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Hot and fast brisket - won't go back!

17,118 Views | 54 Replies | Last: 3 yr ago by fta09
TX AG 88
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Wow, I came here before lamenting how much trouble I was having getting a restaurant-quality brisket done on my kamado (Grill Dome) smoker.

Then i came across Henry Soo's "Hot and Fast Brisket" videos.



I tried one yesterday and I'm kicking myself in the azz for ever getting up at 2am and staying up all night monitoring a temp! (To be honest, I'd get up at 2 and get the meat on, and since the smoker is pretty good at holding a temp - if I do everything right - I'd sleep on the couch with an alarm set every half hour or so to check my remote temp display... still, that's WAY too much work, anymore!)

16 pound Choice brisket. Got up at 9:15, prepped the grill and started the fire, trimmed and seasoned the brisket, and had it on the pit by 10:15. (Sorry, this is the only pic I took.)



The yellowish tint is yellow mustard I used to hold the rub. (More rub was applied before the cook started for real.) The rub was 1/2c Kosher salt, 1/2c coarse black pepper, and 1/4c Celery Salt. I thought that didn't cover it quite enough, so I finished the job with Bolner's Fiesta brand Brisket Rub.

I didn't have as much lump charcoal as I thought I did when I started the fire, so I worried a bit about the amount of fuel. I think I wrapped it around 2:30. Around 3:00, I started having a hard time keeping at 400*. But that's okay, since Henry drops the temp to about 275* after wrapping. Once the temps dropped to 300*, I moved it inside to the oven at 290*. By 5 the brisket was in a cooler (these are approximate times, since I didn't keep a log) and I sliced it a little after 6.

It was moist and flavorful and tender. It had a decent (not great) bark and as much of a smoke ring as I've ever gotten on a kamado smoker.

I can certainly improve, but there's NO noticeable downside to the hot/fast method that I can detect. The compressed timeline, with the full night of uninterrupted sleep, is awesome!

edit - the Coors light is a several-year-old something I found in the bottom of my kegerator freezer. It's been open for a week, and is being used to fill a coffee can lid slug trap to keep slugs off my little herb garden (cilantro and basil).
Positive Yardage
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I've got two packers considering trying hot and fast with them tomorrow.
Comeby!
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Thanks for sharing. Just watched about 4 Soo videos. Seems really simple. I am for a smoker right now. Been back and forth between Kamado, Stick and Pellet. Thinking either Kamado or Pellet just for simplicity.
Positive Yardage
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Comeby! said:

Thanks for sharing. Just watched about 4 Soo videos. Seems really simple. I am for a smoker right now. Been back and forth between Kamado, Stick and Pellet. Thinking either Kamado or Pellet just for simplicity.
I have pellet smoker, and it is as simple as it gets. Not knocking the Kamado, I know people that have them love them. But for long smokes like low and slow brisket, the pellet is hard to beat in simplicity
DeWrecking Crew
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I'll preface this with I'm a low and slow guy, probably always will be, I don't wrap in foil or paper...having said that, I think the wrapping part has changed a lot of what we thought we knew about brisket. Before wrapping came along , smoking hot and fast resulted in one or many of the following...dried out, no smoke flavor, toughness, hard bark, burnt bark flavor. There's a coefficient of rendering fat versus dissolving connective tissues, hot and fast temps used to render the fat before the connective tissues could dissolve. I think tin foil changed the game, for better or worse. I still think there's a flavor profile difference in low and slow versus hot and fast, but I think both are good. My BIL is a pit master at a joint in Austin, he's beaten Black's and others in competition for Brisket many times and he uses the hot and fast, but even he will tell you he prefers the profile of low and slow.
The Shank Ag
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I do about a 6-8 hour smoke on a Weber Kettle with reticulated grill sides, coal baskets on each side. Never really tested the temp, guessing between 250-325. Has come out great most every time. Much better than getting up at 4:00 am.
BurnetAggie99
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John Mueller cooks his briskets Hot and Fast
BullSprig07
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Ok your post had me interesting in trying hot and fast on the BGE this weekend, but his video has some peculiar points. The way he trims, injecting the brisket, broth in the foil wrap. Did you do all of these or just follow his temp guidelines?
aTm_bomb
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Water Turkey07 said:

Ok your post had me interesting in trying hot and fast on the BGE this weekend, but his video has some peculiar points. The way he trims BUTCHERS, injecting the brisket, broth in the foil wrap. Did you do all of these or just follow his temp guidelines?
FIFY
TheMasterplan
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I'm doing a 250-315 F cook on the weber. At the 7 hour mark the temp dropped like a rock with all the vents open. It has a nice bark though so I just wrapped in butcher paper and threw it in the oven.

I agree that it sucks waking up so damn early. This got put on at about 8:15 AM so if this comes out pretty good - might just do this in the future. It's really all about getting dinner on the table.

I'm going to use my stimulus check on a slow n' sear.
Comeby!
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What is this stimulus check that you speak of?
TX AG 88
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Water Turkey07 said:

Ok your post had me interesting in trying hot and fast on the BGE this weekend, but his video has some peculiar points. The way he trims, injecting the brisket, broth in the foil wrap. Did you do all of these or just follow his temp guidelines?


he's got a couple of videos out there on Hot and Fast. I took his trimming advice with a grain of salt (seen plenty of others, including Franklin's). I did not inject the brisket, nor did I put broth in the wrap. If that was in the video I linked, I probably should've linked to the other one.

edit - here's the one I should have linked --

I mainly used:
1. his trimming method (kinda, I guess, mainly did what I have done in the past),
2. his seasoning (I bought Celery Seed just for this brisket. can't say for sure it made a difference, but the bark was pretty decent and the flavor was good),
3. I put a couple of wood chips under the flat so it wouldn't pool,
4. I misted the brisket per his recommendations, which is way more than I ever had (previously, i had misted maybe once or twice per entire cook),
5. I followed his temp recommendations, wrapping in butcher paper AND foil at around 165-170 internal temp, then letting the temp on the smoker drop and finished in the oven, and
6. Went by feel rather than temp to determine final doneness (which i was already kind of doing.)
strohag
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May give this a shot soon. If y'all have a ceramic Komodo style cooker do yourself and get a temp control device/fan. I have a flameboss and you literally set it and forget it.
Comeby!
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I noticed that as well. He took a big chunk out on the hot and fast but on this video you just posted he went more conventional. I also noticed he uses a stick burner, a kamado and a pellet smoker interchangeably.

So on the one you did, got any pics?

I have a brisket in the fridge and celery seed.
TX AG 88
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Sorry, I didn't take pics when done. Wish I had. The bark was not black nor thick, but that's probably just a matter of not enough rub. (the 1/2 cup + 1/2 cup + 1/4 cup measures didn't yield enough for a thick coat of rub. I didn't notice until re-watching that he doesn't normally season the fatty side, but did only because he had rub left over. I split the rub evenly over both sides and wished I had made more. I did put some Bolner's on the non-fat side to augment, but just to fill in the thinnest spots. I'll double the recipe next time and save whatever's left.)

It was tasty and there was a decent (not stellar) smoke ring. I never get a great smoke ring using lump charcoal, I really think that's the strong suit of a stick burner.

I was very satisfied with the result - especially the texture and taste. I'll work on the cosmetics later. Hopefully the next one will be more spectacular in appearance and the sight of it will remind/compel me to document it for TexAgs!
bam02
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Part of the federal corona virus bailout.
ORAggieFan
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bam02 said:

Part of the federal corona virus bailout.

Yeah, some of us don't qualify....
TheMasterplan
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ORAggieFan said:

bam02 said:

Part of the federal corona virus bailout.

Yeah, some of us don't qualify....
I live overseas so by AGI is low. Thought the slow n' sear would be a good purchase for small biz stimulation.
Comeby!
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TheMasterplan
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On another note, I finished my brisket yesterday.

It was a grass fed brisket as grass fed is about 95% of all beef here. I think I'll only do brisket again if it's grain finished otherwise it's a waste of time.

I'll stick to lamb shoulder, leg, pork butt and beef cheeks for my long cooks. And of course regular prime rib roasts.
Comeby!
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This is great feedback! Much appreciated.
TX AG 88
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Gig'em!!!
BullSprig07
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I wound up doing a "hot and fast" cook on my large egg Saturday, inspired by this post. I didn't do any of the weird trim jobs or broth in the foil, just cooked way hotter and faster than normal, actually based temp and time off some previous posts on this forum.

HEB in the Heights had "point-only" briskets with the flat removed. It's just me, my wife a 5yo and a 1yo here so picked one up that was 7.75 pounds. Perfect for a large egg and a quick cook. Didn't say grade, had great marbling though, I would guess choice.

I seasoned with S&P and some garlic powder the night before and wound up not getting on the egg until 10AM. I was pushing over 400 degrees (plate-setter with two aluminum pans filled with water/apple cider vinegar) for about the first two hours, then about 380 for the next two hours.

At 4 hours the internal temp was 175, I wrapped in foil (no broth). Took another hour to get to 211. I cooled the egg down but left it on to try and spend some more time at this temp (about 30 minutes) and let the collagen break down a little longer. I took it off at 3:45 and let it rest (not in a towel, or a cooler, just sat on my unheated gas grill still wrapped in foil) and I was eating brisket at 5:30.

I've only done a handful of briskets in my day but this was hands-down the best one I've cooked. I couldn't believe the bark I got on this guy in just a few hours cook time. Not a dry bite to be found, extremely moist. Tenderness straddled the line of almost wanting to fall apart but staying together like a dancer straddles a pole.

I think for ceramic type cookers this is the perfect method and my days of 12 hour smokes are over. If I feel the need to stay up late and slam shiners while I listen to Waylon Jennings I'm a grown ass man and don't need the excuse of babysitting a brisket any more.
bam02
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ORAggieFan said:

bam02 said:

Part of the federal corona virus bailout.

Yeah, some of us don't qualify....
Of course not, the "what stimulus" i.e. I make too much joke is just old.
TX AG 88
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Water Turkey07 said:

I wound up doing a "hot and fast" cook on my large egg Saturday, inspired by this post.

I've only done a handful of briskets in my day but this was hands-down the best one I've cooked. I couldn't believe the bark I got on this guy in just a few hours cook time. Not a dry bite to be found, extremely moist. Tenderness straddled the line of almost wanting to fall apart but staying together like a stripper straddles a pole.

I think for ceramic type cookers this is the perfect method and my days of 12 hour smokes are over. If I feel the need to stay up late and slam shiners while I listen to Waylon Jennings I'm a grown ass man and don't need the excuse of babysitting a brisket any more.

Glad to have had a hand in motivating you to take the plunge! I wish I had linked the vid in the second link instead of the one I did in the OP. I really didn't realize that was the one with the broth in the foil. (Although the wife surprised me when I told her about that, she actually perked up and said "mmm, that sounds good!" so I might actually have to try it once...)

I love the part of your post that I bolded. I feel exactly the same, and will definitely play the "grown ass man card" excuse rather than the brisket excuse for my next late night "Backyard beer and Dixie Chicken music" bender!
BullSprig07
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TX AG 88 said:


Glad to have had a hand in motivating you to take the plunge! I wish I had linked the vid in the second link instead of the one I did in the OP. I really didn't realize that was the one with the broth in the foil. (Although the wife surprised me when I told her about that, she actually perked up and said "mmm, that sounds good!" so I might actually have to try it once...)

I love the part of your post that I bolded. I feel exactly the same, and will definitely play the "grown ass man card" excuse rather than the brisket excuse for my next late night "Backyard beer and Dixie Chicken music" bender!
lol, I didn't mean to harp on the broth thing so much. When I looked up previous threads on Hot and Fast it came up several times on here and seems to be more common than I thought. I think his trimming method distracted me more than anything.

Regardless, you led me to cooking my best brisket yet! And good luck next time you play the grown ass man card!
Comeby!
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Damn now I need to buy a smoker. Thinking a pellet vs ceramic strictly on cost.
Ornlu
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I run a propane smoker. It'll hit 325 no problem, but 350 is a streach. If I leave the water pan empty, it sometimes hits 360.

I have a 12 pound brisket in the freezer. At 340, do you think 7 hours is enough?

I'm not actually trying to cook to this time, just trying to budget starting time vs meal time. I'll cook to 202 internal.
JFrench
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I've always thought it's done when it's done. I feel like I might have posted previous stories but I've done a few with good success.

Bonfire97
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I actually posted a thread about this awhile back. I'll never go back to "low and slow". Have done about 5 hot and fast and they all turned out great. Trim, dry, kosher salt and black pepper, 400F, run until you get the bark like you like it (2-2.5hrs), then foil. Cook until the probe goes in easy - usually about 208F to 212F internal.
TX AG 88
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Ornlu,

Sorry man, I've only done that one hot & fast, and I wasn't even that good at keeping tabs on what time I did what (my intent was as a "learning/studying attempt" but we actually had family over (social distancing the whole time) and I was mostly distracted from my observing/note taking. I had Alexa remind me every 20 min or so to go mist it until I wrapped it and then all i did was watch my remote temp probe. The first time I tested it for doneness, it was ready, so I rested and sliced it.

I knew it would be done before everyone was starving, so I really wasn't focused on the time. If I had a set dinner time I was shooting for, I would have been a lot more stressed and paid a lot better attention.

I like the "it's done when it's done" approach, but sometimes that's hard to do when you have guests and a co-chef who's trying to prepare side dishes... Good luck is all I can tell ya!
TX AG 88
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Oh, and my internal temp when done was 209-210. It was moist as heck and didn't fall apart, so i counted it a success. In the past, I always stopped them at a lower temp. For what it's worth, this one was a Choice brisket. No idea if that influences the best "done" temp.
Comeby!
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So aim for 350-400 cooking temp and wrap at 160-175 internal. Let get up to 205-210 internal?
OlRock
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Thanks for sharing
Comeby!
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In the middle of a stall right now. Stalled early and low temp at 145F. Grill at 320F. Separated the flat and point due to size and the fact that I've reverse engineered a gas grill with smoke tubes.
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