Brisket - Heat and Timing

[kobbq]

Hopefully posting this in the correct location.

Admittedly I’m not the backyard meat smoking expert I wish I was but I have brought some quality smoked meat to the table. Recently I smoked a 14-pound brisket and struggled with heat control on my rig, struggled is probably an understatement. I was not able to keep the heat at of near 230-250, it hovered near 325 and when I reduced the fuel(pecan wood) it dropped too much and adding another split log drove the temp up quickly. I have a meat thermometer and surface temperature thermometer, following the meat temp is key for me.

I was able to put smoke on the meat for two hours as the surface temp jumped between 275-350, the meat temp climbed to 165. I pulled and wrapped it with two layers of foil. The wrapped brisket was back on the heat for another 3-hours, I pulled it at a meat temp of 213. The foiled brisket was wrapped in a towel and placed in a cooler, it stayed in there for 2.5 hours. When guests arrived, I pulled it from the cooler and unwrapped, it was steaming as I sliced it. It was pull apart tender and had a decent bark (salt & pepper only). Overall I was fairly satisfied.

Since I have a stick burner and pit watching for 11-12 hours is not really my thing, plus I’d be a little buzzed from drinking beer during that time, what’s the drawback to a quick smoke/cook? I’m assuming the size of the brisket contributed to the quick turnaround but it still tasted nice.
Thoughts? Was this a fluke or have others achieved the same?
Thanks everyone.

[Jerod Broussard]

I smoked two briskets on a VERY cheap offset with temperatures fluctuating from 185-330-ish. Somewhere in there is an average. They came out fine, very fine. It only takes a couple hours to get a lot of smoke particles to adhere to the surface. I've done it with ribs due to smoker fire.

[Huskee]

A smoker fire doing ribs is what finally did in my cheap $80 Brinkmann cabinet style from Home Depot, my first smoker, and led me to ordering my stickburner. They were still edible, just had to scrape a little char.

[Jerod Broussard]

Huskee I had a reverse flow plate installed. Neighbors thought the house was on fire or maybe 100 vehicle tires. It was substantial.

[Hulagn1971]

I smoke all my briskets hot and fast, 300-325°. Takes 6-7 hours plus an hour or 2 rest. Smoke them on a WSM 22. Faster cook time, tastes great and easier to manage a higher smoker temperature in my opinion.

[RamaJama]

Cooking my first brisket tomorrow on my kamado. I’m planning on running these temps. Do you wrap?

[Hulagn1971]

RamaJama I wrap with butcher paper after 4 hours. Usually ready 1-2 hours later.

[J-Melt]

If you wanted, you could take it to the stall on the offset, then put in the oven once it’s wrapped. It’s not getting any more smoke regardless of where it cooks once it’s wrapped.

[Purc]

+1 that's what Pitmaster Harry Soo always does.

[realdocBBQ]

213 is really high for a brisket. My first thought was, "That's gonna be overcooked." Meaning crumbly, shredding when slicing. Looking at the picture, I would say it is consistent with that. I never never cook brisket that high. Well, ANYTHING that high. On advice from here, I might go up to 210 for a chuck roast if I'm wanting to pull it/shred it.

As for the temp fluxuations you're describing, a rapid uptick in temp when using a stickburner when you throw on a log isn't unusual, hopefully it comes back down quickly to a stable temp. Achieving absolutely stable temps on a stickburner is an art and takes a lot of practice and knowing your cooker very very well - and some offsets, it just ain't gonna happen. As Jerod mentioned above - you can have some wildly fluxuating temps and still get a fabulous product. But honestly the cooker itself and the fuel are huge factors in trying to achieve consistency.

Having absolutely stringently controlled size, weight, moisture, etc., on your splits is the best way to achieve the most stable cooking on an offset - but it takes a LOT of effort to process wood to that kind of a standard. Most people don't do it, most use what they have and kind of 'roll with it'. That's what I mostly do - choose the size of the next split on the fly based on how my fire and my coal bed is looking/performing. Also, preheating splits on top of your firebox is awesome. Instantaneous ignition when you throw it in the fire.

Brisket is rough, though. Takes some practice. At least once or twice a year, I screw one up, throw my hands up, give up and say, "I'm never doing this GD'd meat again!" And then a month or two later, I'm shopping for another one. lol Some meats, like pork butt, are ultra forgiving and it's pretty hard to screw them up badly. Brisket, not so much.

Tell us about your stickburner, what kind, what size, etc.? I'm definitely a stickburner guy, but I have been using my Weber kettle almost exclusively lately. I have so many cookers, it's hard to get them all in the 'rotation'. lol Actually, not 'hard', more like 'impossible'. I just can't afford the meat to cook enough to give them all their workout. lol

[kobbq]

Thanks for the response. I provided my smoker information in the thread. I agree on the crumbling, it definitely had that texture. I’ve pulled at 200-205 with good results but I definitely want better results with brisket specifically.

[kobbq]

It’s an offset hybrid, it has gas that I use to light the wood and an occasional burger. It can do charcoal but I just enjoy the wood smoke flavor on a lot if not most meat and poultry.
The pic on my profile is the current rig in my backyard, it’s by Pitts & Spitts. I have the 2436, got it for a steal based on the MSRP.

Model Options	U2436	U2448
Barrel Size length x diameter	36 x 24”	48 x 24″
Pit Dimensions length x depth x height	80 x 33 x 60”	92 x 33 x 60″
Firebox length x depth x height	24 x 23 x 24″

[Huskee]

The second one I'd ever done was really fast like that, and that was with my typical cook temp of 240-250ish. It freaked me out since I had only ever done 1 other. I think it's a fluke, but you did have some high heat there.

Usually cooking at 240-250 with some variances either way I'm about 12hrs total each cook (although there are always outliers), and my favorite size brisket is 12-16lbers. I usually go 7-8hrs to 180 IT (instead of 165, I smoke through the stall for better bark), then wrap, then another ~2hrs to 195-200ish IT, then do the hold phase for another 1-2hrs.

A tip I learned through experience with a stickburner is make sure your wood pieces aren't too long. It's easy to use 'bonfire-sized' pieces when that's what we're used to, or when that's what we buy, and even if we split them down if they're too long it can simply be too much wood and therefore too much heat. You could try using shorter pieces. I find 10-12" long splits are plenty for my smoker. When I cut my own logs I make them smaller lengths like that, when I use purchased firewood I use a miter saw to hack them down. A minimal hassle initially, but it makes cook day that much easier. We only need to maintain a cook temp, not power the locomotive across the plains.

[realdocBBQ]

I think cook time is pretty equivalent - but I like trying to keep the bark as crispy as I can. However, of course when wrapping it after it's finished, this softens the bark considerably - but I think it is still more 'adherent' if it's left open with the foil boat method until it's done and then wrapped.

[Huskee]

realdocBBQ What do you find the boat does vs just leaving it unwrapped? If I'm picturing it correctly, you place it in a foil pan of some sort but the top is open?

[realdocBBQ]

Yup, you basically are wrapping the bottom 1-2" in foil and leaving the top completely open. It does retain more heat and speeds cooking considerably - about like fully wrapping. But keeps the top open for crispy bark. Just have to be careful not to go TOO hot on your temps or it will boil in its juices and braise too much, getting crumbly - same problem with full wrap. It does work, though I was skeptical at first. I like it, helps keep juicy and speeds the finish some.