Why transfer wrapped brisket to cooler instead of back to smoker?

[confused]

I have been researching making a brisket on this site as well as smoking meat forums and every google and youtube result possible. I see so many posts which state to smoke to a certain temperature then remove, wrap in paper or foil (sometimes also wrap with towels)  and put in a cooler to rest. Some say a warm cooler, others do not say so I assume ambient temperature at start. I always hear how well insulated the Smokin-it style smokers are. Why not just wrap and leave in unplugged smoker? Maybe it is just because people have available cooler or once wrapped it gets too big to fit back in smoker. Maybe people need the smoker for something else. I am just curious here as I currently have a 11 pound prime brisket in my smoker. I brain farted and do not know why I did not put in before I went to bed last night but waited until 7 am. I think I was thinking of time for a smaller pork butt. I realize it may not get done until really late and should be in bed. On that note, I have heard many people smoke ahead of time and warm up when ready to eat without losing much in terms of quality. I am not doubting that it would still be good, but fear may overcook and dry it out on second heating.
Maybe I should get my wife to binge watch TV tonight to get it fresh. Curious if can keep it warm at a certain temp without drying it out. Maybe in smoker with pan of water?

 

[barelfly]

You could hold it in the smoker, many will run a program at 140 and hold food that way, as the 140 is the safe temp. I set that on my 3D as a just in case, but don’t hold it in the smoker when done. I wrap in double foil, a towel and small cooler.

If you need it to cook, turn the temp up. Do you have a digital? I cook at 250-275, and that cuts time fairly well.

But, hope you enjoy the brisket!

 

[old sarge]

Why a cooler and not the smoker? I don't know.  Maybe because the smoker is still hot/warm; maybe the racks and grease will stain the towels; maybe the volumn of the smoker is larger than needed for holding and resting.  I have had brisket stay a tad too hot to handle for 3 or so hours in a cooler (no larger than necessary), double wrapped in towels. Try i= the smoker idea and let us know how it works out for you.

 

[confused]

Thanks for responses.
I was going to try wrapping in foil and putting back in smoker to see what results would be once temp hit 195, but I fell asleep. My Auber turned heat off at 3:00. I woke up at 3:40 and went out to get my brisket in to wrap. My dogs tried to follow me out and since I worry about predators, I decided to simply wrap in foil and put in cooler in house with towels as others have done. I took brisket  out of cooler at 7:20 am and probed a few places and temps were between 140 and 145. Sliced and tasted it. I over seasoned it but still tasty.

 

[tpcdelisle]

I only have one experience wrapping a brisket in the towels and packed in a cooler for a couple of hours and it came out very moist. I think it softened the bark a bit but that didn’t bother me. I’d rather have the moisture.  Where I have much more experience is with pork butts.  When we do pork shoulders, after they reach the final temperature, they go in a cooler with some newspaper on the bottom, in case of leakage, and towels to cover for a minimum of 2 hours and up to 8 hours. Yep, at 8 hours it was still plenty hot to eat.  I feel that sitting in a cooler like that helps the meat not only render more but also the moisture redistributes throughout the meat.  I just know that our pork practically melts in your mouth by doing it this way.

 

[old sarge]

Good looking brisket.

 

[OldeSmoker]

I have done it both ways and haven’t seen a significant difference.

 

[WI 5D WiFi]

I use my smoker as a warming oven set at 145 I try to rest my briskets for 12 hours and butts for 8 usually just wrapped in the butcher paper, I also let them cool to 165-170 before putting them in so they don't continue to cook.

 

[kim0bbz]

I've always done the cooler/towel method, but decided to try holding in the smoker this time with the fat cap up and exposed.  Worked out great, the bark on the fat cap firmed up a bit and made slicing easier, w/ out ripping.  I'm sold on the smoker wrap/hold!  Thanks for the tip!

 

[old sarge]

Glad your method worked out well.