# How fast can I cook a 10lb brisket?



## ryanhoelzer (Apr 16, 2010)

Picked up a 10.34lb brisket from WalMart tonight.  Going to do another test tomorrow or Saturday.  I'm going to separate, trim, and inject with beef broth and apple juice.  I'm going to start with about 2 hours on the CharBroil offset, then foil it and move it to the MES for easy temp control and minimum maintenance.  I'm planning on about 2 hours foiled and then back on the MES rack unfoiled.  I think it can have it done in 5 hours at around 275 the whole time.


----------



## graybeard (Apr 16, 2010)

I'm planning on about 2 hours foiled > you lost me here butt as far as time I'm thinking more in the 12 to 15 hour mark. 
beard


----------



## ddave (Apr 16, 2010)

LOL That's a good one. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





What temp do you consider "done"?  Because I don't think you're going to hit 195° in 5 hours at 270°.  Maybe 375°. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Keep us posted. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Dave


----------



## solaryellow (Apr 16, 2010)

I would give you 6 hours at 350* but 5 hours at 275* seems a bit of a stretch.


----------



## moltenone (Apr 16, 2010)

good luck.


----------



## ryanhoelzer (Apr 16, 2010)

I take them to 195-200.

I think separating makes the biggest difference.  I did a 15 lb in 7 hrs at 275 without foiling.  It was on the dry side but still tasted great.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=89212

I did one a few weeks ago that I started on the offset and had to move to the MES because I ran out of charcoal..  It was almost 9 lbs and was done in 7 hours at 240.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=91395


----------



## ddave (Apr 16, 2010)

Who knows, you miight hit a fast one. I had a 14 pounder hit 195° in 10-1/2 hours smoking in the 250s. Certainly not the norm for me though. Twelve to 14 pounders usually take 15 hours + in the UDS.

But like I said, keep us posted.

I do want to try one in the 350s sometime just to see how it turns out. I've read about several folks doing "high heat" briskets and it may be fun for a change.

Dave


----------



## mythmaster (Apr 16, 2010)

Don't listen to them.  You can easily have it up to 185* in five hours if you foil it after three hours at 250*, so if you're going with 275* then you could actually get it higher.  200-205* is a good target temp for tenderness and juiciness, so that could take a bit longer.

Instead of foiling it and then un-foiling it, though, I'd let it build up a good bark first and soak in the smoke before I foiled it.  That's just me, though, and I could see how you would want to have it un-foiled for a while at the end -- kind of like the 3-2-1 method for ribs.


----------



## solaryellow (Apr 16, 2010)

Indeed. I have only done a half dozen high heat briskets that were all 12 or more pounds each. Don't listen to me. I am obviously full of ****.


----------



## eman (Apr 16, 2010)

If you put your brisket in a foil pan and cover after 2 hours of smoke you can get a brisket done in 5 hrs at 275 degrees.


----------



## mythmaster (Apr 16, 2010)

Indeed.

Don't take things so personal, please.


----------



## ddave (Apr 16, 2010)

I doubt it.

Depends on the weight.

Dave


----------



## mythmaster (Apr 16, 2010)

Let me point out a couple of details, because I'm not going to argue with you people that think that you need to cook your brisket for 2 weeks.

I'm talking about a pre-trimmed brisket, not a packer's cut, and bringing the temp up to 185* which is just fine.  If you foil it after 3 hours at 250* then this can easily be accomplished in 5 hours.  *I've done it before*.  So, you shouldn't have any problem with it at 275*.

5 hours cooking time is the fastest that you can get a brisket done AFAIK.


----------



## ddave (Apr 16, 2010)

According to your post of 3-24-2010

So you've been smoking less than a month. 

Looking through the threads that you started you've smoked a prime rib, some chicken and some pulled pork. 

I didn't see anything about smoking a brisket. I must have missed that thread.

Don't discount the posts of people who may have a little more experience smoking briskets. No one is saying you have to smoke them for 2 weeks but the temp is the deciding factor, not time. And many people DO smoke packers so that is an important detail.

Dave


----------



## ryanhoelzer (Apr 17, 2010)

Going on the Char Broil at 8:25


----------



## rdknb (Apr 17, 2010)

Good luck and keep us informed


----------



## smokeguy (Apr 17, 2010)

Temp and time are the main factors, and you could always smoke it for 2 hours and then nuke it to finish it fast and "legally" it's done, but like Jeff said in his newsletter, it's not done until it's tender.


----------



## ryanhoelzer (Apr 17, 2010)

After 1 hour in the pan, before flipping.


----------



## ryanhoelzer (Apr 17, 2010)

Here is the point after 2 hrs in the foil pan uncovered.  My avg temp was probably closer to 280 or 285 than the original planned 275.

The last time I did one kinda this way I had it in a shallow piece of foil bent to hold the moisture, not a full pan.  I'm afraid the higher sides might have kept it from getting more direct heat to the outside.  The last time it had a start of a bark at this point.  I think I wish I would have put them directly on the grate for the first 2 hrs.  We'll see.  







I foiled the flat and forgot to take a picture..

Next, 2 hours foiled in the MES at 275.


----------



## smokin' dick (Apr 17, 2010)

Alrightie! A Briskie Hissy Fit! Such fun! 

I have cooked a 4-5 lb. flat at 275*, foiled the whole time, in the oven for 5 hours and it was done. It was tender and juicy. It was not smoked though. This was done as a test for the elusive "probe slides in like butta" texture.
So just to add to the fun here. Time and temperature will get you close to where the brisket should be, but to gauge the doneness, read tender and juicy here, forget reading the temperature and go by probe feel. It's done when it's done. My personal best packer brisket was cooked on the grate, no foil and no thermometer. No idea what the internal temp was either. Probe a few times and when all resistance was gone, took it off to rest. Separated the point and flat with a gloved hand only, no knife. The point was drop dead delicious and the flat was tender and juicy. Hopefully I can replicate this cook. Anyway, getting wordy here, so I'm done. Good luck with your cook and let us know how it goes.


----------



## ryanhoelzer (Apr 17, 2010)

The flat's at 180 after 2 hours panned and 2 hours foiled.  I don't think the panning helped me any, I think I'm going to want more than an hour on the grate to get some bark.  Plus the MES is recovering slow, it dropped to 225 while unfoiling and is only up to 245 in about 10 minutes.


----------



## ryanhoelzer (Apr 17, 2010)

At 5 hrs the point was at 197 and the flat was at 185.

The point passed the probe test so I pulled it.  I've done them to higher temps till they pretty much fall apart but this one's pretty good.  Tender, great taste, but not quite falling apart.

I think the flat's going to take another hour, maybe a little more.  Again, I think my pan at the beginning hurt.  My next experiment will be something like a 2.5-2-1.5.


----------



## ryanhoelzer (Apr 17, 2010)

Temp started climbing fast around 5.5 hrs. Pulled the flat and it was reading 201-204. It's on the dry side but the flavor is good. Overall I'll call it a success but I still lean towards low and slow. I'll try a hot and fast once in a while to see if I can improve it.


----------



## mythmaster (Apr 17, 2010)

I did brisket indirectly on a gas grill with a smoke box before I got my smoker and joined here.  I only counted the time that I've had the smoker in how long I've been smoking.

Also, I'm not trying to discount what anyone says, if you prefer low and slow then fine, just don't say that it can't be done in 5 hours or it won't be any good if you do it that way.  With it directly on the grate for 3 hours at 250* it gets a good bark and the temp will come up to around 185* after it's been in the foil for two hours.  Actually I think my last one got up to 190-195*, so if you want to leave it in until it reaches 205*, then it shouldn't take very long at all.  It's a procedure that a rancher / restaurant owner told me when I bought my 1st brisket from him.  That man knows more about meat and smoking than I ever will.

I'll be the first person to tell you when I don't know something, but when I DO know something from experience, it irritates me to no extent when people argue with me like I don't have a clue just because they always do it differently.

Sorry to be so long-winded, and I hope that I haven't offended anyone.

-Bret


----------



## tigerregis (Apr 17, 2010)

The penultimate paragraph puts you in my good books, as if it mattered. I too know what I know, while also knowing what I don't know. Thanks for sticking to your POV.


----------



## ddave (Apr 17, 2010)

I did not say it won't be any good if you do it that way. I DID say I ddin't think a brisket of that size would cook that fast.

Clearly I was wrong. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





 Assuming it was really cooking at 275°.
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Again, that depends on the size. It may work on a 6 pound flat but on a 15 pound unseparated packer, that won't be the case. Details do matter, and I apologize for getting all nit-picky on you.

But enough with the thread hijack. 

Good lookin' brisket, ryanhoelzer. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





 You've got me wanting to try some higher heat stuff now.

Dave


----------



## oakwood bob (Jul 4, 2016)

Just smoked a 15 lber @ 275° in 10 hrs..this is a first. Now I did trim almost 2 lbs off of non-renderable fat. But still..that brings it down to appx a 13 lber. Still should've taken longer. I usually smoke prime cuts however this was a CAB Choice cut with decent marbling . Leads me to believe that all brisket's truly are different. U just never know.


----------



## cappy126 (May 28, 2017)

I have my 10 lb brisket at 230-247ish,is 190 a good internal temp?? Its been going 5.5 hrs.current temp 149..is it plateauing
Thanks


----------



## hardcookin (May 28, 2017)

This thread was started in 2010....
To answer your question probe tender in the thickest part of the flat. Temp could be anywhere 195 -210 for probe tender.


----------



## cpfitness (Sep 17, 2017)

hardcookin said:


> This thread was started in 2010....
> To answer your question probe tender in the thickest part of the flat. Temp could be anywhere 195 -210 for probe tender.


well hell, why not keep it going?!  Was planning to have my annual start of the NFL season party but Irma put the kibosh on that.  Then had too much work cleaning up properties and such this week and just wasn't feeling throwing a big party.  But of course, I had to run into a brisket at the new farmers market place that my wife had brough home some very good lamb from.  So I was trying to decide to start it late night and run it through the night or start it this morning.  Got home from dinner last night and I was too damn tired, plus the smoker was still put away in the garage (had to bring it in for the hurricane)  So I went to bed early and got up today around 6am.  Had my coffee, dragged the smoker out in the dark and decided that I needed to see about this "Hot and fast method"  I have an trailmaster offset with the std mods (chimney at grate level, sealed it up, tuning plates) haven't used it much since I got the proper tuning plates.  I used to have a hard time keeping temps low on this thing but the last couple times I've had a hard time getting them up.  I have a 10lb packer that I split prior to putting it on and trimmed a lot of the fat from the point but pretty much left the flat alone, figured the extra fat is a buffer for the high heat.  Put it on at 7:30am and had some trouble getting temps up out of 220's but finally i just flipped the vent wide open on the fire box and got her up to 285 pretty easily where I then closed the vent back down to just barely cracked.  Hoping to get this sucker done to eat mid afternoon while watching football.  Will keep everyone posted.  

There is a ton of great info on this site but wasn't really finding a ton of specifics on how long, what temps and what size brisket people were doing hot and fast with.


----------



## cpfitness (Sep 17, 2017)

IMG_20170917_110648986.jpg



__ cpfitness
__ Sep 17, 2017





well it is now 11:30 am.  my brisket has been on for 3 hours and 40 minutes. Got my smoker up at 275-285 for the most part when temps tried to drop I hit it with more lump and got it back on point pretty quickly. I am at 174 IT on the big part of the flat. I wish I hadn't separated it before cooking, mainly cuz I don't think I did a good job of it. It would been easier to see where to cut once it started separating on it's own.


----------

