Brisket help

I am in the middle of smoking my first BGE brisket.

Cooked pretty well throughout the day and I thought I was already past the stall. I wrapped it up at about 180*. Grill temp has been steady at 275*, but since I wrapped it the internal temp has dropped steadily from 180* to 173*.

What is going on here? I wouldn't have expected it to drop like that.

275 is way high IMO.

Anything cooked on an egg, should 1st be tenderized over a fence post using a wooden mallet.

Sounds like it’s still in the stall. What did you wrap it with? Thermometer accurate?

Its stalled, keep on going

Hmmmm, maybe borrow a friend’s pellet smoker to finish the job....

Briskets can be hard, it’s stalled. Double check your temperature gauge. How big is it?

Keep going until it hits 203 then pull it. Let the heat out to stop the cook for about 5-10 minutes then wrap it back up. Then get a towel and put it in the cooler for an hour then enjoy.

The stall can be frightening. It can last for hours before it starts moving again.
Fight your way through it.

I think you will be eating this brisket about midnight

Yep

I have yet to make it past the stall

Grant is right. Pull at 203, let it sit for a few minutes, wrap and rest for at least an hour. I let it rest 2-3 normally.

I have seen the stall anywhere from 150 to 180. Gotta be patient.

275 is too high IMHO. 225 is a good number for me. I’d be more likely to be at 200 than 250. I’ve had a couple smokes get away from me and get to 275-290 and the brisket wasn’t very good.

Well it looks like it finally turned the corner and is creeping up. I was just surprised at the loss of internal temp from the stall.

This one will be a learning brisket for the BGE. I never had high hopes for it because it was a flat only, and they trimmed almost all the fat off. That's what happens when you allow your wife to buy the meat.. I expected it to go pretty quick, so I didn't even put it on until noon. Oops.

I shot for 275* after watching videos on the Franklin's cookbook. At this point, I think WAWI will be pretty close with his estimation of ready at midnight.

Pizza has been ordered, and I am looking forward to some brisket tacos for breakfast.

Get a shovel. Bury it in the backyard.

275 is what Franklin says. That's what I do. I don't like 225 at all. Now I use a easy bake smoker so I have no cred.

275 could work but almost certain not with just the flat, it took me about 4 expensive briskets to get it right. Great brisket is an art

I used to cook low and slow but I’ve been running 300-325 forever now, foiling at 160 or so. Never a bad brisket or butt. Years ago I used to enjoy staying up all night throwing logs in but the food tastes way better after a good nights sleep.

Hit 190, start checking for probe tender. Some will be done in the 190's others gotta go into the 200's

I just check for tenderness not so much Temp

My BGE likes to sit at 250-275 and I choose not to fight it. Works well for most of whatever I choose to smoke. Franklin also says take it off at 203. I find that too much so I take mine off at 195.

I have not seen the Franklin videos - does he trim the fat cap significantly? Fat up or down? 275 the whole cook? That's surprising...

I had Franklins bbq for the first time this weekend and the brisket was out of this world. So I'm willing to give his method a go. But the ones I've done at higher temp did not turn out well, so I'd like to replicate his method as closely as possible.

He is big on the trim. Arguably the most important part of smoking a brisket, according to his Masterclass.

Awesome, thanks for the tip. I just found a video he did on trimming, so I'll check that out and see if I can replicate. Appreciate it

In the Masterclass video (worth the subscription just for his series on smoking), my eye started twitching when he demonstrates and gives his philosophy on trimming a brisket. But by the end of it, it made sense. I will never know as much as he does about trimming and I’ll never be as good at it, but the brisket I smoked after watching that video was far and away the best I’ve ever done.

His motto when it comes to trimming is “for the greater good.” If it won’t contribute to the final product, get rid of it. He also talks aerodynamics and smoke direction. It was fascinating to watch. I recommend signing up for Masterclass. You can split IIs with someone because you can have two email addresses on one account. My brother in law and I split it. There are a lot of videos on other topics that are interesting, plus other chefs, too.

What he said^^^^^^

I watched a youtube video showing his trimming philosophy from a class he did back in 2015. Pretty wild stuff. I have not done enough briskets (or maybe have not paid enough attention) to know what parts will turn out good/bad before the cook. I do understand a flat too thin or anything sticking out will be burned. But when he's talking about type of fat or areas of fat that are no good versus areas he thinks will render well, I have no idea how to assess that.

How did it turn out?

Any pics?

As the late, great Neil Young said, “The waiting is the hardest part.”

Total [censored]. I made venison jerky a few weeks ago that was more juicy than this brisket. I'm going to try soaking it in some beef broth just to try and make the meat edible, but I'm not hopeful of even making a meal out of it.

I pretty much gave up on brisket until I got my pellet grill. I try to cook around 235 and 1 hour per pound. I wrap about half way through or so depending on temp. Not the best but me and the dogs like it

You see what happens when you try to beat the stall?

I sometimes cheat during the stall by wrapping it in foil and take it the ole kitchen oven. Set the temp at 240 and it will beat the stall in about 90 minutes, it also prevents it from “drying up”.

I was about to give up on brisket, and then I just got more patient. I don't even consider total hours or total weight. I just try to keep temp between 200-220 and it takes however long it takes. More often than not, I get to 12 hours and run out of charcoal and wrap it in foil and take it inside to finish in the oven at 240-ish. Honestly since I made sure and keep the temp down I haven't had a bad one (they're not as good as Franklins or even Smoke Sessions here in RC, but I like them and I get a lot of complements - good bark outside and plenty of tenderness and moisture inside). The other must-do is resting. I won't let mine rest less than 2 hours. 3 or 4, even better.

Another tip - the meat church brand rubs at academy are some of the best out there IMHO. Game-changer for my brisket.

I didn't rush the stall, I ordered pizza and let that sucker go until about 10PM.

I think I was doomed from the start by the cut of beef. Never allow the wife to buy meat that is intended to cook outside. She didn't want 12 lbs of meat, so she got a flat only, and had them trim fat as if she was going to cook in a croc pot.

Not saying I couldn't have done a better job on the cook, but I just don't think there was any way that particular brisket flat was going to work on a smoker.

If that's the case, then yes you were doomed. All flat and no fat on a 12 hour cook and I can't see any way you were gonna have anything other than jerky in the end.

Thanks for the info

Meat church stuff is really good.

You can get some good bundle deals @ their website.

I've cooked some awesome briskets on the egg. I keep it at 225 and use a temp probe laying on the grate next to the meat. Not the temp gauge on the egg.

Chop it up, throw a pile of beans in it and post a pic of your stew.

That's actually a valid point. At 275* in the dome I could have been at 325* on the rack.



Good idea. I may even post a pic and call it chili.

If it’s lean flat only, the benefits of hot and fast (300 degrees) increase. Doesn’t hurt to inject a lean flat with liquid bacon fat or wrap it in bacon and place everything in an aluminum pan so the lean flat sits in the fat to protect it during the cook. All that said, I’ve never cooked just the flat; that would only happen if my wife purchased the brisket (not gonna happen)

A general rule of thumb for cooking large pieces of meat ; the leaner the meat (chicken, pork loin, brisket flat, turkey) the higher the temp you cook at (300-350)

The fatter the large piece of meat (pork shoulder, brisket point, pork belly) the lower the temp to smoke at (220-260)