any concerns with smoking a brisket to long?

mrad · Sep 18, 2013

What would the concerns be with smoking a brisket too long?

I am hoping to smoke a brisket for dinner on Saturday with my MES. I would like to start the brisket around 11:00-12:00 pm Friday night at about 170. The next morning around 8:00am I would then turn up the temp to 225 to finish.

Reason for this is it would allow me to leave the house for a couple hours Saturday to tend to some other things, however this could turn the cook time into 15 plus hours.

Any concerns with this method?

turnandburn · Sep 18, 2013

mrad said:
What would the concerns be with smoking a brisket too long?

I am hoping to smoke a brisket for dinner on Saturday with my MES. I would like to start the brisket around 11:00-12:00 pm Friday night at about 170. The next morning around 8:00am I would then turn up the temp to 225 to finish.

Reason for this is it would allow me to leave the house for a couple hours Saturday to tend to some other things, however this could turn the cook time into 15 plus hours.

Any concerns with this method?

how big of a brisket? it shouldnt be a problem as long as you dont probe it or puncture it in any way before putting it on...as soon as you mess with the intregrity of the whole muscle you have to get from 40-140* in 4 hrs. at that temp itll never happen...and how long are you planning on staying away from the house...cuz u can leave it at 225* and go somewhere for awhile...no need for below 200 just so you can step out. i leave mine on at 250* and go make my rounds, ive already got enough wood and the amazn tube to give me smoke for awhile in the smoker...so im not really worried about much in my setup.

jirodriguez · Sep 18, 2013

Smoke at a steady temp between 200 and 230, once your brisket hits it's finish temp you can foil it and hold it in a dry towel lined cooler for up to 6 hrs. and still have it piping hot. I usually put a folded towel on the bottom of the cooler then put the foiled brisket on top of that, and fill the rest of the cooler with more towels.

Most full packers I have done run anywhere from 13-16 hrs. on average, have had some run as long as 20 hrs. but that has only happened a once or twice.

mrad · Sep 18, 2013

The brisket will be between 9 and 11lbs. My thought was that the 170 starting temp would give it a good long smoke overnight. I'm guessing IT temp next morning would range from 120 -140. At that point I would turn it up until it hits 155ish then foil.

my first few briskets were taking 12-14 hours for a 10- 11lbs at 225.

The last two I smoked were 11-12lbs and were done in around 9 hours at 240.

I'm just trying to buy some time if I need it. hoping to serve around 5:00 on Saturday

kathrynn · Sep 18, 2013

I wouldn't smoke mine below 225*.

Here is a "sticky" on Briskets from Dutch.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/50979/basic-brisket-smoke

Kat

airs · Sep 18, 2013

I agree 100% with JIRodriguez - get it up to 200-205 deg then put it in foil and toss in a cooler with lots of rags or towels. I've had them still hot 7 hours later. It may be me, but I think the meat continues to get more tender the longer you foil - I've even started to do it for Boston Butts.

turnandburn · Sep 18, 2013

mrad said:
The brisket will be between 9 and 11lbs. My thought was that the 170 starting temp would give it a good long smoke overnight. I'm guessing IT temp next morning would range from 120 -140. At that point I would turn it up until it hits 155ish then foil.

my first few briskets were taking 12-14 hours for a 10- 11lbs at 225.

The last two I smoked were 11-12lbs and were done in around 9 hours at 240.

I'm just trying to buy some time if I need it. hoping to serve around 5:00 on Saturday

do u need more time away than 12-14 hrs away from the smoker?lol. seems kinda fast for 11-12lb'er to be done in 9 hours. verified temps??..? in the end its all gunna come down to your methods and your planning...just remember this is smoking, not crock pot cooking..so you cant stay away too long..lol.

jirodriguez · Sep 18, 2013

mrad said:
The brisket will be between 9 and 11lbs. My thought was that the 170 starting temp would give it a good long smoke overnight. I'm guessing IT temp next morning would range from 120 -140. At that point I would turn it up until it hits 155ish then foil.

my first few briskets were taking 12-14 hours for a 10- 11lbs at 225.

The last two I smoked were 11-12lbs and were done in around 9 hours at 240.

I'm just trying to buy some time if I need it. hoping to serve around 5:00 on Saturday

.... main area of concern with starting that low is the "40° to 140°" rule. Meaning you want to get the internal temp of the meat from 40° to over 140° within three hours. It is in the 40-140 range where bad bacteria and what not wants to grow. Starting at 170° in the chamber will probably keep you in that range for longer than is officialy safe, that is why I would not go any lower than 200° to start. Better to spend extra time foiled and in the cooler - or if you are really pressed for time you can smoke it a day or so ahead of time and re-heat it in a 225° oven for a few hours in a foil pan with some beef broth.

bruno994 · Sep 19, 2013

Briskets only get better with a proper rest. Finish it in the normal time frame for your smoker, then as the others above suggested, put it away in a cooler for a nice, long rest. I have rested them for 5 hours or more with no problem at all. Just cook it until probe tender, rest it, try to avoid slicing until the IT has dropped back down below 170, preferably in the 160 range. This seems to be the optimal IT for the juices to have redistributed internally and also for the external and internal temps of the meat to have equalized.

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any concerns with smoking a brisket to long?

mrad

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turnandburn

Master of the Pit

jirodriguez

Master of the Pit

mrad

Meat Mopper

kathrynn

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airs

Newbie

turnandburn

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jirodriguez

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bruno994

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