How Long to Cook Beef Brisket in an Orion Cooker

Cooking a perfect brisket requires patience and the right technique. With an Orion cooker, you can achieve tender, juicy brisket with incredible smokey flavor. In this guide, we’ll walk through everything you need to know about cooking brisket in an Orion cooker, including how long it takes.

Overview of the Orion Cooker

The Orion cooker is a revolutionary smoker and grill that uses patented technology to infuse food with real wood flavor. It has precise temperature control and maintains constant airflow ensuring your brisket cooks low and slow.

Some key features that make the Orion great for brisket

• Maintains temperatures between 150°F to 600°F
• Uses 100% natural wood chips for authentic smoke flavor
• Ceramic interior absorbs and radiates heat evenly
• Requires minimal monitoring during cooking

With the Orion’s precise temperature control, you don’t have to constantly adjust the vents or worry about temperature spikes and drops. It makes smoking brisket much easier.

How Long Does Brisket Take in an Orion Cooker?

Cooking times can vary based on the size and thickness of your brisket, but you can expect it to take around 1-1.5 hours per pound.

So for a 12-13 lb brisket, the cook time will be 12-19.5 hours.

Here are some time estimates based on brisket size:

• 5 lb brisket: 5 – 7.5 hours
• 10 lb brisket: 10 – 15 hours
• 15 lb brisket: 15 – 22.5 hours

While total cook time is important, you also want to cook the brisket until it’s tender and probe tender.

• It should probe like butter and the probe should slide in and out smoothly when it’s done.
• The internal temperature should reach 203°F.

So always cook by temperature and tenderness over time. The times above are just general estimates.

Step-by-Step Guide to Cooking Brisket in an Orion Cooker

Follow these simple steps for perfect brisket every time:

1. Prepare the Brisket

• Trim excess fat, leaving about 1⁄4 inch. This helps render fat properly.
• Season liberally with salt, pepper, and any other dry rubs.
• **Marinate **(optional). A marinade adds flavor but isn’t required.
• Rest seasoned brisket in fridge overnight. This dries out the exterior.

2. Prep the Orion Cooker

• Add charcoal and wood chips. Use lump charcoal and flavorful wood like oak, hickory, apple, etc.
• Preheat to 225-250°F. This low and slow temp is ideal.
• Add water pan for moisture and catch drippings.

3. Add Brisket and Maintain Heat

• Place brisket fat-side up on cooking grates.
• Maintain cooker temp between 225-250°F.
• Don’t open lid too frequently to prevent heat loss.
• Check about once an hour with a laser thermometer.

4. Wrap and Finish Cooking

• When the brisket hits 160-170°F (after about 5-8 hours), wrap in butcher paper.
• Wrap helps tenderize and push past the “stall” phase.
• Continue cooking until 203°F internal temp.

5. Rest, Slice and Serve

• Remove brisket and rest for 1-2 hours wrapped in a cooler.
• The meat will reabsorb juices.
• Finally, slice across the grain and serve!

The Orion cooker makes this process easy by maintaining a steady low temperature. The key is cooking low and slow, monitoring doneness, and properly resting.

Tips for the Best Brisket

Here are some extra tips to ensure your brisket turns out juicy and delicious:

• Use high-quality brisket with nice marbling. Go for Prime grade if you can.

• Injecting brisket with beef broth adds extra moisture.

• Spritz with apple cider vinegar during cooking for moisture and flavor.

• Monitor doneness by jiggling the brisket. It should have a jiggle when done.

• Use an instant read thermometer to check for doneness.

• Let brisket rest wrapped for 1-2 hours after cooking for best moisture.

• Slice brisket across the grain for tenderness.

• Save the juices from the wrapped resting period for serving.

Get Perfectly Smoked Brisket with an Orion Cooker

With the proper technique, brisket cooked in the Orion comes out incredibly juicy, tender and packed with smokey flavor. Follow the steps above for your best brisket yet.

The Orion makes it easy by maintaining target temps and infusing real smoke flavor. For a 12-13lb brisket, expect a cook time around 12-19 hours but always cook by temperature for ideal doneness.

So grab a quality brisket, fire up your Orion, and enjoy mouthwatering smoked brisket. Your patience will be rewarded with the best brisket you’ve ever tasted!