Overnight Bronco Cook

[Reds Fan 5]

Well, the results on this one will be interesting.
* Was in 225 oven for about an hour after early morning hiccup.

* Put back on smoker at 156 IT at 230 smoker temp

* Wrapped with butcher paper at 178 IT (about 12 hours).

* Worried about it being ready for dinner with rest, increased smoker to 275

* Got distracted and temp spiked to 330. Not sure how long it ran that hot

* After about 14 hours Maverick read 200 IT. Wasn’t yet probe tender

* Maverick read 202 and was probe tender. Checked with thermopop and it read 198-202 in multiple places.

* Was planning on brisket for dinner. Probe tender at 11:30am. Holding in cooler. We will see how long it holds.

* This is a choice whole brisket from Costco. Was 10lbs. Had been trimmed a bit. I trimmed another pound so it went on smoker as a 9lb brisket. 14 hours seems fast but maybe not for a 9lb cut.

* Clearly having some probe issues

* Only my 3rd brisket, first whole brisket, first on Bronco, first overnight. So very much a lab experiment

* Has great bark and smells amazing. We will see if it dried out with all the temp issues.

* I’ll post before, during, after pics after I slice it

[Reds Fan 5]

Still in butcher paper and covered in towels in cooler.

[Reds Fan 5]

It’s down to 165 and I’d like to hold it for another 5 hours. Was thinking about holding in oven for a couple of hours and then let it come down to 140. Lowest oven will run is 175. Now that IT is lower than that putting in oven is probably not a great idea. Thoughts?

[Reds Fan 5]

Problem solved! I remembered we still have an Oster French door toaster oven from when we lived in our basement during a major reno. Low temp on warm setting is 150. Fired it up while brisket was still above 150. Will hold it here at 150 then take it out and let drop to 140.

Electric holding drawer just like a restaurant.

Now this really has become a lab experiment!

[Reds Fan 5]

Ok, final report: Overall, good results for first brisket on the Bronco and first full brisket on any cooker. Several things, though, to adjust for the next cook.

+
Great bark—Dalmatian rub (Penzey’s Tellicherry peppercorns make a huge difference)

Great beef flavor

Great smoke flavor (Oak chunks)

14 hour cook

For the most part, good tenderness

Interior fat rendered well

Butcher paper wrap. Will do that again.

_
Overnight fire issues noted earlier in this post

Cooked faster than expected and had long hold time

Didn’t trim aggressively enough and left too much fat cap. Didn’t render consistently. Need to pay more attention to trimming next time

Flat dried out a bit. Long hold, especially time in toaster oven likely didn’t help

Not as moist throughout brisket as I would have liked

[J-Melt]

Sounds like a major win to me, especially with the probe and fire struggles! I don’t think I had a brisket I thought was moist enough until my 4th or 5th one, so it sounds like you are on the right track!

[fzxdoc]

You did a good job, despite the challenges. Congrats. And thanks for posting the details. That's always a great help, learning from others' cooks.

I think a moist brisket is partly due to the hunk of meat's characteristics, partly due to the cook, and partly due to thoughtful trimming. And (for me at least), injecting with phosphate-laced homemade beef broth.

Kathryn

[Reds Fan 5]

Forgot to post pics. Two issues with trimming in addition to my not trimming aggressively enough: Costco’s trimming was curious and I was trimming with a chef’s knife rather than a more flexible filet knife.

One bonus to a whole brisket: tonight I’m rendering tallow and grinding some beef from the trimmings.

[Sid P]

It certainly looks good from here! Enjoy!

[fzxdoc]

That brisket looks really nice, Reds Fan 5 . Doesn't look at all dry from the photos. You may be too hard on yourself.

I bet it eats better for you today than yesterday. For me, after a whole day of brisket-wrangling, I'm much more critical of the end result. The next day I have some of the leftovers and think "what was I talking about yesterday? This is pretty good!"

Kathryn

[Reds Fan 5]

Thanks, fzxdoc. Overall, it was good. It was not dry throughout and we had some terrific slices. The good news is I know where the hiccups were in the cook and each are variable I can adjust. Smoking/bbq is turning this humanities major into a scientist 😀.

As I wrote a few minutes ago in a new post the brisket has produced several good meals for us.

Speaking of scientists, Kathryn, so glad your recovery is going well and you are active here again.

[fzxdoc]

Thank you so much for your good wishes, Reds Fan 5. It feels so good to feel better these days.

Glad to hear that the brisket was a success. As the years go by, I get more ruthless with trimming the flat because a skinny portion of flat will almost always be dry despite my hopes to the contrary. Grinding the (raw) skinny flat portions and some of the other trimmings, added to ground chuck, makes a delicious burger. Chopped with sauce added the dry (cooked) flat makes a memorable sandwich.

K.