Anyone ever smoke brisket and pork butt at 200*?

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julius

Fire Starter
Original poster
Jul 4, 2016
52
17
Los Angeles, Ca
Hi folks,

So, it's bring your smoker to work day, at least it is for me.[emoji]128521[/emoji]
I've brought my MES30 to work and I'm gonna do a packer brisket and 2 butts overnight. I'm a little worried about the brisket over cooking because I'm gonna leave the smoker unattended for about 12 hours. I was thinking that that if I cook at a lower temp I should be safe.
Thoughts, pros, cons?
Also, this will be my first brisket!
TIA!
 
I would be surprised if your brisket is done by then. I usually cook pork butts between 225-250, and they take about 13-14 hours. A brisket may take longer than that. How big is the brisket?
 
I would be surprised if your brisket is done by then. I usually cook pork butts between 225-250, and they take about 13-14 hours. A brisket may take longer than that. How big is the brisket?

It was a 13# packer. Trimmed to about 11#. I had to cut it in half for it to fit so the flat is about 5# and the point is about 6#. I'm mostly worried about over cooking the flat.
 
Since you cut it in half it will probably cook faster. You should be okay to cook around 200. Low and slow is the way to go.
 
I'm also thinking that if I put the brisket on the top two racks, farthest away from the heat source, and with the butts as a buffer I'll be safe.
 
I personally wouldn't/couldn't leave that kind of meat unattended for 12 hrs. Every week you read about something going wrong with an unattended cook.
But I also run a big offset so I am feeding it splits every 35 mins. So I am in the hands on mindset.

Are you just planning on finishing them when you come into work? Because 200 probably won't get it done. You will need a higher temp.

However you do your smoke good luck!!
 
I personally wouldn't/couldn't leave that kind of meat unattended for 12 hrs. Every week you read about something going wrong with an unattended cook.
But I also run a big offset so I am feeding it splits every 35 mins. So I am in the hands on mindset.

Are you just planning on finishing them when you come into work? Because 200 probably won't get it done. You will need a higher temp.

However you do your smoke good luck!!

I don't expect them to be anywhere near finished when I come back in. I'm thinking I'll probably crank the heat up a little when I get in also. I'm planning on serving around 4pm. It's about 8 pm now.
 
I don't expect them to be anywhere near finished when I come back in. I'm thinking I'll probably crank the heat up a little when I get in also. I'm planning on serving around 4pm. It's about 8 pm now.
Will be interesting to see where they will be at in the morning. Keep us posted. Thumbs Up
I don't expect them done when you come back in either.
 
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Haha, I can't say because I don't use an electric.  I've got a WSM and that thing is basically set it and forget it.  I've done several overnight cooks where I put the meat on and the temp dialed in, then go to bed.  I do have a Maverick therm that I use that will alert me if the temp gets out of range, but it usually will hold the range for 8-10 hours easily.  I guess my biggest concern with the electric would be keeping enough smoke on the meat.  Either way, let's see some pictures. 
 
I use a tube smoker filled with pellets that will usually burn for 8-10 hours. Just checked on it. Looks really pretty. :-)
Brisket flat had IT of 158. Probably in the stall right now. Point was 152 IT and I didn't probe the butts yet because I'm not as concerned about them and I know they need more time. Cranked heat up to 230. When they have enough bark and it is a little higher I'll foil them and take more pics. [emoji]128513[/emoji]Here's the morning Qview.

J
 
Nice, How did it turn out?  And is that a pan of baked beans in the bottom of the smoker? 

Turned out pretty good. The pan on the bottom is for the drippings. But beans would've been great. I cut up the point and made burnt ends that were AMAZING! The PP was a real crowd pleaser. I'd say overall success, if I could change anything I would use the flat to make burnt ends as well.
 
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