There must have been something in the air. Had to be. Nothing else makes sense.
Up at 3:30 to light the pit (charcoal to get the oak lighted)
Pit was ready by 4:30, so the briskets went on.
10lb HEB Prime 1 - mustard slather and the last of the cactus dust in the house
12.5lb Kroger Select (neighbor brought it) - mustard slather and SPG
The cook progressed extremely well throughout the morning. The only exception is the fuel consumption was high due to winds. But I had a probe at grate level monitoring temps and it clung pretty close to 265 all day.
Ribs went on at 10am. I only got pictures of 2 of the full spares (cooked 4); and the lone baby back - All with mustard slather and Hog Waller
Now comes the odd part. As I mentioned, the temperature at grate level stayed pretty close to my target for the majority of the day. I expected the briskets to be done sometime between 4pm and 6pm, if not sooner. I'm firmly entrenched in the "they're done when they're done" camp, but this cook almost broke me. The spares finished on time, and came off about 4, but I didn't take any pictures. The baby back took a lot longer than anticipated. It came off at 5:30, for a 7.5 hour cook. I usually run baby backs less than 5 hours.
Now, the briskets. You'd expect 8-10 hours @ 265 for a 10lb brisket, right? That sucker didn't come off the pit until 9:30pm. 17hrs. Now, it was delicious, well, the bite I had (too late for any more). I still was cognizant enough to snap a picture while I sliced it for the vacuum sealer.
At that point, the other brisket was holding steady at 183 internal. Thinking it was a thermo problem, I changed units and slightly moved the location on the flat. Same temp.
So I just let it roll. Until 11:30. For a cook time of 19 hours.
I didn't get a picture of it due to some personal things within the family Saturday night, and the fact that I was darned tired.In looking back, it was a very low humidity day, so I'm thinking that could have played a roll. Unfortunately, I have no idea if that's right, or whatever could have taken so long. All in all, it was a fun day, as is any day I get to light the big pit and cook, but I've never been so frustrated with a cook! In the end, I churned out the two briskets, 4 full racks of spares, the rack of baby backs and (not pictured) a S&P turkey breast on the pellet grill, since I maxed out the offset.
Anyway, thanks for looking!
