Getting geared up for an overnight brisket - some questions (pr0n)

[hominamad]

Hey everyone - picked up what I thought was a nice looking packer at Rest. Depot. 14 lbs. angus. Felt really good but not too much marbeling on the flat. Is this an indicator that it might not be great?

I got it trimmed up, dusted with s&p and its now sitting in the fridge for a few hours waiting to go on.

My question is, what time should I get this thing started if I want to be read to eat around 3pm the next day? How long can it hold in a cooler without getting dried out?

I trimmed off a decent amount of fat - maybe even a pound or so. So I'm now around 13 lbs. I guess if I figure an hour per lb approximately, I could put it on around 12 and have an hour or two to sit? What would you guys do?

Btw, I plan on cooking slow - going to try to keep it around 250 range.

Also, I'm using a kettle and still can't decide if I should use my smokenator or ring of fire method. I want the most sleep possible of course. I know the ring of fire can go really long but I'm worried that too much of the meat will overhang the lit coals and get dried out or burnt. Any opinions on this?

Thanks!

Some pics below...

no marbleing???

 

[DeepElemCue]

I'm no expert and others here could tell you better, but that looks like a huge cut of meat for slow and low on the kettle. Have you ever done anything sizable on the kettle before?

 

[hominamad]

I've done two sizeable lamb shoulders and very large prime ribs. Also done brisket once before but it was a large flat. This is the first packer.

 

[jasonjax]

Top shot doesn't look too bad marbeling wise. The great thing about a big hunk of meat like that is that it will last for hours wrapped in foil, wrapped in towels, and placed inside a cooler.

I would plan on getting done ahead and just letting it have a nice long rest which will take some of the stress of the cook off of yourself.

I think at the temp you plan to cook at you are probably spit-balling a good number for an hour per pound give or take. Just remember it is done when it is done to beat that dead horse once more. But in all seriousness, when the thick part of the flat is probing like butter you are probably good to go. Also, remember you will take a good bit of carry-over heat into the rest, and as such if you rest for a long period of time you may want to account for a bit more cooking time after you take the meat out or else vent it for a while before wrapping.

Have fun with the cook. I bet it will be delicious.

 

[hominamad]

Thanks for the tips. If it could sit in the cooler longer then I'd probably start a bit earlier. Will fire up the grill around 9, get in stable and plan to put it in around 10-1030. I think I'm going to use the smokenator without its water pan, and instead fill it to the top with briqs and keep a filled up with water aluminium bread tin next to it for moisture.

Going to wrap at 165 with bp.

 

[Smokinwright]

Never done a brisket on my kettle, but I would give at least 10-12 hours of cook time, as my weber kettle cooks a little slower with coal/wood mix. Also calculate in at least 1 hour rest time.

As far as the cut of meat, it looks pretty decent to me!

 

[grantw]

well i dont have a smokenator, so ring of fire with something under the brisket to prop it up until it shrinks anyway, then remove it and carry on. as far as is it a good brisket i live in the north where bbq in as uncomon as a pilots licence, ill just take whatever brisket i can get and they are always good, all i ever do is inject with beef broth with some rub. if you can get something large enough under that brisket and get it as far to the side as you can you will be fine with the ring of fire

 

[grantw]

once i held briskets in a cooler way longer than intended, did a wedding function and the other caterer thought it was a good idea to bring frozen meat.... it must have been in there 6 hrs at least but the cooler was pre warmed, the briskets and butts still were hot, no one got sick either....

 

[pbj]

Plan on 12 to 16 hours cook time. I am doing one the same size for eating at the same time as you. I'm putting it in at 9 PM tonight. If it's done early rest it on the counter for 1/2 hour then wrap and put in cooler. It will stay hot for hours. Remember, it's done when it probes tender - not before.

 

[hominamad]

pbj - I'm following you. I got mine in exactly at 9pm. Temp settled in at 241 starting around 830 and didn't move a degree.

Here's the thing - now I'm worried that maybe my grill probe temp is off. I have a Maverick wireless one which has been good so far. Also I just got a new Weber Performer. I know those dome thermometers are notoriously bad, but right now my Maverick says 239 and the Weber dome one is at 400. Could that be that different?

Also, my meat temp was 55 when I first put it in. Its only been about 50 minutes and the meat temp is now 102. Is that normal?

I'm just hoping that I'm not actually a lot higher than I realize. What do you guys think?

 

[hominamad]

Update: So I don't know what happened - maybe had a massive thermometer fail with the Maverick? When this is done I'm going to have to calibrate it. I somehow hit 160 on the thick part of the flat after only 2 hours. I stuck my thermapen in through the dome vent and got a reading of 305. Meanwhile, the Maverick at the grate was reading 225. I don't know what's goin on.

Now I'm not sure what to do. I was planning on wrapping it at 165 but now don't know if I should or not. I also don't know if I should proceed assuming that the Maverick is off.

I also have a pretty steamy cooking environment from the water pan. The brisket was very shiny - not sure if its from fat rendering off or from the steam in there.

I think I'm going to get a bit of sleep now, set the alarm for 175 and wrap it then. I'm also going to let it run lower b/c now I"m not sure how accurate the Maverick is.

If anyone has some tips it would be much appreciated!

 

[grantw]

wrap it when you like the colour, i have a 22 kettle bbut should be close to yours for fire management, my top vent is full open and the bottom is just cracked open when running a snake

 

[hominamad]

So I went most of the night uncovered even past 165 as it didn't have the bark I liked. I got up when it was around 175 and it had a great bark, so I wrapped it then. Was steadily keeping temps around 200 on the Maverick which I was assuming is actually around 225 (I moved the probe to a different part of the grate and it seems more in sync with the dome one now).

Also I decided to let the water run out in the pan from that point.

Woke up this morning around 8 and the temp of the bbq dropped a lot and the meat was reading around 185. When I opened the lid the coals were just about to go out. It took me around 15 min to get a new load going again and during that time the meat temp dropped down to 175 again.

So, now its been around 13 hours and the temp is just creeping up to 180. I kept it covered and added more water to pan.

Am I on track now or is this going too slow? I want to hit my target around 1 of 2 if possible.

 

[J-Rod]

Shoot for 250+ cooker temp, it'll help get you through the final stage of cookin. Sounds like right now your temps are yo-yo-ing. Also like others said let her cool a bit before wrapping tightly and putting in cooler or it'll keep cookin and WILL dry out on you.

 

[aawa]

Dont worry about the meat temperature. Wrap when the bark is the color you want, and pull off when it probes like butter. If you are trying to hit a target time of 1/2pm and it is 1045am now, you might want to ramp your temperature up so you can finish about noon/1230 and allow it to rest for a minimum of an hour before you serve.

If you can't ramp the temperature up, throw it in the oven at 300-350 and finish it up in there. Since it is wrapped, it doesn't matter where you get your heat as the wrap prevents smoke from getting to the meat.

For your maverick, test it in boiling water and ice bath. Boiling water it should read 212 give or take a degree. Ice bath it should read 32 give or take a degree. If it reads those then it is calibrated. I would believe the maverick over a thermapen that you put in through the vent. Dome temperatures tend to read hotter and the fact that you could possible be touching part of the lid (it has the possiblity of a faulty reading.)

 

[Happy Hapgood]

I'm just seeing this. As far as cooking an over sized piece of meat on a smaller grill, turn a SS bowl upside down and lay brisket over it to create a hump in the middle and tuck any overhang under the grill handles.

Here's a 16 lb'er done on my 18.5" WSM with bowl:

 

[hominamad]

Its now 11:20 and it hit 196. Grate temp around 270.

I want to start testing for doneness. Should I unrwap it to test with the probe?

 

[aawa]

Its now 11:20 and it hit 196. Grate temp around 270.

I want to start testing for doneness. Should I unrwap it to test with the probe?

No need to unwrap it to test for doneness. Just poke the probe through the paper and into the meat.

 

[hominamad]

I just unwrapped it - looks beautiful. I stock the probe in the side and to me it felt really tender. Poked all around the flat. There were one or two spots with a bit more resistance. I think I'm going to let it go another 30 min half unwrapped then take it off.