Brisket finished too soon ... Now what do I do?

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millerk0486

Meat Mopper
Original poster
Jan 18, 2012
190
11
Maryland
Hello fellow smokers! It's been a while since I posted anything on the forum, but this morning I woke up to a situation where I needed to turn to the SMF community for advice.

Every easter I smoke a Brisket for our family and every year I do it the same... Trim some (not all) of the fat, Rub it, inject it with a beef base, smoke it til it stalls, then wrap it in foil. The cooking time is typically 12-16 hours depending on the weight.

I always do an overnight cook with the anticipation of waking up to it being 150-165 degrees, and it then stalling around the 170's, which typically happens around noon when I would wrap it and let it cook until it hits my target temp around 2-4pm... Today it's only 7am and the brisket is already 181 degrees... it's gonna be done real soon and dinner isn't until 4pm. What do I do to with it until dinner? I could keep the smoker temp at or below my meat's target temp, but will that overcook it? I'm out of ideas and I would greatly appreciate any advice.

Happy Easter Everyone!
 
What is your cooker temp? Do you have a digital therm at grate level? Sounds like the temp might have been too high or a thin brisket. I would lower cooker temp to 170 and resume cooking around 10
 
I would just let it finish. You can wrap it in foil & towels. Then into a dry cooler & pack towels or blankets around it & it will stay hot for 5 or 6 hours. Then pull it out & slice it for dinner.

Al
 
Thank you SParkTexas and SmokinAl. I ended up letting the smoker cool to the 170's for a bit and kicked it back up around 10am. It finished at 11, so I pulled it from the smoker, wrapped it in foil twice, then towels and a blanket. It went from 196 to 170 in about 2 hours. I think it is like SPark said, it was a thin cut. It really shrunk down. This is by far the smallest one I've done. I just put it back on my smoker still wrapped to keep it above 170.

Also, I've been using a remote thermometer and cooking on a 22.5" WSM.

Thanks again for the advice!
 
Just wrap and store in a cooler with towels or a blanket. It will rest nicely and be ready for the party.
 
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