Smoked a brisket for 14 hours and the fire went out at hour 12

Was out at my buddy's place near Austin last weekend, running a low and slow on my offset smoker. Middle of the night, I woke up to find the fire box dead cold and the brisket temp had dropped to 140... Had to scramble with a torch and fresh lump charcoal to bring it back, took another 3 hours to finish the cook and it still turned out edible. Anyone else had a late night fire rescue like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

evan_grant7019d ago

Man I've been there too, @wells.evan, left the brisket right in the smoker while I scrambled to get the coals going again cause I figured the meat was already in the danger zone and moving it would just make things worse. Wound up babying that thing for another 4 hours with a cracked firebox door and a shop vac blowing air in there like a madman, and somehow it came out with a decent bark still. Your buddy near Austin knows the struggle, it's basically a rite of passage for anyone who stays up all night with an offset.

michael_williams19d ago

Kept that brisket right in the smoker the whole time, even when the fire went out. Figured opening the door would dump all the heat and let the meat cool down faster, so I just left it shut and worked on getting the coals going again. Used a hair dryer from my wife's bathroom to get the fire back up, which felt pretty stupid at 3 in the morning but it worked. The meat did take a hit on the temp, dropped about 20 degrees, but once I got the fire roaring again it climbed back up fine. Ended up with a good smoke ring and a nice bark, so I think that extra time in the smoke actually helped it.

wells.evan19d ago

So you pulled the brisket out when the fire died or left it in the smoker the whole time until you got the fire going again?