Hello from Poway, CA

[daviddm]

My name is David Martin from Poway, CA and I recently joined the PitMasters Club. I love cooking and smoking meats using various methods from Sous Vide too slow and low smokes. I also have a love of craft beer and have a lot of experience in home brewing although it has been awhile since I brewed. I have a large Weber Kettle, Gas Grill, La Caja (did a whole small pig in that and it was great) and recently got a Campchef Woodwind 36 Wifi. I have smoked a lot of ribs pulled pork but am about to do my first Brisket and could use some tips if anyone has done one in a Campchef Woodwind.

I purchased a 14.4 lb full packer from Wild Fork. I plan on separating the flat and point and I am not sure if I will cook them both at the same time or just one part. I have around 13 family members coming over so I calculated around 8.5 lb of brisket, until I separate them and do the trimming I am not sure how much each will weight. I think I got a good idea on the prep I am just struggling with the timing. Right now my plan is to start the smoker up and get the brisket on at 225° around 1am the day before. Let it go until a get a good bark and fat cap is rendering good or around 150-170° then wrap in butcher paper and let it go until internal hits 203° then put it in a cooler wrapped in towels. The goal is to eat around 3:30pm. I keep reading that it is best to shoot for needed more time then to under shoot your estimate. What do you guys think of this time table?

Anyone with a Campchef Woodwind have any suggestions on the best smoke setting for a brisket? I know the higher smoke settings give more smoke but causes more temp fluctuation and uses more pellets. I read some others here have had trouble getting a good bark on a pellet smoker so maybe a higher smoke setting is good but I am afraid the pellet hopper will run out of pellets before I wake back up again at 7am.

Sorry for the long post.

-Dave

[FireMan]

I am definitely not yer guy when it comes to brisket. Wibs, chicken, butts, wibs, chuckies, shwimp, veggies, fish, & wibs, yup, but not brisket. DO NOT be sorry fer a long post or any questions etc. It is what it’s all about. Welcome, eat good & have fun!

[BBQPhil]

I just did a 14 lb brisket and it took 16 hours at 225 on a Yoder. I did not separate the point and flat until about 2/3 through and used the point to make burnt ends following the recipe on Meat Church. Brisket was from Brandt Beef and sold by Ranch 45 in Solana Beach. I put the wrapped brisket into a cooler with towels because it got done before company arrived. It stayed above 140 for about 3 hours. But your timing seems very reasonable.

[Jfrosty27]

I was always a bit intimidated by brisket. But when I did my first one it was a breeze. I have a Recteq pellet cooker. But really they’re all the same in terms of long term cooks and maintaining temps. BUT mine has a 40lb pellet hopper so no worries about running out of pellets.

Anyway, I had a big packer at about 19lbs before trimming. I put it on at about 8:00 PM the night before at 220. Wrapped in butcher paper at the stall about 7:30 AM. Cranked the heat to 275. It probed like butter about noon. Held in cooler till serving at 4:00 PM. Still over 140 degrees, juicy and tender. Bark was intact.

Good luck!!

[RichardCullip]

Unfortunately I can't help you on your brisket cook but I would like to welcome a fellow Powegian to the forum.

[rlozinak]

Welcome from buffalo

[DavidNorcross]

Welcome from Virginia!

[MBMorgan]

Welcome from Colorado, David …

[Donw]

Welcome from Maryland. Take a peek at this thread for some good advice on briskets. https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...brisket-method

[58limited]

Welcome!

[bbqLuv]

Hello from NW Oregon
When I think of whole packer brisket, I also think of brisket burnt ends.

[daviddm]

Thanks all for a warm welcome. Here are some of my past cooks I thought I would share.

Pork Shoulder



Whole Pig


Tri-Tip


Grilled Oysters

[tbob4]

Welcome! Based on those photos, you’ve got this!

[Skip]

Welcome from Minnesota. Nice Cooks you posted.

[ofelles]

Welcome from the Delta.
Not sure of the pellet capacity of your cooker. I have a Yoder with 20# hopper and have not ran out of pellets in it on a brisket. I'm of the start it early camp. Then you can hold it in a Cambro until you're ready to eat. I cook them at 225F.

[willxfmr]

Welcome from Wisconsin. Glad you could join us!

First of all, don't worry about the temp swings, they will not effect the outcome. As long as the swings average out to something close to your set point they are not an issue.

Second, I would run max smoke at 200° for the first two hours, then bump the temp up to 250° or even 275° to cut down on cooking time. Again, this will not effect the final product. This is by no means a hard and fast rule, but just simply how I cooked brisket on my Camp Chef. Mine was an older model that didn't have the smoke adjustment option, so your mileage may vary.

Third, 203° is a good guide for when the meat is done, but the real test is to check for "probe tender". I would start checking this at around 195° and repeat at every 5° increment until the thickest part of the flat probes like butter. That might be at 195°, or it might be at 205°. Every cow is different, and so are the cuts that come from them.

Lastly, don't forget to rest the brisket. I do this in my oven on it's lowest heat setting. For me, that is 175°. In fact, once you wrap, there is no benefit to leaving it the smoker at all, and the whole cook can be moved indoors to your oven.

Good luck with your cook! Don't forget to take lots of pictures and post them over on SUWYC. Just to echo FireMan, never be shy about asking questions, even if they are long ones. Sharing knowledge is what this place is all about.

[FireMan]

You bad, you bad. Pork shoulder, yeah bad. Whole pig, oh yeah you bad. Tri-tip, bad. Oysters, whoa Nellie you rill bad. 👍👍👍