Solarian31
New member
Hey,
I’m new to the forum and fairly new to Traeger products. Anyone have any advice/experience to share for making brisket using Traeger grills? I’ve made two so far, both took a good bit longer than I expected they would, but still had great results. I will be making a 14lb full packer brisket for my sister’s wedding in a few weeks, so I really want to get my process dialed in to be sure I have a good product that is ready on time. I’ll give some info on my last 2 cooks, any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
1.
Brisket - 8.4lb USDA Prime red angus
Grill - Ironwood 885
Pellets - 50/50 mix of hickory and cherry
Target cook time - 10.5 hours (1.25hr/lb)
Actual Cook Time - 15.75 hours (1.88hr/lb)
Process - seasoned the brisket the night before, put on the preheated smoker at 5AM. Used super smoke mode at 225 for 2 hours, then turned off super smoke, continued to cook at 225. I had the brisket on the top rack with a water pan underneath. Also sprayed the meat with a mixture of beef broth + apple cider vinegar after the first 2 hours, then again every other hour, until the 9 hour mark. At 9 hours, temp had reached 160F and I wrapped it tightly in 2 layers of butcher paper. Temp stall lasted about 4.5 hours, During this time I raised the temp to 275F in an attempt to speed thing up. brisket reached 205F internal temp at 8:45PM. Left to rest in a cooler for 1 hour before slicing. Total cook time of 15.75 hours, 1.88hr/lb.
Result - Good bark and smoke ring, tender and juicy with a mild smoke flavor.
After this brisket experience I did some research and found conflicting information. Some sources claimed that adding moisture (water bath/Spray) will increase the cook time, while another source said that adding moisture will increase humidity in the smoker, decreasing the effect of evaporative cooling which would decrease stall time and result in shorter cook time. For #2 I chose to keep as many variables constant as possible, while increasing smoke flavor. I chose to omit the water bath to see what (if any) effect it would have on cook time.
2.
Brisket - 7.25lb USDA Prime red angus
Grill - Ironwood 885
Pellets - 50/50 mix of hickory and cherry
Target cook time - 9.25 hours (1.25hr/lb)
Actual Cook Time - 15 hours (2.07hr/lb)
Process - seasoned the brisket the night before, put on the preheated smoker at 3AM. Used super smoke mode at 225 for first 9 hours For more smoke flavor than #1. I had the brisket on the top rack with a drip pan underneath, I decided against putting water in the pan this time. Also sprayed the meat with a mixture of beef broth + apple cider vinegar after the first 2 hours, then again every other hour, until the 9 hour mark. At 9 hours, temp had reached 160F and I wrapped it tightly in 2 layers of butcher paper. Temp stall lasted about 2 hours. I raised the temp to 275F in an attempt to speed things up at the 13 hour mark. The brisket reached 205F internal temp at 6:00PM. Left to rest in a cooler for 1 hour before slicing. Total cook time 15 hours, 2.07hr/lb.
Result - Good bark and smoke ring, tender and juicy with the level of smoke flavor that I hoped to achieve.
Based on these results, the 14lb brisket would take at least 30 hours, which just seems really long. I’ve made similar sized brisket on a charcoal drum smoker in half that time in the past. Are there any components of my process that are at fault here? Or is there some other issue that I’m missing?
I’m new to the forum and fairly new to Traeger products. Anyone have any advice/experience to share for making brisket using Traeger grills? I’ve made two so far, both took a good bit longer than I expected they would, but still had great results. I will be making a 14lb full packer brisket for my sister’s wedding in a few weeks, so I really want to get my process dialed in to be sure I have a good product that is ready on time. I’ll give some info on my last 2 cooks, any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
1.
Brisket - 8.4lb USDA Prime red angus
Grill - Ironwood 885
Pellets - 50/50 mix of hickory and cherry
Target cook time - 10.5 hours (1.25hr/lb)
Actual Cook Time - 15.75 hours (1.88hr/lb)
Process - seasoned the brisket the night before, put on the preheated smoker at 5AM. Used super smoke mode at 225 for 2 hours, then turned off super smoke, continued to cook at 225. I had the brisket on the top rack with a water pan underneath. Also sprayed the meat with a mixture of beef broth + apple cider vinegar after the first 2 hours, then again every other hour, until the 9 hour mark. At 9 hours, temp had reached 160F and I wrapped it tightly in 2 layers of butcher paper. Temp stall lasted about 4.5 hours, During this time I raised the temp to 275F in an attempt to speed thing up. brisket reached 205F internal temp at 8:45PM. Left to rest in a cooler for 1 hour before slicing. Total cook time of 15.75 hours, 1.88hr/lb.
Result - Good bark and smoke ring, tender and juicy with a mild smoke flavor.
After this brisket experience I did some research and found conflicting information. Some sources claimed that adding moisture (water bath/Spray) will increase the cook time, while another source said that adding moisture will increase humidity in the smoker, decreasing the effect of evaporative cooling which would decrease stall time and result in shorter cook time. For #2 I chose to keep as many variables constant as possible, while increasing smoke flavor. I chose to omit the water bath to see what (if any) effect it would have on cook time.
2.
Brisket - 7.25lb USDA Prime red angus
Grill - Ironwood 885
Pellets - 50/50 mix of hickory and cherry
Target cook time - 9.25 hours (1.25hr/lb)
Actual Cook Time - 15 hours (2.07hr/lb)
Process - seasoned the brisket the night before, put on the preheated smoker at 3AM. Used super smoke mode at 225 for first 9 hours For more smoke flavor than #1. I had the brisket on the top rack with a drip pan underneath, I decided against putting water in the pan this time. Also sprayed the meat with a mixture of beef broth + apple cider vinegar after the first 2 hours, then again every other hour, until the 9 hour mark. At 9 hours, temp had reached 160F and I wrapped it tightly in 2 layers of butcher paper. Temp stall lasted about 2 hours. I raised the temp to 275F in an attempt to speed things up at the 13 hour mark. The brisket reached 205F internal temp at 6:00PM. Left to rest in a cooler for 1 hour before slicing. Total cook time 15 hours, 2.07hr/lb.
Result - Good bark and smoke ring, tender and juicy with the level of smoke flavor that I hoped to achieve.
Based on these results, the 14lb brisket would take at least 30 hours, which just seems really long. I’ve made similar sized brisket on a charcoal drum smoker in half that time in the past. Are there any components of my process that are at fault here? Or is there some other issue that I’m missing?
