Now I've done it

[jecucolo]

Looks amazing! So you are defecta to trifecta?

[tdimond]

Don't know why I didn't see this before. Yes, I'm a defecta!

[tdimond]

Tonight's the night! I'll have a more detailed update later, but one observation so far:

I've been following Kathryn's lighting method, but tonight I accidently left the lid cracked during the final 10 minutes. The first time I tried to load the briskets at midnight, things got completely out of control. Barrel temps were almost 480. I wound up pulling the meat off and getting things closer to 300 before trying again. I foiled three holes, then removed the foil after loading the meat. It's been fine since, at about 250 with two briskets. The meat finally went on about 1:15.

This is a road game for me. Home elevation is about 600 feet. I'm practically at sea level tonight.

Hopefully the rest of the cook is uneventful. Dinner is at 5 on Saturday.

[Santamarina]

You’ve got this! You’ve done your homework, test runs...you’re golden!

I run oak in my stickburner, and Prime brisket always cook in 8-10 hours in a 250-275F pit. Brisket is tender at lower temps - if it take it all the way to 203F the flat falls apart. High 190’s give me juicy, tender slices.

Looking forward to hearing how everything comes out!!!

[tdimond]

I'll do a more detailed write-up later. It was a big hit, though .

[Huskee]

I gotta try this trifecta rub....

[tdimond]

As promised, the wrap-up! I went ahead and did two briskets - #1 was 14 lb after trimming, #2 was about 10.5 lb after trimming. I used the Trifecta Rub. Here's #1, rubbed prior to smoking.


My last post detailed the PBC lighting misadventure. Once I got past that, the rest of the cook was relatively uneventful. The biggest snag I hit was after wrapping. The bark looked good at IT of about 180, and I wrapped with peach butcher paper. Then I found out two wrapped briskets are overcrowded on the PBC grate. I let it go for about 30 minutes, while I got the oven preheated to 275. The wrapped briskets were finished in the oven in disposable hotel pans. Brisket #2 finished about 30 minutes before Brisket #1. Both were probe tender at about 190, though temperature rose to about 195 with carryover heating before beginning to drop. Total cook time was 10.5-11 hours. Then it was in the faux cambro until the reception. IT dropped maybe 20 degrees over five hours.

I started with brisket #1 at the rehearsal dinner. Here it is before slicing.



And here are the first few slices. I couldn't get many more since I was carving it on demand. The smoke ring was awesome - I couldn't believe how thick it was.

The wedding planner came up to me and said that she had spent several years in Texas, and I had gotten it right. She talked about the bark and the smoke ring and the flavor. That was a high compliment in my book.



There wound up being about 25 at the rehearsal, and more of them were children than I had expected. Even with the sides that were there - macaroni and cheese, baked beans, slaw, and corn salad - almost all of the meat from Brisket #1 was gone. I was left with some of the point and very little of the flat. Then I found out later that the bridesmaids got into the brisket again later - it was obvious they had eaten most of the rest of the point.

I wound up with a whole packer left, the smaller of the two. My brother is an EMT, and we sent the leftover Brisket #2 and the leftovers from the reception to his fire department station. Here's brisket #2 before foiling it to put in the fridge.



Overall, this was a very successful cook. I couldn't have done it without all the resources at the free site and here in the Pit!

[Skip]

You obviously did a great job! Way to go!

[Henrik]

GREAT Job! Awesome bark!

[Elton's BBQ]

That brisket looks grand! Great job!

[DeusDingo]

that is an awesome story! it's always great when your hobby pays off and you can make someone happy with it. never-the-less i bet this is a huge weight off your shoulders now that it is over!

[PappyBBQ]

Very nice job indeed!

[hogdog6]

Great looking bark, congrats on a spectacular cook!

[HawkerXP]

Very nice! Looks great!!

[Oakgrovebacon]

Your effort of doing homework paid off in more ways than a great cook for the main event! You ate well before also. Great job! All of your pics look fantastic!