Brisket cooking help!

[BlueHowler]

After last weeks success smoking ribs on my USD I wanted to do brisket today. I read the brisket tutorial here and got started cooking a 12 pound brisket at 8:00 am with the temp holding at 225º. I planned on finishing around 7:00 pm.

My wife just told me that she invited a friend over and could I be done at 5:00 pm. My question is what temp should I cook at to achieve a done and tasty brisket with that deadline?

 

[Smiter Q]

Hmmm.... kind of new to the brisket stuff, but I think the veterans will tell you that you will risk toughening it up if you try to hurry it along. First barbecue lesson for your wife should be: "It is done when it is done." No disrespect to her, but try to let her know that as much as BBQ is also becoming a science.. it is still an art... and art should not be rushed. :-D

Now I know the above comment helps absolute zero, but I myself am building the courage to one day say this to my GF.:wink::wink:

One of the guys here in his signature has a quote form his wife. It is as follows:
"Is any of that meat going to be done for TONIGHT's dinner!?!"

So know you are not alone in your situation.

Now I will hush up.. and hope a veteran can steer ya where ya need to go!:tape::tape::tape:

 

[Stoke&Smoke]

bring your temp up to about 350 (I like to start the fire low, put the (room temp) brisket on, and give it a little time, maybe 30-40 mins, at 250, then crank up your heat to about 350.

In about 2 hours, check your internal, when it hits around 160, foil the whole thing completely, and put it back on, maintaining around 350. Check it in another 2 hours, and every 15-20 minutes after until your probe slides in like it's butter. Never had a brisket take more than 4-5 hours cooking this way.

Is it old fashioned low and slow? nope, but it comes out REALLY well most times!

 

[Dave Russell]

Open your vents and raise the temp to around 250 if cooking direct. I've cooked briskets like this in my uds and have them done well under 10 hours. Folks here say it's not needed, but I prefer to flip a couple of times if cooking direct. If using a diffuser above the coals, no reason to flip, and you can raise the temp to 275 if you want to. If done early, you can rest the brisket as long as needed in a cooler.

 

[BlueHowler]

Thanks guys! I wanted to do my first brisket low and slow but my wife must be obeyed.
I'll let you all know how it comes out.

 

[Dave Russell]

Just remember that a uds can get LOWnSLOW briskets done well under 10 hours, cooking direct. Check out the BDS website. I made mine similiar to Rocky's design, but with a kettle lid. I was skeptical about his times being so lower than cooking indirect, but followed his method, including the flipping a couple times, and found his times to be the same as my own.

 

[Stoke&Smoke]

This was done exactly as I described. I don't have a UDS, mine was done on a WSM

 

[Smiter Q]

@Stoke&Smoke
Wow.. that is a thing of beauty.

@BlueHowler
Hope this comes out good for ya. See, I knew a veteran would come along
and steer ya right. Though I need to make sure my GF does not see
this thread, especially about the "obeying" part! :roll::wink:

 

[boogiesnap]

yup, do what stoke and smoke said, but, i'd start probing for butta after only @ 1.5 hours not 2.

as an aside, traditional brisket being cooked lownslow is somewhat of a myth. at least in texas anyway. its cooked as high as 600* by some folks.

 

[BlueHowler]

This is what it looks like now and the meat probe says the temp is 165º

it will be done soon.

 

[MACS]

Smoke & stoke... Jiminy flippin Christmas... that's gorgeous!

That looks like the first one I did on the WSM!!! Been trying to duplicate it ever since!

 

[Smokesman]

In about 2 hours, check your internal, when it hits around 260, foil the whole thing completely, and put it back on, maintaining around 350.

260??? You did mean to type 160 right?

 

[Smokesman]

This was done exactly as I described. I don't have a UDS, mine was done on a WSM

Quick off topic? That comp box is flippin' gorgeous. That is bib lettuce right? Makes me want to forget about parsley. Do you remember what appearance scores you got?

 

[Stoke&Smoke]

260??? You did mean to type 160 right?

Good catch! Yes, foil at 160-165....260 would be WAY past done!!!:-D And it's fixed now

 

[Stoke&Smoke]

Quick off topic? That comp box is flippin' gorgeous. That is bib lettuce right? Makes me want to forget about parsley. Do you remember what appearance scores you got?

It's green leaf lettuce, not bib. Scores for appearance were 989898, that was 6th place at Iron Mountain, MI


And thanks for the compliments!!!

 

[Dave Russell]

yup, do what stoke and smoke said, but, i'd start probing for butta after only @ 1.5 hours not 2.

as an aside, traditional brisket being cooked lownslow is somewhat of a myth. at least in texas anyway. its cooked as high as 600* by some folks.

In Legends of TX BBQ, Robb Walsh mentions the 600 degree temps measured at the Kreuz Market, where they cook SHOULDER CLODS at 500, served "a little pink", according to Rick Schmidt, the pit boss at Kreuz Market in Lockhart.

On pg. 50, Walsh quotes John Fullilove, the pit boss at Smitty's (the old Kreuz Market location in Lockhart): " You want to cook your better cuts of beef faster and at higher temperatures. Tough cuts like BRISKET have to cook SLOW."

Regardless of what I've read though, if cooking much over 350, the outside of a brisket would go from bark to char before the inside got tender, and I don't think using just salt and pepper would avoid it, either. Also, unless you have a really big offset where the brisket is far away from the fire, I don't think it's a good idea to cook over 300 unless planning on foiling.

 

[BlueHowler]

I did foil it at 165º and put back in the UDS with the temp holding at 250º. I just checked the internal temp and it was at 180º. I took the foiled brisket off and wrapped a large beach towel around it then placed in a cooler to rest.

I also made a mopping sauce to serve with it.

1 tbsp paprika
2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 tsp ground guajillo chile
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tbsp bacon fat
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
1 white onion chopped
2 large cloves garlic
1 bell pepper chopped
1 cup beer
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp Billy Gomers Cherry Chipotle BBQ sauce
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp molasses
2 cups beef stock

heat bacon fat and add onion, cook until translucent
add the garlic, bell peppers, and spices cook for two or three minutes
add everything else, stir, and simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes.

 

[Dave Russell]

I did foil it at 165º and put back in the UDS with the temp holding at 250º. I just checked the internal temp and it was at 180º. I took the foiled brisket off and wrapped a large beach towel around it then placed in a cooler to rest.

I also made a mopping sauce to serve with it.

1 tbsp paprika
2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 tsp ground guajillo chile
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tbsp bacon fat
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
1 white onion chopped
2 large cloves garlic
1 bell pepper chopped
1 cup beer
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp Billy Gomers Cherry Chipotle BBQ sauce
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp molasses
2 cups beef stock

heat bacon fat and add onion, cook until translucent
add the garlic, bell peppers, and spices cook for two or three minutes
add everything else, stir, and simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes.

Dude, if you had that thing wrapped, you shouldn't pull til it's "buttuh tenduh", and disregard temps, BUT I've NEVER had one tender (in foil) at 180, no matter how long rested. If doing high heat w/ foil, I expect them to be over 200.

Oh, and a "mopping sauce" is for mopping while on the pit, not serving, though they can actually be the same thing, as in N. Carolina bbq sauce dip, which is mainly vinegar and pepper.

 

[BlueHowler]

Dude, if you had that thing wrapped, you shouldn't pull til it's "buttuh tenduh", and disregard temps, BUT I've NEVER had one tender (in foil) at 180, no matter how long rested. If doing high heat w/ foil, I expect them to be over 200.

Oh, and a "mopping sauce" is for mopping while on the pit, not serving, though they can actually be the same thing, as in N. Carolina bbq sauce dip, which is mainly vinegar and pepper.

What should I do to save it? I have a gas grill should I do a high heat cook while still foiled on the gas grill?

 

[Dave Russell]

What should I do to save it? I have a gas grill should I do a high heat cook while still foiled on the gas grill?

It would be just fine, even if it's temps had gone down a bunch, if you just kept wrapped in foil and put back in a 350 oven or grill. They're not all the same, and that's why folks say not to go by temps. It will have cooked some more in the foil, but I seriously doubt enough if you pulled at 180. Even most folks that cook without foil pull around 190, but the temp should be a little higher if wrapped in foil.