Latest brisket, a near fail that worked out

[bcostlow]

It was Tuesday before Thanksgiving and I got up at 04:30 to put my latest work of art on the WSM. I'd been up late the night before, my head was aching, I really didn't want to do this. I realized I wasn't going to stay up until the smoker hit temp so I lit the fire, set my BBQGuru to 225, and threw 14 pounds of awesomeness on the grate, hooked up the maverick and hit the rack. What could go wrong?

I was using Aaron Franklin's recipe from his most excellent book: this would be my second time using it and I'd been really impressed with my first run with it.

I went back to bed for about 3 hours. I checked the WSM. Grill temperature was 230 and meat was at ... 158? I double checked with an instant read and it was correct. So here I was at 9 in the morning worried sick that I'd promised to take my mother out, gambling my bbqguru would carry the day and I just knew it was going to fail.

Turns out I was mistaken about the time - it was 10:30 and the brisket had been on about 5 hours but I didn't realize that at the time. Looking back, I'm still a little surprised at the the 158 reading because I just threw the meat on the grill without bringing it up to proper temperature. I made excuses to Mom and nursed the grill all day - and for the first time, didn't wrap it in butcher paper or foil.

I took the brisket off the smoker at 5 pm, internal temperature was 203. Lesson learned, don't cook with a hangover :-)

[Huskee]

Beautiful! I regularly get to the stall zone (150-160) within 4-5hrs, sometimes as soon as 3.5. It always seems too quick, but then the drastic slow down evens things out. One time I had a brisket get to the point of being cambro-ready (203 degrees) after only about 5 or 6 hrs. THAT freaked me out. Turns out I trimmed way too much of the fat cap.

[Shane Rakow]

Beautiful!

[lschweig]

Good looking stuff.

[Baker Dan]

Very Nice. What is the name of Aaron Franklin's book?

[bcostlow]

This is a great book, Aaron shares all his recipes and they've worked pretty well for me. https://www.amazon.com/Franklin-Barb...ag=amazi0a8-20

I wrote a review of the book here:
http://sizzlemethis.com/index.php/bl...-style-brisket

[Huskee]

bcostlow, I edited your Amazon link to include AmazingRibs' referral code (affects nothing except gets an affiliate fee for AR if anyone purchases from that link). That book is great, it's one of my favorites, just an all around entertaining and informative read.

[fuzzydaddy]

Gorgeous brisket.

[ecowper]

bcostlow that's a nice looking brisket man! Also, like Huskee, my briskets often get up around 150 in 4-5 hours. But they stall for a looooong time. I have moved to wrapping once the bark is set, rather than when I hit the stall. I like how the brisket turns out when I do it that way much better.

[bcostlow]

Thank you, @ecowper how long does it normally take for the crust to set on your rig? What kind of smoker do you work with?

[DWCowles]

Beautiful

[ecowper]

Thank you, @ecowper how long does it normally take for the crust to set on your rig? What kind of smoker do you work with?

I cook on a WSM 22. I use Kingsford Blue, generally, plus wood appropriate to what I'm cooking. For brisket I use either hickory or oak, general rule of thumb. I find that my bark is set well somewhere in the 8-10 hour time frame, give or take. Internal temp is usually up around 170-180, depending. I typically see a brisket need between 12 and 14 hours total cooking time, if I wrap, or 14-16 hours if I don't.

Edit: Couple more things to add, I guess. I don't use a digital controller like the BBQ Guru. I use a Maverick ET-732 to monitor pit and meat temps. I typically run the WSM at 250 for most of what I cook, including ribs, pork butt, beef ribs, brisket .... I only run it hotter for turkey.

[bcostlow]

I cook on a WSM 22. I use Kingsford Blue, generally, plus wood appropriate to what I'm cooking. For brisket I use either hickory or oak, general rule of thumb. I find that my bark is set well somewhere in the 8-10 hour time frame, give or take. Internal temp is usually up around 170-180, depending. I typically see a brisket need between 12 and 14 hours total cooking time, if I wrap, or 14-16 hours if I don't.

Edit: Couple more things to add, I guess. I don't use a digital controller like the BBQ Guru. I use a Maverick ET-732 to monitor pit and meat temps. I typically run the WSM at 250 for most of what I cook, including ribs, pork butt, beef ribs, brisket .... I only run it hotter for turkey.

Thanks - I also use a WSM 22. I picked up the bbqguru because my life's gotten busier in recent months ... or maybe I've just gotten lazier. Aw heck, I'll just come out and admit it: I have a chronic case of MCS :-)

[Stevo]

That's a fine lookin' brisket! Was it a particular USDA Grade?

[bcostlow]

That's a fine lookin' brisket! Was it a particular USDA Grade?

It was Prime. I usually buy cheaper but my mother was visiting and she'd never had brisket before. I picked it up on sale about 6 weeks ago and let it wet-age in the refrigerator. (Thank you, Meathead)

It was one of the better briskets I've smoked, but with the kids having moved out, I only buy brisket a few times a year so it's difficult for me to really say if grade makes a difference.

[HawkerXP]

Looks beautiful!