# So confused. Brisket cooked fast



## Blair Fredrickson (Mar 30, 2019)

Hey guys, 

My 3rd brisket ever and 1st on my new gmg pellet smoker with an amaz n tube to supplement the smoke. 

I put it on about 5am at 250 this morning and at 8 it was already at 170?! I figured maybe it would take a while through the stall and climbing to around 205. But nope. It reached 205 at noon. I wanted to eat at 6 after it getting done at 5 and resting for an hour. It's in FTC and hoping it will hold temp above 140 and we can eat at 4. 

But how the hell did it cook so fast? I'll have to check the pellet temp with a leave in therm for the 250. The amaz n tube I didnt think would change it much since I assumed the gmg adjusts based on the temp inside the smoker.

Ugh! So frustrating. Smoking is an art and I haven't totally figured it out yet


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## JJS (Mar 30, 2019)

What did you use to measure the temp inside the smoker?


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## Blair Fredrickson (Mar 30, 2019)

The smoker checks the inside by itself as it's a pellet smoker. Now I need to check myself as I should. I'll try that experiment tomorrow. It has to have been too hot. It felt good at 205 almost like the whole butter thing so it should turn out well. Just done way too early. Hoping BPFTC will keep it above 140 before servings 4 hours later. If not I've read to just put it in the oven in the BP and foil at like 225 til it bumps back up to 140? Does that sound right?


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## JJS (Mar 30, 2019)

It sounds like it was running hotter than the smoker setpoint for sure.
I usually preheat my oven to 170 and turn it off, I keep a thermometer in the oven to let me know when it gets to 145 ish and turn back on. Can keep it warm for a long time with out cooking it that way.


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## hardcookin (Mar 30, 2019)

You didn't really mention what size your brisket was.
I agree it sounds like you was running to hot...Now you can say you have done a brisket hot & fast 

Let us know how it tasted.


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## Blair Fredrickson (Mar 30, 2019)

Haha. Well it was 15 pounds before I trimmed it up so probably around 12 or 13. 

It turned out well!  It was tender and juicy and delicious...so I am overall happy...but the major thing I noticed was the deckle, I think its called, and most of the fat wasnt rendered well. It was still fatty and needed to be trimmed. I also noticed it didnt have a big smoke ring like I'd like even with the amaz n tube. I'm assuming because it only got half the time to cook that I wanted. After 4 hours of FTC, it was right at 140 so we are as is and it was good. 

I just rubbed it with salt and pepper and then a thin layer of how to bbq right's "killer hogs hot bbq" rub. Mostly for a little heat and color. I spray it with half apple cider vinegar and half water and that was awesome. Super happy with that.


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## bregent (Mar 30, 2019)

Yeah, we need to know the size of the brisket. The cook time doesn't sound too unusual, pellet grills cook faster than other smokers. A 14lb brisket takes 12 hours in my pellet cooker running at 225.


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## Blair Fredrickson (Mar 30, 2019)

Ya I'll update tomorrow. I need to put my therm in the smoker and see the average temp during the amaz n tube and the pellet smoker at 250. That 12-13 pound packer should have taken at least 10 or 11 hours and it got done in 6.5.


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## bregent (Mar 30, 2019)

Blair Fredrickson said:


> I also noticed it didnt have a big smoke ring like I'd like even with the amaz n tube.



Yeah, double check the cooker temp with another thermometer.  You really don't need a tube to get cook smoke ring - pellet grills get plenty of ring without them when running at lower temps. Maybe your controller needs adjusting.


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## Blair Fredrickson (Mar 30, 2019)

Ya i just got the gmg pellet smoker on black Friday so I'll have to see how to do that assuming it runs high. Well see


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## JJS (Mar 30, 2019)

Keep in mind that the temp will run slightly different without food inside, if the “cold” food is near the temp sensor it will run hot until it heats the meat up


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## tallbm (Mar 30, 2019)

Blair Fredrickson said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> My 3rd brisket ever and 1st on my new gmg pellet smoker with an amaz n tube to supplement the smoke.
> 
> ...



Hi there and welcome!

My mother does briskets super hot and they finish fast like that.  She is smoking and cooking at like 400F so it doesn't hurt the brisket at all.  Actually her method probably overcooks the brisket but then she wraps and sets in the fridge for like 24hours so then all the super jelly like texture firms back up and when reheated you never even know hahahah.

As for your brisket you can hold a brisket EASILY for 4-5 hours if you double wrap in foil, then wrap tightly in 3 good bath towels and just set it on the counter.  I do this all the time.  When it comes time to slice and eat like 4 hours later it is piping hot.  I always plan for my briskets to be done at least 4-5 hours before the time to eat knowing it holds so well and so easily.

Best of luck with all your brisket cooking in the future! :smile:


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## Blair Fredrickson (Mar 31, 2019)

Alright guys. I have ran the experiment this morning and the middle of my smoking area was almost 300 when the smoker is reading 250. That would explain why the brisket got done in 7 hours. I plan on contacting GMG support today and finding out. I didn't get to post a picture of the brisket yesterday as i forgot to take one, however I made ribs on it last week and they seemed fine. Idk if those were cooked too hot as well. I posted a pic for science.

I do have a few questions if you guys don't mind...

1. I use pit boss pellets as they're cheaper and can be found at Walmart near me. Could that cause this issue?

2. Like I mentioned yesterday the flat was delicious, however the top layer of fat didn't render. Not a big deal, because I could cut that off, however the point has all the marbling throughout and I'm nervous that won't be very good as that will just be more fatty and less juicy. When I reheat this in the oven I have it wrapped in foil and I planned on reheating at 225 or 250 for an hour or 2 until it gets up to 150 or so. Is it possible for me to render any more of that fat when I reheat it? Or will it just dry everything out. (We have a little flat left and most of the point)

Thanks for the help guys. As you can see in the picture, I live in Fargo, ND and so I got this smoker on black Friday but with the winter, it's only my 4th or so smoke, so I'm loving it, but man do i still have a lot to learn and you guys have helped.

Thanks,


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## tallbm (Mar 31, 2019)

The problem you have might be ok because you can always follow what the wireless thermometer is telling you and adjust the smoker lower.  Usually people have problems hitting a max temp and they can never turn the smoker up high enough to hit the max temp so congrats on being lucky in that regard 

As for cooking too hot.  With your ribs, brisket, and even poultry you shouldn't have any problems running hot and as mentioned a moment ago simply turn down the heat on the smoker and let the wireless thermometer guide you.

I don't think your issue is the pit boss pellets.  Plenty of people use the pit boss pellets and I have seen no such reported issues other than sometimes they are a little mild in flavor.

As for rendering with your brisket, you can always "cook" it again wrapped in foil in the oven and the foil should keep all the juices in.  I personally would just reheat it to 165F'ish and eat it.  

Let us know what you do and best of luck on the future smokes! :)


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## indaswamp (Mar 31, 2019)

How thick was the brisket? Thinner ones cook faster....No matter the weight. an 18# brisket that is 1.5" thick at the thickest part will cook faster than a 14# brisket that is 2.5" thick at the thickest part.......


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## Jonok (Mar 31, 2019)

I had some brisket recently that someone was kind enough to give me (having done his best to smoke it, his first try!)
He did a nice job, but he was concerned that he’d pulled it a little early (and I agree that it was still kinda tough).  Anyway, it came in foil with some rendered juices and fat, and I didn’t want to wreck it, so I appropriated the little fuzzy logic, computerized, induction-heated etc...pressure rice cooker that I bought for my wife last Christmas.
I put a little juice in the bottom, and chucked in a slice.  Sequentially cooked it in 5 minute increments until it was just right (worked out to about 15 minutes)

I tossed the rest of the brisket and juice in the cooker and 15 minutes later, it was really pretty good.

 I think I would be inclined to try this method again should I encounter a similar problem, because it seemed to preserve flavors and overall texture, but did not become “wet” like stuff sometimes does when it is braised for too long.


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## SlowmotionQue (Mar 31, 2019)

Blair Fredrickson said:


> Alright guys. I have ran the experiment this morning and the middle of my smoking area was almost 300 when the smoker is reading 250. That would explain why the brisket got done in 7 hours. I plan on contacting GMG support today and finding out. I didn't get to post a picture of the brisket yesterday as i forgot to take one, however I made ribs on it last week and they seemed fine. Idk if those were cooked too hot as well. I posted a pic for science.
> 
> I do have a few questions if you guys don't mind...
> 
> ...



Is there a way by which you can calibrate the grill's thermometer with your other orange thermometer shown in the pic?

Is that other orange thermometer device in the picture a Thermopro?  If so, then it should be pretty accurate to about 2* or so at the temps you're testing.

It's not your pellets.  It seems that either your aftermarket thermometer or your gill's thermometer is not reading correctly. 

One other thing you might try is to run this test with your orange thermometer probe near the temp probe of the grill and see how they correlate.

I would not put the orange thermometer probe on metal, such as your grates or a metal bracket, as the metal might retain heat and give you a higher temperature than the ambient temperature inside the cooking chamber of the grill.

I use a wine cork for the temp probe of my aftermarket thermometer probe for this reason.


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## Blair Fredrickson (Mar 31, 2019)

It is not a thermoprobe, however i have another nice instant read therm that i've check the orange one with. I will have to try it over the sensor and see what it does. I have a grill grate clip to elevate it. I contacted support, so we'll see what they say.


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