First Time Trying a Brisket

[BigTex33]

Depends on the meat. You hit the plateau. You just have to wait for the internal to get over that hump and get the rest of the way. At best you'll gain 5-10 degrees after you pull and wrap. And thats with foil, towels and a tight cooler.

[egghead]

I knew it needed more time when i took it off but sadly i only gave myself 7 hours to do this so i had to take it off when i knew it was not ready (had to get up to the cabin!). when i took if off it was sitting at 140ish but it had been sitting there for like 2 hours. How much internal temp should it gain over an hour?

I would say it had a ways to go if it was only 140. Generally will hit a plateau in the 160s for a while.

What temp were you using for smoking? Have you calibrated your pit thermometer? I'm smoking mine at about 230 at the grate level.

[OSD]

What temp was your temp gauge reading while cooking and where is it located? Have you calibrated your gauge ?

If it is the factory gauge located at the top of the cooking chamber and it read 250° ( and you had calibrated it ). your grate cooking temp was most likely around 150° to 160°. Did you check the temp at the grate with an oven thermo or wireless thermo?? If you didn't take this temp difference in account. This could be the reason a 4.6 pound brisket flat would only be at an internal temp of 140° after 6.5 hours.

[txsmkmstr]

One more suggestion if the "cabin" has an oven.... wrap it in foil, take it with you and finish it up there until it passes the poke test. Good luck and remember every brisket is an adventure - they don't always cook the same.

[The Bundling]

I don’t know if this would work but heres a video of my first smoke (Below). Again my thermo said 240ish but the results say ... nope. Also, it was way to smoky what’s the best way to control the smoke level in there? The obvious answer is less wood chunks but a smarter way?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZYp9SYMLP8

[OSD]

I don’t know if this would work but heres a video of my first smoke (Below). Again my thermo said 240ish but the results say ... nope. Also, it was way to smoky what’s the best way to control the smoke level in there? The obvious answer is less wood chunks but a smarter way?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZYp9SYMLP8" target="_blank" target="_blank

After seeing your video and seeing where your thermo is located at the top of your smoker. If you were going by it's reading, your cooking grate temp could be as much as 100° lower than what your thermo is reading. Which means you were really cooking at around 150°-160°. Thus why the low internal temp and the temp stall after being in the smoker for 6.5 hours.

Also did you calibrate the thermo to be sure it is reading right?

[txsmkmstr]

After seeing your video and seeing where your thermo is located at the top of your smoker. If you were going by it's reading, your cooking grate temp could be as much as 100° lower than what your thermo is reading.

+1... and my experience has been a 20*-30* difference even with the gage mounted halfway between the top and grate level. Don't forget that left to right temps can vary nearly as much if not more. Same thing happened to my with my first brisket - trying desperately to hold 215*-225* on the gage and not realizing I was cooking at 190*.

I haven't had much luck with the little oven thermometers but a good digital one with probe (Maverick, etc.) really solved a lot of cooking time issues for me. Take the probe and stick it into half an orange or potato to keep it just off the grate - that'll show you what temp you're actually cooking at. Move it around some during the cook to get an ideas on the temp difference at the firebox end vs. the exhaust end. Make some notes for future cooks and use the exterior gage accordingly.... IE: 240* indicated = 180* exhaust/210* firebox.

BTW - things will be different depending on how much is on the pit... just another reason to love bbq'ing.

[The Bundling]

OK! my wife is going to kill me but yall got me so excited im going to try it all again this afternoon! Going to pick up my meat right now! Videos or Photos will come. lets hope im in BBQ heaven tonight at the dinner table! Thanks All!

[95sportster]

im going to try it all again this afternoon!

So how'd it turn out? I read ur post on trying it the first time...I think we were both trying our firsts last weekend.....and used BluDawgs method myself. Mine turned out pretty good, but the flat was not falling apart, but wasn't shoe leather either. I'd say it was a darn fine 1st on my end.
I didn't think about the grate temp either, just tried to keep the outside gauge around 225-250.
Gonna be tryin' my first time at smokin' baby backs tmrw!

[66foxtrot]

That information about is worth a pot of gold. Gonna follow it too!

[3 star redneck]

That information about is worth a pot of gold. Gonna follow it too!

Well send me a check...

[The Bundling]

OK, here it is! i changed up the recipe a little for more of my taste... more sweet and some red pepper. The smoke flavor was perfect but it was a little dry (however, allot less dry then i thought it would be for 8 hours). It smoked for 8 hours!! a 4 lb flat... 8 hours! I wrapped it up at 164ish (but that was already 5 hours ish) perfectly tender and perfect taste just alittle dry. I learned a lot this time around. First, I cant trust my darn factory thermo. Said I was around 300 when at great level my kitchen digital read around 150! Could it be that big of a difference??? How do I change this? ENJOY THE PHOTO and the video below (is that the right smoke color!?!?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7ehMQoMhtU" target="_blank" target="_blank

[The Bundling]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7ehMQoMhtU

[DATsBBQ]

First off if you haven't calibrated the factory thermo you would be well served to do so.

Briskets, in my very humble opinion, are done when they pass the poke test. I've have big ones pass the test in as little as 7 hours and smaller ones go 18. I usually cook at the 240° to 250° range. I prefer packers and most take about 12 hours. How the comp cooks handle this is beyond me.

Foil will reduce the cook time, but how much is another topic of debate.

Hope this helps.

[coho55]

put the brisket on your smoker cook at 250 to 275 bareback until it starts to change color then about 3hours wrap with foil and cook for another 6 to 8 hours it will have a nice smoke ring and taste great