Will This Brisket Plan Work?

[HogFan]

We are getting together with friends (two other families) tomorrow night to celebrate the coming New Year. I'm thinking of smoking a brisket for the party at 7:00 PM tomorrow evening. Only problem.......I work tomorrow. But.......I will be home for lunch (and can probably take a little longer lunch than normal tomorrow) and I'm off work early at 3:00 PM so I'll be home by 3:15.

So I'm thinking about preping the brisket tonight, come home at lunch tomorrow at 11:15AM and fireup the UDS, once it stabilizes at 300F-325F connect my IQ-110 temp controller, and toss the brisket on hopefully around noon (13.5lb is the weight on the package). When I get home around 3:00PM, I would wrap the brisket in butcher paper and hopefully be ready to pull it around 5:30-6:30 PM.

So is that doable? An additional piece of info, my 17 year old daughter will be here to monitor things while I am at work so that takes a bit of pressure off. Should I use 325F or 300F as my cook temp? I had rather be done early as late so I'm leaning toward 325F as it won't be done before I get home.

Finally, has anyone tried the Mountain Man Bourban Rub rub from Cabelas on a brisket? If so, how did it turn out? I have some on-hand and I I've wanted to try it on brisket. Not sure if I should try something new on friends or not........but if not, I'll go back to my proven rub which is Peppered Cow.

[HogFan]

One other thing, I'm thinking of salting the brisket tonight with course sea salt. I wasn't planning to add the rub till tomorrow while the UDS is coming up to temp.

[Bludawg]

Figure 45 min lb and you will be good the last one I did was 13 lb at 300 deg 4 hrs neked and finished in BP probe tender 2 hrs later. let it rest for 2.5 hrs. or 8.5 hrs total.

[centexsmoker]

how big is the brisket? What temp are you cooking at? Seems like you aren't giving yourself enough time but let's hear the stats first

[HogFan]

13.5lb brisket, probably 325F......or I might could go to 350F if it would help. I've not tried to achieve high temps in my UDS while it's cold outside so I'm guessing I can achieve this temp with my IQ-110 (hit 350F in the summer without issue). I'll use Ozark Oak lump.

[centexsmoker]

Originally Posted by HogFan

13.5lb brisket, probably 325F......or I might could go to 350F if it would help. I've not tried to achieve high temps in my UDS while it's cold outside so I'm guessing I can achieve this temp with my IQ-110 (hit 350F in the summer without issue). I'll use Ozark Oak lump.

OK several issues here: You aren't giving yourself near enough time. You really need to count on an hr per lb around 300 if that is where you like to cook. As you are probably aware, not all briskets behave the same way. One could take 45 minutes while another takes 1:15 per lb.

2nd: you have no idea what temp your rig will hold in these temps. Better do a trial run tonight to see how high it will go and for how long.

If it were me, I would do the test run tonight and see what that does for you. If you can hold temps, you need to put this brisket on at like 5am to ensure a 7pm dinner. Still pushing it in my book but you could force it through once you got home from work at 3

[sfisch]

You also want to add in at least 1-2 hrs of resting time for that brisket. Very important.

[centexsmoker]

Originally Posted by sfisch

You also want to add in at least 1-2 hrs of resting time for that brisket. Very important.

totally agree. Hard to get to 7pm dinner with this math. I would try to do it overnight low and slow (like 250) and hold it in a cooler after you get home from work.

If not, you are going to have to get up really early and trust that you can hold temps in your absence and in cold weather.

You are pushing it. I've done it many times and it can be more frustrating than it's worth. On the other hand, if you nail it, happy new year to you.

[HogFan]

The overnight suggestion is a good one. Let me think about that.

Thanks!

[centexsmoker]

Originally Posted by HogFan

The overnight suggestion is a good one. Let me think about that.

Thanks!

that will give you the best shot. might not get a lot of sleep if you aren't sure of your temps, but if your fire goes out, you can fire it up again early and then crutch it (foil) if you need to in order to push it home when you get home from work in the PM.

[sfisch]

If you do it overnight and it gets done really early, slice it up, leave it in the juices and re-heat it later in the day.

[centexsmoker]

Originally Posted by sfisch

If you do it overnight and it gets done really early, slice it up, leave it in the juices and re-heat it later in the day.

I am of the school that you never slice a brisket until you are ready to serve it. you can save it in a cooler for 4-6 hours easily.

[luke duke]

Plan for 30min/lb @ 300F + time for rest

[centexsmoker]

Originally Posted by luke duke

Plan for 30min/lb @ 300F + time for rest

Maybe I'm missing something but I've done hundreds of briskets and I've never cooked one at 30 minutes per at those temps. how do you get them done so fast?

[gettinbasted]

Prep it tonight and put it on at 6am at 325, lay out the foil/butcher paper and have your daughter wrap it at 9, finally, pull it and cooler it at 11:30 when you are home for lunch. I have made some money on this exact time line at competitions. Like the people said before, the rest is crucial, but you can get that brisket done by lunch with a little help.