you have got to be kiddin me? done to early AGAIN....

[Greenenvey]

I cant believe this lol, I put my 15.3 brisket in the smoker at 3.00 pm in the afternoon yesterday, wanting it to be ready by 1.30 this afternoon. and just almost exactly like my last brisket that was almost exactly the same weight my alarm went off at 2.30 in the middle of the night, and it was 195 in the point. so I probed it all over... yep 195 every where and about 205 in the point. gave it the jiggle test yep it juggles. gave it the tooth pick test.. still kinda tuff, so I ended up letting it go another 2 hours checking it every so often. 2 hours later it was still 195, although the probe was in a different area this time. it was more jiggly. so in a yeti cooler with warm towls it went!! that's is only 13.5 hours total not even one hour a pound. almost exactly like my last brisket. THIS is not the same smoker I used on the last one, this is the new 3 standard we just got. is this sucker going to be ok wrapped and resting in my yeti for 9.5 hours???

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[SconnieQ]

That's weird that you've had two done early. Less than an hour per pound is very unusual at 225. Are you located somewhere where there is some elevation? I would say to test your probes, but sounds like your brisket was jiggly, so they are probably fairly accurate. I would wonder if your smoker was running hot, but you also had a brisket done early in the 3D. I would rest the brisket in the cooler for 5 hours to get the temperature down slowly (it will still be hot at that point). Then set your smoker for 140 and put it in there, still wrapped in foil for the remaining time. Don't try to "reheat" it higher or reverse sear or anything. Just keep it at 140 and serve. It should be fine. (Famous last words, so far my predictions have not been very accurate )

[old sarge]

Just a thought but I have found cooking times vary somewhat by cut quality between select, choice and prime. In the end, how was the final product?  Good?  Passable?  Tender and tasty?  I have only done a few briskets of close to equal weight and finish times differed by as much as an hour or so. My first was a choice flat at 8 lbs and pulled it at 11 hours.  Since then I have gone with whole packers from Costco and gotten prime.  Much better results but as I said above the time has varied  even if the weight is nearly the same.  Might be probe placement or fat content. Sometimes I think the probe tip is sitting squarely in the middle of a fat pocket and as it renders out a void develops around the tip and no direct contact with the meat. Lots of variables. But the end result is always tasty eats.

[SconnieQ]

Just a thought but I have found cooking times vary somewhat by cut quality between select, choice and prime. In the end, how was the final product?  Good?  Passable?  Tender and tasty?  I have only done a few briskets of close to equal weight and finish times differed by as much as an hour or so. My first was a choice flat at 8 lbs and pulled it at 11 hours.  Since then I have gone with whole packers from Costco and gotten prime.  Much better results but as I said above the time has varied  even if the weight is nearly the same.  Might be probe placement or fat content. Sometimes I think the probe tip is sitting squarely in the middle of a fat pocket and as it renders out a void develops around the tip and no direct contact with the meat. Lots of variables. But the end result is always tasty eats.

In another post Laura mentioned she got it from Costco, so I assume it is Prime. My Costco only sells Prime in the whole packers. Sounds like she probed a number of different spots too.

[Greenenvey]

Yes it was a Costco prime. Here is how it went down... At 7.5 hours of sitting in a yeti with warm towels I pulled it out and it looked awesome, so jiggly it was still 158 degrees so still quite warm. I was thinking wow this may still be amazing. I made burnt ends out of the point. I put the flat back in the cooler because it was still 2 hours until we ate. Anyway the flat was still warm but at that point it seemed very dry. I didn't have my good brisket knife, I cut a little with the grain so you could see, it was kinda like rather dry roast beef. I just can't figure out why it's getting done so fast. I did a 12 pounder without the brine and it took a long time. But both of these big guys were done so fast. Actually the alarm went off saying 195 only 11 hours in for  a 15 pounder. Sorry the pic isn't very appetizing it's cold in this pic.

[DivotMaker]

Wow, can't immediately figure this out, Laura!  I've had a lot of briskies go 1 hr/lb, but never less!  May sound dumb, but are you sure you had the dial set to 225?

[Greenenvey]

Tony, notna dumb question at all. Believe me I checked that several times. And like I said above the same exact thing happened with my 3d. Almost the same identical thing.

[SconnieQ]

Were both of the briskets that were done in less than an hour per pound brined? And the one that took a long time unbrined? Don't know if that has anything to do with it.... Just searching for possibilities here. I have never brined or injected my briskets when they are Prime.

[Greenenvey]

Kari, yes they both were brined, and the smaller one that went along time wasn't. So I thought the same darn thing! But dosent Tony brine his? And he said his don't finish that quick? It's just so puzzling lol.

[SconnieQ]

Kari, yes they both were brined, and the smaller one that went along time wasn't. So I thought the same darn thing! But dosent Tony brine his? And he said his don't finish that quick? It's just so puzzling lol.

I'm just grasping at straws I think. Smaller cuts DO take more hours per pound, but I wouldn't exactly call 12 pounds a "small" brisket. Just a thought on the brining vs not brining. Don't want to send the whole investigation off track. I think Tony (DM) gets his briskets at Sam's, and they are Choice not Prime, but he'll have to confirm that. I buy the same big Prime briskets at Costco that you did, and I don't brine, and they are done in about 1.25 to 1.5 hours per pound. But...I have a #1, and cut the brisket in half (point fat side down on lower rack, and flat fat side up on upper rack), so that might affect cooking time, but I find it takes pretty much the same amount of time as everyone else with other models.

[Greenenvey]

Lol this is indeed a investigation!!

[Greenenvey]

I've came up with a plan, I think for now on I'll figure a hour  and 15 minutes a pound, if that don't work out and its not getting done in time I'll wrap it to help it along, if it's done to early and is dry I'll do what I just now did with the left overs, when I remove the point for cubes and the flat looks dry I'll put it in a pan with apple juice with a little BBQ sauce and let it soak that up until I serve it. My family gloves BBQ sauce on brisket even if it's perfectly moist so this plan should work great.

[NDKoze]

Here's another thought. Why not try smoking your next one at 200°?

[Greenenvey]

Here's another thought. Why not try smoking your next one at 200°?

I though the same thing, the only thing that worries me is how do I time it so that it gets done on time. like for example they say at 225 its around 1.25 hours a pound.. even though that's not the case for me haha. I'm just trying to find some sort of consistency to get the brisket on the table in time, and not have to let that sucker sit 9 hours and dry out. Out of three briskets only one behaved as expected and that was the one i didn't  brine.

[NDKoze]

Here's another thought. Why not try smoking your next one at 200°?

I though the same thing, the only thing that worries me is how do I time it so that it gets done on time. like for example they say at 225 its around 1.25 hours a pound.. even though that's not the case for me haha. I'm just trying to find some sort of consistency to get the brisket on the table in time, and not have to let that sucker sit 9 hours and dry out. Out of three briskets only one behaved as expected and that was the one i didn't  brine.

Well, my thought was that if you run it at 200° overnight, and then depending on where it is at in the morning increase to 225 if necessary. Pork butts can definitely take the heat of 235-250+ that some people smoke them at, but I prefer the real low/slow for brisket. So, 200-225 seems like a pretty good range especially since you are smoking overnight and do not want any middle of the night surprises.

You are still in the testing phase, and everyone's environment, meat quality, ambient temperatures, etc can influence the cook times. I have found that the best thing to working out the kinks with brisketts is to smoke a ton of them and keep really good notes. With three briskets in, you are still building a pattern. You may find that your differences when smoking in Boise could be pretty different than when smoking in Jamestown.

Oh the fun of our hobby.