Starting Full Packer brisket at 180F then finishing at 225F

[Maule Guy]

I am breaking with Thanksgiving tradition and going with a brisket for 10 (~16lb purchase weight) instead of turkey. I want to get the brisket off the RT-590 no later than 4PM

I have seen a couple of threads on "Midnight" brisket. One of which smokes the brisket at 180F for ~8hrs or to 160F, then wrapping w/ butcher paper and bumping the temp up to 225F or 250F. Sounds as if this technique is yields about a 16hr total cook time. My best guess is this would give me a 10-11PM start time and a 6-7AM wrap time then another 8hrs at 225.

I usually cook briskets at 225F but was wondering if wrapping the brisket tightly in butcher paper would yield a lower temp at the brisket and need to bump it up to 250F.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[mikeporter616]

I am breaking with Thanksgiving tradition and going with a brisket for 10 (~16lb purchase weight) instead of turkey. I want to get the brisket off the RT-590 no later than 4PM

I have seen a couple of threads on "Midnight" brisket. One of which smokes the brisket at 180F for ~8hrs or to 160F, then wrapping w/ butcher paper and bumping the temp up to 225F or 250F. Sounds as if this technique is yields about a 16hr total cook time. My best guess is this would give me a 10-11PM start time and a 6-7AM wrap time then another 8hrs at 225.

I usually cook briskets at 225F but was wondering if wrapping the brisket tightly in butcher paper would yield a lower temp at the brisket and need to bump it up to 250F.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Look for Meat Church;s

 

[mikeporter616]

Look for Meat Church;s

Church's week day brisket cook on Youtube. Works like a champ.

 

[SmokeZilla]

Maule…,
I am sure many will chime in and I like the way you think. If you use the formula of 1lb of brisket per person, after trim, you will be pretty close. Especially since the flat is only about 45% of the ”whole packer’s” weight. To address you question, your technique is good and I will share mine. I start the cook at 180F for the first 3 hours to ensure good smoke saturation. You won’t find the temp going up very much at that time though. The reason I cut if off at the 3 hour point is because I don’t want to turn the flat into “jerky” during the rest of the higher temperature cook. Note that if you use a thick binder, it will also prevent/insulate the brisket from absorbing the smoke. I recommend using Wagyu tallow as it has a melting point of about 94F and “melts” into the meat adding great flavor. and juicyness. Other key things to remember during prep time is injecting will change your overall cook time and the initial temperature of your meat will also have some influence (I try to get it to 50F when I add it to the smoker.) Some say that‘s the danger zone but I also used to butcher hogs and cattle and put fresh meat on the grill and I’l still here. (Your mileage and experience may vary, haha.). You can also add a pellet tube filled with pellets and wood chips or several smoke bomb aluminum foil packages of chips, but they will need to be “torched/pre-lit” or the low temp of the smoker won’t keep them lit. I also wrap after it clears the stall (~170F) Texas crutch style. By that time it is no longer taking on smoke and if you “paint” the paper with the tallow, it will retain the juices and moisture really well. At that time, you can also put the brisket in a large foil pan to make sure you don’t lose any of those great juices as they can be used later as gravy for the cut meat. For your total time, I like to use the 1.25 hour per pound calculation because that includes the 2-3 hours of rest that you will need to get maximum results. Let us know how you brisket works out.

 

[Pacman]

Congrats on breaking tradition as I'd choose brisket any day over turkey.

I've done the 180 route and then crank up to 225, but that's usually only a few hours into the cook. I've also done 225 for the entire ride which is my preferred overnight method. I've also cranked up to 250 after wrapping. Honestly as long as you're monitoring internal temp and giving enough time to rest, you're home free.

 

[DenStinett]

Here's how we've always smoked our Briskets:

MEAT

SMOKER TEMP

SMOKING TIME

MEAT TEMP

RUBS OR SAUCES

MISC INFO

Beef Brisket

U@LO / W@270

Start time 10:00 pm

U@150 / W@200-205

Garlic Onion Pepper and Salt Blend for 24 hrs

U 8 hrs+/- (Paper)W 8 hrs+/- Rest 4 hrs+/-

Comes out like this:

 

[calldavid]

Interesting thread, not on here as much as I want. Curious, what does this mean; U@LO / W@270

 

[Pacman]

Interesting thread, not on here as much as I want. Curious, what does this mean; U@LO / W@270

Unwrapped at Low (180) and Wrapped at 270. At least that's how I read it and I agree with the logic.

 

[DenStinett]

Interesting thread, not on here as much as I want. Curious, what does this mean; U@LO / W@270

Welcome to the Forum Calldavid
As Pacman said:
"Unwrapped at Low (180) and Wrapped at 270"
And .... U@150 / W@ 200 - 205 is the Unwrapped / Wrapped Internal Temps
Unwrapped for 8+/- hrs - Wrapped for 8+/- hrs
OH .... and we also do the Smoked Tallow Bath at the time of wrapping
I also split the Brisket into the two individual Muscles and cook them like this:

 

[calldavid]

Unwrapped at Low (180) and Wrapped at 270. At least that's how I read it and I agree with the logic.

Got it, thank you..

 

[Maule Guy]

Here's how we've always smoked our Briskets:

MEAT

SMOKER TEMP

SMOKING TIME

MEAT TEMP

RUBS OR SAUCES

MISC INFO

Beef Brisket

U@LO / W@270

Start time 10:00 pm

U@150 / W@200-205

Garlic Onion Pepper and Salt Blend for 24 hrs

U 8 hrs+/- (Paper)W 8 hrs+/- Rest 4 hrs+/-

Comes out like this:
View attachment 17905

About what size full packer brisket (before or after trimming) are we talking about here?

 

[Pacman]

Because @DenStinett said the muscles were separated, I would guess in the ballpark of around 15-16 pounds before trimming.

 

[DenStinett]

About what size full packer brisket (before or after trimming) are we talking about here?

As Pacman said
I usually buy a 14 - 16+ pound Packer
But I'll even split smaller offerings in two
I leave the "Mid" Fat Strip on the Flat and trim each as an individual Roast .... clean-up the "Meat" side and trim the Fatcap(s) to approx 1/4"
Not sure if it's all that visible in the Pic below
The Point sat on the right-hand half of the Flat:

 

[Maule Guy]

Thanks for the follow up. I have never split the flat and point, but think the 180F for 8 hr or so then followed by 250 or so for another 8hr should get 'er done.

 

[SmokeOCD]

I watched a video on splitting the brisket. Took the full brisket off the grill this morning around 9:30.
I did 180 for a few hours starting at 8pm, 225 overnight still firm and not 160 yet at 7am, 275 after I wrapped around 8 for the final push then rested a few hours for a late lunch.

Good results - first time I ever wrapped. Light coating of SPOG at the start - 1/2 cup bone broth at the wrap.
The 3 hours on low gave me a nice 1/4" smoke ring.

 

[agaffer]

I agree with MikePorter 216. I have used the Meat Church weak day brisket method twice now with perfect results. In addition, you can hold the finished brisket in your oven for up to 17 hours at 170°.

 

[Chief_USN_Ret]

I am breaking with Thanksgiving tradition and going with a brisket for 10 (~16lb purchase weight) instead of turkey. I want to get the brisket off the RT-590 no later than 4PM

I have seen a couple of threads on "Midnight" brisket. One of which smokes the brisket at 180F for ~8hrs or to 160F, then wrapping w/ butcher paper and bumping the temp up to 225F or 250F. Sounds as if this technique is yields about a 16hr total cook time. My best guess is this would give me a 10-11PM start time and a 6-7AM wrap time then another 8hrs at 225.

I usually cook briskets at 225F but was wondering if wrapping the brisket tightly in butcher paper would yield a lower temp at the brisket and need to bump it up to 250F.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I just recently did a 20lb full packer myself, and I would say you are pretty close to how I do mine.
After trim it was about 16-17lbs.

-inject brisket (standard injection mixture with Beef stock as base). 12+ hours prior to cook, place in fridge.
-Pull brisket form fridge. Use Beef Tallow as binder and SPG rub. (Black pepper, Lawry's Seasoning Salt, Garlic powder.) 1 hour before cook time.
- cook at 180° until internal temp was 150° (Meat stops absorbing smoke once it hits 150°)
- bump to 225° until you hit stall (usually around 160, OR your Bark is the correct look/feel)
- Wrap (Butchers paper), Tallow bath, bump heat to 250°, cook until tender with probe (usually around 195°- 202°)
I put this brisket on at 2100 the night before, when I woke up at 0600, the temp was around 125°, and it was done between 1430 to 1500.
I used 2 Smoke Tubes over night when set at 180° (Bear Mountain Mesquite pellets)

 

[Maule Guy]

I just recently did a 20lb full packer myself, and I would say you are pretty close to how I do mine.
After trim it was about 16-17lbs.

-inject brisket (standard injection mixture with Beef stock as base). 12+ hours prior to cook, place in fridge.
-Pull brisket form fridge. Use Beef Tallow as binder and SPG rub. (Black pepper, Lawry's Seasoning Salt, Garlic powder.) 1 hour before cook time.
- cook at 180° until internal temp was 150° (Meat stops absorbing smoke once it hits 150°)
- bump to 225° until you hit stall (usually around 160, OR your Bark is the correct look/feel)
- Wrap (Butchers paper), Tallow bath, bump heat to 250°, cook until tender with probe (usually around 195°- 202°)
I put this brisket on at 2100 the night before, when I woke up at 0600, the temp was around 125°, and it was done between 1430 to 1500.
I used 2 Smoke Tubes over night when set at 180° (Bear Mountain Mesquite pellets)

View attachment 17962View attachment 17963View attachment 17964View attachment 17965

Thanks for the input. I was a bit worried that 8hrs at 180F would dry out the flat ( per a video by the BBQ Mad Scientist). I don’t inject so there might be some differences due to that but liking the idea of overnight high smoke.

 

[Beach Bum]

Thanks for the input. I was a bit worried that 8hrs at 180F would dry out the flat ( per a video by the BBQ Mad Scientist). I don’t inject so there might be some differences due to that but liking the idea of overnight high smoke.

If you are up for it, give the injection a try. At the RT Academy our chef really encouraged it, especially on a longer cook like this one.

 

[Maule Guy]

If you are up for it, give the injection a try. At the RT Academy our chef really encouraged it, especially on a longer cook like this one.

Thanks BB. I may give it a try down the road, but I am already changing a couple of parameters of my previous method and adding one more major change for T'giving cook is begging for problems.