Going to try a first overnight brisket cook on WSM, need advise

[BriGreentea]

I want to smoke a whole packer on my now 3 month old 18" WSM...around 10 pounds. I've only done a small flat and last made pulled point cut braised in a large cast iron.

I was going to do this all day and night but my issues are due to hungry wife can never get more then an hour resting time in my cooler and this cooker takes a long time to cook anything I think...not that's a bad thing to me.

So instead I want to try overnight...the incentive of this cooker and try putting it on midnight. Foil in the pan, no water and no foil on the brisket fat side down.

The thing I'm worried about is temp spikes and where to leave the intakes. I've tried gradually closing two after it gets up to temp and use one, and when I've tried this after an hour or so I see the temp drop below 200. I used to have this issue on my UDS. I could never just leave one intake open so had to leave the valve halfway and one of the intakes open.

If I leave 2 intakes partially open and the 3rd one closed once it's up to temp then go to bed will this be ok? Last thing I want to do is lose sleep over this checking it at 4 am.

Then leads me to if I have a 10 pounder, put it on around 11pm or midnight then wake up around 9am or 10 where do you think I'd be at?
Also, how long can I rest it in a cooler without it spoiling? I was thinking 4 hours if possible just to try it. Thanks.

 

[DaveAlvarado]

Once your temps are stable (meaning you haven't touched a vent in an hour) you can leave it alone. The temp will drop a little when it gets cooler outside, but no big deal. The biggest risk you have is a grease fire or wind blowing the smoker over. As long as it's not up against your house or anything, I wouldn't worry too much. I've run my WSM unattended overnight.

You can hold in a cooler for a long time, I've gone 12 hours before with lots of towels and the brisket was still too hot to touch.

That said, if your wife is impatient about the brisket, you might consider cooking hot & fast. At 300F, that brisket will be done in around 5 hours. You can put it on after breakfast, pull it off after lunch, and rest it a few hours until dinner. Once I started cooking at 300F I never looked back--product is very very similar and a thousand times more convenient.

 

[blazinfire]

I have done early morning cooks. Starting at 3 a.m. or near that time! I personally would suggest doing a hot and fast cook. I could never do over night cooking unless I stay up with the cooker at all times! Don't see how people can just go to sleep while having a smoker running over night! It would worry me to death! haha

 

[Bludawg]

I never understood the overnight cook phenomenon when you can cook brisket & butts in 6- 8 hrs.
TYPICAL COOK
I get up at 7 put on the coffee light the pit, have coffee prep my meat, have another cup about 7:45, put on the meat at 8 have another cup with a few eggs, crack a beer add a split repeat every 45 min until noon wrap the meat, have a few more beers until 1 probe the brisket, if its ready I pull if not crack a beer check it in 30 min. Butta, rest on the counter for 2hrs now it's 3:30 then the decision to eat now or have a few more beers first.

I just don't get the overnight thing

 

[16Adams]

I want to know the secret of your ability to sleep 10 hours. I don't get that in three days.

Good luck- listen to the dawg

 

[KevinJ]

I know every WSM cooks different, I have an 18.5 removed the water pan and traded it out for a clay saucer. After it gets within 10 degrees of my target temp which is usually 275 or 300 depending what I'm smoking, shut down 2 bottom vents leaving 1 bottom vent and the top vent wide open. I always leave the top vent wide open and only close it when snuffing out the fire. After adjusting the vents let the WSM tell me what it's going to do, usually I'll have to partially close the 1 open bottom vent 1/8th to 1/4th of fully open and it will stabilize. Later on in the cook I may have to open it all the way up and rarely do I ever have to partially open a 2nd vent and can easily maintain temps at 275-300.

Go with the suggestions above and cook at 300 plan on putting it on the WSM 9hrs before dinner and you will have at least 2 if not 3 hours to let the Brisket rest.

 

[Harbormaster]

Every WSM is different, and every cook is different.
I cook on 18.5 WSMs all the time, lots of them overnight.
I keep the water pan in, a couple crushed aluminum cans in it then cover with foil.
Light the WSM using the Minion Method. I fill my chimney with briqs, and when I dump there's about 2/3 of a chimney of fully engulfed fuel.
When my dome temp gets to about 20 degrees of my target (275) I close the windward lower vent 100% and leave the other two about 50%. Top vent always WFO.
Doing it like this my WSMs dial in at about 275 or so. It's just where they like to run, so why fight it. They may make their way up to 280, maybe 300, but who cares? It's BBQ.
Even when cooking overnight I still get up every couple of hours to check the pits. I do this because if I have 4 WSMs going with 16 butts cooking I sure as he!! don't want a fire to die and have to toss 30+ lbs of pork. Just good insurance.
If I threw that brisket on at 11:00pm or midnight, I'd definitely be up by 6:00am to check it. Besides, when I take a cup of coffee outside to check my pits at 6:00 in the morning, God seems to always meet me there.
YMMV.

 

[CUTigerQ]

Besides, when I take a cup of coffee outside to check my pits at 6:00 in the morning, God seems to always meet me there.
YMMV.

BEST sentence in this whole thread!

That meeting is why I love my overnight cooks. Especially towards the dawn hours. There is just a peace at that time of day that cant be matched! :thumb:

 

[BriGreentea]

I want to know the secret of your ability to sleep 10 hours. I don't get that in three days.

Good luck- listen to the dawg

Well here's the thing...I don't. I don't because I wake up all the time in the middle of the night to early morning then it's hard for me to sleep. On a day off I get 7 hours of sleep...If I stay up really late till like 3 am I may be so tired I could sleep to noon!

 

[Happy Hapgood]

I do overnight smokes on my WSM but use a Party Q. One thing to keep temp spikes down is to only use about a 1/4 chimney to start the Minion method. 8-10 coals. Put the hot coals in the rig over a vent. This will slow the ignition of fuel cut down on temp spikes. I too use an empty foil lined pan.

Good Luck!

 

[Fire Flinger]

I too use an empty foil lined pan.

What is the rationale of leaving the water pan empty? I thought the primary purpose of the water pan with water was to be a heat sink and help stabilize temperatures?

 

[Happy Hapgood]

What is the rationale of leaving the water pan empty? I thought the primary purpose of the water pan with water was to be a heat sink and help stabilize temperatures?

I run at 275*F for everything. This gets me there fast and keeps me there longer. Now in July and August when our first 100*F are free, I will use water. And yes, that's when it comes in handy as a temp stabilizer. :thumb:

 

[Bob C Cue]

I never understood the overnight cook phenomenon when you can cook brisket & butts in 6- 8 hrs.
TYPICAL COOK
I get up at 7 put on the coffee light the pit, have coffee prep my meat, have another cup about 7:45, put on the meat at 8 have another cup with a few eggs, crack a beer add a split repeat every 45 min until noon wrap the meat, have a few more beers until 1 probe the brisket, if its ready I pull if not crack a beer check it in 30 min. Butta, rest on the counter for 2hrs now it's 3:30 then the decision to eat now or have a few more beers first.

I just don't get the overnight thing

I'm with Bludawg.

 

[robinfresno]

You can just fire it up with the minion method, open the top vent 100%, lowers at 25% and let it run for an hour before throwing the meat on. Adjust the vents in the morning if needed to bump up the heat.

 

[KevinJ]

What is the rationale of leaving the water pan empty? I thought the primary purpose of the water pan with water was to be a heat sink and help stabilize temperatures?

I've never used water and have never had an issue with stabilizing temperature in the WSM.

 

[pcshrews]

I've had good results running my wsm overnight for briskest and buts using a party q plus a maverick to alert me if temps range too high or low. A short cut, yes but I prefer a good night's sleep and good Q on the backend.

 

[Harbormaster]

What is the rationale of leaving the water pan empty? I thought the primary purpose of the water pan with water was to be a heat sink and help stabilize temperatures?

That's exactly the purpose of the water, but it takes a LOT of energy to heat he water and keep it hot. I'd rather use that energy to cook meat.

 

[smoke ninja]

I never understood the overnight cook phenomenon when you can cook brisket & butts in 6- 8 hrs.
TYPICAL COOK
I get up at 7 put on the coffee light the pit, have coffee prep my meat, have another cup about 7:45, put on the meat at 8 have another cup with a few eggs, crack a beer add a split repeat every 45 min until noon wrap the meat, have a few more beers until 1 probe the brisket, if its ready I pull if not crack a beer check it in 30 min. Butta, rest on the counter for 2hrs now it's 3:30 then the decision to eat now or have a few more beers first.

I just don't get the overnight thing

Cooking overnight just fits me better. Remember once wrapped in paper i put my brisket in the wife's oven. Im comfortable taking this shortcut. I definitely dont want to sit up all night cooking. I can run the offset @275 for 6 or so hours at night and when its ready wrap in butcher paper and into the low oven. I get to hangout with friends and have some drinks. The brisket is ready for lunch. Im not into brisket for dinner. If i cook one all day ive had enough beer where im not as hungry for bbq by the time its done. Cooking this way just fits me better

Besides convenience i just get better results with my long slow finish.

 

[krex1010]

Overnighters are a necessity for me at times. If I'm cooking one butt or brisket then yeah I'll run a bit hotter and put it on in the morning. But If I'm having a large crowd, which I do a few times a year I'll put a few butts on the wsm at night, have them done and resting by noon which leaves me time to get ribs or chickens on the wsm and have my kettle open for business as well. And I'll be honest, I enjoy the overnighters, I'll sit on the patio late, have a few knob creeks, a cigar, listen to a ballgame, doze off on the lounge chair. Then back up early with my coffee as the sun is up, check the cooker, putz around the garden and enjoy the morning while the world is still asleep.

 

[yakdung]

What is the rationale of leaving the water pan empty? I thought the primary purpose of the water pan with water was to be a heat sink and help stabilize temperatures?

It is a variable and a pain in the pork butt. I stopped using water after the second cook. I utilize a foiled empty water pan with a foiled terra-cotta plant base saucer I picked up at a local garden center. Going this route will allow much higher temps. Good luck.