Brisket - To Drip Pan or Not to Drip Pan, That is the Question


 
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Grim

TVWBB Member
I have used Steve Raichlen's recipe for brisket several times with great success. That recipe calls for you to put the meat in a foil pan for the entire cook. That keeps it basting in its own juice and in the mop sauce.

But it ends up swimming in the juice for hours. The result is that the top of the brisket has great color and smoke, but the part that was covered in juice is sort of grey and manky.

Has anyone tried this recipe (or brisket in general) without letting it wallow in the foil pan? If so, what were your results?

Does brisket dry out too much if you don't soak it in the juice during the cook? If any of you are fans of the foil pan soak, what are the benefits as you see it?

Thanks!

Grim
 
It's a form of braising but not needed to get a moist brisket.
Many of us use foiling techniques that keep the moisture levels high. Cooking fat side down also protects the fat free side from getting crusty but puts a good bark on it.
Jim
 
I always put it fat side up on the theory that the melting fat will drip down the sides and baste the meat during the cook.
 
Grim
What needs basting and protection is the bottom, there isn't much exposure on the sides.

Jim
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Grim:



Has anyone tried this recipe (or briskit in general) without letting it wallow in the foil pan? If so, what were your results?

Does brisket dry out too much if you don't soak it in the juice during the cook? If any of you are fans of the foil pan soak, what are the benefits as you see it?

Thanks!

Grim <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Grim, I never used a foil pan yet to cook a brisket on the WSM. Not sure too many people have( i know a few have). Most of us here rub it down and throw it on the WSM. Some put foil on it when it reaches 160 - 170 internal temp and some don't. We pretty much all foil when it's done and let rest in a cooler for 1 - 4 hrs.
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Bryan
 
Grim,

The first brisky I ever cooked was because of Steven. He hooked me on the whole smoking thing.. and 3 months later I purchased a wsm. I used the foil pan method on my weber kettle.. It turned out great.. at least for then.. but that was before I purchased the WSM.(My wife hated smoked foods until I purchased the WSM)

The recipe works well.. as a matter of fact if I use the All Nighter brisket recipe off of the TVWB site I include a bit of cumin..


Have fun if on a kettle.. as it was a bear to keep the temps right...

The wsm with the water pan is the way to go..

"Midnight Cooks Forever"
 
I'm not a brisket expert by any means but listen to coach Minion! The brisket I did this weekend was 14 1/4 lbs, cooked fat side down. I wrapped in foil with small amount of beef broth and rub at 165* and put back on WSM to 200*. Put in cooler for 3 hours. Moist and delicious!!! Even better the next 2 days.
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Nick
 
Grim,

I used a foil pan for a small (4.5 lb) flat that I did a month or so ago. Yeah, it sits there in the juices and can look unappetizing during the cook, but once it had been sliced, sauced and slapped on a bun, no one seemed to notice.
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BTW, the only reason I used the foil pan was because it was such a small cut and I didn't want it to dry out. I probably wouldn't use a pan for larger cuts.

Best of luck.

-Brandon
 
I used Jim Minion's method (Minion Method #2???) this weekend for my first packer cut and the results were very good. IMO its definately worth trying. Just remember which side is fat up after wrapping in foil.
 
Over the summer I smoked two 7 lb. brisket flats. One was in a drip pan and the other was not. The one in the drip pan was on the bottom rack. I did an overnight cook on the two of them as well. At some point in the night I got up to check how they were doing. I was shocked to notice that the flat in the drip pan was swimming in it's own juices. On a whim I decided to take the brisket out of the drip pan and place back in the smoker bare. I was thinking that I wouldn't get a good bark on the brisket. Out of the two that one seemed to be the most tender and juicy. But in defense of the other flat, I might have over cooked it, since it was on top.
All in all I say experiment. Like everyone here says no two briskets are alike.
I have a 17lb. brisket at home that I am still thinking about what to do with, and I too am debating over putting it in a drip pan or not.
Call me crazy, but something about having it sit in it's own juices the whole time just didn't feel natural to me.
Also when I saw that episode of Barbeque U, Steve cooked his brisket in a drip pan at a higher temp. and for a shorter time.
I too might try Jim's idea and smoke it fat side down and foil fat side up resting in a cooler for four hours.
 
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