Holding brisket time

[Doug'a Smokin Meats]

I am smoking 2 wagyu briskets at 225 today and put them on at 3:30 this morning and eating at around 5 this afternoon. Right now 9am they have reach 150 and I am going to wrap up and go to 200-205. Should I not wrap and go thru the stall or wrap and hold in cooler. I guess my question is how long can I hold

[_John_]

I honestly don't think you'll have to worry about it if you are at 225 but depends mostly on when you wrap. I wouldn't wrap until I had a good bark, which is usually after the stall.
As far as the hold goes you can wrap and put it in the cooler for hours and still have great results. I personally use 2 hours as a minimum but have no problems with 4 hours either.

Good luck and welcome to the pit, please snap some photos before you eat those guys.

[Doug'a Smokin Meats]

Thank you for the quick response, I will post pics later!

[DWCowles]

Welcome Doug'a Smokin Meats

[HorseDoctor]

Welcome! Agree with John. Wrap when the bark is right. I've used the "Franklin method" of wrapping with butcher paper the last couple & like it but foil is fine too. Your OK to hold in the cooler for quite a while. Eve if it cools too much in there (6+ hours) a quick trip through a low oven re-warms it just fine. Enjoy!

[Doug'a Smokin Meats]

Thank you for your quick response.

[reason92]

So, what is the "catch" for holding? Is it time or temperature? Can I/should I hold a brisket for longer than 4 hrs? Is 6 or 8 ok? Is it ok as long as the temperature stays over 140?

Needless to say, I'm researching because my timing was way off today... It came off at 1130, and dinner is at 6. Do I hold, or give up, refrigerate, and reheat?. All help appreciated.

[ckwhit]

I would wrap and put it in an empty ice chest. I usually put some newspapers under it and a bunch on top. It will hold the temp well and it will be ready when you are.

[Dr ROK]

If you have it wrapped and have a way to hold it at 140, you should be good (food safety wise) for at least 6 hours.

[reason92]

Thanks ROK, I can keep the temp up.

What's impact on the brisket?

[Dr ROK]

If you've got it wrapped tightly so you don't lose moisture it will result in a moister/softer bark, but you should be fine. It'll still be great.

[reason92]

Thanks! It's been holding for 4.5 hours... I just put it in the oven to bring the temp up a bit. Dinner in 2 hrs.

[fuzzydaddy]

Doug'a Smokin Meats welcome to the Pit. Hope that brisket is great!

[Dr ROK]

How did it go?

[Huskee]

Doug'a Smokin Meats I realize this is quite late for a response...but

One time I had a brisket on heat for 24hrs due to abnormal timing of daily events. I cooked it the normal 12-14, then had to bounce back & forth between the Fo'Bro and an 170deg oven (to get it from 140 back to 160) the remainder of the time. It was awesome! It may have been a tad crumbly, but I don't remember ever thinking 'this is a failure'. It was moist, tender, and very tasty. I was quite happy. Not saying that's best practice by any means, but my point is that your attempts here should've worked fine. Although I'd wrap more at the 180-190 range, after the stall, to get a good bark built up first.