Brisket cooled off over night

Personally, I would toss it because you don't know how long it was under 140F which is the danger zone. I know this might be considered a waste by many but the danger zone is there for a reason.

If you were in a restaurant, I would do exactly as RibDog suggested. Since you're not in a restaurant and the meat was over 160* the last time you checked it, I would eat it personally as long as it was reheated to above 140*. I base this statement on two assumptions: 1)That you sleep an ordinary amount of time, like 8 hours or so, and 2)that the bacteria in the meat was largely killed off at 160* and that no new organisims were introduced into your cooker during the night.

I can give you more of an answer if you want it, but I'll leave it there for now.

I don't disagree with Todd completely,but like Ribdog says,too many variables from time,original handling,lots of folks try a piece of 3 lb flat,etc.

Write it off to a cheap bit of experience,rather than maybe an expensive lesson.

What time was it when you checked the 160 temp, and what time was it when you found it at 80.

That would control my decision. Give us more info.

Going from 160 to 190 could have taken a while. It might not have gotten done before the temp cme down. You spoke about adding coals, what type of cooker were you using?

Like the guys said, alot of unknowns.

RandyE