A 15 pounder

[bevorules]

so using the 1.5 hour per pound method.....Am I right that I am supposed to cook this brisket for 22 hours????

 

[Steel Shank]

and a half

 

[#3Rules]

Don't worry about the time, just worry about the temp. Cook that bad boy to about 185, and you'll be good to go.

One other thing to consider is that you can pump up the temp a bit for a brisket. There is nothing wrong with smoking a brisket in the 270 range (these aren't ribs), and it will reach your ideal temp a bit quicker.

 

[jimmyjazz]

I'd go for a final internal temperature of 190 F to 195 F. I like my brisket a bit more "loose" (so to speak).

 

[capnamerca]

At 195, I've had briskets turn from "loose" to "leather". Gotta watch that flat if you're taking it to 195 ... but the point is wicked tasty if you do cook it that long

.

 

[12thStudStan]

Ditto on the temp vs. time thing. Focusing on temperature rather than time will help keep your brisket out of harms way.

Every pit cooks different and most cooking chamber temp gauges are inaccurate due to the positioning of the gauge and the inherent hot and cold spots of most pits. Rules of thumb, such as cooking timer per pound can be helpful but there are far too many variables involved in smoking briskets to rely solely upon them. Even if everyone was cooking on identical pits with thermostat controls and using identical fuel, you still have to consider the uniqueness of each piece of meat and its external fat, intramuscular fat, thickness, age, etc. and how it might effect the end product. For example, a rather elongated 10 lb. untrimmed select packer brisket is going to cook different than thick 10lb. trimmed choice brisket would. The internal temperature of the meat is a more reliable way to monitor the cooking process considering all the variables.

Keep in mind that when you take that bad boy off the pit it will continue to cook especially if it is wrapped in foil and put in an ice chest and can easily increase the internal temp several more degrees. You can easily overshoot your target if you don't consider the entire cooking process. I like to wrap at about 165 and end up at 190-195 by means of a pecan & oak burn than ranges from 180-220 and use a Maverick ET73 to monitor temps.

 

[Beamwalker]

hehe...for some reason I got confused and thought this was on 3:16 as a reply to the "bathroom scale" thread and was like JESUS!

 

[orange avenger]

I'm non-scientific. To my mind, each fire and each brisket are different. I 'sweat' the big ones, going with a little hotter fire for the first hour or so, until the moisture starts to bead up on the fat side. Then I bank the fire until it produces a white smoke. I then cook it for a spell until the mositure disappears and a wooden skewer can be pushed into the thickest part of the brisket without the meat feeling too wet or too dry.

It's not very metric, but it works.