FifeSpice

The data

Every brisket, charted.

Since 2023I've logged every brisket I smoke: internal temps, smoker setpoints, when I wrapped, when it stalled, and what I'd change. It started as notes to myself in a messy spreadsheet. Here it is, cleaned up and made interactive.

0
cooks logged
0h
hours of smoke
0 lb
beef cooked
0.0h
average cook
Meat temp
The brisket's internal temperature, the line you're chasing to ~203°.
Smoker setpoint
What I set the pit to. Bumping it late helps push through the stall.
The stall
That long flat stretch where evaporative cooling fights the heat. Patience (or a wrap) wins.
203° pull
Rough target, but I cook to feel. Done is when a probe slides in like butter.
20°62°104°146°188°230°1h3h306h8h3011h0113h3116h01203° pulltime on the smoker
Mar 17, 2023 · PastramiApr 8, 2023Aug 5, 2023Jul 4, 2024

Pick cooks to overlay

Things the spreadsheet taught me

Lessons, in data form.

Trim it more than you think

It's literally written at the top of half my cook logs. A tighter trim renders cleaner and builds better bark.

Know your thermometer's lie

My Traeger's built-in probe reads about 10° hotter than reality. Every chart here uses the corrected number, not what the pit claimed.

Respect the stall

Around 160–170° the temp flatlines for hours. The data makes it obvious why a first-timer panics, and why you shouldn't.

Wrap with intent

Comparing cooks, the ones I wrapped once bark had set, then nudged the pit hotter, finished more predictably.

The whole logbook

All 15 cooks.

CookWeightTimeFinalReadings
Dec 24, 2025Wagyu20 lb17h 1m203°*1
Aug 29, 2025Wagyu20 lb17h 1m203°*5
Aug 15, 202518 lb16h 1m203°*0
Mar 14, 202519.5 lb15h 51m204°11
Jan 1, 202520 lb17h 31m203°7
Dec 6, 2024Maybe best18 lb17h 31m203°11
Sep 6, 2024★ Best20 lb17h 45m203°2
Jul 4, 202417 lb17h 31m203°11
Mar 17, 2024n/a14h 31m203°7
Feb 11, 2024n/a18h 1m203°4
Aug 5, 2023n/a13h 1m203°11
Apr 8, 2023n/a18h 1m203°22
Mar 17, 2023 · Pastramin/a16h 1m203°*13
Feb 11, 2023n/a16h203°*9
Feb 4, 2023n/a16h203°*7

Sparse temp columns just mean I was too busy tending the fire to write numbers down. The events still tell the story.

* Nothing comes off my smoker under 203°. Where logging stopped before the pull, the final temp is that 203°, not something I measured.