All Things Brisket

[HouTex 1912]

Lurch is spot on. Speaking for myself, I like to cook around 300 to save time. I get good results in less time than at 225.

[El Tri 412]

Yup, i cook hot and fast. my egg thermometer read 275 which is probably 300 at the grate level. i did 2:1 pepper to salt, but then i went back and hit it with more straight pepper.

use a metal pan with water above the stone, below the brisket. i mix apple cider vinegar and worcestershire (enough squirts to make it turn brown) and spritz every hour until i wrap.

i left it wrapped in butcher paper on the counter for 1.5 hours, no cooler. it was still plenty fucking hot after 90 minutes

[Etexhorn13 3091]

Alright, first brisket in the books. Could’ve been a little more moist, but it wasn’t “dry as fuck”. Lots and lots of black pepper as key. Thanks for all the pointers.

 

BTW, I didn’t wrap, but this 10# mother fucker took a full 12 hours. Stalled out for a solid 4 hours. Anything to do about other than either wrapping or just waiting it out? Cooked between 250-260 the whole time.  

Edited August 22, 2020 by Etexhorn13

[NateHitch 1282]

Just a tip I used when learning how to smoke brisket. If the flat is dry, don't serve it. Slice up the point and serve that, it'll be better. Wrap the flat in foil and put in the fridge and save for leftovers. It'll be great for cold sliced brisket/mayo sandwiches, chopped beef/sloppy joe sandwiches, enchiladas, quesadillas, nachos, omelettes or whatever else you can think of.

[Etexhorn13 3091]

47 minutes ago, NateHitch said:

Just a tip I used when learning how to smoke brisket. If the flat is dry, don't serve it. Slice up the point and serve that, it'll be better. Wrap the flat in foil and put in the fridge and save for leftovers. It'll be great for cold sliced brisket/mayo sandwiches, chopped beef/sloppy joe sandwiches, enchiladas, quesadillas, nachos, omelettes or whatever else you can think of.

This is a really good tip. I have no issues with the point, that came out about as well as I couldve expected, but towards the tail end was where I noticed the flat being a little dry. Not gonna worry about it since it was my first one, but I’m kindof a perfectionist when i cook so I was a little disappointed.

i did pull it a little early (internal temp-wise) which probably didn’t help, I just did not expect a 9.5-10# brisket to need that long of a cook so I was a bit underprepared. I also had a hungry wife to deal with 🤷🏻‍♂️

[Lurch 5949]

Pulling early and incomplete rest will do it. Looks good though!

[Dr Fear 1286]

So, the 5th of 6 probes from my $50 amazon wireless thermometer failed yesterday making steaks. I think I'm ready to go higher end for a new one. I know I want wifi. Is ThermoWorks still the way to go?

[Jerry Callo 8951]

2 hours ago, Dr Fear said:

So, the 5th of 6 probes from my $50 amazon wireless thermometer failed yesterday making steaks. I think I'm ready to go higher end for a new one. I know I want wifi. Is ThermoWorks still the way to go?

I use the original FireBoard paired with a BBQ Guru Pit Viper Fan (they have adapters for many different types of grills/smokers).  There is a new FireBoard 2 which has a large digital screen on the unit, but I manage mine through the phone app so that's not a selling point for me.  The original FireBoard is on sale for $160, plus you need a drive cable to connect a fan.  The six probes allows me to monitor the ambient temperature on separate grills plus white and dark meat on two turkeys. 

The ability to check temperatures and control fire temp while dove hunting is really nice.

ThermoWorks Thermapen Mk4 for instant read temps.

[RichUT 1922]

I picked up the Smoke X4 from Thermoworks and it’s awesome. The range on the remote unit is damn good. I was doing a smoke in a cul de sac in the neighborhood and was able to get nearly a half mile away on my golf cart before it lost the connection to the base unit.

It’s super easy to use, and I prefer that experience to having to mess around with WiFi and an app. I picked up a few of the 2.5” straight probes that are ideal for briskets during the 15% off site wide sale recently.

[Dutch 4533]

On 8/21/2020 at 9:52 PM, Etexhorn13 said:

BTW, I didn’t wrap, but this 10# mother fucker took a full 12 hours. Stalled out for a solid 4 hours. Anything to do about other than either wrapping or just waiting it out? Cooked between 250-260 the whole time.  

Like the animal they come from, briskets can sometimes be very stubborn.  I had one 11-pounder, that I did wrap, stall at 180 for nearly four hours before shooting to 203 in like 45 minutes.  Whole cook was 14 hours. Then I've had others that averaged 45 mins/pound that turned out great.  You just have to "cook it till it's done," meaning when the flat probes like butter.  That was the hardest thing for me to beat into my thick skull: it's done when it wants to be, not when I want it to be.  Also, like @Lurch said, you have to let it rest at least two (preferably more) hours; that does a lot to loosen up the flat.

Dry or disappointing flat most definitely redeems itself in chili.  If you don't already have one, get a Foodsaver or another vac sealer so there's always a pound or two of smoked brisket at your disposal when chili season arrives and you get a need to brew up a pot of Red.

Edited August 23, 2020 by Dutch

[El Tri 412]

Leftover brisket breakfast tacos. Beans, bacon, egg, brisket, cheese, homemade salsa



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[Orale 1176]

I'm going to smoke a 15 pound prime using the hot and fast method (300 degrees) for the first time on my WSM. I saw some videos where they separate the point from the flat prior to smoking. Is there an advantage to going that route?

[El Tri 412]

I'm going to smoke a 15 pound prime using the hot and fast method (300 degrees) for the first time on my WSM. I saw some videos where they separate the point from the flat prior to smoking. Is there an advantage to going that route?

Hell no


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[NateHitch 1282]

I'm going to smoke a 15 pound prime using the hot and fast method (300 degrees) for the first time on my WSM. I saw some videos where they separate the point from the flat prior to smoking. Is there an advantage to going that route?

Far from an expert on hot and fast but I feel like separating them would lead to a dry, stringy flat. I can't think of any reason why you would separate them pre-cook

[Dutch 4533]

40 minutes ago, Orale said:

I saw some videos where they separate the point from the flat prior to smoking. Is there an advantage to going that route?

If you want to ruin a brisket, yes.  Whatever video you watched, purge it from your memory; it must have been made by some aggy.  As far as prepping a brisket, watch this:

 

 

[Henry Hill 3156]

45 minutes ago, Orale said:

I'm going to smoke a 15 pound prime using the hot and fast method (300 degrees) for the first time on my WSM. I saw some videos where they separate the point from the flat prior to smoking. Is there an advantage to going that route?

If you do that, you’re essentially doing this:

 

 

[T-shirt Sip 2187]

15 minutes ago, Henry Hill said:

If you do that, you’re essentially doing this:

 

 

WTF?

[Lurch 5949]

The newspaper is the perfect cherry on that shitastic video

[Focht Up 643]

1 hour ago, Henry Hill said:

If you do that, you’re essentially doing this:

 

 

Thanks for posting that,  it's hilarious but I haven't been able to find it lately.  I imagine this idiot is an aggy scraping off all the bark.

[Carl Spackler 3610]

NSIAP

Legit brisket on a Weber kettle charcoal grill?  Cook's Country and Daniel Vaughn say it's possible.  Some on this board might roll their eyes at the 1:1 ration on the dalmatian rub, but that's easily fixed.  Not sure I agree with an immediate wrap and stow in the cooler once it hits 205, but I'll yield to the experts on that issue.  

Might have to leave my Weber Smokey Mountain in the garage and try this (with a few tweaks) on my grill soon.  Labor Day?

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/how-to-smoke-brisket-on-a-weber-grill?utm_source=pocket-newtab

 

[Anastasis 23699]

No matter how many times I see that video or the related ones, it pisses me off every time. Thanks asshole. 

[Landomatic 3813]

On 8/23/2020 at 3:08 PM, Focht Up said:

Thanks for posting that,  it's hilarious but I haven't been able to find it lately.  I imagine this idiot is an aggy scraping off all the bark.

“Howdy” out front shoulda told ya.

[Murfdogg21 4547]

I’ve been buying the point only from H‑E‑B. For two adults and a 3 year old, a 10+ lb brisket is often too much. These 4-6 lb points have turned out great. Not sure who is buying all the separately packaged flats though. They come really trimmed and I’m guessing come out dry AF. 

[ROFL BOX 6654]

31 minutes ago, Murfdogg21 said:

I’ve been buying the point only from H‑E‑B. For two adults and a 3 year old, a 10+ lb brisket is often too much. These 4-6 lb points have turned out great. Not sure who is buying all the separately packaged flats though. They come really trimmed and I’m guessing come out dry AF. 

What kind of setup are you smoking over & for how long?

Got pics?

(setup & resulted brisket)

[Murfdogg21 4547]

It’s on a Traeger (neg away) at 225F. Goes about 1.5 hours/pound. Moist and tender, and it takes around 7 hours vs. 12+ on a full brisket. 
 

[Lurch 5949]

Would eat.

[Dbeasy 15526]

I’m putting my second ever brisket on this Saturday in an electric smoker. Shaggy helped me through the first one. I watched Aaron franklin video, etc.

However, on my first one 12 lb I put it on at 3 or 4 am at 225 and by 7 pm it was still stuck on the stall. Thoughts on what I should do differently? Start it earlier? Wrap it in butcher paper at the stall? Turn up the heat to 250? Just drink heavily instead?

[PantsTent 2003]

I’m putting my second ever brisket on this Saturday in an electric smoker. Shaggy helped me through the first one. I watched Aaron franklin video, etc.

However, on my first one 12 lb I put it on at 3 or 4 am at 225 and by 7 pm it was still stuck on the stall. Thoughts on what I should do differently? Start it earlier? Wrap it in butcher paper at the stall? Turn up the heat to 250? Just drink heavily instead?

Turn up the heat. I’m guessing it wasn’t actually 225 at the brisket. If you watched the Franklin videos, you know he likes 275F.

[Lurch 5949]

You can comfortably raise the temp. I’d not go higher than 250* but you’ll see guys in here doing 275* or more

Definitely wrap in butcher paper any time after 5-6 hours.

I always start my briskets around 9-10pm with a plan to wrap by 1-2am. Starting early in the morning doesn’t work for me as no one wants to wait until 8pm to eat dinner

[NateHitch 1282]

However, on my first one 12 lb I put it on at 3 or 4 am at 225 and by 7 pm it was still stuck on the stall. Thoughts on what I should do differently? Start it earlier? Wrap it in butcher paper at the stall? Turn up the heat to 250? Just drink heavily instead?

Holy shit that's a long time for a 12 pounder! I bump to 275-300 after wrapping depending on whether or not time is an issue. If I'm worried about time I'll cook at 275 and bump to 300 after wrapping. I did that this past weekend for a 13lb one, was probably 12lbs after trimming. Put it on at 5am and was done at 3, let it rest until 4:30

[Murfdogg21 4547]

@Dbeasy you might want to buy a wireless/Bluetooth/wifi meat thermometer to track it more accurately  and lazily. If I hadn’t got to the stall by 6-8 hours, I’d bump it to 250 or 275 and/or wrap it in foil to accelerate the cook. If it already had 8 hours of smoke, that should be plenty for the bark and smoke ring. Rule of thumb for me is total cook is around 1.25 hours per pound. 12 lbs x 1.25 is 15 hours, you should’ve been done by 8pm.

A beautiful feature of the pellet smokers is they can auto feed for 8 hours, so I usually throw my full briskets on around 10pm or midnight at 225F then check on them when I wake up. I try not to wrap it unless the stall gets excessively long. It usually finishes up in the afternoon then I let it rest in butcher paper or foil until dinner (~1.5-2 hours). YMMV on whatever electric rig you’re running. 

Edited August 27, 2020 by Murfdogg21

[Dbeasy 15526]

Dang just looked at my notes and I was cooking at 250 last time, not 225.

[AustinMT 952]

5 minutes ago, Murfdogg21 said:

@Dbeasy you might want to buy a wireless/Bluetooth/wifi meat thermometer to track it more easily and lazily. If I hadn’t got to the stall by 6-8 hours, I’d bump it to 250 or 275 and/or wrap it in foil to accelerate the cook. If it already had 8 hours of smoke, that should be plenty for the bark and smoke ring. Rule of thumb for me is total cook is around 1.25 hours per pound. 12 lbs x 1.25 is 16 hours, you should’ve been done by 8pm.

A beautiful feature of the pellet smokers is they can auto feed for 8 hours, so I usually throw my full briskets on around 10pm or midnight at 225F then check on them when I wake up. I try not to wrap it unless the stall gets excessively long. It usually finishes up in the afternoon then I let it rest in butcher paper or foil until dinner (~1.5-2 hours). YMMV on whatever electric rig you’re running. 

Agree, except wrap in butcher paper instead of foil.  Less “steaming” effect and better bark results

[Lurch 5949]

Dang just looked at my notes and I was cooking at 250 last time, not 225.

Lulz... check your scales and clocks too

[Lurch 5949]

Agree, except wrap in butcher paper instead of foil.  Less “steaming” effect and better bark results

And don’t wrap at all while it’s resting

[NateHitch 1282]

16 hours for a 12lb brisket is incredibly unnecessary unless you just enjoy the process. Throw in the resting period and you're looking at 18 hours, fuck that. You can serve an amazing brisket in a fraction of that time and not waste too much wood/pellets

[Murfdogg21 4547]

On 8/26/2020 at 12:11 AM, ROFL BOX said:

What kind of setup are you smoking over & for how long?

Got pics?

(setup & resulted brisket)

I did another point half only today, incorporating some of the tribe’s advice. Started with 4.6 lbs; simple rub of 50-50 salt and pepper with a light sprinkle of garlic powder. 
 

I got a late start (7:30am) bc I was up late watching blue shed hurricane tracker boy. I ran it at 225F and hit the stall at 165F internal around the 5 hour mark. I raised the smoker temp to 250F to make sure it was done in time for dinner. After about 2 hours, it was still around 175-180F, so I increased temp again to 275F. It ran another ~2.5 hours to hit 205F internal. I took Lurch’s advice and didn’t wrap while it rested (I usually wrap it in butcher paper and let it sit for a few hours). I sliced it up after 1.5 hours of rest, and it was damn delicious and juicy.

I think I may roll at 250F from the start from now on. I try to abide by the “low and slow” mantra but I didn’t notice any difference today by running at 250-275F for the second half of the smoke. If I had kept it at 225, I would have had to crutch it with a foil wrap as soon as I hit the stall, but I wasn’t happy with where the bark was when I got to the stall. I’m happy that I had it in direct smoke for the entire cook.

 

[Lurch 5949]

I’d say your pepper is way too low, but that does look like a good bark

[utxmike05 1833]

Nice bark pics lately from you guys. Just pick up those Fiesta brand Coarse Pepper from Academy, they sell the big containers of it. And bury your meat with it.

I accidentally got the #28 Coarse Pepper from there last weekennd...didn’t notice until I threw it on the brisket...looked like gravel lol. But tasted the same.

My hurricane prep brisket (thankfully Houston dodged a bullet, sorry for any who were affected). 3.49/lb prime at HEB felt like a steal.











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[Anastasis 23699]

 

Damn that looks pretty fucking good. 

[utxmike05 1833]

 
Damn that looks pretty fucking good. 

Thanks man, and that was the third slice from edge of the flat. Took it to 199, removed and set in cooler for few hours wrapped. I had been pulling out too early (hey ohhh) in past and couldn’t get my flat tender enough to bend, but always tasted good. Probably let it cook more in cooler than I should have. The point pretty much cut into chopped beef. Every brisket is different on those final temps...that’s the challenge I like hah


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[luke duke 6445]

Thanks man, and that was the third slice from edge of the flat. Took it to 199, removed and set in cooler for few hours wrapped. I had been pulling out too early (hey ohhh) in past and couldn’t get my flat tender enough to bend, but always tasted good. Probably let it cook more in cooler than I should have. The point pretty much cut into chopped beef. Every brisket is different on those final temps...that’s the challenge I like hah


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It needs to cool a bit before it goes in the cooler.

[NateHitch 1282]

This. Did you pull based on temp, time or probe for tenderness? Regardless it looks like it turned out damn good

[elfenix 34657]

NSIAP

Legit brisket on a Weber kettle charcoal grill?  Cook's Country and Daniel Vaughn say it's possible.  Some on this board might roll their eyes at the 1:1 ration on the dalmatian rub, but that's easily fixed.  Not sure I agree with an immediate wrap and stow in the cooler once it hits 205, but I'll yield to the experts on that issue.  

Might have to leave my Weber Smokey Mountain in the garage and try this (with a few tweaks) on my grill soon.  Labor Day?

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/how-to-smoke-brisket-on-a-weber-grill?utm_source=pocket-newtab

 

i've done lots of briskets on a weber kettle.  i learned it from a friend back in 2008.  i now use a dutch oven as a water pan to form my charcoal ring and only do about half a ring of coals.  gap the top and bottom vents to about 1/4 inch after you've got them started, toss on your brisket, and just check periodically to see if you need to add more charcoal.  i don't do a full ring in order prevent much of the brisket from being directly over the coals.  use crinkled aluminum foil as a gasket around the lid to keep heat in.  i have the rotisseries ring so i can put 2 cooking grates in it for lots of smoking room. 

 

Here's some pork butts hiding under a brisket:

 

 

[ERhine 1937]

[Anastasis 23699]

Damn. 

[dcbc 14641]

I've had two packers on since about 10 last night.  We had a couple of hours of some higher than usual wind at about 4 a.m. that knocked the WSM until I went to check on it at about 10 a.m.  So I've been pushing a little  higher than usual since then, and it's almost done.  One is for a friend who got hit by a car while biking.  So hoping it doesn't suck.

[deadshank 24654]

6 hours ago, ERhine said:

I was wondering where that smell was coming from.  

[utxmike05 1833]

This. Did you pull based on temp, time or probe for tenderness? Regardless it looks like it turned out damn good

I usually probe for tenderness. I learned that every one seem to have a different ready temp.

Yea. Since I took it closer to 200 I should have let it cool first on counter before the cooler. I used to pull out at 195 bc the cooler cooks it another 4-5 degs if thrown in right off the pit.


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[NateHitch 1282]

Grabbed a small brisket, going to cut it in half and use the point to make sausage and give the flat to a friend that just bought a pellet smoker, will be his first time smoking any sort of brisket. I've never smoked just the flat, not sure what to tell him. I imagine I'd smoke it at 250 for maybe 4 hours and then wrap and start probing around 200 degrees? Any advice for just the flat?