May 23rd, 2019, 12:11 pm
#1
* Abilene ** Abilene *
  • Joined: May 23rd, 2019, 10:50 am
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Hello All,

Planning on doing a 19.5lb (pre-trimmed) SRF black label brisket tomorrow night for a party that I have on Saturday at 1pm. I was hoping to layout my cook plan for a sanity check from the more seasoned cooks here as this will be my second brisket on the yoder (first was about a 8lb choice flat that I crutched in foil and it was definitely decent for a first go just not super moist). Here is what I am currently thinking and would appreciate any tips or warnings based on the plan:

Equipment: Yoder 640, Thermapen Signals, Thermapen probe

1) Trim and season brisket tonight with just kosher salt and 16 mesh black pepper, cover and refrigerate (brisket is already fully thawed)
2) Tomorrow night: Let the yoder stabilize to 250F running on a mix of Lumberjack comp and pecan pellets
3) Throw on the brisket on top rack by 8:00pm, fat cap down and point towards firebox, insert 2 probs in the flat and point and try and catch some sleep
4) Set alarms for 6hr or 155F IT (whichever hits first) and check until meat hits good color and/or stall (checking approx 30min intervals until either hits)
5) Once brisket is in stall and/or good color, wrap tight with peach butcher paper (not adding any additional moisture)
6) Back on yoder at 250F and make sure pellets are topped back up - more sleep
7) Set second set of alarms for another 6hr or 185F (whichever hits first)
8) start checking at 1hr or 30min intervals (depending on how far along it seems) probing for right "warm butter" consistency in both flat and point and checking for some "jiggle" (rotate flat towards firebox if needed)
9) Once meat probes easy and temp is between ~195-210F pull, wrap in towels, and cooler until 1pm
10) Possibly hit each side under the broiler for 5min each if bark is too soft, then slice at 1pm and serve (doing some sausages, hot dogs, and beans on the yoder in the meantime as well)

If starting at 8pm and eating at 1pm, this gives me an overall window of 17hrs, so:
Figure the cook can take 13-15hr, which then gives a rest of 2-4hr to slice at 1pm.
Worst case scenario (hopefully) would be a 16hr cook and 1 hour to rest.

Again, any advice or criticism is welcome and appreciated.

Happy Memorial Day to all!

smoker_joker

May 23rd, 2019, 12:40 pm
#2
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Cooking on the top shelf will equate to approximately 15° to 25° difference than the controller temperature. If you desire to cook at 250° on the top shelf, you will need to set the controller as high as 275° to compensate for the air gap between the lower and upper grates.

Yoder_Herb
May 23rd, 2019, 2:41 pm
#3
* Abilene ** Abilene *
  • Joined: May 23rd, 2019, 10:50 am
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Thanks Herb, noted. Will plan to bump up to 275 and plan to monitor shelf temp with the remaining two probes. Any idea if it sounds like I am allotting enough time overall to cook that size brisket (guessing 17lb once trimmed) and provide rest time without overshooting 1pm? (The cut seems pretty uniform and long, but not overly thick). I realize these things can’t be timed exactly but I was curious if others would look at the plan and think (no way it’s going to be close to done). Guessing the earliest I could start is around 6:30pm, but I was thinking I could always bump the heat a little once wrapped if I am getting close to the end of the 17 hour mark.

May 23rd, 2019, 2:56 pm
#4
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I would like to be able to give you specifics, but as you noted, this is almost an impossible task. If you sprits/spray/mop, your cook time will increase.


I always separate the point from the flat, so cook times are drastically reduced, and you have the flexibility to cook each piece the way you need to,
If you monitor the temperatures on the upper shelf, make sure to keep the probes at least 6" away from the meat: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=1923

Here is a great resource: https://thesauce.atbbq.com/?s=brisket

I have kept meat in a cambro for 6 hours and it was still too hot to handle, so resting time is the buffer.

Yoder_Herb
May 23rd, 2019, 3:17 pm
#5
* Abilene ** Abilene *
  • Joined: May 23rd, 2019, 10:50 am
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Thanks again Herb. I only plan to open the smoker to check the progress and try to keep that as minimal as possible. Thanks for the tip on the probe distance and I have been watching "The Sauce" videos and was checking the one that took Tom about 13hrs for the TX style brisket as a gauge (but had no idea what the actual weight was on the cut). Been trying to learn as much as possible but I think I will roll the dice for now and adjust as much as possible in the cook as I go. If it doesn't workout I have backup burgers just in case. Will report back on how it went.

May 24th, 2019, 2:21 pm
#6
* Abilene ** Abilene *
  • Joined: May 10th, 2018, 1:30 pm
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  • Location: Brentwood CA

Probably a little late.
I have done the same SRF Black with Oakridge BBQ Black Ops Brisket Rub on top shelf at 225 the whole time. No wrap, takes longer but bark is great. Spritzed with 50/50 apple juice and apple cider. Used 50/50 pecan/cherry BBQers delight pellets. very good results

Orion YS640
May 24th, 2019, 9:10 pm
#7
* Abilene ** Abilene *
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Thanks ofelles, I was trying to go basic on this cook and then try something new at some point. I have had it on now for about 2 hours at 250 and the point already hit 130 which seems really fast. I had dropped the smoker down to 240 since I was reading that at the shelf from the start and couldn't get a different result regardless of the damper placement. Right hand side seems to be running about 20 degrees hotter than left so I started it with the point to the right. Since it was already at 130 2 hours in I just rotated the point back to the left and tried to favor the left side as much as possible in res-positioning the brisket. Guessing it might just be because the point is so fatty. Will see how this goes.

May 26th, 2019, 8:46 am
#8
* Abilene ** Abilene *
  • Joined: May 23rd, 2019, 10:50 am
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So brisket cooked for about 6 hours then wrapped in butcher paper and cooked for about another 8.5. Pulled when it probed soft and wrapped in towels in cooler for about 3.5 more hours. Overall happy with how it turned out although I think it was definitely overcooked in that it was falling apart instead of holding under it's own weight. People seemed to really like it though so for a second cook I would call it a win. Also tried making burnt ends and those were insanely awesome. Unfortunately the butcher paper claimed some of the bark . . .

Thanks all for the feedback!

Attachments
Brisket.jpg
Burnt Ends.jpg
May 26th, 2019, 3:33 pm
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If you wrap, make sure to unwrap for 15 to 20 minutes to vent the heat and stop the cooking process prior to wrapping and putting in a cambric or cooler. If you don't do this venting, the meat will continue to cook way past the point of when you tested it for tenderness,

Yoder_Herb
May 26th, 2019, 6:51 pm
* Abilene ** Abilene *
  • Joined: May 10th, 2018, 1:30 pm
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  • Location: Brentwood CA

also make sure the bark is good and set before you wrap. The bark always suffers some when wrapped. Glad it turned out good. Cook and learn.

Orion YS640
June 13th, 2019, 10:53 am
* Abilene ** Abilene *
  • Joined: July 26th, 2018, 5:00 am
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Served a prime whole packer brisket from Costco for a dinner party last night smoked on my YS640 and very happy with the results. It weighed in around 13.5 lbs prior to trimming.

A few quick details of my process are as follows;

Placed the brisket in the freezer for about an hour so firm up the outside fat layer to make the trimming easier. After trimming salted the meat, added black pepper, then added a layer of Morton's "Nature's Seasons", a layer of a homemade spice mixture containing instant espresso, cayenne, black pepper, onion powder, smoked paprika, chili powder, granulated garlic powder, I then let the brisket set out on the counter for about an hour.

I used Lumberjack pellets (some competition blend, char-hickory, and cherry). Set the temp for 225 and when the temp stabilized set the brisket fat side down on the top shelf at around midnight. At around 8:30 am I wrapped the brisket in butcher paper, raised the temp to 230 and placed it on the lower shelf.and continued cooking until around 2:00 pm. The meat was very tender (jiggling), the internal temp was around 198 or so, and the probe went in like butter. I placed the meat on a baking sheet and double wrapped it in aluminum foil with a large bath towel around the outside. Then I place it in my microwave because I didn't have a large enough cooler. I didn't vent it as Herb suggested, but it didn't seem to have any negative effect on the final product. At 6:00 pm I unwrapped everything and sliced the brisket. Wish I would have taken a few photos because the smoke ring was unbelievable (about a quarter of an inch) and the taste was out of this world. the slices hung over my finger and the pull test was like you see on you tube. Our friends raved about it and everyone had seconds. While the meat was resting I used the smoker to make baked beans and garlic butter potatoes. Can't wait to do another cook!

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