First brisket ATTEMPT this Saturday -advice welcome


 
M

MattCotter

TVWBB Member
I have the pork butts and ribs down pat. Love it. My favorite Q is brisket though. I have been hesitant to try it because of how difficult I hear it is. I just bought a 12.66 whole prime brisket from Costco and plan to smoke it Saturday. Any great advice? I really want it to be decent because I need another meat it the rotation and tired of making excuses to the wife about why I won't do a brisket. :cool:
Would like to be able to not babysit the whole time so I can fish with my son in the am. Using a wsm 22.5. I have the charcoal and only have apple wood here. Will need to grab other wood tomorrow. Recommendations welcome there from you BBQ studs.
 
When are you wanting to eat? I'd probably do an overnight cook. If you get your temp dialed in you don't have to babysit that much.
 
Dustin Dorsey said:
When are you wanting to eat? I'd probably do an overnight cook. If you get your temp dialed in you don't have to babysit that much.
Click to expand...
I'm thinking 1or 2pm or so. What you thinking? So far I'm reading cut off most the fat, rub and cook at 225 or so for 12-14 hours then hold in cooler for couple hours. Sounds like going to end up with some dry either way.
 
MattCotter said:
... Sounds like going to end up with some dry either way.
Click to expand...

Not really hard to do, just challenging to keep with the program you've chosen. Most often that involves Patience. There are tools to help you attain your goal, such as higher temperatures, lower temperatures, water in the pan and no water in the pan. Foil is another tool.

Whatever program you decide upon, one must remember that brisket will be dry if undercooked AND if overcooked. And the time between under and over lessens with increased temperature. Also lessens if foil is used.

Other than that... Wishing you Excellent Eats this Saturday.
 
I'd put it on at 9pm. I'd get some kind of hardwood chunks like pecan,oak or hickory instead of a fruit wood but that's just me. For your first brisket I'd probably wrap it 165 internal or whenever the bark is set. I sometimes don't wrap or wrap in butcher paper, but the foil is probably more fool proof. I'd cook until you reach 203 internal with the probe in the thickest part of the flat. This is only if you aren't used to doing the probe test. The best method is to start checking for tenderness at around 190 and pull it when a probe goes though the meat like warm butter.

When you take it off open up the foil and let it vent to stop the cooking process for 30 minutes or until the internal temp of brisket drops to 170. Wrap it back up and store in a cooler for at least an hour before carving.
 
Dustin Dorsey said:
I'd put it on at 9pm. I'd get some kind of hardwood chunks like pecan,oak or hickory instead of a fruit wood but that's just me. For your first brisket I'd probably wrap it 165 internal or whenever the bark is set. I sometimes don't wrap or wrap in butcher paper, but the foil is probably more fool proof. I'd cook until you reach 203 internal with the probe in the thickest part of the flat. This is only if you aren't used to doing the probe test. The best method is to start checking for tenderness at around 190 and pull it when a probe goes though the meat like warm butter.

When you take it off open up the foil and let it vent to stop the cooking process for 30 minutes or until the internal temp of brisket drops to 170. Wrap it back up and store in a cooler for at least an hour before carving.
Click to expand...

If starting at 9pm, What's your best guess on timing to pull and wrap, and then to completion at 203?
 
Maybe 5 hrs in to wrap. Hopefully done by 11:30am . Also if it finishes early you can keep it wrapped in a cooler for up to 5 hrs. Wrapping in foil will speed up the cook time.
 
You made your first good move by buying USDA Prime. If you want it Texas style, just trim the fat cap down to 1/4" or so. hack off all the big lumps of fat and rub it with coarse ground pepper and salt. It could take 14 or 15 hours, less if you wrap in foil during the cook. Prime might be tender before it hits 200, so start probing it between 185-190. Probe the flat until there's almost no resistance. The point will be fine. Dustin is right -- you can keep it wrapped in towels in a cooler for up to 5 hours. But make sure you rest it wrapped in foil and in the cooler for at least 3 hours.

Jeff
 
Dustin Dorsey said:
Also you can be lazy and wrap when you wake up. I'm not above it.
Click to expand...

Ok, I will give it a go. Start at 9pm or so, then wrap around 6 when I leave for fishing. Fish until 10am-ish and then come home and hope we are close. I can have wife or other son watch the temp a bit. Then, maybe order pizza at 1pm. Lol. Thanks for the insight. Do you inject, baste, spray, mop?
 
I sometimes spritz during the time before during the unwrapped phase but is mainly to improve the smoke ring. I wouldn't bother with and of it.
 
I don't want to rain on your parade but my briskets have never taken that long to cook, generally cooking to completion in about 7-8 hours when I run the temps around 275.

What I wish for you to avoid is assuming that it will take that long to cook and have it hit perfect done-ness while you are out enjoying the day with your son. That would suck and be an expensive lesson.

I cooked to perfection a 17lb full packer once in about 8 hours, putting it on around 9pm and expecting it to cook until late morning the next day. My alarm when off at 2:30am when the internal temps hit the 180* mark and the brisket was fully cooked by about 5am. Made for a rough night getting up to check temps that early.

I will not do another overnight cook again. I stick with starting around 6-7am and aiming for dinner around 4pm.

Just some food for thought...Your mileage may vary.

Good luck and post pics!
 
Those Costco Primes seem to cook faster also from what i have seen on here..like others have said i would go higher heat and wrap when bark is set/165ish. Have only done two briskets on my life (select) and they have both been great. Happy Smoking!!!
 
I'd definitely check it before heading out at 6am. It might be done, or close to it, by the time you're ready to leave if you put it on at 9pm. So long as the other son or wife can pull it off the smoker and stick it in the cooler while you're gone, you should be good to go.
BTW, if you can cook a pork butt, you'll have not trouble with brisket. It's mostly a waiting game. Cook until done.
Good luck and post pics!
 
MattCotter said:
Recommendations welcome there from you BBQ studs.
Click to expand...

Matt,

By now you are totally confused. Here is a modest suggestion: Read through the suggestions and choose one that seems to resonate with your cooking style. Check the Interwebs for a complete recipe/process that covers your choice. Follow the instructions and enjoy your brisket. You will likely have a successful cook and will learn a lot.

Jeff
 
Drew Indy said:
BTW, if you can cook a pork butt, you'll have not trouble with brisket. It's mostly a waiting game. Cook until done.
Click to expand...


This is good advice. Let me offer one other piece of advice. Don't get fooled into thinking that the point and the flat will be done at the same time. The point will generally have more fat content than the flat and can afford to cook longer than the flat. The point (no pun intended) is that the point may be probe tender before the flat is probe tender, but I would suggest cooking until the flat is probe tender so both are cooked well. If you pull the meat when the point is probe tender but do not check the flat, you may be disappointed. Ask me how I know that...:rolleyes:
 
JeffB said:
I don't want to rain on your parade but my briskets have never taken that long to cook, generally cooking to completion in about 7-8 hours when I run the temps around 275.

What I wish for you to avoid is assuming that it will take that long to cook and have it hit perfect done-ness while you are out enjoying the day with your son. That would suck and be an expensive lesson.

I cooked to perfection a 17lb full packer once in about 8 hours, putting it on around 9pm and expecting it to cook until late morning the next day. My alarm when off at 2:30am when the internal temps hit the 180* mark and the brisket was fully cooked by about 5am. Made for a rough night getting up to check temps that early.

I will not do another overnight cook again. I stick with starting around 6-7am and aiming for dinner around 4pm.

Just some food for thought...Your mileage may vary.

Good luck and post pics!
Click to expand...

JeffB, if I remember right, your briskets seem to cook on the fast side for some reason, although I don't doubt your results. At 275 they might cook that fast assuming you wrap early. When I cook at 225 or even 250 I'm seeing 15 or 16 hour cooks without foil or with butcher paper. Its really a matter of picking your poison. At 225 I built in some leeway for him so if he finishes at say 9:30 am a five hour rest will be fine to serve at 2:30. If he can't arrange for someone to pull it if its done early then your approach is better. I'd just be really nervous about getting it done in time. The last brisket I cooked starting at 6am I was lucky to pull it by 8pm and I did wind up cranking the heat the last 4 hours to 275.
 
Your first? I'll trim it to where you want it, salt, pepper, then 300f straight until thickest part of the flat (the middle) is 200f. Then let rest for as long as possible, if needed put it in a 170f oven.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top