I’m 14 hours in now sitting at an internal temp of 84 currently. This is my second brisket so of course I was eager. But that wore off around the 10 hour mark.
This takes forever on a backyard offset with a lot of baby sitting. I’m hungry, I’m drunk as shit. I accidenlty put the little ones Minecraft toy in the firebox so he’s pissed. It’s metal so it’s no drama really.
And to top it off, if this comes out as ass as the last one. It’s been a whole ass waste of time lol.
Picture is 6 hours in just before the wrap
by Mental_Capital6270
35 Comments
Or just get a pellet smoker….
After 14 hours if your temp is 84, something ain’t right. Should be that temp after a couple of hours.
84? After 14 hours? I hope that’s 184 otherwise throw that thing away. What temp are you running?
Wrap that shit and finish in oven.
Your pit temperature is probably not accurate.
Wrap it and finish in oven. If you wrap and your bark is soggy, you didn’t do it right.
I did one in a kamado, which is set it and forget it, and i still think it wasnt worth the effort. Lol
I’ve used my smoker a few times to make brisket. I agree, it’s more of an activity than it is a great source of food. My pork shoulder always comes out tasting better and it’s FAR less work.
2 great ways to make BBQ take longer: 1. Keep opening the lid. 2. Spritz with liquid. Not saying it doesn’t work for some people, but it will extend your cook time.
14 to 15 hours is what usually have into brisket, but I wrap mine and put it in the oven when it hits 160-170. That’s usually 5-6 hours in. I set the oven to 210. Then I’m back on the smoker for an hour to stiffen the bark back up when the brisket hits 205. Very little of that time is actual work or babysitting. That said, I get up at 3am to get it on the smoker. Usually just crash on the couch for a few hours then get up and check on things. I don’t crack a beer until 3pm when I know I’m in the home stretch.
Couple things: not every part of your pit runs the same temp. (At 250°F one side of my pit is 295°F and the other side can be 245°F.
If you’re Brisket hit 183°F you most likely should have wrapped it around 165°F in foil and sped this up. You’d more than likely have been done at 14 hours.
Did you wrap it after the stall?
Learn to do hot and fast. Learn that when you cook brisket that’s not what you’re gonna be eating until next day most likely. Learn to smoke for a few hours and just throw the sum bitch in the oven. Learn brisket isn’t for everyone.
Don’t wrap it at all. You can get the same timing results from a higher temperature and improve the bark at the same time.
Finish in an oven at 325 though for sure.
I basically always start a brisket 17 hours before I want to serve it, adding an extra hour for a really large one, and taking an hour off for a smaller one. After about 8 hours I start adjusting the temperature to ensure it finishes at roughly the 14 hour mark (last 2-4 hours are in a cooler). This usually means going from 225 to 250 at 8 hours, then adjusting every hour or two after that, often hitting 280, sometimes 300 at the peak, then usually ultimately lowering it 240-260 for the final hour or two to slow things down, whatever it takes to hit my mark, all with temperature adjustments. Wrapping might speed things up, but not in a way I can trust and control like just straight temp adjustments.
Of course I also use a Kamado with a fan controller, because it’s 95% as good and takes 1/20th the effort. I get to sleep all night, go to the movies if I want, do a cook on a Wednesday while I am working from home so I can pull it at 3pm to serve at 6pm. Anything I want, because I don’t have to tend it at all (I also don’t spritz it or baste it, just put it on, and don’t open the Kamado until it is over 200 degrees and ready for jiggle or probe testing.
I have a couple of roaster ovens that I migrate over brisket and shoulder when I’m over it. I just set them up on the screened porch and move my Signals wifi thermometer with them. A little more cleanup but worth it to shut down the smoker and walk away. I will use the oven if it only one hunk of meat.
I’ve only smoked the smaller “Comp” cut briskets my local place sells, so they cook quicker than a full cut. Wrapping around 165 and finishing in the oven is the way to go. Makes it much less of a hassle. Just make sure you aren’t too drunk and forget to set the temp right like me last Saturday.
It’s going through the stall!
I’ve had a brisket take 20 hours.
My baseball team still talk about it 3 years later.
Brisket ain’t for the faint at heart LOL
You want chuck roast
I don’t waste my time with brisket anymore. If I want good brisket I’ll just hit up one of the local bbq joints.
Briskets are more for special occasions when there are a lot of ppl. It’s more of a show piece than anything for me. I prefer beef ribs
1. Get a good thermometer.
2. The texas crutch, my friend. Use it.
It isn’t.
It’s the drunkenness I get it.
I did a 20 lb brisket recently and it took me 20 hrs. Pellet grills ftw.
Man, the variance in these comments ranging from wrap/don’t and from fuck brisket to yum is amazing.
FWIW I’m an amateur and brisket is my kid’s favorite. I recommend keep at it until you get it right. Every piece of meat is different, and there are always going to be variables that change the total cook time, but here’s my basic formula:
1) season it well ahead of time
2) 200° overnight
3) 225° when I wake up
4) wrap it when internal hits 165°
-throw some butter in that wrap
5) finish it in the oven until it’s at 203
Watch Meat Church videos for better instruction than me.
Next time get your bark how you want it, foil boat it, and finish it in the oven
84? Well, there’s your problem right there, you’re not using freedom units to temp the thing LOL.
But seriously, when it hits the stall and I wrap mine, I bump the temps up to 275° from 225°-230°. Then rest it overnight at 160° in the oven at least 12 hours
As soon as you get the level of bark you want, wrap that dude and finish in the oven. Makes no difference after you wrap it. Brisket is definitely worth it if you have the time and don’t fuck it up
If you’re over 180f, I wrap, or foil boat, or if you want it faster you can foil wrap the entire thing. And I usually do a finish temp of 300f after the wrap. Good luck and don’t quit! Brisket is a mean one to begin with, but each time you learn something.
I’ve said it before and l I’ll say it again. Brisket is overrated.
This made me laugh thanks for the post hope your night gets better
Im too lazy for brisket…even with my ez bake oven. 😅
If I need brisket Im just smoking a small portion or even brisket chunks. After about 6 hours I start losing interest. 🫣
I grew up smoking briskets with my dad when they were cheap… they became trendy at some point and are overpriced as hell now.
I mostly smoke pork these days.
Same. Short ribs and beef cheeks pack tons more flavor, with one-hundredth of the effort.
it’s not worth it until it is. you’re right on track. trust the process
How much did the brisket weigh? I always figure 1.5 hours per pound. 1 hour per if you crutch it. If you don’t want to babysit there are things you can do to reduce that. I run a charcoal gravity smoker with a fireboard and fan that requires zero babysitting.