Brisket questions + st louis ribs


 
B

Brian O

New member
Hi,

I've had a chance to do a couple of 12 lb briskets on my 18.5 WSM and i have a few questions since the flats are coming out a little dry and crumbly.

I usually let the brisket cook at 225-250 for about 8 hrs. I get a good bark and i transfer the brisket to foil sheets that i wrap with some juice and put back on the smoker until it gets to an internal temperature of 205 degrees. I sit it in an igloo with towels for 2-4 hrs, until the guests arrive.

1. My flat is coming out a little dry, and i probably will leave more fat in the fat cap area when i trim next time. But i've been reading about holding the brisket for some time to stop it from cooking when you remove it from the smoker but before you put it in the igloo. Can you guys clarify this for me? How long to wait?

2. Also, the damn juices keep spilling as i try to transfer to the igloo. Have you tried using foil trays and covering them with foil. I see they use the foil trays on bbq pitmasters, but with an 18.5 its a little tight. Does it matter if the meat touches the side of the tray?

3. I am thinking of bbqing 3 racks of St. Louis ribs as well. I figure after i foil the brisket, i can use the bottom grate and not worry about drippings on the ribs. But i figure after going for 8 hrs or so, all the wood chips/chunks have been burnt out. Do you guys just throw chunks on the coals to get smoke? Do you worry about the spike in temperature due to the wood burning/smoldering?

Thanks for the suggestions,
Brian
 
I'm not an expert on brisket by any means, but here are my thoughts:

A general note or suggestion: temp is a good indicator of when to start checking your brisket for doneness, but different pieces of meat will be done (by done I mean at the point of tenderness you want) at different times because of all the variables involved in cooking it and its individual characteristics. I usually start checking around 195 to see if the probe slides into the flat like butter! If it doesn't, I let it go for another thirty minutes-forty minutes and check again. If you've been going to 205 and then straight into the cooler you could be doing a few things: cooking it too long to begin with and/or allowing it to continue to cook more in the cooler and dry out. Also, if you are comfortable with it, injecting can help keep moisture in and allow a little bit of room for error on the cook temp and pulling.

1. My flat is coming out a little dry, and i probably will leave more fat in the fat cap area when i trim next time. But i've been reading about holding the brisket for some time to stop it from cooking when you remove it from the smoker but before you put it in the igloo. Can you guys clarify this for me? How long to wait?

Be careful how much you trim off- the fat is an insulator from the heat and also helps with moisture retention. How much have you been trimming? I usually finish my brisket foiled, so I will open up the foil packet and let it sit for about fifteen-twenty minutes before re-wrapping and placing in my cooler.

2. Also, the damn juices keep spilling as i try to transfer to the igloo. Have you tried using foil trays and covering them with foil. I see they use the foil trays on bbq pitmasters, but with an 18.5 its a little tight. Does it matter if the meat touches the side of the tray?
A foil pan is a tight fit on with a brisket or large butt on the little WSM and I usually ended up mutilating the pan, so I've stopped using it. Instead, I'll make sure I have it foiled well and when its time to come off I put the foil wrapped brisket straight form the cooker into a pan to rest. This saves my juices well and I even remove a little of the juices depending on how much is in the packet and transfer them to another container from the pan/foil. Also, use heavy duty foil if you aren't already.

3. I am thinking of bbqing 3 racks of St. Louis ribs as well. I figure after i foil the brisket, i can use the bottom grate and not worry about drippings on the ribs. But i figure after going for 8 hrs or so, all the wood chips/chunks have been burnt out. Do you guys just throw chunks on the coals to get smoke? Do you worry about the spike in temperature due to the wood burning/smoldering?
Yes, you should just add chunks (don't use chips if you can help it and don't use pre-packaged in plastic store bought chunks if you can help it either). The temp shouldn't do much, but it can actually go down due to more heat energy being absorbed by the wood. Unless you put it on a coal/coals with some sort of flame going you shouldn't get a major spike in temp; in other words unless it catches on fire you should be fine.


Happy cooking and hope this is at least a start to answering your questions. Let us know how your next brisket goes.
 
1. Yes I would let it rest on the counter before storing in cooler for about 30 minutes or when it probes around 175.

2. The foil pans are great. It's a challenge sometimes bending them to fit but it can work. My theory would be the meat touching the tray would be the same as touching the foil??

3. I have always put my wood chunks on top of coals(spread around away from hot coals in the center). No temp spikes so far. If you can fit the brisket on the bottom you can have ribs on top so you can get to them to spritz or wrap etc. since the brisket is wrapped and it won't matter if the ribs drip. Hope you have a great cook.
 
Randy pretty much nailed it.

You are overcooking the flat if it's dry and crumbly. Don't cook to temperature, cook to doneness. I like the probe method where you poke it with a probe (I use a titanium chopstick) and when it goes in like warm butter, it's done.

Resting on the counter for 30 minutes or so before going in a cooler will stop the cooking process so it doesn't keep cooking in the cooler.

Are you wanting to save the juices for a reason? If I were you, I'd open that foil packet while it's still on the WSM and dump the juices into a container. Then re-foil the brisket with fresh foil before putting it in the cooler. Definitely use heavy-duty foil, the regular stuff isn't up to the job. I use the stuff made for grilling by Reynolds. It's wide enough to actually wrap a brisket or a butt and sturdy enough to not tear from handling.
 
Hey Brian, just a thought for you, try doing your next one without foiling, there have been two posting on this site within the past week or two of two outstanding full flat briskets which were done low and slow with no foiling. I am by no means an expert but I have learned to control my temps, and it sounds like you are doing the same. I would suggest you give it a try, and do some simple things, you will end up with truly superb brisket with a great bark.
First, keep your temp 225-275, preferably right in the middle. I inject with beef broth and Worcestershire and do my rub the night before and let it sit in the fridge till an hour before it goes on the smoker.
Once your fire is holding at the temp you want put that baby on fat side down. Put your thermometer in from the side at the thickest part of the flat and leave it alone. About the time it is getting around 150 -160 internal go outside and mop it with a little apple juice and apple cider vinegar mix or whatever you prefer. Take some foil and put it underneath the first five or six inches of the flat measuring from the tip and just come up the sides loosely and make aslight tent look with it open at top. This in my opinion slows down the heat from hitting the thinnest part of the brisket. You can mop again in an hour or so if you want.
Other than that leave it alone.
When the internal gets to 185 go outside and pull that thermometer out of the meat. From that point on you just don't care what it would say and it is a distraction only
Get yourself one of those long metal skewers used for grilling and every fifteen to twenty minutes go out there and lift just one side of that dome up enough to reach in and push that skewer into the side of the flat. Check a couple of spots starting from the middle out and you will see the tenderness progressing down from the point end.
One time you are going to go out there and stick that thing into the flat towards the tip and it will slide in like a well worn key into a well worn door lock.
You will have a very big grin on your face at this time.
Don't cook it anymore, the meat just told you it is done, get me out of here.
Pull that beauty off, put it in a foil pan and let it sit on your counter uncovered for about twenty minutes or so so it stops cooking. You can use an instant read now if you want, when she gets down around 150 or so put foil on the top and seal her up and store her however long you need to in a cooler or towels or whatever you use.
I have done this now with two flats of 4-6 lbs. and two packers, one 9pounder and one 14 plus after trimming for the 4th of July. They were the most succulent delicious things I've eaten.
For me foiling is something you do when you have a time situation and you need to bang out meat quicker, if you are not competing or in a hurry and doing low and slow then don't foil.
Just an opinion from a new guy.
 
Thank you for your responses, i appreciate all the feedback and suggestions.

Going to monitor the tenderness a little more and looking forward to my first two meat cook

Happy BBQing
 
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