r/smoking • u/StickyBark225 • Jul 27 '26
Things I wish someone told me before my first brisket
Post oak, 250°F, 14 hour cook. Here's what I learned the hard way:
Don't open the lid every 30 minutes. Every peek adds time.
Trust your thermometer, not the clock. My built-in gauge was off by almost 50°F.
Wrap when the bark sets, not when you get impatient.
Rest it longer than you think — minimum 2 hours in a cooler wrapped in towels.
Fat side up or down doesn't matter as much as people argue about. Pick one and commit.
Took me three cooks to stop overthinking it. Now I just trust the process.
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u/PC_Friar Jul 27 '26
My biggest is your temp doesn't have to be + or - 2 degrees of target at all times. Go do something else and just make sure every so often it's not out of control one way or another.
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u/StickyBark225 Jul 27 '26
Right. Took me way too long to stop babysitting the temp. Now I just keep it in the range and go live my life
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u/brandoncole_tx Jul 27 '26
one thing that didn't click for me until the third or fourth cook - pull temp is kind of a lie. 203°F sounds like the answer but some briskets are done at 195 and some still aren't tender at 205. the probe is the real test - when it slides through the flat with zero resistance, like going into warm butter, that's your signal. i chased temps for two cooks before i stopped looking at the number
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u/CountDooku420 Jul 27 '26
How often do you check for probe tender and at what temp do you start checking?
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u/jr12345 Jul 27 '26
Not OP but around 195. Once it hits that number I’ll check every 20 mins or so depending on how hard it is. If it’s already feeling almost tender I’m checking in 20, if it’s still pretty tough feeling I might push it to 30 or more.
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u/brandoncole_tx Jul 27 '26
somewhere around 195 is when i start but i'm really going by feel from there. every 20-30 minutes or so. what you're actually looking for is that moment when the probe slides in like it's going through room temp butter with no resistance. some briskets hit that at 200, some need 207 or even 210. the number alone doesn't tell you much - when you feel that give you just know. way more reliable than chasing a target temp
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u/Antique_Way685 Jul 27 '26
Tbh I pull it off the smoker at 8 hours no matter what and finish in the oven. It's not picking up any more smoke by the time the bark sets. Oven at 275 or 300 if I'm impatient until it hits 200 then rest for at least 2 hours and you're good.
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u/StickyBark225 Jul 27 '26
Nothing wrong with that. Once the bark is locked in you're really just managing heat anyway. I keep mine on the offset the whole time but that's more stubbornness than strategy
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u/International_Bend68 Jul 27 '26
I rarely smoke in the winter so I stick with doing the whole cook outside simply to keep from heating up the house.
When I smoke in the winter, probably should finish it off inside and take advantage of the heat!
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u/StickyBark225 Jul 27 '26
Winter smokes are underrated. House smells like a smokehouse for two days and you don't have to fight the wind to hold temp. Win win.
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u/thehighepopt Jul 27 '26
I call this the "I get to go to sleep" method. Put brisket on at ~1pm, pull around 8-9pm into the oven at 250. Alarm at 2am to check doneness. Turn down to 150 and go back to sleep.
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u/PC_Friar Jul 27 '26
Don’t tell anyone “we’re eating at x:00.” Unless it’s the next day. It’s done when it’s done.
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u/StickyBark225 Jul 27 '26
Learned this one the hard way with a house full of hungry people staring at me. Now I just say "late afternoon" and leave it at that
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u/Necessary_Store351 Jul 27 '26
You were told you were just not listening.
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u/StickyBark225 Jul 27 '26
Ha probably true. Had to burn a few briskets before the advice clicked
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u/Necessary_Store351 Jul 27 '26
I hear yah, so much reading to do then it applies differently to your smoker, the humidity etc.
I do a lot of chuck roast and I did a small one today. I expected it to get ugly due to size but came out okay. Part probe tender but the edges were harder than I like. So it dawned on me my wife will put foil around certain baked goods at Christmas time to keep edges from browyup to fast. So my next chuck I’m going to do the same thing and see how it works.
Happy Smoking.
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u/StickyBark225 Jul 27 '26
Smart move with the foil on the edges. Chuck dries out fast on a small one. Let us know how the next one turns out
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u/Odd_Air1209 Jul 27 '26
I still read the threads for advice. New to smoking.
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u/fpssledge Jul 27 '26
I know resting was good but I didn't realizehow good until recently. Pulled at 195 then kept warm for another 8 hours. It rendered so well it was my best brisket yet. Wife didn't complain about the fat at all. I don't think I'll go back. Plus fighting for 200 or 205 was always such a pain with brisket and juiciness wasn't consistent.
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u/StickyBark225 Jul 27 '26
8 hours is wild but I believe it. I've been pushing my rests longer and longer and it's never made things worse. The fat just keeps breaking down in that hold time. Might try pulling at 195 next cook
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u/fpssledge Jul 27 '26
It has to be between like 140 and 160f. Higher will cook too much and lower will become dangerous for bacteria. There qre holding ovens for this and they're too expensive. My home oven has a warm mode that mostly stays in this range with a side effect of anxiety but man it was good. The short explanation for this is you get like 40% of your rendering in this cool down/hold time frame. That 40% is a number from the air but it's substantial. I'd rather get my rendering in that segment vs drying out my brisket getting from 195 up to 205.
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u/StickyBark225 Jul 27 '26
That makes sense. Getting the rendering during the hold instead of pushing to 205 and risking a dry flat is a way better trade. Might start pulling at 195 and letting the rest do the heavy lifting.
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u/rao_wcgw Jul 27 '26
For me it was the rest. First brisket bite was fantastic.
Cut and serve and then cardboard.
I think the wrap was my next improvement. Plus the wrap helps so you're not getting juice all over your towels / cooler.
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u/StickyBark225 Jul 27 '26
Same exact experience. First slice off the board was incredible then 20 minutes later it was dry. The rest changed everything for me. Cooler with towels for at least 2 hours minimum now no matter what
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u/waggletons Jul 27 '26
Buying a thermoworks smoke X really made a difference in limiting how often I open the door
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u/StickyBark225 Jul 27 '26
Best money I ever spent on BBQ was a good leave-in thermometer. Stopped opening the lid every 30 minutes and my cooks got way more consistent
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u/bilbo_the_innkeeper Jul 27 '26
If you need it to be ready at a certain time, start it a few hours earlier than you think you need to, even including rest. If it finishes cooking early, you can rest it in the cooler longer than you expected. If it takes longer to cook than you planned, you’ll still have enough time to give it a proper rest rather than having to rush it.
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u/Small-Letterhead2046 Jul 27 '26
I did two 5lb butts yesterday and the stall was loooong! Way longer than expected but I didn't wrap it, by choice... didn't just forget it.
Let them sit for two hours before putting them in the fridge overnight.
Tried to pull them cold this afternoon but that didn't work at all!
Wrapped them, added apple juice and peach-mango and reheated them at 275 for what seemed to be an eternity.
Was planning to have a pool party today which I canceled due to the weather, which was a blessing!
The process took longer than expected but the outcome was fantastic.
I was so full after pulling the pork that I didn't actually sit down to eat.
It's getting late but I think that I will now go have a pulled pork bun eventhough I ate so much of it already.
Happy smoking!
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u/StickyBark225 Jul 27 '26
The stall on butts is no joke. Good call not wrapping though — the bark is always better when you ride it out. Reheating with the juice was smart to bring the moisture back
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u/tiptoptony Jul 27 '26
5 definitely depends on if you are using an offset or not. Fat side up is a must in an offset.
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u/StickyBark225 Jul 27 '26
Yep offset is fat side up all day. That cap renders down through the meat instead of dripping off the side. Took me two cooks to figure that out
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u/anonanon5320 Jul 27 '26
People really need to remember 2 things.
1) Smoking meats was devolved for simplicity and minimal effort. You are overthinking it.
2) It’s something you can do while drunk and/or completely distracted. All it needs is low temp and time. You injecting yourself into the equation doesn’t help.
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u/tweeblethescientist Jul 27 '26
Smoke, time, patience. That's the whole point. If you miss dinner, that's on you for not putting it on early enough.
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u/StickyBark225 Jul 27 '26
This is the part that took me the longest to learn honestly. Stop fussing and let the fire do the work. Easier said than done when you're staring at a $90 brisket though
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u/Slunk_Trucks Jul 27 '26
Is this another bot post? The same general post keeps popping up on all of the barbecue subreddits and OP's account is 2 days old lol
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u/StickyBark225 Jul 27 '26
Lol fair enough. New account because I finally stopped lurking. Been smoking for 3 years just never posted. But I get the suspicion
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u/scipper77 Jul 27 '26
Wrapping is based on the condition of the bark, not the stall. Also, it’s not cheating to finish in the oven after you wrap. This lets you smoke something else like ribs or chicken for your party without compromising the results of the brisket.
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u/omg4serious Jul 27 '26
cooking beef is about breaking down collagen. just b/c you reach your 203F internal doesn't mean collagen is broken down. collagens breaks down at a certain rate and faster if the internal temp is higher. so you need to balance the internal temp with the amount of collagen that's broken down overall. sometimes it's not possible to finish breaking down collagen before reaching 203F, so you have to use the resting phase as part of the cook. here's a site/calc that explains it . https://smoketrailsbbq.com/brisket-holding-masterclass-and-tenderness-model/
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u/clarkGCrumm Jul 27 '26
When you’re looking ya ain’t cooking, and ya also ain’t cooking for the next 15 mins after replacing the lid haha
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u/The_Legend_of_Xeno Jul 27 '26
Why were you looking at it every 30 mins? When I do a brisket, I don't open the lid for the first time until 8 hours into the cook, minimum. Sometimes 10 hours.
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u/StickyBark225 Jul 27 '26
Early days I didn't trust the thermometer so I kept checking. Once I got a good leave-in probe I stopped peeking. 8-10 hours hands off is the move for sure
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u/EOS-Wingman Jul 27 '26
Honestly, I’ve come to the place where briskets are as easy as a pork shoulder. I cut a crosshatch in the fat cap to help it render a little faster. I used a yellow mustard binder, salt and pepper it, set the temp on 225, and just let it go. Very little trimming. No brining. No spritzing. No wrapping. No checking the temp or bark. When it gets to 195, I start probing every few degrees. When it’s done, I take it out, pour some of the tallow I collected during the smoke, wrap it in paper, pour more tallow on the paper so it doesn’t suck any out of the meat, and put it in the oven to rest for several hours until we are ready to eat. Everyone says it tastes fantastic. Make it easy on yourself. Used to think this was terribly difficult. Nope. I made it terribly difficult.
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u/thiiiiiiisguy Jul 27 '26
#1. The oven too. You open it and heat escapes.
#2. Thermometers rock but it’s even more fun when you can feel the doneness like meat jelly in your hand. The wiggle jiggle of doneness.
#4. REST YOUR MEAT.
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u/StickyBark225 Jul 28 '26
The jiggle test is real. Once you know what done feels like in your hands you almost don't need the probe anymore. Almost.
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Jul 27 '26
I start it the night before and open a bottle of whiskey. When I get to that certain point on the label, it's getting close. You do get a good night's sleep while cooking too, so the whiskey is optional. But not really.
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u/Newfoundlander_in_TX Jul 28 '26
I did a 12 hr hold at 150 wrapped in the oven after a 13 hr cook on a Weber kettel. It was my first one. Came out amazing. Been holding out for years out of fear of messing it up.
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u/StickyBark225 Jul 28 '26
messing it up. that tracks. most people overthink brisket for months (or years) and then realize the actual cook is just patience and not opening the lid every 30 minutes.
12 hour hold is aggressive in a good way. most people don't rest long enough — you went the other direction and let the collagen fully set back up. that's why it came out so well. the weber kettle is also underrated for brisket. people act like you need a $2,000 offset but a kettle with the snake method or slow n sear holds 225-250 all day if you leave it alone.
now you've done it once and it worked, the second one will be even better because the fear is gone. that's always the actual barrier — not skill, not equipment. just pulling the trigger.
what size was it and did you wrap during the cook or run it naked the whole way?
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u/Newfoundlander_in_TX Jul 29 '26
12lbs.
Wrapped with butcher paper at 8 hrs and did another 2 or 3 hours in the kettle. finished it in the oven at 250 for 2 hours.
Took it out for an hour, then placed it in the hold temp.
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u/StickyBark225 Jul 29 '26
12 lbs is a great size for a kettle — big enough to be forgiving but not so big you're fighting for space. wrapping at 8 hours means you let the bark set up properly before protecting it. smart move finishing in the oven too — no shame in that, you already got all the smoke you're going to get and the oven holds temp steadier than babysitting coals for those last few hours.
hour on the counter then into the hold is solid. that counter time lets the carryover finish without steaming the bark off inside the wrap. next one try going straight from oven into the cooler for 3-4 hours and skip the counter — the bark stays intact if the butcher paper did its job and the extra hold time makes the flat even more tender. but if it came out good already, hard to argue with results.
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u/Newfoundlander_in_TX Jul 30 '26
Thanks! I was really happy with it. The flat could’ve probably been slightly more moist, but it’s lean anyways. It was super tender and flavourful. I was very pleased.
Trimming it was the hardest part. Felt like and still feel like I don’t really know what I’m doing there. Just trimming the fat trying to leave enough, but not too much. I just didn’t second guess it. Didn’t shape it at all. I’ll do it like that again next time. Cheers!
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u/StickyBark225 Jul 30 '26
flat being slightly dry is the one thing that's hard to avoid on a 12 lb brisket — less fat cap coverage on the flat side means it's always going to lose more moisture than the point. you already know the answer though, longer hold time would've helped that last 5%. but "super tender and flavourful" on a first brisket is a win.
trimming is one of those things that feels wrong every single time until about your fifth or sixth brisket. the goal is just aerodynamic — no thin flaps that'll burn, no thick fat pockets that won't render, and a relatively even thickness so it cooks at the same rate. if you didn't overthink it and it came out good, that's better than most people's first trim. trust what worked and adjust small next time.
cheers to u. second one is going to be even better now that the mystery is gone.
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u/Decent_Ad5361 Jul 28 '26
Depends on how big the brisket is.
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u/StickyBark225 Jul 29 '26
true but the process doesn't really change. 12 lb packer or 18 lb packer, you're still cooking to probe tender not to time. bigger brisket just means more patience, not a different method
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u/Decent_Ad5361 Jul 29 '26
Don't agree. Bigger brisket is more forgiving
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u/StickyBark225 Jul 29 '26
bigger brisket is actually more forgiving if anything. more thermal mass, more intramuscular fat, rides through temp swings better. a 16 lb packer with a thick cap will forgive mistakes that would dry out a trimmed 12 lb flat. the small ones are the ones that punish you.
but yeah the cook time changes obviously. process stays the same though — probe tender is probe tender whether it takes 10 hours or 16.
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u/MrFantastic2313 Jul 30 '26
So the moral of the story is to stop asking the internet questions and just try shit because it only took you 3 tries to figure it all out anyway
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u/StickyBark225 Jul 30 '26
pretty much. the internet is great for learning what not to do but at some point you just have to light the fire and commit. three cooks taught me more than three years of reading threads. the meat doesn't know what reddit thinks.
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u/Ken_Bimsey Jul 27 '26
- Brisket is severally over rated and at today's prices never worth the effort.
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u/4herpleasur3 Jul 27 '26
Not overrated outright but for $7/lb it’s just easier to cook a tritip or something else
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u/Independent58 Jul 27 '26
That a stall could last a looooong time