Brisket questions


 
A

Alexander

TVWBB Fan
Hey folks I need your help,

I just left my local BBQ place and was told by the owner that I had to add about 12 chunks of soaked wood chunks to my smoker, 4-5 at a time to have a continuous smoke. He told me that if I don't see white smoke coming out the top, I'm not smoking. not sure about this so I'm reaching out to the REAL experts.

I also wanted to know if you all remove the excess fat prior to slicing the brisket. I've done one in the past and notice a thin layer of fat and don't know if to trim it or leave it.

I have a 12 lbs packer and plan on smoking it for approx. 18 hours followed by 1-2 hours in the cooler wrapped up in foil.

Please give me some guidance so I can impress my family of 12 showing up tomorrow for a brisket dinner.

Thanks!
 
I've never been one to really say what "real smoking" is, so I may not be the right person for that debate but I would never use 12 chunks for a brisket. For me I usually go with five or six and that ends up plenty smokey for those who I cook for. I add them all at the start. I would not want the meat to adsorb smoke for 18 hours personally!

As for the fat it's all personal preference. When I'm cooking for my male friends watching some sort of event I just leave it and it goes. If it's a more formal dinner I trim it before serving but after cooking. I personally never trim brisket before cooking.

Clark
 
Well. I'll call a spade a spade: The owner is wrong. First, quantity is a personal taste. (I use the equivalent of 2 fist-sized chunks, cut into 10-12 pieces.) Second, the wood needs to ignite - or at least a portion of it does - and smolder/burn. One does not always see smoke and that's fine. Many look for thin blue smoke - not white or black. Me, I scarcely pay attention. Third, soaking in water does nothing as water barely penetrates. Fourth, smoke does NOT need to occur throughout cooking - not by any stretch of the imagination.

As to fat. Many trim before smoking. I almost never do. Occasionally I'll trim out a bit of the fat knob on the side, where point merts flat, but usually not. I cook fat side down. It's easy to remove fat for fat-averse people (I'm not one of them) when you slice for serving.

Plan on smoking till it's done, not for some pre-ordained number of hours. Even when I used to low/slow briskets (I cook them 335-375_ I never had one go 1.5/hoirs/lb, despite what one reads everywhere to that effect. YMMV but, regardless, cook till tender.
 
Alexander, fat side down. I trim most of the bottom fat off plus the korn in the middle. I really don't believe fat on the top permeates any of the meat. It has enough internal fat to do that. KK is right about temp. The meat will tell you when it's done not any predetermined temp. One of the people who used to post here would cook brisket until it shook like jello. When a sharp probe can be inserted in the thickest part of the flat with little resistance, it's done.
 
Yeah, fat on the top only runs off as it melts, and only some even does that. Fat on the bottom protects the meat from the more direct heat emanating up from below.
 
Hey Alexander, please listen closely...

Anytime the subject is Brisket, and Kevin Kruger is talking, I always take his advice as gospel, and I been Q'in' for >20 years.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Charles Howse:
Hey Alexander, please listen closely...

Anytime the subject is Brisket, and Kevin Kruger is talking, I always take his advice as gospel, and I been Q'in' for >20 years. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well said Charles, I will add: Not just Brisket but, all cooking matters!
 
What they said. I've done precisely one brisket, followed Kevin's high heat instructions precisely, and was rewarded with the best brisket I've ever had.
 
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