What causes a long cook time on brisket?

[EggHeadGreg]

I've cooked 3 before with no issue on my large green egg. Over the Christmas holidays I did another. I got it at Sam's. One of the nicest looking briskets I have bought. 15 lbs and I only had to trim the thick fat pockets on the side. I just use Kosher salt and course black pepper for a rub. I set my cyberQ at 275. Lit the smoker just before 4am and put the brisket on close to 5:30 am. By 1 it was in the mid 150 range. Same thing at 3pm. I decided to wrap in butcher paper because we wanted to eat around 6 to 6:30. By 6:30 it was still at 170. It didn't reach 195 until 7:30 the next morning. Close to 26 hour cook. I'm glad I filled the egg with lump because I thought it was going to burn out. I noticed my fan % had started climbing so I checked it with the probe and it was ok so I just pulled it at 195. It was starting to get a little dry in the flat the point was fine. Had a nice smoke ring and good flavor just not my best brisket. I have no idea what caused the long cook. It was cold outside in the 30's. It rained before I put it on and that cold front was moving in. Can that play a factor? I'd like to find my mistake and not repeat that. Thanks Greg.

 

[okiej]

Just my opinion and I use an offset, not an egg. But, I don't see any way at 275 it could take 26 hours. Even at 225 it should have been done. Maybe it had a lot of fat to render and the weather was somehow causing a false cooking temp. As I said, just my opinion and I am anxious to see what the real experts say

 

[EggHeadGreg]

Just my opinion and I use an offset, not an egg. But, I don't see any way at 275 it could take 26 hours. Even at 225 it should have been done. Maybe it had a lot of fat to render and the weather was somehow causing a false cooking temp. As I said, just my opinion and I am anxious to see what the real experts say

I agree. It's why I posted here. With the wind we had blowing my internal temp on the grill was really staying around 280 a lot of the time. The brisket did not have a lot of excess fat. I looked at the package good because it looked like a better grade of brisket than I had bought before but it did not have prime on it anywhere.

 

[El Ropo]

My best guess is the temp you were seeing was way higher than the actual cooking temp inside the egg at grate level. That brisket should of taken 12 hours max at an actual 275F cooking grate temp. In my experience, that size brisket cooking at 275-300F on a 22.5" WSM is an 8 to 10 hour cook (then a 2-4 hour rest). Something isn't making sense here.

 

[long haired hippie]

Just my thoughts...Perhaps this is a clue as to why "automation" is not always a good thing. Too much light it and forget it.
Put a probe through a tater & set it on the grate to give you cooking temps.
With a brisket...put the probe in the meat after 10 hrs.
Get a hammock, don't crawl into bed & expect a good smoke when you wake up.
If you want to sleep...That's why God made ovens.

 

[Ron_L]

Where did you have the CyberQ probe? 275 dome temp on am Egg is closer to 230 grate temp, but that is still too long. Have you checked the calibration of the CyberQ probe?

 

[SMOKE FREAK]

And sometimes ya just get an angry hunk of beef.

 

[4ever3]

Somethin’ ain’t adding up here...

 

[blackdogbbq21]

I would re check temp at grates something doesn't seem to be right for it to take that long.

I cook on an offset and the outside temp, wind, humidity, individual briskets are all factors but not to the extent that you experienced.

 

[WilliamKY]

From what I've read it's my belief there is something wrong with your Cyber Q.

 

[EggHeadGreg]

Where did you have the CyberQ probe? 275 dome temp on am Egg is closer to 230 grate temp, but that is still too long. Have you checked the calibration of the CyberQ probe?

I had it in the thickest part of the Point. My gauge on the egg near the dome was around 250 maybe a little under that. I can check my gauges to make sure they are working correctly. tks.

 

[guero_gordo]

Stalling at 170 for a frustratingly long time is common, but holding at 150 is odd. I cook around 270 most of the time, but on a UDS.
As others have suggested, seems like one of the probes was lying, but I wouldn't hazard a guess which one.

 

[KClandcruiser]

I had it in the thickest part of the Point. My gauge on the egg near the dome was around 250 maybe a little under that. I can check my gauges to make sure they are working correctly. tks.

I think Ron_L was talking about the ambient temp probe for your CyberQ. I'm not super familiar with those, but doesn't it have a probe at grate level to know when to open the valve/turn on the fan to regulate temps at the intake?

 

[guero_gordo]

....this is also why I have dial thermo's are on the side of my drum as a sanity check.
My own sanity never checks out, but the grate probe does match the needle

 

[toys4dlr]

Was another thermo ever used to double check the brisket. Did it probe soft. From your description, it was dry and the point was good. Sounds like the flat was over cooked and the point probably was too, but it has more fat, so it can survive. Something is off with the temps. No brisket needs that long.

 

[Smoking Piney]

At 275, there is simply NO WAY any brisket will take 26 hours to finish. It would be a large charcoal hockey puck.

It wasn't the wind or the cold - BGE's are really resistant to outside temp once that ceramic mass heats up. I've smoked on my BGE in a 40 mph blizzard and it still held temp.

Looks to me like you have a controller / probe problem here.

 

[Ron_L]

I had it in the thickest part of the Point. My gauge on the egg near the dome was around 250 maybe a little under that. I can check my gauges to make sure they are working correctly. tks.

Ok, so some temp of 250 is a grate temp around 210. 26 hours is too long, but it would take a long time to get the brisket done at 210 grate temp.

I think Ron_L was talking about the ambient temp probe for your CyberQ. I'm not super familiar with those, but doesn't it have a probe at grate level to know when to open the valve/turn on the fan to regulate temps at the intake?

Yes, that is what I was asking about. That is what the CyberQ uses to control the fan to regulate the temp.

 

[Smoking Piney]

My gauge on the egg near the dome was around 250 maybe a little under that.

"I had it in the thickest part of the Point."

Did you put the grate temp probe of the controller into the brisket?

This would explain a 26 hour cook time.

Sure reads like it.

 

[guero_gordo]

"I had it in the thickest part of the Point."

Did you put the grate temp probe of the controller into the brisket?

This would explain a 26 hour cook time.

Sure reads like it.

Wouldn't sticking a grate probe into a cold piece of meat convince the controller that the pit is about 230 degrees too cold and spin the fans to 11 ?

 

[Smoking Piney]

Wouldn't sticking a grate probe into a cold piece of meat convince the controller that the pit is about 230 degrees too cold and spin the fans to 11 ?

Given that the OP seems completely lost in this, any hard facts are not presented, it's a mystery unless the the OP provides more info or fesses up.

I'm still trying to understand his original post.