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How long to smoke brisket per pound electric smoker
If you happen to have a great-looking brisket and also have an electric smoker and want to know how long you can plan ahead and cook it on a per pound basis, then you have certainly come to the right place!
On average, expect to cook a brisket of any weight or size, at a rate between 1 to 2 pounds per hour. This depends on how hot and fast or how low and slow you decide to cook it at.
Using that estimation, if you wanted to be done quicker, then cook it at a temperature range of about 300 degrees Fahrenheit or hotter.
That should get you a rate of about 2 pounds per hour of cook time for your brisket.
If you want the brisket to be done in a little bit longer amount of time, or you don’t really mind the brisket taking a lot longer, then consider a cooking a brisket at a lower temperature of around 225 degrees Fahrenheit. That should get you a quick cooking rate of about 1 lb per hour.
How long do you smoke a brisket in an electric smoker?
In my experience, electric smokers can take about an hour or so to fully come up to whatever temperature setting you set them at. So always use this in your planning as you try to determine the overall cook time for your brisket.
Let’s say you’re cooking a brisket hot and fast at about 300 degrees Fahrenheit. That should take about an hour or so to come up to that temperature in the first place.
Then, you have a cooking rate of about 2 pounds per hour for your brisket.
So, if you have about a 20-pound brisket and are wanting to smoke it at about 300 degrees Fahrenheit in your electric smoker, use the 2 lb per our estimation plus an extra hour or so for it to come fully up the temperature.
That should get you a total cook time of about 11 hours.
How long does it take to smoke a brisket at 225 in an electric smoker?
In an electric smoker, always use about an hour or so of planning ahead to fully season and prepare the meat, as well as preparing the smoker itself to come up to whatever temperature you wanted to.
Even if you are smoking at low and slow temperature is, this should give you a buffer time frame to expect a brisket to be thrown on the smoker at the right temperature.
For low and slow cooked at 225 degrees Fahrenheit, the 1 pound per hour mark should always be used.
Let’s say you have the same 20-pound brisket mentioned above. That should take about 20 hours in total cook time just for the brisket, plus an extra hour for the temperature to come up to the 225 degree mark.
How long does it take to smoke a 5 pound brisket in an electric smoker?
For a 5 lb brisket in an electric smoker, you should expect to cook it for a total time of about 3 to 5 hours. That should cover both the hot and fast and low and slow cooking methods.
For the hot & fast methods, you’ll quickly notice that you can cook your briskets wicked fast, especially to the lower temperature ranges.
How long does it take to smoke a brisket in a Master-built electric smoker?
Master-built electric smokers take about an hour or two to come up to temperature fully. This is especially true if you’re cooking them at very hot temperatures, let’s say about 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
As noted above, always make sure to use that estimation of about one or two pounds and add it to any cooking ratio you have for your brisket. On average, you should expect about 10 to 12 hours of Total cook time for your brisket, plus the one or two hours for the actual Master-built smoker to come up to the desired temperature.
Final thoughts
Electric smokers are really fantastic pieces of machinery.
They are perfect for smaller spaces that are regulated such as apartments and Condominiums because they don’t necessarily have lots of wood that they are using to generate the Heat.
This makes them safe to use, and can also produce even better results than the traditional way of smoke meat.
On average, you can expect cook times to be very similar to other traditional styles of BBQ. This means that for brisket, you can expect cook times of anywhere between 1 to 2 lb per hour.
Robert is a certified Pitmaster, with over a decade of experience in smoking the best meats you’ll ever feast upon. He also has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Texas at San Antonio. When he’s not researching technical topics, he’s most likely barbecuing in his backyard.