Thanks to the help I received from this group, I decided to cook 2 large
briskets for a camping trip. The briskets were 12 lbs each.

Now I know the rule is it's done when it's done, but these seemed to have
finished too quick. I put them on at 8am this morning, and by 2:30, they've
reached 190F at the point, and suprisingly, the flat is about 5F cooler ?
I've been keeping the smoker mostly at 250F, although it did spike to 170F for a
few brief periods. Right now, the point is very tender, the flat less tender.

Does all this seem unreasonable, or is that just the nature of the beast?

bregent wrote:

Thanks to the help I received from this group, I decided to cook 2 large
briskets for a camping trip. The briskets were 12 lbs each.

Now I know the rule is it's done when it's done, but these seemed to have
finished too quick. I put them on at 8am this morning, and by 2:30, they've
reached 190F at the point, and suprisingly, the flat is about 5F cooler ?
I've been keeping the smoker mostly at 250F, although it did spike to 170F for a
few brief periods. Right now, the point is very tender, the flat less tender.

Does all this seem unreasonable, or is that just the nature of the beast?


Brisket cook times vary by an astounding degree. I've had packer cuts
finish in as little as 30 minutes per pound and as many as 90. They
all turned out the same: quite good.

I can't tell if it's done by your description of "less tender". Is
it tender enough to eat? If not, keep cooking. And don't be afraid
to saw off a piece and try it.

--
Reg email: RegForte (at) (that free MS email service) (dot) com

In article , Reg says...

bregent wrote:

Thanks to the help I received from this group, I decided to cook 2 large
briskets for a camping trip. The briskets were 12 lbs each.

Now I know the rule is it's done when it's done, but these seemed to have
finished too quick. I put them on at 8am this morning, and by 2:30, they've
reached 190F at the point, and suprisingly, the flat is about 5F cooler ?
I've been keeping the smoker mostly at 250F, although it did spike to 170F for a
few brief periods. Right now, the point is very tender, the flat less tender.

Does all this seem unreasonable, or is that just the nature of the beast?


Brisket cook times vary by an astounding degree. I've had packer cuts
finish in as little as 30 minutes per pound and as many as 90. They
all turned out the same: quite good.

I can't tell if it's done by your description of "less tender". Is
it tender enough to eat? If not, keep cooking. And don't be afraid
to saw off a piece and try it.

Thanks Reg. Astounding is correct. I did saw off a piece and whatcha know...it's
done and it's delicious, tender and juicy. Best brisket I ever cooked. My only
problem now is figuring out what to do tonight - I had already planned on
camping out next to the smoker with a 6-pack till the wee hours.

On 6-Jul-2005, bregent wrote:

Thanks to the help I received from this group, I decided to cook 2 large
briskets for a camping trip. The briskets were 12 lbs each.

Now I know the rule is it's done when it's done, but these seemed to have
finished too quick. I put them on at 8am this morning, and by 2:30,
they've
reached 190F at the point, and suprisingly, the flat is about 5F cooler ?
I've been keeping the smoker mostly at 250F, although it did spike to 170F
for a
few brief periods. Right now, the point is very tender, the flat less
tender.

Does all this seem unreasonable, or is that just the nature of the beast?

That is in fact, the nature of the beast. In fact, I separate the flat from
the
tip before I ever start cooking, because I know they will come off at
different times. I don't care why. It is what it is.

--
The Brick® said that (Work harder; millions on welfare depend on you. )

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"Reg" wrote in message
Brisket cook times vary by an astounding degree. I've had packer cuts
finish in as little as 30 minutes per pound and as many as 90. They
all turned out the same: quite good.

Just a thought on that. Briskets are tough because they are the harder
working muscles of the animal. Just like pork shoulder are tough.

The longer cooking time would be needed if that particular steer was hard
working or maybe had a long walk in the cattle drives. The shorter cooking
time is from cows in management or accountants with desk jobs. The most
tender are briskets from government payroll cows.
--
Ed
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome/

On 6-Jul-2005, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:

"Reg" wrote in message
Brisket cook times vary by an astounding degree. I've had packer cuts
finish in as little as 30 minutes per pound and as many as 90. They
all turned out the same: quite good.

Just a thought on that. Briskets are tough because they are the harder
working muscles of the animal. Just like pork shoulder are tough.

The longer cooking time would be needed if that particular steer was hard
working or maybe had a long walk in the cattle drives. The shorter
cooking
time is from cows in management or accountants with desk jobs. The most
tender are briskets from government payroll cows.
--
Ed

You're the man Ed. I wish I had thought to say that.

--
The Brick® said that (The only person I have to beat is the person I am
right now. )

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"Reg" wrote in message
Brisket cook times vary by an astounding degree. I've had packer
cuts
finish in as little as 30 minutes per pound and as many as 90. They
all turned out the same: quite good.

Just a thought on that. Briskets are tough because they are the harder

working muscles of the animal. Just like pork shoulder are tough.

The longer cooking time would be needed if that particular steer was
hard
working or maybe had a long walk in the cattle drives. The shorter
cooking
time is from cows in management or accountants with desk jobs. The
most
tender are briskets from government payroll cows.
--
Ed

So your saying that a cow in Government service will be more tender
???

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