Brisket

[WestTennesseeVol]

True that. I wasted 2 briskets, then caught on. If you are not a patient person, you don't need to tackle brisket.

The first brisket I did was only fit for a babies chew toy.

The last one I smoked was legitimately better than most restaurants I’ve tried, not to toot my own horn.

 

[UT_Dutchman]

True that. I wasted 2 briskets, then caught on. If you are not a patient person, you don't need to tackle brisket.

This is the truth, I have more than one talked myself out of taking the brisket off the smoker early. On those larger briskets say 14 pounds or bigger I have found when 8 think it is time wait a couple more hours. That is around 220°.

 

[GVF]

This is the truth, I have more than one talked myself out of taking the brisket off the smoker early. On those larger briskets say 14 pounds or bigger I have found when 8 think it is time wait a couple more hours. That is around 220°.

I do pay attention to cook times, etc. I have learned on my barrel smoker when doing a boston butt around 4-5 pounds to set my air flows where they go for my altitude to maintain 225, and come back in 6.5 hours and it is fall apart perfect.

In the electric smoker, now that we can do brisket right, we set it to 225 and its perfect in 10.5 hours on a full flat and will be 205. I do the point on the above rack. I do monitor temp on the brisket though, so I'll know when it stalls and ready to wrap.

 

[GVF]

The first brisket I did was only fit for a babies chew toy.

The last one I smoked was legitimately better than most restaurants I’ve tried, not to toot my own horn.

People get wrongly intimidated by brisket. It's not terribly hard, especially if you have an efficient low maintenance smoker that you don't have to tend wood or coal every 2 hours. I put extra pouches of chips in the electric smoker so I won't have to go out every hour. After about 4 hours, the smoke is irrelevant. It's already taken on what it's going to. On my 14" barrel smoker, I can put a full load of charcoal and a decent chunk of smoker wood, and it will run the entire cycle. I only pull it when it stalls to wrap.

A more experienced brisket smoker can do a perfect smoke in around 6.5 hours. Bottom line is brisket has a lot of fat and marble to break down and it takes time and maintaining consisten temps. Most people that do struggle with smoking meats probably bought a smoker that's not efficient, hard to maintain temps, and they get tired of tending the fire box. My son can smoke ribs in the Weber Kettle just as good as any other smoker.

 

[GVF]

[QUOTE="WestTennesseeVol, post: 21635244, member: 65756"]The first brisket I did was only fit for a babies chew toy.

The last one I smoked was legitimately better than most restaurants I’ve tried, not to toot my own horn.[/QUOTE]

I know that feeling. It's depressing.

 

[GroverCleveland]

Doing my first butts tomorrow on a new pellet fueled grill, an Oklahoma Joes. @EricStratton, that is the same prep I do except I leave the fat cap on.

Will start the cooking at 4:00 in the morning.

 

[GVF]

Doing my first butts tomorrow on a new pellet fueled grill, an Oklahoma Joes. @EricStratton, that is the same prep I do except I leave the fat cap on.

Will start the cooking at 4:00 in the morning.

Dang. THat thing will be ready before 11:00. Lunch tacos?

 

[EricStratton]

Doing my first butts tomorrow on a new pellet fueled grill, an Oklahoma Joes. @EricStratton, that is the same prep I do except I leave the fat cap on.

Will start the cooking at 4:00 in the morning.

Fat side up or down? I’ve had success with both, but when I go fat side up it is a little more moist. Ymmv.

 

[GroverCleveland]

Dang. THat thing will be ready before 11:00. Lunch tacos?

I don't think so. Slow cooking it around 230 and expecting it to finish around 3:00 or 4:00.

 

[GroverCleveland]

Fat side up or down? I’ve had success with both, but when I go fat side up it is a little more moist. Ymmv.

I changed up this time and trimmed it off. Will see how it goes. Just brined and put 'em back in the fridge.

But yes, I have always cooked fat side up.

 

[volinbham]

so rather than talk about how to do it right, what are the mistakes that lead to a bad brisket? heat related? time related? internal temp related? something else? given that butts are so easy it's not clear why brisket is so hard.

i'll hang up and listen

 

[WestTennesseeVol]

so rather than talk about how to do it right, what are the mistakes that lead to a bad brisket? heat related? time related? internal temp related? something else? given that butts are so easy it's not clear why brisket is so hard.

i'll hang up and listen

I thinks it’s mostly intimidating to not want to screw up an expensive piece of meat or ruin everyone’s supper. That leads to rushing the cook, taking it off early, raising the temperature too much, etc. Seeing a brisket stall at 160 at 4 in the afternoon is a tough pill to swallow and a lesson learned.

I’ve started leaving the entire fat cap on and just scoring it, fat cap up the entire cook so as it renders, it stays on the meat instead of falling to the bottom of the smoker.

I also (try to) spray it with 50/50 apple cider vinegar and water every hour after 4 hours and once before wrapping.

 

[kiddiedoc]

I think the meat itself a big factor. Springing for nicely marbled prime beef is going to buy you some tenderness and probably a little more forgiveness.

 

[EricStratton]

Just caught this. Worth a view. Might change a paradigm or three.

 

[UT_Dutchman]

Just caught this. Worth a view. Might change a paradigm or three.

I've never trimmed a brisket and really most everything I smoke keeps the fat. It is part of the flavor process.

 

[EricStratton]

I've never trimmed a brisket and really most everything I smoke keeps the fat. It is part of the flavor process.

I’ve always trimmed the fat down to about 1/4,” cause that’s how I was told to do it. I’m going to give the “no trim” method a spin next weekend.

 

[kiddiedoc]

I’ve always trimmed the fat down to about 1/4,” cause that’s how I was told to do it. I’m going to give the “no trim” method a spin next weekend.

I just like to trim a good bit so I can get rub near/on the meat

 

[UT_Dutchman]

I just like to trim a good bit so I can get rub near/on the meat

That makes sense. I've got some ides, I will see how they work and let you guys know.

 

[GVF]

so rather than talk about how to do it right, what are the mistakes that lead to a bad brisket? heat related? time related? internal temp related? something else? given that butts are so easy it's not clear why brisket is so hard.

i'll hang up and listen

Brisket Mistakes:
1. Cooking in the oven and calling it brisket. At that point it's a roast dangit.
2. Temp. When I started trying briskets, i was hesitent to take it to 205 degrees. Couldn't eat a single one till I did.
3. Time. Time can vary depending on your cook temp. Competitors will do a brisket at a higher temp and have one in 6-7 hours. But, they hit temp.
4. Seasoning. Briskets don't need complex rubs. Made that mistake. Last and best brisket was only Killer Hogs All-Purpose. But, you do need a respectable coating of rub. Don't be afraid to get some on it.
5. To your last point, Butts are easy, but the fat breaks down easier and quicker. Most folks start on butts and ribs and underestimate the time and temp on a brisket. They're not diffcult per se. Just take longer, and you must clear 200 degrees. Keep in mind you are essentially smoking a pec muscle.
6. although it can be done whole, for me personally I prefer separating the tip from the flat. I think that simplifies the smoking process and getting it right and consistent through all slices. I would still struggle doing one whole.
7. Not trimming. I'm a trimmer so this may just be preference.

 

[CAVPUT]

Just caught this. Worth a view. Might change a paradigm or three.

Wow. Can't believe how great that turned out. Always trim my briskets but after seeing this, I might not be as aggressive trimming. Not sure I'm ready for untrimmed just yet but maybe I'll work toward that. Good find. Appreciate it.

 

[GVF]

This guy is legit. You can find his brisket videos on youtube. His bbq joint will have lines hours long to get bbq.

Aaron Franklin | Chefs | PBS Food

 

[n_huffhines]

I'm going to do my best to not ruin two 4lb. flats on Monday.
I've had a BGE for years, and am locally famous for my baby back ribs, but am a novice with brisket. I will greatly appreciate any advice on rubs and smoking instructions.

My advice is next time do a whole brisket. The flat is great, but so is the point....choosing the brisket matters a lot. The closer the point and flat are in thickness, the more evenly it will cook. Also, it should have some bend to it when you hold it on one end and wiggle it. If it's stiff, walk away. Not worth the $70 or whatever it is.

And while we're asking for advice, why does the point of my brisket fall apart when I slice it? I'm almost positive I'm cutting it right. I've followed instructions in youtube videos. It's almost like my brisket is too juicy to have structure. It tastes amazing but the presentation is not so great.

 

[n_huffhines]

so rather than talk about how to do it right, what are the mistakes that lead to a bad brisket? heat related? time related? internal temp related? something else? given that butts are so easy it's not clear why brisket is so hard.

i'll hang up and listen

What is your method? What was the internal temp you pulled it out at? Did you let it rest a long time? I do it for at least 90 minutes in a cooler.

I'm not saying this is the way to cook it, but I have done it this way and it's sort of a cheat to make sure you don't mess it up (but it's also not the best way to do it)....you can leave the fat on the bottom and trim it after the fact, so it sort of serves as insulation (but that means you lose about 1/3 of the bark) and another cheat is to put it in a large turkey oven bag with apple cider vinegar in it (do this about 1/3 of the way through the cook and then pull it out of there for the last hour or two so you have good bark).

 

[Danl]

So, I'm gonna smoke a brisket. Here's my general plan and concerns:

This is my first time smoking a brisket.
Mustard, kosher salt, cracked pepper, and garlic powder rub.
The brisket is 5 inches longer than my smoker, 19 vs 14 inches.
So I figger I'll separate the point from the flat and put each on its own shelf in the smoker.
So on which shelf does which go?
Stop the wood chips and wrap at 170-175 degrees. Foil or paper?
Remove from smoker at 205 degrees.
Put in a cooler for hour and a half.
Eat it!!!

Comments and suggestions appreciated.

 

[kiddiedoc]

So, I'm gonna smoke a brisket. Here's my general plan and concerns:

This is my first time smoking a brisket.
Mustard, kosher salt, cracked pepper, and garlic powder rub.
The brisket is 5 inches longer than my smoker, 19 vs 14 inches.
So I figger I'll separate the point from the flat and put each on its own shelf in the smoker.
So on which shelf does which go?
Stop the wood chips and wrap at 170-175 degrees. Foil or paper?
Remove from smoker at 205 degrees.
Put in a cooler for hour and a half.
Eat it!!!

Comments and suggestions appreciated.

I put the point on top. I like butcher paper, retains the better bark. When the point hits like 190-195, cube it up and toss it in a pan with some sauce, honey, and more rub, then return it to the grill. When the flat temp stops increasing (somewhere around 200-205), take it off and let it rest in a well insulated place. Cook the burnt ends until they brown to your liking while the flat rests. You won't really need to rest them.

@n_huffhines : I think it's just the fat content of the point that often makes it difficult to neatly slice. Just another reason to go burnt ends.