Brisket question: pan or not?


 
Michael G. (Canada Mike)

Michael G. (Canada Mike)

TVWBB All-Star
I'm doing a brisket tomorrow night: 2 6 lb pieces. The last time I did a brisket it was on my grill using a smoke box. The recipe I used called for the meat to be in a non-reactive pan so that the fat would not drip away, but keep the meat moist. This time I'm using my WSM. My question is, should I use a pan or not? The recipes I see on this site never mention a drip pan.

Toughts, please?

Thanks,
Mike
 
when I did mine (I have only done one), I just smoked it fat side up and it turned out excellent. The girlfriend was also very impressed and she is from Kentucky.
 
A pan is not necessarily a bad thing. It'll speed up your cooking time, so you won't be waiting on the meat. However, if there's enough fatcap on your brisket, and you've got the time, there's no real need for a pan.
 
A pan will buffer the heat hitting the meat. It will not, generally, speed up the cook unless the pan is covered, is of good quality or liquid is added to the pan or is allowed to collect in it. You can buffer the heat by placing the fatcap down on the cook grate and forgoing the pan, which many of us do.

You can speed up the cook by wrapping the brisket in foil at some point later in the cook--some do it when the brisket is just starting to plateau, some after it has plateaued for a while, some when it breaks plateau and has moved to or through 170--some never foil. Mnay base their decision to foil or not and when to foil on the specific hunk of meat they're cooking for that specific cook.

The juiciness we associate with tender, moist brisket (and many other meats) comes from the mostly interior soft fats and connective tissues that soften and gelatinize during cooking, not from the fatcap. The fatcap can protect meat (on the bottom by buffering heat, on the top by stemming evaporation) but does not do much to add moisture or fat to the meat.
 
got to agree with kevin on the moisture. the fat cap, unfortunately, doesn't do too much for the end product, except around the very edges. It protects the outside of the meat, but the inside relies on it being cooked perfectly. I've cooked brisket that had a beautiful fat cap, but the darn thing was cooked about 5-8 degrees too high and it was dry and stringy. That stinks.

Regardless, good luck and enjoy!
 
I haven't used a pan. When I started doing briskets I used to do it fat cap up as suggested. Then foiled. They were OK but not great. Then I tried the fat cap down, with foiling. Still ok but not great.

Then I tried the 50-50-50 method. I estimated the total cooking time. Put the brisket in the smoker and at the halfway mark (of total cooking time) I flipped the brisket over and mopped. At the 50% from the time I flipped I flipped again and mopped. At the 50% time I flipped and mopped again. Depending on internal temp flip and mop at the 50% mark from the last flip. I keep track of the internal temp and pull between 185 & 190. Wrap in plastic wrap and wrap a second time and foil. Then I place it in a warm cooler and forget about it for 2 hours.

This turns out a great brisket. My wife doesn't care for beef but she love it this way. She even makes sandwiches to take for lunch at work.

This method works for me on my WSM. Unfortunately, you have to experiment to find out what works for you and your smoker.
 
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