Really, really dumb brisket question.

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mjr

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I'm pretty sure I know the answer, but I'm going to ask anyway.

My wife is afraid to let a brisket cook overnight. I have one in my refrigerator right now that I'd love to cook.

So, if I cut it in half near the flat/point, and cook both halves in my WSM, would that (theoretically) halve the cooking time?

In other words, let's say the brisket weighs 12 pounds. Rough calculation is that would be a 15-18 hour cook.

But if I cut it in half, and put half on the bottom rack and half on the top, can I cut that time down to 7.5 to 9 hours?

I'm assuming the answer is probably "no, you can't do that you dummy", but I thought I would ask.

See? I told you it was a really dumb question. :icon_smile_tongue::crazy::-D
 
No. May cut time by 10-15%. Cook Hotter - I run 300* ish and knock out 14-15 lb Briskets in 6-7 hrs.
275* - 8-10 hours. Selects n Choice - Prime can take Longer sometimes

275* is The Best BBQ Temp.
 
It will definitely shorten the time, but not that much. Some folks do hot and fast briskets for competition, so that may be your best bet. I prefer long cooks, so I can't give you any solid advice, but Google it or ask here, and you will get plenty of ideas.
 
I make it my goal to only ask dumb questions here :-D.

But cutting in half doesn't really halve the time. If you run a higher temp like smitty says (say 300) a 12lb brisket is done in ~6hrs easy.

Nothing wrong with cutting it in half, but you don't need to to cook it faster.
 
The WSM is tailor made for overnight cooks an works flawlessly. What are her concerns? All you have to do is get a digital probe in there to monitor the temp and keep it in a safe, protected area. The biggest risk is your fire going out.
 
93_confirmed said:
The WSM is tailor made for overnight cooks an works flawlessly. What are her concerns? All you have to do is get a digital probe in there to monitor the temp and keep it in a safe, protected area. The biggest risk is your fire going out.
Click to expand...


I don't know. I'm guessing that since we'd be sleeping, and not monitoring it from time to time she's concerned something bad will happen.
 
Man i'll be the guy to say it.... I'm not a fan of over night cooks.. I know plenty of people on here do it, But Something about leaving anything burning while your asleep can potentially be dangerous. Makes me paranoid.. and I've had my fair share of weird stuff happen while cooking no way I'm interested in cooking while i'm sleeping..


As other says, cook 275 u can have that brisket done 6-8 hrs
 
Separating the point and flat would cut down on cooking time more than cutting it in half. Thickness is the biggest factor in how long something takes to cook.

But like everyone else said, cook it hotter and get it done faster works too
 
As has been said.

The WSM is made for overnight cooking. Fire it up to put on the brisket at 10pm. Watch it for 30 mins to stabilise @ your preferred temp.

Go to BED!

Get up as early as you like but me, I can go till 6am and it's still chugging away at 250 F or thereabouts. There is honestly NOTHING to worry about except for the things that might happen every night / any night in your life that you can't control anyway.

You may get hit by a bus tomorrow, so smoke your brisket TONIGHT!

Take it easy.
 
I’ve done plenty of overnight cooks on my WSM and Backwoods Chubby and never had a problem. It’s a great way to get the first 6 hours done without looking at it!
 
Another option is cook for around 3-4 hours (take off when IT 160-170) at 275-300 on WSM then wrap (I usually put in foil pan) and finish in oven at 210-220 overnight.
 
You can finish the Brisket in 10 - 11 hours by put it on the Smoker at midnight at 230 and on around 7 am you wrap it up and start probing after an hour, then every half an hour till it's finished ! works for me every time when i make brisket for lunch !

cheers
 
blazinfire said:
Man i'll be the guy to say it.... I'm not a fan of over night cooks.. I know plenty of people on here do it, But Something about leaving anything burning while your asleep can potentially be dangerous. Makes me paranoid.. and I've had my fair share of weird stuff happen while cooking no way I'm interested in cooking while i'm sleeping..


As other says, cook 275 u can have that brisket done 6-8 hrs
Click to expand...


I'm ok with cooking overnight but it should be a setup away from buildings or areas that could catch fire. a good remote therm with an alarm helps too
 
Doesn't have to be an overnight thing. When I do brisket or pig shoulder, I put it on in the morning. Cooks all day and past supper time. Toss on some burgers for supper, but guess what we're eating tomorrow!
 
If your wife is afraid to cook overnight cook during the day and just do whatever you want. Like others have stated the WSM is made so that when you get it going it's going to roll. So set the temp and go do whatever it is that you need to do during the day. I cooked my first brisket while I was on the golf course getting in 18 holes. I would text my wife from time to time and get the temps on my probe and an occasional picture of what it was looking like. Worked great for me.
 
A couple of weeks ago I tried my first overnight cook on my Camp Chef pellet grill with HeaterMeter monitoring.

My biggest worry was overcooking, so I started the cook at 10PM, expecting to check it at 8AM. Outside air temp was around freezing. Also because of the worry, I set the temp to 175deg. I figured the brisket would get a good smoking and then I could run the temp up to finish.

HeaterMeter data showed good stable chamber temp around 175 and after a couple of hours the meat stabilized at 150. Maybe a sort of stall? At 8AM the brisked looked very good, so I ran the temp to 225. Long story short, it wasn't until 2PM that it was done. Worse, the "bark" was hard and thick like tree bark. To get to edible meat I had to basically "skin" the dried-out and thick bark off the brisket. By this whole process I lost 3# when I trimmed the 12# packer, then lost about another 5# to dried out bark/meat. My worst brisket cook yet.

Next time I'll use 225 deg and take the risk of overcooking.
 
I cook briskets overnight on my WSM on a fairly regular basis. Using a temp controller and remote therm helps a lot with ease of mind while sleeping, and I don't have the cooker neary anything flammable. It works very well for me.

I used to do overnight cooks, but, while I've always been lazy, now I'm old and lazy, which is quite the combo.
old-01.gif
 
mjr said:
I'm pretty sure I know the answer, but I'm going to ask anyway.

My wife is afraid to let a brisket cook overnight. I have one in my refrigerator right now that I'd love to cook.

So, if I cut it in half near the flat/point, and cook both halves in my WSM, would that (theoretically) halve the cooking time?

In other words, let's say the brisket weighs 12 pounds. Rough calculation is that would be a 15-18 hour cook.

But if I cut it in half, and put half on the bottom rack and half on the top, can I cut that time down to 7.5 to 9 hours?

I'm assuming the answer is probably "no, you can't do that you dummy", but I thought I would ask.

See? I told you it was a really dumb question. :icon_smile_tongue::crazy::-D
Click to expand...

Why do that? Just separate and cook in 4 hours.
 
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