I have been going over and over in my mind what is going on and I cant figure this out. My cook times are getting shorter. And here I am complaining. lol
I cooked a 16 lb packer brisket (non injected)last week. Just a little beef rub applied right before I folded it in half and stuck it in the middle shelf, fat cap up. Inserted the probe as usual. 4 oz of hickory & mesquite mix. Set the thermostat at 225* at 5:00pm Thursday nite. I figured on a 16-24 hour cook. Checked it at 11:00pm and the temp was at 148*, so went to bed. Next morning at 6:00am, it was 198*. So I shut it down & let it sit 10 minutes. Opened the door and it look perfect. Pulled the probe and checked several other areas. All between 192-198. So I pulled, foiled, and stuck back on the fridge as I was late for work now.
When I got home from work, I checked it again. Fully cooled, I sliced off about a 4lb chunk from the flat (from the end that was folded) and started slicing it. There was just a hint of pink in the center, but it was moist, tender, & delicious. I called out the wife & kids and they all agreed it was absolutly delicious. Some friends stopped by later and we munched on slices of this and crackers. All marveled at the taste.
My butts are still cooking within an hour of the predicted time to cook. Only 2 things I am noticing that I would say is different.
1) When I first got my 008, the wood was fully cooked to ashes when my cook was over. Now (for the last 5-6 weeks) I rarely get as many ashes as I used to . For the most part, all the wood in cooked down to charcoal. Black & light (wt-wise).
2) I am not rendering near as much of the fats leftover in my grease pan as I used to get. Yet my food is missing most of the internal meat fats (or collegin) that I would expect to see.
Most folks complain that their food takes too long to cook so I feel silly even bringing this up.
Bob
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