What would you do? Brisket Dilemma

[micker]

I have this beautiful Costco Prime 13lb brisket that has been rubbed down with garlic, CBP, kosher salt, paprika and coffee.  I've been looking forward to a nice overnight smoke since last fall.

The problem is that I just turned on the news and the weather is calling for rain from midnight to 6am tomorrow.

My question is this.  Should I start this on the pellet cooker and give it smoke until from around 6pm to Midnight and then move it to the oven for the rest of the night?

Should I move it back to the smoker in the morning after the rain or just finish it in the oven?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

 

[micker]

And a little pre-game QView for you all

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• micker
• May 13, 2016

 

[SmokinAl]

Nothing wrong with finishing it in the oven.

Six hours of smoke should give you plenty of smoke flavor.

Al

 

[cliffcarter]

Are you concerned that the rain will short out the electronics in the pellet cooker? If so then by all means put the brisket in the oven, but if you are not then let it ride all night in the pit.

 

[micker]

That is my concern. I run an extension cord from my garage to the pellet cooker and I'm worried that it might not be safe in a torrential downpour

I'm also thinking of borrowing my business partners 10x10 popup and putting it under that.

 

[micker]

So I've wedged a 10x10 popup tent under the edge of my garage eave and run the cord out in what I hope is a safe manner.  I'll post Qview as this progresses

 

[micker]

11PM check.  Sprayed some apple juice on it and stuck a probe into it. So far so good, no rain yet.

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• micker
• May 13, 2016

 

[canuck38]

Keep postin the pics Mick, I'm withya, where ya at?

 

[mike5051]

Looking good!  

Mike

 

[micker]

So now I really don't know what to do and think this may be a failure.

Shortly after Midnight I went to sleep.  At 3AM all of my temp alarms started going off.  Apparently I have a hot spot that I wasn't aware of in my pellet smoker and this thing cooked much faster than I think it should. Being that this is my first brisket in 7 years I'd love some pointers.

I started this at 8:30PM.  It's 14lb brisket and I'm smoking it around 210F using hickory pellets.  While I had set the smoker to 210F a wireless thermometer probe I stuck in half of a potato told me that the front right corner was running closer to 195F

I had been planning on a long smoke.  14# brisket at an hour and a half a pound right?

Well when the alarms went off at 3AM the brisket was showing an internal temp of 175F and rising quickly.

To get this under control I pulled it, foiled it and put it in the oven at 200F.

It's now 5:30AM and its at 190F.

My first question is did this get cooked too fast?  Will it be a pile of boot leather?

The second question is what do I do with it now?  My BBQ guests won't be arriving until 4PM or 5PM and this is ready for the cooler now.

What should I do to be able to serve this in 11 hours?

 

[micker]

So I foiled it and put it into the cooler.  I need to get some sleep and a couple hours of cooler time will buy me a couple hours of sleep.

So what I'm thinking is I'll unwrap this and put it back on the smoker about an hour before folks arrive. That would be 3PM.  It's now 6:15am I don't think the cooler is the best place to hold this for that long.  It's a good cooler but I don't know that it will hold heat for 8-9 hours.  Should I move this into the fridge as it cools or just keep it in the cooler?  

I do know what when I smoke pork butts I'll usually put two in this cooler around 3 or 4 and then pull one for dinner.  Sometimes I don't remember the other until 10 or 11 at night and it will still be hot.  BUT, that is not 8 or 9 hours. 

 

[mike5051]

Sorry about your troubles Mick.  I would cook the brisket till it hit 205, rest it for a few hours and refrigerate it till one hour before serving time.  Put it back in the oven to heat and carve when warm.  I'm no expert, but I wouldn't leave it in a cooller longer then 3 hours.  Good luck.

Mike

 

[micker]

I napped for about two hours after it went into the cooler.  When I woke I decided to put it in the fridge and let it rest until 3 when I pulled it out of the fridge.  I put it in an aluminum tray and put it back on the smoker with some of the juices from smoking. After it was reheated and sliced everyone just destroyed it.  There is one small ziplock of leftovers for tomorrow.Everyone loved it.   I cant believe I forgot to get a final pic

 

[canuck38]

Sounds like everything turned out ok, good job !