RT-1250 Where to place 12 pound brisket on RecTeq 1250?

[Rob5909]

I will be smoking a 12 pound brisket on my recteq 1250. Where do you recommend I place it for the duration of the smoke? I believe if I place it right in the middle it will cook unevenly since the burner is located there.

 

[ndfan6464]

You'll be fine. Just toss it in and go. Don't spend so much time thinking about it. You don't think about your hot spots in your oven, do you?

The smoker is the same thing. Going to have highs and lows. The meat is going to cook. Too many people stress over this high and low spot. Again YOULL BE FINE and the meat WILL BE FINE. Enjoy the process and worry about other stuff.. Cheers

 

[FastEddie]

Center over the drip pan is where I cook. Stay away of the edges. We bought these grills to not have to worry about stuff like that. Go cook something spectacular my friend!

 

[jac365]

I have done my briskets towards the right side. I put the point end near the smoke stack. While I do this mostly to have room for other items that I will put in the smoker to maximize my cook time I have found my briskets come out amazing. A 14 pound one completed yesterday was the first food item to completely disappear at a small gathering last night. Talk about rave reviews!!!

 

[Rob5909]

Thank you all for the input.

 

[pszaro]

Just cooked 2 13 lbs. briskets for Christmas and here is my placement

 

[TheRicker]

I had been fretting about this placement issue some over the last couple of months. I had assumed closer to the smokestack was a hotter area. Then I read the opposite end is the hotspot because of the slope of the drip pan. I should have done a “bread test” some time over the last 3-4 years I’ve had my RT-700…which is pretty much the same barrel.

Anyway, and taking the advice of others on this forum, I put it in the middle and turn it end-to-end halfway through the smoke cycle. That may be too much work.

I recently bought and installed the PCS Rackworks shelves. Now I’m preoccupied with the difference with temps at the different levels. That’s too much worry…but that’s part of my character…good, bad, or indifferent.

Maybe it’s not too late to do the bread test.

 

[Mozekian]

For what it’s worth, on my 1250, after I trim my brisket down from a packer, I sit it top shelf, fat side down.

I’ve tried fat up and fat down and prefer down. Also allows me to spritz the meat side easier.

Top rack really gets it up in the smoke and off the heat and placing a drop pan on the bottom shelf allows for easy catch of the fat and some rendered fat from the dripping.

 

[TheRicker]

For what it’s worth, on my 1250, after I trim my brisket down from a packer, I sit it top shelf, fat side down.

I’ve tried fat up and fat down and prefer down. Also allows me to spritz the meat side easier.

Top rack really gets it up in the smoke and off the heat and placing a drop pan on the bottom shelf allows for easy catch of the fat and some rendered fat from the dripping.

Now that I have multiple shelves in my 700, I plan to do just that and put a drip pan under the meat on the bottom shelf.

That said, you mention the fat side up or down debate. Over time, and with previously having just the one shelf, I morphed into a fat side down cook because the heat in a 700 would dry the bottom out. And like you said, you can spritz the top. But with my new shelves, I do plan to try a fat side up cook on a middle or upper shelf with the drip pan underneath but have liquid in the pan to see what the impact of that has on the final product. Crossing my fingers.

 

[Mozekian]

Now that I have multiple shelves in my 700, I plan to do just that and put a drip pan under the meat on the bottom shelf.

That said, you mention the fat side up or down debate. Over time, and with previously having just the one shelf, I morphed into a fat side down cook because the heat in a 700 would dry the bottom out. And like you said, you can spritz the top. But with my new shelves, I do plan to try a fat side up cook on a middle or upper shelf with the drip pan underneath but have liquid in the pan to see what the impact of that has on the final product. Crossing my fingers.

Report back. I have done fat up/down while on the top rack and have found a better finished product with fat down. Being from Texas, it's always fat side up the doing brisket, so im sort of a rebel with my fat side down.

 

[Waterboy]

I added a second shelf to my 700 and now cook fat side up. I’ve been turning out the best briskets I’ve ever cooked since raising the protein away from the heat source. My last brisket I forgot to put the drip pan on the first shelf so I’ll be scraping the drip tray on this one.

 

[Jim6820]

As for where to place the brisket, I recently did a non-scientific experiment with my RT-340. I folded a double layer of foil to the approximate size of my grill. The foil is thin enough that I don’t think it tends to equalize heat across the full surface as I think a thicker plate would.

I pre-heated my grill to 275F which is about the highest temp I use for low-and-slow cooks. Then, I put the foil sheet on the grill and, after it had stabilized at temperature for about 20 minutes, I used my infrared heat gun to check various areas on the sheet. I worked quickly because the lid was open and I didn’t want too much cooling going on.

What I found (and, this may only be true for my particular grill) is that there was only about a 25F difference from end-to-end and side-to-side. The coolest area was on the left side (highest end of the drip pan) and the hottest was directly over the fire pot (center). The right side (low end of the drip pan) was slightly cooler than the center, but not as cool as the left side.

Keep in mind that the 340 is the smallest RT grill and may well equalize its heat across the barrel area better than larger barrels. Whether this test would work on larger grill surfaces, I don’t know. YMMV

As a result, I try to position my proteins toward the right side with the thinnest portion at the far right. Seems to work for me.

 

[TheRicker]

Report back. I have done fat up/down while on the top rack and have found a better finished product with fat down. Being from Texas, it's always fat side up the doing brisket, so im sort of a rebel with my fat side down.

@Mozekian …you may have seen it in my separate post but I did my St Paddy’s Day 2024 corned beef cook fat side up on the middle shelf and a “water pan” (beer pan) underneath. Turned out very good with no noticeable dryness on the underside. Pics were provided. Hopefully, that helps some. I think I need to experiment with that some more.

I may try the water/liquid pan underneath other meats in the future…like chuck roasts, whole (beer can ) chicken, or a spatchcocked turkey so I can capture meat drippings for gravy.

Having the PCS Rackworks shelves certainly have opened the door to new possibilities for me on my 700.

I love this forum and really do appreciate all your posts and feedback. As long as I’ve owned pellet grills, I’m still learning new things about the meats, the rubs, and the methods/processes. I’m an even better cook because of it. Thank you all.

 

[larry4406]

When I have smoked brisket on the RT1250, I use the upper rack, fat side up, and I have a water pan below. Not sure why I went this way but it works for me. Typically the briskets I have smoked are in the 10-13 lb range.

Have an event coming up where wife & daughter want me to smoke 2 and maybe 3 briskets.

Will 2 fit on the upper shelf? I am thinking it will be tight.

If I went to a 3rd, it would have to be on the bottom shelf. For the bottom shelf 3rd one, fat side up or down? I would have to push the water pan to one side so the drippings from one above would drip on the one below.

Maybe I just put 2 briskets on the upper shelf and put a pork butt on the lower shelf.

 

[Ol' Smokey]

When I have smoked brisket on the RT1250, I use the upper rack, fat side up, and I have a water pan below. Not sure why I went this way but it works for me. Typically the briskets I have smoked are in the 10-13 lb range.

Have an event coming up where wife & daughter want me to smoke 2 and maybe 3 briskets.

Will 2 fit on the upper shelf? I am thinking it will be tight.

If I went to a 3rd, it would have to be on the bottom shelf. For the bottom shelf 3rd one, fat side up or down? I would have to push the water pan to one side so the drippings from one above would drip on the one below.

Maybe I just put 2 briskets on the upper shelf and put a pork butt on the lower shelf.

Decisions, decisions....

 

[Greg Jones]

Don’t have a 1250 myself, and I’ve never cooked 3 briskets at once. Having said that, I do cook multiple racks of ribs at once and I make it a practice to rotate them often so that they cook evenly.

 

[SmokeOCD]

Don’t have a 1250 myself, and I’ve never cooked 3 briskets at once. Having said that, I do cook multiple racks of ribs at once and I make it a practice to rotate them often so that they cook evenly.

If you have experienced guests, you can skip rotating and they can pick more or less done themselves out of the pile. Unless you sauce them all, then never mind.
Like prime, there’s more done and less done, everyone has a favorite section of it.

 

[SmokeZilla]

I’ve cooked 4 at ~16lbs each on the Bull using 2 small RT racks. I had 2 on the top, 2 on the bottom for most of the pre-wrap cook. Post wrap you can use large trays and stack if needed. Make sure to leave space between each protein for better smoke and even cooking. If needed, you can overlap the flats so they cook closer in alignment with the points temperature profile. That kills the bark on one unless you use spacers (don’t tell the wife but cookie cutters work really well, haha). In general, points to the rear and flats near the front, just make sure the flats don’t extend beyond the drip pan or the temps will rise by about 15F in those areas. Good luck.

 

[larry4406]

I’ve cooked 4 at ~16lbs each on the Bull using 2 small RT racks. I had 2 on the top, 2 on the bottom for most of the pre-wrap cook. Post wrap you can use large trays and stack if needed. Make sure to leave space between each protein for better smoke and even cooking. If needed, you can overlap the flats so they cook closer in alignment with the points temperature profile. That kills the bark on one unless you use spacers (don’t tell the wife but cookie cutters work really well, haha). In general, points to the rear and flats near the front, just make sure the flats don’t extend beyond the drip pan or the temps will rise by about 15F in those areas. Good luck.

Thanks for the info!

My briskets have all been naked straight thru, no wrap. They have been 17-20+ hour cooks.

 

[Jim6820]

When I have smoked brisket on the RT1250, I use the upper rack, fat side up, and I have a water pan below. Not sure why I went this way but it works for me. Typically the briskets I have smoked are in the 10-13 lb range.

Have an event coming up where wife & daughter want me to smoke 2 and maybe 3 briskets.

Will 2 fit on the upper shelf? I am thinking it will be tight.

If I went to a 3rd, it would have to be on the bottom shelf. For the bottom shelf 3rd one, fat side up or down? I would have to push the water pan to one side so the drippings from one above would drip on the one below.

Maybe I just put 2 briskets on the upper shelf and put a pork butt on the lower shelf.

I think you’re missing a great opportunity here, @larry4406; you obviously need (a) a second pellet smoker or (b) a bigger pellet smoker. Now’s the time; strike while the iron is hot!