I just wanted to say thanks for all the advice on this thread. I cooked my first brisket last night for a church pot luck. It turned out great, and was much easier than I expected.

so do most of you people place whole logs in the firebox or do y'all use the supplemental fire and only add coals?

You need at least some wood and not just coals in the firebox to make enough smoke.

The best brisket I ever ate was cooked fat down high heat for about the 1st 45 min to hour, then flipped fat up, then finished in foil last 3 hours with fat down. The fat layer was crisp and like candy and the meat was out of this world.

Big key is to not create too much white smoke how ever you choose to accomplish that. Obtain the high heat by cooking down the wood to coals, then after the first hour when heat has reduced to 250 or so, maintain the fire with small amounts of barkless fuel and plenty of air, works for me.

[This message has been edited by fireinthehole (edited 4/30/2010 4:51p).]

Given my first brisket a try tomorrow. About to head up to the store and get some ribs, sasauge, brisket, the fixins............and beer.

Gonna use a rub only (salt, Papper, garlic powder) then SLATHER with mustard. Going to let it sit over night, about 12 hours.

Wake up in the morn and get the fire goin, open a beer, cook some grits and some toast and then get to work.

I'm gonna cook it fat side UP at around 225 for 8 to 12 hours. And I ain't gonna use no foil. I'm goin 100% natural here.

I'll try foil in the future but my first is going to be no foil.

wish me luck, Ags.

Maybe I'll try to post pics.

oh and I was going to do this Monday but since the boss says I have to work Monday I have to do it tomorrow.

So F you boss and weather if you don't clear up then F you too.

What stores do yall have the best luck finding good briskets at?

Just got of heb. They had the trimmed, full brisket and market trimmed.

I got the trimmed. Was that the right one to get?

We slaughter a show steer every year and they usually grade out high Choice or Prime. When I cook Brisket I use Mesquite wood for the first hour, then I mix white oak and pecan wood to finish smoking the meat. I also soak pecan shells in water to throw in the fire to keep it around 285 degress and more flavor. I have a water pan in my smoker so I get a wet smoke. I don't trim the fat and I inject my brisket with a mix of beef stock and apple juice. I rub it down with mustard and I use a spice blend of black peper, onion powder, spanish paprika, garlic powder, brown sugar, cayenne peper, and sea salt. I cook my brisket fat side up. I don't use kosher salt. Doing these things will give you a award winning brisket. Also drink plenty of beer and enjoy the process of smoking a good piece of meat.


[This message has been edited by BurnetAggie99 (edited 7/2/2010 5:31p).]

Yeah I got some pans beneath the racks to fill with water. This might have to wait till Sunday cause lake Conroe might be callin tomorrow

Smoking my first brisket tomorrow. This thread has lots of great information. Going to be interesting. I built an ugly drum smoker out of a 55 gallon drum. I'll try and take pictures and report back with the results.

I'm in charge of the brisket for tomorrow's tailgate. We'll see how it goes!

quote:

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Put a pan of water under the grate, this will help your brisket stay moist (unless your pit has a reservior designed for this).

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Your claim is partially correct, but for the wrong reason. The steam itself from the water pan isn't what keeps the brisket moist. If that were true, you should be able to steam a brisket for as long as you like, and it would still be tender and moist, and that simply is not the case. It will still be as dry and tough as shoe leather.

The reason a water/drip pan works is because water is a terrific heat sink, in that it can absorb a lot of energy before it converts that energy to steam. That energy gets converted around 212 degrees, and it leaves the cooking chamber. Take that water pan out, and you'll be able to watch the temperature climb, all other things held constant.

Water pans help produce better results because of their ability to help regulate temperature, not because the steam keeps the meat moist.

Interestingly, I was reading a book the other day that seems to point that the people that wrap their brisket in foil may be onto something. Research is pointing out that the meat is able to re-absorb some of those juices (up to 10% of the total lost moisture, which is quite a bit). No one is quite sure why, but the results are there. The foil wrapping doesn't necessarily keep the juices in, but it keeps them around the meat to be available for re-absorption when the meat is resting.

Can someone explain Duck's comment about "No white smoke" to me? How exactly does it ruin the meat?

From my nonscientific, hearsay understanding, the white smoke contains creosote which can adhere to the meat and give it a bitter flavor. Blue smoke does not. In my experience, if you have white smoke, you have to keep it moving...meaning the exhaust open all of the way. If you don't, that's when you run into trouble.

I use ButcherBrisket injection the night before I smoke my brisket. I also rub it down with Bubba's Brisket rub with mustard after I inject the Brisket. A guide on injecting Brisket. All taste palates are different, so strengthen to your taste. I recommend starting with 3/4 cup of marinade to two (2) cups of water. Other options are to split 1/2 the water with beer, apple juice, Cola or beef broth.

Place your brisket on a cookie sheet with edges to help catch any excess marinade. Now, using a checker board pattern, inject in every other square, keeping the injecting needle in the center of the brisket meat. This amount should be enough for two thirteen lb. briskets.

I use Pecan and oak mixture when smoking my brisket at 230 degrees. I have a water pan in my pit so I get a wet smoke.

Yeah. We know.

Read this whole thread and am trying out a brisket on a pit I've never used before.

17 lb brisket
Injected Claude's sauce into the meat
Dry rub on the outside, refrigerated it for several hours, brought it out at 6:30 to rest on the counter.
Burned up a bunch of mesquite into coals, got it locked in at 250F and threw a couple pieces (no bark) on the coals and shut it back down to smoke
Put the brisket on at 9pm, fat side up.
Will smoke it for 6 hours, then I will wrap it in foil for the final 11 hours.



[This message has been edited by Jaydoug (edited 4/29/2012 3:24a).]

cool! i don't thing 6 hrs on smoke for a 17 lb briskit is long enough though.

I just finished trimming a couple thousand pounds of briskets...Good fun, with plenty of sampling of the more cooked ones. Church festival.

We some em for half a day, then cool them, slice/chop em, pan em, and then they go back in the pit for a few hours before it is time to serve to finish.

Just wrapped the nice chunk of dark juicy sweetness in foil and put it back on the pit. Had to burn up some more wood for coals first. Thermometer says 156F.

8-10 hrs of slow and low to go

I hear ya Duck, but for this first shot I'm erring on the juicy side this go round.


[This message has been edited by Jaydoug (edited 4/29/2012 3:26a).]

Great brisket. Just what I wanted. Took it off at 2pm. Falling apart yumminess. Made brisket tacos with it. I think for regular slices brisket I would smoke it unwrapped until the last 4-6 hours. I wrapped this one with 11 hours to go. Just right.



[This message has been edited by Jaydoug (edited 4/29/2012 8:23p).]

Any of you do the mustard rub overnight? Would that change things at all?

JayDoug, that looks incredible

Must be doing something wrong... Am not getting that nice crust like jaydoug after 5 hours. Am using a cheap master forge smoker, but got some nice browning. Avoided white smoke like the plague as this is my first brisket- never even seen one done- and am keeping temps between 225-275 (harder than it sounds on this pos). Tips? Internal temp is 150 on this 6 pound wimp brisket. Will go until 190 internal. Just put into foil. Did I just not have enough smoke? And yes, I have sinned and used mesquite...

Sop with warm beer, butter, salt, and onions

[This message has been edited by Crossbowag99 (edited 5/8/2013 11:50p).]

Thanks. That worked really well!!!turned out great!!!

Why butcher paper? Less heat retained?

And huge thanks to all on this thread for the advice!!!

Using Butcher Paper will give you better texture, keep your crust, give you a very moist and tender brisket but not steam the brisket like foil. A tip is the Butcher Paper has to be wrapped heavily and tight. Smoke the brisket for about 6 hours then spray it with some Worcestershire sauce mixed with water and wrap in Butcher Paper. It will let in more smoke but let's the meat breathe better and also won't steam the meat. Once wrapped in the Butcher Paper cook additional 2 hours. Once done let the brisket set in a ice chest in the butcher paper. I like internal temp to be about 185 to 205.

You know how many briskets I've done since I started this thread eight years ago?


A LOT.

I've learned a lot form this thread over the last few years. I started with a smoker I got from Academy. I didn't want to spend a ton of money on a smoker at first just in case I sucked at bbqing. Now that I have gotten better, I graduated up to a lyfetyme smoker and love it. It holds temp so much easier than the thin gauge steel pits from Academy. Here is how I do it:

1. Use prime brisket if available. I usually try to get one in the 15-17 lb range. Why spend all this time cooking a small brisket when the leftovers from the large will feed you for a week (and also freeze well).
2. Lightly trim the night before, kosher salt, black pepper, and a light dusting of a commercial rub. I do NOT use mustard on brisket, but do coat pork shoulders and ribs in mustard.
3. Start fire around 5-5:30 AM and usually put meat on about 6:30. I've been using Kingsford charcoal and smoking with hickory and a little mesquite from HEB. I think I need to go to larger chunks though. The bagged stuff from heb burns pretty quick and doesn't leave much coals. The temp gauges on the far side of the pit from the firebox and I like to keep it at 200 degrees. The remote temp is placed in the center of the grill next to the meat and is the temp I am more concerned about. I try to keep that one at 225-235.
4. I usually do fat side up unless I am cooking a lot of meat and the brisket ends up close to the fire box. When it's next to the box, I cook fat side down to keep as much direct heat ofF the meat as I can. Cook till it's ready ( no set time, every brisket cooks differently). I use one of those remote thermometers that gives the grill temp and meat temp. Usually pull off around 190-195 degrees. Wrap in foil, then a towel, and place in a cooler for as long as I can. (Letting it rest is the hardest part...by this time, everyone is hungry and wanting to tear into it.)
5. I start by cutting the lean side first till a get to the point. Then I separate the two and rotate 90 degrees to cut the moist end.
6. I always do some other meat as well. Ribs and whole chickens usually go on for about 6 hours and are incredibly easy to do. When doing pork,I coat with mustard and make my own rub with brown sugar and assorted spices.

Pics from last weekend...










[This message has been edited by Ted Logan (edited 7/26/2014 9:38a).]

Holy old thread bump batman