FAQ
What’s the difference between the two calculators?
The Brisket Cook Time Calculator tells you when to start smoking so your brisket is done in time for a specific meal. The Brisket Cook & Hold Calculator goes a step further, working backward from your serving time to tell you both when to start smoking and how long to hold it afterward in a sous vide bath.
How accurate are these calculators?
They’re built around typical smoking rates at common pit temperatures, but every brisket, smoker, and ambient condition is a little different. Treat the output as a solid starting point and always confirm doneness by probe feel, not just the clock.
Do these work for a stick burner, or just pellet smokers?
They work for either. The main thing that matters is the pit temperature you’re actually holding, not the fuel type — so plug in your real running temp rather than your smoker’s factory setting.
What if my brisket finishes faster or slower than the estimate?
That’s normal — a brisket can stall for hours at any point. If you’re using the Hold Calculator, that’s actually the benefit: once it’s wrapped and holding in the sous vide bath, small timing swings in the smoke stage stop mattering, since the hold buys you a wide window before serving.
Can I use the Hold Calculator for meats other than brisket?
Right now these are tuned specifically for brisket, since brisket’s rendering and hold behavior is well understood and consistent. Pork butt and other large cuts behave similarly but aren’t dialed in the same way yet.
Do I need special equipment to use the hold method?
Just a sous vide immersion circulator, a container big enough to submerge the brisket, and a vacuum sealer or heavy-duty zip bags. No smoker changes required — the hold happens after the brisket comes off the pit.
