dome temp was stable at 250, ambient temp was around 65 degrees. The grid temp slowly came up after putting the meat on to stabilize around 265. Shut the vents to about 1/2 inch and went to bed. Checked the temps at midnight and the grid was showing 270, dome was at 260, figured I hit a hot spot. The meat was at 160 and the bark wasn’t there yet. Shut the vents to 1/4.

Checked again at 2am and the meat was at 175 so I had powered through the stall. Grid and dome temps were both around 250. Wrapped with butcher paper because the bark was right. The meat was looking really good at this point.

Kept an eye on the temps and pulled it when it hit 205 at 4am. Wrapped in a towel and into the cooler.

So this turned into a turbo cook based on the speed at which the meat was done, but I don’t think I lost anything due to the elevated cook temp. I ended up trimming 3lbs and that brought the trimmed weight to 14. It fit on the large BGE but had no room to spare, actually had to coax it a bit. I used an 11x16 disposable aluminum serving pan which covered the entire plate setter but left plenty of room for airflow. The nice thing was all of the brisket was protected from direct heat with this large drip pan.

Now the problem. I have a brisket ready to go, it’s been resting 4 hours now but dinner isn’t until 6pm, 10 hours away. I was prepared for a 20 hour cook, but the joke’s on me. What is the best way to keep the meat for 10 hours and not lose any juicy goodness? Can I refrigerate now and then reheat the brisket in a 250 oven when ready? Should I slice it up for serving and handle it that way?

I have been reviewing the Smoke graphs and it looks like my grid temps were running at 265-280 the majority of the early cook. Then they settled down to the 250-260 range when I closed the vents to 1/4 inch. That explains the speed. But I don’t think I sacrificed any tenderness.

Foghorn · May 2020

You have 2 options.

1) Keep it above 140 degrees until serving time. This is hard to do for 10 hours without drying it out. If you have a good cooler and can preheat it you might make it.

2) Refrigerate it until about 2 hours before serving time and reheat it in the oven while wrapped in foil (to preserve moisture).

Good luck.

17 packer on large BGE

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