The Saturday my brisket turned into beef jerky at a family reunion in Ohio

Last month I did a 14 pound packer for my cousin's reunion outside Columbus. I had the fire dialed in at 250 on my offset, wrapped at 165 like always, and pulled it off after 9 hours when the probe slid in smooth. Problem was I let it rest in a cooler for almost 3 hours because everyone showed up late for dinner. By the time we sliced it, the flat was dry as sawdust and the point was like chewing on a boot. My uncle said 'tastes like the road trip we just drove' and that stung way more than I expected. But here's the thing, my neighbor swears by long rests up to 5 hours and says it makes his meat better. Is there a limit to how long you can hold a brisket before you kill it, or did I just mess up the wrap somehow? I'm torn between blaming the rest time and blaming my foil technique, so what's your call on a good holding window?

2 comments

2 Comments

henryp401mo ago

Heard a pitmaster say three hours is the zone, beyond that you are playing roulette with moisture.

thomas_torres1mo ago

Wait, three hours? My brother runs a brisket that goes 14 hours and it's the juiciest thing I've ever eaten. I pulled a pork shoulder off at hour 10 last weekend and it was literally dripping. That pitmaster must be cooking on some tiny little smoker or something. I've seen ribs go past the 5 hour mark and never come out dry. Maybe he's talking about chicken or something lean, but even then I've done whole birds at 4 hours with no issue. I call total baloney on that one.