5698k

You can always crank the temp if ya need to...

Agree with Charles. Butts are so forgiving, you don't need to overthink amount of rub, mustard, or any of that. There's not enough surface area to overly affect the final pulled product. Foil is your culprit. It killed your bark, it does on anything you wrap, and there was no stall, so no slo down. I've had stalls last for hours, that's the unpredictable part. I cook mine in a foil pan, I don't wrap, and simply take it to 205°, works every time. You can also crank temps on butts if it's taking longer than expected. As you found, another reason butts are forgiving is that final cook temp isn't critical. If you finish early, wrap in foil, then towels, then in a cooler, it'll stay hot for at least six hours.

Color can be misleading too. Juices don't have to be clear, meat can be pink, as can bones. Your thermometer is more accurate, just test in several places. That said, I think most people are looking for 180° ish in thighs, 165° in the breast.

I don't think it's necessary to put your brisket in a cooler, but you're in good shape.

You're getting good advice here. Trim as much hard fat as you care to, and get it on when you get home. Any chance you could light before you leave, so your fire will be ready when you get home? Even if you set it initially for a much lower temp, getting it up 50° or so is much better than starting from scratch. Cook between 275°-300°, and you'll be done for your gathering. I recommend using a rub with little to no sugar, if you were going to, in case your fire get hot. I like salt and pepper only anyway.

I've trimmed heavily and very little, and I don't believe there's a correlation. I believe it's all about marble fat.

I'm going overcooked.

Sous vide is very different. There is no stall, no evaporative cooling. Plus, a brisket isn't "done" until roughly 205° internal, assuming the goal is traditional probe tender from cooking on a grill of some kind.

Double post.

At 205° cook temp, you'll never overcome the stall, and your brisket will never get done.

Like you said, it's all about the fun. Grill on, enjoy! Btw, you said your next cook would be at 205°, did you mean 250°?

225° is no holy grail in kamados. It comes from hi airflow grills, and it's just hot enough to overcome the stall, yet low enough not to dry things out. Water pans, wrapping in foil also aid in this. Kamados clearly have no such airflow characteristics, so the extremely low temps simply aren't necessary to maintain moisture in the meat. I have to put drip pans under my lower draft door to catch moisture drips, so clearly it's not evaporating, nor would a water pan be of benefit. I suggest experimentation, because the rules of stick burners often don't apply here.

Sorry, bad fingers!

Tell me!!

Ha!!

We are our own worst critics.

This is possible, but I believe that this is quite simply an example of a different cook time. I've had briskets take 45mins/lb, to over 2hrs/lb, exact same conditions.

Leave it wrapped at this point, it'll still be warm by serving time.

You are correct about the stone. If you want sauce, the last 30 minutes is plenty.

3-2-1 is always a pain, even if you don't have temp control problems. It's a very specific formula, and variation causes disaster. It's hard enough to deal with temp variables, then throw in the 3-2-1 mess. Try getting your grill stable at somewhere between 225° and 275°. It doesn't matter where you end up, just get stable. Assuming you end up at 250°, put your ribs on, indirect, and plan on roughly 4-4.5 hrs. This depends on your actual cook temp, how meaty your ribs are, and how done you like them. This is way easier the trying to figure on off, on off, wrap, unwrap, flip, scoot, boogaloo, or whatever. The thing i recommend most is to do things as simply as possible at first, and once you get comfortable, then play around.

Send them ny way....

Nope, you can add whenever you like. It's just a suggestion though!

A little more sauce and rub maybe?!

Close the top more, like I said, you'll be very surprised at how little airflow is necessary. I find that the top vent has more to do with very fine adjustments, so even if the bottom is more open, close the top more.

Do you have an option other than pellets? Wood chunks really work best for these types of cookers. If no, wrap the pellets in a foil pouch, and poke a couple of holes in it, put the pouch directly on the fire. Cook temp is strictly a matter of airflow. I noticed you used a looftlighter? That's a good tool, and it shows that the proper amount of coals were lit at the start. For your next cook, try closing the vents further, it's surprising how little airflow is needed for proper temperature. As as far as controllers, it sounds like a cyberq, of a flame boss 300 would suit your needs.