Aaron Franklin Brisket?


 

Tim O

TVWBB Fan
Hi all - long time member and poster - but FIRST time brisket coming up this weekend for this guy.

I've searched a lot of threads and as usual this site in the best resource but still have a couple questions. I want to keep my brisket simple and thus have decided to use Aaron Franklin's method as shown in his how-to videos. So here are my questions:

1. What adjustments do I need to make to the smoking process, if any, seeing as I am using a WSM and not an offset smoker? Do I still cook it fat cap up?

2. Wood: I've never smoked something this big or for this long - how many wood chunks are needed? Thinking of going cherry/hickory.

3. With water in the pan, my WSM almost never can crawl above 250. I was thinking of keeping the pan in and cooking it low and slow around 225. Is this TOO low? I have the luxury of time for this cook.

4. How does my plan sound? --> Cook @ 225 for 6 or so hours, forming the ideal bark, spritzing every now and then. Pulling it after 6 hours, wrapping in butcher paper, putting it back on, and then waiting for the ideal temp (what range should I be looking for before I pull it?) and resting in a cooler for an hour or so.

Thanks all for your help - can't wait to share my results!
 
1. None. Cap up or down doesn't make a lot of differance. I'd score the cap to the meat so the flavor or the seasoning and smoke can make it through.
2. Some. How much smoke do you like? How long you going to cook? Brisket can take, and needs (IMO) a buttload of smoke. I would start with 5-6 fist sized chunks mixed in with the charcoal.
3. That will be fine, it will just take longer.
4a. Don't cook by time, cook by temperature. Keep the meat un-wrapped until it hits "The Stall," and wrap at that point.
4b. As for spritzing, as you are already in a moist environment with the water pan, all it will do is add time to the cook. Some swear that it adds flavor, I'm not going to argue with them.
4c. Cook it until it is tender. That may be 190, it may be 205. It also depends on if you want to slice it or pull it. Take it off sooner for slicing.
4d. Cooler rest. You should always rest your meat. Do you need to do it for hours in a cooler? No, what you are doing at that point is still cooking your meat. There is nothing wrong with leaving it under foil on the counter until it comes down to a sane temperature for pulling/ carving/ serving. If you need to keep it hot for hours, then by all means wrap it and stash it in a pre-heated cooler.
 
1. The general consensus is fat down to protect the brisket from the rising heat. As Andrew says, it's debatable whether or not it matters.

2. I've gone as high as 8 chunks. 4 buried, 4 on top. I'd go at least 4.

3. 225 is great. 250 is fine too. I'm cooking one for sunday at 275. 225 gives you a nice large window to gauge tenderness. Some high heat guys will say it's too low.

4. Your plan is good. Generally it's hard to say when your bark will be set. It's not always at a certain time or temp ( but generally between 150 to 165. It does happen during the stall. Use your thumbnail and try to scrap off the bark. If it doesn't scrap off easily it's set and you can wrap. I wouldn't bother with spritzing if you are going to wrap. Spritzing can hinder bark formation. Use the probe test to see when the brisket is tender. It's usually between 190 and 205. It can go higher. Generally you want to vent the brisket before you rest so you don't get carry over cooking. Let the temp drop to 170, rewrap and put in the cooler. Ideally you want a slicing temperature of slightly above or at 140. Sometimes that not possible but at least an hour rest is a good idea. More is better.
 
Dustin's advice is right on the money. If you are going to spritz don't do so until the bark has set. Check using the method Dustin suggested.
 
I have been doing Franklin briskets for a while now with very good results on my 18" WSM with a HeaterMeter temperature controller. I always use prime grade briskets from Restaurant Depot.

1. I run the smoker at 250F for the entire cook. I have read that Franklin BBQ runs their smokers at 300F. I don't think it makes much difference. I use 4-6 fist sized chunks of apple or cherry wood total.

2. The key to a good brisket is keeping the meat from losing to much water. I always spritz every 90 minutes or so and keep a filled water pan in the pit.

3. When the bark is formed and stable, about 6-7 hours in, I spritz one last time and wrap in 40 pound, unwaxed butcher paper.

4. My prime briskets are probe tender in the center of the flat at around 203F internal temperature. That is when I pull them off.

5. When I pull the brisket off, I leave it wrapped on the counter for at least an hour to bleed off the carry over heat.

6. I then put the wrapped brisket either back in the smoker or in an oven at around 155-165F and hold it there until service. Franklin uses Alto Shaam commercial holding ovens for his briskets and holds them for around 10 hours. Many folks have commented that this post cook hold in a holding oven is the real secret to Franklin's incredible jello-like brisket texture. I usually hold my briskets for a minimum of 4-5 hours.
 
Thanks for all those who offered advice - this place rocks!

So my first brisket wasn't the disaster I was preparing for. The brisket, coming in at about 9.5lbs, was cooked low and slow (fluctuated around 200-260) for about 8.5 hours. I wrapped when it reached 192 (so 6 or so hours in) and it became probe tender two hours afterwards. I let it rest in a cooler for an hour or so and the pictures below were the result. Love the salt and pepper, so simple yet created an awesome bark. Some of the flat seemed a bit over cooked but the pieces in the point were juicy and moist. More smokewood is needed next time! I'd say not a bad first time (and my team won!) Enjoy the weekend everyone!

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fat side up or down? looks great! it only took ~9 hours of cooking? i'm planning on cooking one this weekend for the first time and I was under the impression that this is a 12-16 hour endeavor. also did you cook this on the top rack or the middle rack right above the water pan? Thanks!
 
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A couple of things: Aaron smokes his at 275 with fat cap up. (He suggests 275 as a starting point for most meats.) The reasoning behind the fat cap being up is that's where the heat is coming from on his offsets. Don't quote me quoting him on this, but I think he makes some concession for up/down based on the physics of different cookers.
 
Wayne, he does make an allowance. In one of his videos, and maybe in his Manifesto, he indicates if your heat is coming from below put the cap down.

Mike
 
Wow great looking brisket! I go fat cap down with great results. I do believe that a long hold time does make a difference. My better briskets were held at least 4 hours.
 
"....The brisket, coming in at about 9.5lbs, was cooked low and slow (fluctuated around 200-260) for about 8.5 hours. I wrapped when it reached 192 (so 6 or so hours in) and it became probe tender two hours afterwards. I let it rest in a cooler for an hour or so ....."

Your brisket looks delicious.
Great job.

I cook ~220 measured with a thermometer on the grate, if you only cooked your brisket for 8.5 hours I suspect you are cooking quite a bit hotter than you think you are.
In the grand scheme of BBQ cooking I don't know that that the cooking temperature matters that much other than affecting timeline consistency.
The reason I cook brisket and pork butt the way I do is because I want to sleep through the night and serve at noon, 8-9 hour timelines just don't work for me.
 
A couple of things: Aaron smokes his at 275 with fat cap up. (He suggests 275 as a starting point for most meats.) The reasoning behind the fat cap being up is that's where the heat is coming from on his offsets. Don't quote me quoting him on this, but I think he makes some concession for up/down based on the physics of different cookers.

Franklin states in his book that he cooks briskets at 275 but he also states that he is doing this on huge cookers and that if your cooker is a backyard cooker 225 would be more appropriate. Not a quote but that's what I remember reading.
 
Tim I would like to know what the temp of the meat was when you pulled it off the cooker. Did you happen to check it? The reason I ask is because you mentioned that the flat was a little dry. At a 9 hour cook it is possible the brisket was under cooked. Sounds crazy I know but sometimes what looks to be a dry brisket is due to not enough time for the collagen to completely melt and turn to gelatin. Or if the brisket was tender when removed from the smoker and placed directly into the cooler it will continue to cook, causing it to be over cooked. That is why previous posts suggested leaving it on the counter until the temp drops to about 170 before holding in a cooler. Either way, your brisket looks totally delicious to me. Nice Job!!!
 
Franklin states in his book that he cooks briskets at 275 but he also states that he is doing this on huge cookers and that if your cooker is a backyard cooker 225 would be more appropriate. Not a quote but that's what I remember reading.

I went back and read last night. At no point that I was able to see when discussing upright smokers does he mention anything about a preferred temperature, but when discussing cooking on a pit that isn't his, he says that 275 is his preferred starting point, choosing to alter from that based on how the cook is proceeding.
 

 

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