Second Cook - Brisket, cooked FAST!

[xlr8]

Hi all, so glad this forum is here.  Was a great source of info before i bought my #2 last week.
My first smoke was a pork shoulder, turned out all right but took forever to get up to temp and was a little tough.

Last night i put a 9# packer brisket into it with a water pan and 5ozs of mesquite @ 250.  I had the alarm set on the probe but it never went off.  Woke up randomly at 5AM to find the internal temp at 210 so i was obviously WTF.
I thought it should take more than 1hour per pound but nope, much less.

Any ideas on this, was that a fluke or will all my briskets from here on out cook so fast?

Thanks all!
brian

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[DivotMaker]

Hi Brian,

Setting your temp to 250 for brisket is probably the culprit here.  225 is my "go to" temp for any large cuts (briskets and butts).  You mentioned you had the "alarm set on the probe;" is this a PID, or external thermometer (like a Maverick)? 

But, how was the brisket?  Was it tough, or overly dry?  Some cuts do cook quickly.  I once did a 9 lb pork butt overnight that I expected to be done about noon.  When I checked it at 7 am, it was within 1-degree of done!  Sometimes, the meat has its own schedule.

For brisket, especially, I'd lower that temp.  Low and slow is the ticket!

[Walt]

I cook brisket @ 225 & it has always worked out to 1.5 hrs per pound (give or take 30 min).

[xlr8]

Thanks everyone, i figured it was that.  It tasted great but a bit dry as to be expected.  I watched a bunch of the Franklin BBQ videos on YouTube awhile back and he recommended 250 but that was on his stick smoker.

Anyway, i love this thing and it's ease.  Putting in a shoulder tomorrow night and some ribs on saturday.  Gonna be a meat filled weekend. 

[mnsmoker]

I used to cook everything on my stick burner at 250, ribs 275 then I got one of these I tried brisket at 250 same problem dry and just not that good, now i do everything at 225..... had to just slooooow things down. Now I really like the process, it's so simple just set the auber at 225 and forget about it for 12 hours or so....one of these days I want to try Walts brisket recipe.

[es1025]

Brian
I smoke my briskets at 240. My last brisket i smoked to 190 and it was very juicy and tender. You probably should consider backing off on the temp and consider a IT change to a lower number. I read that for slicing brisket 185-190 is the target temperature.

[DivotMaker]

I agree with Ed and Jim!  Ed's recommendation of 190 IT for brisket is a good one; I do this now, too, and love the results.  But, I agree with Jim about 225 for brisket.  I just like to go slow with the big cuts.  I do, however, follow Ed's 240 rule for ribs now!    I also like to smoke poultry at 250, as it makes the skin better.  For something like prime rib, I'll go even lower (200-210) and put a reverse-sear on it.  Not every cut of meat gets the same treatment, at least from me.  Finding what works best for you is most of the fun on the journey great Q!

[es1025]

I am considering dropping my brisket temp to 230 for my next smoke. Since the smoker is properly calibrated it may be worth a shot.
Tony has never led me astray.

[DivotMaker]

Thanks Ed!  Neither do you - I converted to the 240 rib cook!  Open minds and ideas make us all better!