Questions from a Newbie

[AHoneyman]

Well, I do not mean to burst your bubble but each piece of meat is different. Two done side by side can finish hours apart. Just start early and let a long rest be your buffer.

 

[SteveSpy]

It was amazing. I’ve officially been pimped as a spitmaster...

 

[JpsBBQ]

BBQ is not baking. Times can and will vary wildly. Like several have attempted to tell you, start at least a couple hours earlier than you think you should to allow for the massive variables. If it’s done early just let it rest and it will be even better. A brisket with a two hour or so rest is better than one right off the pit.

 

[Mr. X]

It was amazing. I’ve officially been pimped as a spitmaster...

Awesome looking meat! My first try I was serving for a 3pm bbq at the house and was literally carving at midnight for a few of my late night guests. Now I always plan to be earlier. Glad we had a bunch of other food that time!

 

[SteveSpy]

BBQ is not baking. Times can and will vary wildly. Like several have attempted to tell you, start at least a couple hours earlier than you think you should to allow for the massive variables. If it’s done early just let it rest and it will be even better. A brisket with a two hour or so rest is better than one right off the pit.

I actually let it rest for three hours. It was amazing. My next cook will be for a party of 20 on May 1st... I plan to start early, add an hour of SuperSmoking...

 

[Differentdrummer]

Hello fellow smokers, my name is Steve and I live in Austin Texas. I made a wise decision to purchase a Weber SmokeFire EX4 and I just seasoned it yesterday. I'm super excited to start smoking some meat for the first time in my life. I have lots of questions for y'all.

My plan is to buy a trimmed brisket (or trim it myself). My issue is the schedule, and the amount of time it takes to cook the brisket in order for it to be ready around 4pm. With everything I have studied and learned, here is what I know so far: the brisket needs to sit in the fridge, with a dry rub and very tight seal for 12 to 24 hours. Next, it needs to be taken out, and unwrapped and to sit on the counter for about 3 hours so it can get to room temperature. Next, it needs to smoke for 7 to 8 hours until it hits the stall, and then be wrapped in butcher paper and cooked for an additional 7 to 8 hours. Then it needs to sit in a cooler for 3 hours. I know that the time estimates are never exact, because it all depends on the meat quality and weight but assuming a small margin of error, the schedule looks like this if I want to carve the brisket for my guests on a Saturday at 4pm:

Friday
8am add salt rub, wrap tight in cellophane, put in fridge
8pm unwrap, leave on counter, add pepper
11pm start smoker, set at 225
1115pm place brisket in smoker

Saturday
6am (check temp for stall at 160 degrees) take off smoker, wrap in butcher paper, put it back in
1pm remove from smoker, place in cooler
4pm carve and serve

I’m not gonna dig too deep into your process but put the meat on right out of the fridge.
As this is you first, I wouldn’t be so confident as to plan on feeding at a particular time unless you have a back up plan. My last 15# took almost 27 hours at 225° to be probe tender. A fully cooked, wrapped and resting. Brisket wrapped then swaddled in a towel should stay in a good cooler (properly sized) for 5 hours and still be above 140° at slicing time. It is a good idea to preheat the cooler if you have a heating pad or a pan of hot water that you can put in there (on a towel) before you put the brisket in.

 

[SteveSpy]

I’m not gonna dig too deep into your process but put the meat on right out of the fridge.
As this is you first, I wouldn’t be so confident as to plan on feeding at a particular time unless you have a back up plan. My last 15# took almost 27 hours at 225° to be probe tender. A fully cooked, wrapped and resting. Brisket wrapped then swaddled in a towel should stay in a good cooler (properly sized) for 5 hours and still be above 140° at slicing time. It is a good idea to preheat the cooler if you have a heating pad or a pan of hot water that you can put in there (on a towel) before you put the brisket in.

Man, that’s crazy!! I had to crank up the temp just to get it done on time and even then it was a stretch. Had to jack it up to 290 the last two hours... my next brisket in two weeks will be started a hell of a lot earlier, that’s for sure. But enough about brisket, time for poultry today!!

 

[SupportKing]

Hello fellow smokers, my name is Steve and I live in Austin Texas. I made a wise decision to purchase a Weber SmokeFire EX4 and I just seasoned it yesterday. I'm super excited to start smoking some meat for the first time in my life. I have lots of questions for y'all.

My plan is to buy a trimmed brisket (or trim it myself). My issue is the schedule, and the amount of time it takes to cook the brisket in order for it to be ready around 4pm. With everything I have studied and learned, here is what I know so far: the brisket needs to sit in the fridge, with a dry rub and very tight seal for 12 to 24 hours. Next, it needs to be taken out, and unwrapped and to sit on the counter for about 3 hours so it can get to room temperature. Next, it needs to smoke for 7 to 8 hours until it hits the stall, and then be wrapped in butcher paper and cooked for an additional 7 to 8 hours. Then it needs to sit in a cooler for 3 hours. I know that the time estimates are never exact, because it all depends on the meat quality and weight but assuming a small margin of error, the schedule looks like this if I want to carve the brisket for my guests on a Saturday at 4pm:

Friday
8am add salt rub, wrap tight in cellophane, put in fridge
8pm unwrap, leave on counter, add pepper
11pm start smoker, set at 225
1115pm place brisket in smoker

Saturday
6am (check temp for stall at 160 degrees) take off smoker, wrap in butcher paper, put it back in
1pm remove from smoker, place in cooler
4pm carve and serve

I did roughly the same cook times with my last brisket and my brisket ended up about 140s when I checked it in the morning, and I wrapped it because the bark was set. Yours will be set because it cooked for 7 hours.

Skip looking for the stall at 6am and go straight to wrap. If you do that I think the timing will work out great for you.

 

[MojoBones]

Good luck with the May 1st cook. Please document it if you get the chance, I loved reading this and the responses. Good stuff. Cheers!