Brisket holding/reheating question

[Rev Beard]

Morning all

So my soon to be brother in law and I are cooking for my wedding rehearsal dinner today at 4. Started at 15# brisket at 2 and its been cooking hotter then we expected (325 ish most of the time). IT is at 150 already and in starting to think that we're gonna finish pretty early. I know a brisket can hold for a few hours wrapped in a cooler but I was wondering if its finishes too early and I need to reheat what the best way to do that is.

Thanks in advance all. Happy smoking.

[Smokey Mick]

Get your smoker down to 195F and hold it that way. It will come out better that holding in a cooler.
As soon as the IT gets to 180, Choke that fire down to stall the rise.
Many folk cook there colegen laden meats past the stall and then straight up to a 200F ish temp then remove.
Colegen needs time above 180F to fully break down into gelatin.
If you can get the pit down to the target temp and hold it there, Its the same as sous vide cooking. It just gets softer and softer

[ajstrider]

This doesn't exactly answer your question but just two weeks ago I cooked some pork butts that got done early and I left them wrapped in foil and towels in the cooler for seven hours before I pulled them and they were still smoking hot when I was trying to pull them. It is amazing how long they will stay hot in that cooler, and I really do think it makes them taste better.

[Smokin' D]

Did two briskets last weekend for a small competition. They were cooked at 275° - 295° and wrapped in butcher paper at 190° internal. Off the cooker at about 203° internal and into a Cambro for SEVEN hours. Done a tad early. They were still hot and jiggled like Jell-O after all that time. Delicious, juicy and 1st place too!

Long winded way of saying to cook till done and then hold in an insulated vessel. Cooling and reheating will take too much time, create extra work and, I fear, harm the final product.

[Rev Beard]

well good to know that they'll hold for that long. Luckily we got the temp back down to where we wanted it around 260-275 and its been going steady like that for a while. I'll post pics when it's done. Thanks guys

[Vision]

Did two briskets last weekend for a small competition. They were cooked at 275° - 295° and wrapped in butcher paper at 190° internal. Off the cooker at about 203° internal and into a Cambro for SEVEN hours. Done a tad early. They were still hot and jiggled like Jell-O after all that time. Delicious, juicy and 1st place too!

Long winded way of saying to cook till done and then hold in an insulated vessel. Cooling and reheating will take too much time, create extra work and, I fear, harm the final product.

What temp does a cambro hold at?

[Vision]

Get your smoker down to 195F and hold it that way. It will come out better that holding in a cooler.
As soon as the IT gets to 180, Choke that fire down to stall the rise.


If the IT is falling, what rise are you referring to?

[Smokin' D]

What temp does a cambro hold at?

The ones I have are the non electric models and function just like a cooler. The advantage to using a Cambro is they are vertical and full size pans fit in them. Put the meat in a pan, cover with some foil and slide in.

Some people will put in a pan of hot water for a while to warm up the insides, but I typically do not do that. They can also be used for cold holding by using a pan of ice to cool things down. The actual interior temp? Varies just like a cooler would.