Another First Brisky Question...

[NorCalQ]

My first brisket on the MAK2 and I really don't want to get up in the middle of the night to put my brisky on, so here's what I plan...
Put brisket on smoke at 10pm. Get up about 6am to check, then raise cook temp to 225*. Foil at 150*IT, then let it go till an IT of about 200*. In the cooler till dinner time at about 4PM.
Will this time out or will it be done too soon to cooler till 4pm?

 

[jimsbarbecue]

I have done this before. We usually eat between 2 and 3. Depending on crowd size we sometimes cook a extra brisket. We have pulled one as late as 5 and served it. Was still hot and good. It will cook a little while in the cooler or Cambro.

 

[KyNola]

I guess the first question is are you cooking a full packer brisket or just a flat or a point? And if I read correctly you are going to run the MAK at the smoke setpoint of around 190F for 8 hours? Once you finally push the cook temp to 225, don't be surprised if you get a stall in the IT of the brisket at some point. I wouldn't venture a guess as to the timing of this. A lot of the timing depends on the weight of the brisket and more importantly, the quality of the cow that the brisket came from.

 

[NorCalQ]

Yes. I plan on starting at the "Smoke" target temp over night,then in the morning, kick it up to 225* Will this cooking program work or will I be better off just getting up in the morning and doing a high heat brisket at 350* for a shorter time?

 

[KyNola]

You definitely don't want to do a high heat brisket at 350* in your MAK. You will wind up wth a very tough piece of meat. I am not at all saying you should do this but here is something for your consideration. Put your brisket on the MAK at 220* and let it go until the IT hits 165. Then foil it with some "no salt added" beef stock in the foil until the IT hits somewhere between 190-200. Then, ftc for an hour or two. At 200* you are looking towards pulled brisket. At 190* it's sliced brisket against the grain.

 

[Big Poppa]

crazy amount of smoke time...use your pellet boss program sensibly...that cook is just nuts. makes no sense...sorry.

 

[CarterQ]

Brisket is a pretty tough nut to crack, the best way to see how it behaves is to cook one and get a feel for it. It's pretty rare to knock a brisket out of the park on your first try. I'm with BP though, overnight on smoke is setting yourself up for fail. Get up early, rock it at 275. A 12 lb brisket will be done in about 8 hours or so at the higher temp.

There is some great brisket info here-

http://www.pelletsmoking.com/hall-fame-recipes-22/big-poppas-brisket-tips-3523/

 

[Big Poppa]

you need only about two hours of smoke....then you want to cook and render the brisket. other wise you are putting a large piece of meat and having 190 degree heat blown on it for way too many hours...pretend its a hair dryer...you will dry your meat out.

 

[NorCalQ]

Thanks for the replies. My very first brisket, I did at 350* and it turned out great. The cook took about 5 hours. 2nd and 3rd brisket I did at 225*, but had to wake up at 3am to begin the cook and those turned out pretty good too. I really didn't want to have to get up that early again, so I'm trying to figure out how I can do the cook, but still get some decent sleep and be ready to serve by 4pm. 275* may be the compromise.

 

[CarterQ]

Cool, let us know how it turns out.

 

[KyNola]

So are you cooking a full packer or just a flat or a point cut? The answer to that question will dictate how long it will take to complete your cook.