I’m doing my first full packer on the Silverbac tonight, and I’m wondering what temp I should start at. I can put it on as early as 8:00 or 9:00, and we aren’t eating until 6pm tomorrow, so I have all the time in the world. Will I get better bark if I go for a few hours at 200° and crank it up a little before I head to bed?
I’ve done a few different things. First one I did was run it at 180 overnight and then turn it up to 225 to get to the stall, which I then bumped up to 250. That time I didn’t factor in for the resting period. I started it at like 2 in the morning. Turned out good still. But I don’t like staying up that late just to do that. Next few I did was start at 200 for overnight before I went to bed and then check the temp first thing in the morning. I’ll turn it up to 225 to get to the stall and play it by ear. Once it’s wrapped I don’t see any harm bumping it up either. I also did those other ones in January when it was freezing out, hence the higher temp when I turned on the Silverbac. My take away is to factor time for the rest.
When I do an overnight brisket, (around 14 lbs) I put it on at 11:00 pm at 200 and go to bed. When I wake up around 6:00 or so it is almost ready to wrap. By 7:00 or so it is ready to wrap and after wrapping I turn up to 250 for the duration. Around noon or 1:00 it is done (200 to 205) and it goes into the cambro until dinner. They usually come out tender, moist, and delicious.
If not cooking outdoors, I am cooking on the stovetop with my 14" carbon steel wok, 12" CI skillet, or in the oven with my two Lodge CI pizza pans, or two dutch ovens. I've also got a nifty Lodge carbon steel grill pan that rocks for veggies outdoors.
My schedule using my kamado rather than a pellet smoker is much like Clark 's above - putting the brisket on at bedtime, around 10pm or 11pm. I run overnight at 225, then crank to 250 as soon as I wake up, and if its not looking close by noon, I crank it to 275, so that I have it in cambro no later than 3pm, so that it has a nice rest before dinner at 5 or 6.
I use a temp controller for the kamado on overnight cooks, and thinking back, am pretty sure there were times I set it to 200F for the overnight part, just to be SURE it wasn't too far along when I woke up in the morning.
If smoking during the day, I always go at 250 or 275, but the one time I did 250 overnight, the brisket was already up to 170 or so when I woke up, and we didn't need it done until dinner, so I slowed it WAY down. That temp control is your friend. Getting done too fast? Turn it down. Too slow? Crank it up and/or wrap the meat.
Bronco Pro Barrel Smoker
PBC
Pit Boss 757GD Griddle (2)
Blaz'n Grill Works Grid Iron
Weber Genesis E-310
Original Original Grilla
Smokey Joe® Charcoal Grill 14"
Fireboard 1
Thermoworks ThermoPop
Thermoworks Thermapen Mk4
Thermoworks Smoke Thermometer with gateway
2 iGrillminis - from before they were Weber.
Don't overthink it and don't stress yourself. I don't have the Silverbac, I have the "real" Grilla, the OG. An OLD OG with a analogue controller where the temp goes up in 25 degree increments. I start at 225. I let it go at 225, or 250, or 275 (depending on how fast I need to cook it). When it hits about 170 IT I either let it go if I have time, or wrap it if dinnertimes coming. Then I either let it go at whatever temp I had it at before, or I crank it up to 300, or 325, or 350 if I'm really pushed for time. And guess what? The only time it didn't turn out great was when I had failed to do some routine cleaning and the OG decided to teach me a lesson and shut down in the middle of the cook.
Here's my last 10 hour cook.
Since this is your first time, do it at 225. No need to go lower. Do it at 225 all the way if you can. After you've done a couple, start experimenting. But don't go freaking out because your thermometer says the cooker is 5 or 10 degrees off from 225. That is not a problem. Get it up around 200 IT, then see if a probe goes in like butter. Then you can rest it in a cooler for at least 5 hours.
Have fun.
Good luck to you Sid. I know this will be great. Like others, I start at 200 before going to bed. When I get up you are ready to raise the temp. By that time you probably have all of the bark you are going to get. Keep us posted!
I guess I was a little vague, as it’s just my first brisket on the Silverbac, not overall. Looks like I’ll do 200° overnight, and play it by ear tomorrow. Thanks everyone!
Good luck! Can’t wait to hear about it. We’re supposed to get some good weather this weekend too to help us forget how bad the Bears are going to get whooped on Sunday. At least you’ll be eating good food.
Scotch: Current favorite- The Arran (anything by them), Glenmorangie 12yr Lasanta, sherry cask finished. The Balvenie Double Wood, also like Oban 18yr, and The Glenlivet Nadurra (Oloroso sherry cask finished) among others. Neat please.
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Location: Farwell, Michigan - near Clare (dead center of lower peninsula).
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I'm usually 12 hrs, sometimes 13, from start to slice. I don't cook overnight I start in the morning. Here's what I do:
Day or 2 before:
Trim aggressively, even trim most of the fat down in between the 2 muscles, peeling them apart and trimming nearly to the point of separating them, but don't. Trim the non fat cap side as clean as you can.
Leave generous fat cap at 1/2" (instead of the common recommendation of 1/4"), at least on the flat side. Point side doesn't meed it.
Dry brine per usual, add some in between where you peeled and trimmed the interior fat.
If you use an unsalted rub, I like to add a tiny bit more salt on top of the rub. If you used a slightly salted rub, like Meathead's or Heaven Made for instance, half dry brine then add the salt & rub both on dry brine day.
Day of:
If you want to eat at 6pm, start at 5am or 6am latest. Better to allow an extra hour or two than risk a late meal.
Put COLD brisket on the COLD pellet cooker, before you start it up. Then start it to let the brisket get exposed to that startup smoke.
Smoke at 250 on Mode 2 (higher smoke mode). It will vary from ~210 to ~270, roughly
Leave it alone until it's out of the stall, say 180 ish. This might be 7 or 8 hrs. (I have a probe in each muscle and I go by an average or gut feeling between the 2 temps, I don't fret about 'oh the point came up to temp sooner'... doesn't matter to me, it's a hunk of meat and it doesn't care so neither do I
Wrap it at this point. Foil (double layer, tightly), or paper (double layer), whatever you like.
Take it up to 200ish, who cares if it's 203 or 209 or 200 even, doesn't matter. Seriously, it doesn't.
Drop the cooker's temp to 180 (lowest it goes). Or if it's really hot outside, simply shut it off. Leave it to bask (cambro hold) for 1-2 hrs.
If you used foil you can unwrap it and place it back on the smoker at normal cook temps for 20-30 mins prior to slicing if you want, to dry the bark back out, but to me I never cared if it was a touch soft because waiting until after the stall to warp already gave it plenty of good bark.
It’s off after 9 hours at 200° and 5:45 at 260°. I forgot to take a pic before I wrapped it, but it probed like butter and jiggled like Jello. 6:00 can’t come soon enough!
This was a prime packer I got from Costco for $3.49/lb back in March. It wasn’t the juiciest brisket I’ve done, but it was very, very good. My friends who haven’t had world class brisket are pretty sure I can walk on water.
Before I sliced it. The rub is just salt and fresh ground pepper.
Point/flat separation.
Some poorly sliced point.
I know the smoke ring doesn’t affect the taste, but how pretty is that?
Silverbac Brisket?
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