Dave Alvarado
TVWBB Super Fan
The lesson I learned - bigger is better, and simpler is better.
My last few briskets haven't turned out well, they've all been overcooked. I'd been trying some new things and trimming them probably way too much.
I decided to get back to basics. Minimal trimming, simple rub, careful focus on pit temps. I found a monster packer, 18 lbs uncooked. It wasn't quite uniform thickness, but it had a nice thick flat and a not-too-thick point. I kept my pit a pretty constant 250-270 and didn't open it once all night. No foiling, no basting, no spritzing, no nothing. Just heat and smoke.
The brisket turned out great. At about 193F it probed like butter. I pulled it out, wrapped it in foil, let it cool on the counter for about half an hour, then tossed it in a cooler with towels for a few hours until lunch time. A thinner edge of the flat was crumbly, everything else was great. Plenty moist.
Total cook time was only 12.5 hours, which was way less than expected, but every piece of meat is different.
In the future I'll be looking for more big, thick packers to cook and keeping it simple.
My last few briskets haven't turned out well, they've all been overcooked. I'd been trying some new things and trimming them probably way too much.
I decided to get back to basics. Minimal trimming, simple rub, careful focus on pit temps. I found a monster packer, 18 lbs uncooked. It wasn't quite uniform thickness, but it had a nice thick flat and a not-too-thick point. I kept my pit a pretty constant 250-270 and didn't open it once all night. No foiling, no basting, no spritzing, no nothing. Just heat and smoke.
The brisket turned out great. At about 193F it probed like butter. I pulled it out, wrapped it in foil, let it cool on the counter for about half an hour, then tossed it in a cooler with towels for a few hours until lunch time. A thinner edge of the flat was crumbly, everything else was great. Plenty moist.
Total cook time was only 12.5 hours, which was way less than expected, but every piece of meat is different.
In the future I'll be looking for more big, thick packers to cook and keeping it simple.
