Brisket game plan on the offset for the sleepy guy?

[nullbitz]

hey all, I'm looking to plan future cooks where I can get the flavor profile from an offset but still enjoy some sleep (5-6 hours hopefully) for brisket cooks and do them more often.

My high level game plan would be to have a brisket ready for a lunch time serving. I'd plan on getting a 13-15lb full packer and put it on the offset the night before, let it get a good bark/smoke flavor then wrap it and put it either in the oven or my pellet grill overnight to finish the cook. (I'm aware the pellet grill won't add anything after the wrap and pellets are expensive but when measuring, my oven swings +-20degrees and my pellet grill only swings 5-10 degrees). I'd either set an alarm to wake up or set a temp alert on my probe

I've read quite a few threads on here where others finish in the oven but haven't seen much on times/temps and planning.

Ideally, I'd like to schedule things out so that by noon the next day I'd have a brisket that's been rested for 2-4 hours which means I'd be pulling it off the oven/pellet grill between 8-9am.

So backing into that does anyone have some suggestions on starting times/temps? I was thinking of doing the offset from like 5pm-11pm, wrapping and sleeping but that's a long time from 11pm until 8am the next day so maybe I bump the temps down to ~200 for the overnight so it slows things down some.

sorry for the long post, and thank you!

 

[sudsandswine]

I see no issue finishing in your oven, heat is heat once you wrap it. Maybe your oven is particularly accurate but most that I've tracked have at least a 20* swing either direction (usually a lot more). Prior to owning a stick burner that might have bothered me but you're likely to see the same or larger on the stick burner anyway.

The other thing I learned burning sticks is to just cook hotter. I'd wake up at 4-5 AM depending on my mood or activities the night before, have the meat on an hour later, and run hot enough that I could finish up by 1-2 PM. Come to think of it, I never once did an overnight cook feeding logs. I'd just wake up early.

Eventually I realized I could just cook in advance altogether and I'd cook on a day and time of my choosing and convenience, portion into vacuum bags, then reheat in a sous vide and the results were 90% as good as the day of, and I enjoyed it more because A) I wasn't tired and/or stressed due to a timeline bearing down on me and B) I didn't have smoke and heat in my face all day which is a guaranteed way to make me not want to eat whatever I was cooking. I found that by cooking in a more leisurely manner without timelines bearing down on me, I made less mistakes like pulling a brisket early when it wasn't quite "there yet".

There is definitely some showmanship involved for your guests rolling up to a wood fired smoker with tasty meat finishing up cooking before their noses, and there's really no replacing that. But they must be patient guests, because sometimes they will wait. And wait. LOL

I'm done rambling now.

 

[Jrogers84]

I learned from fellow brethren Steve to finish in the oven. He actually uses a roaster but I never felt like buying one. For me it makes for a much more enjoyable cook. When I wrap in BP it goes in the oven. Then I can catch some sleep and actually want to eat it when it’s done. Also, the house smells amazing when I wake up


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[smoke ninja]

hey all, I'm looking to plan future cooks where I can get the flavor profile from an offset but still enjoy some sleep (5-6 hours hopefully) for brisket cooks and do them more often.

My high level game plan would be to have a brisket ready for a lunch time serving. I'd plan on getting a 13-15lb full packer and put it on the offset the night before, let it get a good bark/smoke flavor then wrap it and put it either in the oven or my pellet grill overnight to finish the cook. (I'm aware the pellet grill won't add anything after the wrap and pellets are expensive but when measuring, my oven swings +-20degrees and my pellet grill only swings 5-10 degrees). I'd either set an alarm to wake up or set a temp alert on my probe

I've read quite a few threads on here where others finish in the oven but haven't seen much on times/temps and planning.

Ideally, I'd like to schedule things out so that by noon the next day I'd have a brisket that's been rested for 2-4 hours which means I'd be pulling it off the oven/pellet grill between 8-9am.

So backing into that does anyone have some suggestions on starting times/temps? I was thinking of doing the offset from like 5pm-11pm, wrapping and sleeping but that's a long time from 11pm until 8am the next day so maybe I bump the temps down to ~200 for the overnight so it slows things down some.

sorry for the long post, and thank you!

I learned from fellow brethren Steve to finish in the oven. He actually uses a roaster but I never felt like buying one. For me it makes for a much more enjoyable cook. When I wrap in BP it goes in the oven. Then I can catch some sleep and actually want to eat it when it’s done. Also, the house smells amazing when I wake up


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Sounds like a good gameplan. I start a few hours later and stay up a few more but generally the same timeframes. You may want to check where it is at 6 or 7am tho, just in case. I cook at least 275 on the offset so our times may differ.

After the 200° finish, just as it probes tender in the thickest part of the flat, drop your oven down as low as it goes, my roaster is set to 150. It should hold until lunch fine. If you need to hold longer than 3 or 4 hours just foil, towel, cooler

 

[SmoothBoarBBQ]

I've done what you're suggesting many times, but my offsets like to run hot, so I usually get about 3-4 hours of smoke, and then into the wrap and cabinet smoker to finish off for the night. My offsets get the best / cleanest smoke when I'm cooking at 275-300, so I'll get the internal temp to about 160-165 and a solid bark, then I'll wrap and toss them in my cabinet smoker at 235° to finish up for the night. I check it at 6am and make any adjustments if necessary. Sometimes they are done early so I'll pull it off, allow it to vent for about 15-20 minutes, then wrap tightly and into the Cambro until lunch.

 

[Raider18]

I watch a lot of BBQ Youtube and Chud's BBQ has a video on brisket that I'm gonna try soon. A little background Brad who runs the channel works for LeRoy and Lewis in Austin, who some say has the best brisket in town. In this video he cooks the brisket and it comes off around midnight at around 200 degrees internal temp. He sets the oven temp to low which runs about 170 degrees. He lets it rest in that environment for 12 hours. The Brisket looked amazing.

 

[thedude9999]

I’ve held finished brisket in my oven at 170 for four or five hours in the past without any negative effects. I’ve always wondered how long I could hold for.

 

[luke duke]

Prep the brisket the day before, wake up at 6, light pit, cook at 350+, pull around 11, eat at noon.

 

[smoke ninja]

Prep the brisket the day before, wake up at 6, light pit, cook at 350+, pull around 11, eat at noon.

I'm not saying a brisket cant be cooked well hot and fast but there is something magical that happens with a long hold. even comp cooks who cook hot are holding four hours or more.

also cooking at lower temps, mostly near the end, gives you a large window of perfection. 350 your window could only be minutes.

another factor is not having to get up early and cook all morning. when I have a noon or close to it service time I cook the night before and while it finishes on the morning I'm free to enjoy myself or get other things done before guests show up.

 

[pjtexas1]

I’ve held finished brisket in my oven at 170 for four or five hours in the past without any negative effects. I’ve always wondered how long I could hold for.

I've held brisket for 14 hours. Had a weird delivery timing issue on a weekday. Also do around 10 hours for Texas Bashes. Brisket stays above 160 the whole time in the roaster.

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