First Brisket…pics…overnight…NICE!


 
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Nick Burns

New member
First Brisket…pics…overnight…NICE!

I want to say that this brisket turned out GREAT and it is because of the people on this forum. There is no way in $%# that I would ever have attempted this and or had it come out so well without all the tips and techniques I have learned here.

I have always considered the overnight brisket to be the big daddy, end all end all of BQ cooking on the smoker. For that reason I have never felt I was ready. But recently I said #$%@ it I’m doing one!

So here it is…..

I picked up a 10.3lbs cryovac brisket from Smart and Final for $1.69 a pound. USDA Choice.

new in the bag

fat cap

I trimmed it per directions I found on the forum/web. I did a basic dry rub with no sugar. Wrapped in cellophane and put in the fridge for 24 hours.

Rubbed

I lit coals and started the smoker at 9pm. I used the clay saucer on top of the standard water pan. I used only 6 lit briquettes, Jack Daniels chips with Mesquite Chunk, Minion method.

midnight cook!

I put the brisket on at 10pm. At 220 degrees. I then monitored the smoker temp from 10pm to midnight. If I see that the temp has stabilized, which it did, I’M GOING TO BED. That’s right this overnight cook is going to be done unmonitored! I am not getting up every hour and checking the temp. I am NOT using a remote control temp gauge to wake me up either. Just let her rip!
Here a tip that allowed me to do that.. WE all know the positives and negatives of fat side up or down. I put the brisket in flat side down to further protect the meat from the direct heat. I then took all the fat that I trimmed the night before and placed it on top. Now, through the night, the brisket will be basting in the fat as well as being protected. Fat side UP and DOWN! Best of both worlds!

The next morning at 7:30am (I slept all the way through). The temp was at 260. A little high but no big deal it was encased in fat. I opened her up and basted with warm apple juice and removed the fat from the top. The brisket looked awesome and not black.

Mornin!

I adjusted the vents and got the temp down to 225 and the brisket was at 170. Picture shown it basted and the fat removed.

basted no fat

I let it cook and basted again around 10am. When the temp hit 190 at 12:00 (noon) I pulled it off, wrapped in foil, wrapped in towels, put in a cooler and let sit for 2 hours. No rush.
When I opened the foil their was very little fluid. I think the brisket absorbed all the juices by letting it sit for the 2 hours.
Next pic is it sliced. It was moist, and delicious. I could not stop eating the samples and scraps. The rub was really good too. I would definitely do one again.

good eats

another

smoke ring

next day left overs

Here are my tips for a first time brisket cooker. Some of these are my own tips and some are ones I found on this forum that cannot be overlooked.

1. Know your cooker. Make sure you know how to keep YOUR smoker at 220-250 degrees. My smoker does not run like anyone’s I have seen on this forum. My smoker only needs 6 lit briquettes to get my smoker at 225 degrees. If I lite a full chinmney or even half my smoker will be at or over 350 easy.
2. Don’t go smaller that 10lbs.
3. Get USDA Choice or Prime not Select.
4. Get one with a big fat cap, trim accordingly and save the fat. Place fat side down and put the extra fat on top.
5. Start early and do not be in a rush. Set it and forget it. Get some sleep!
6. Foil and sit for 2 hours. It was still plenty hot when I opened it.
7. Vacuum seal the rest or give away to friends so you can do another.
8. Most important..Don’t stress out if it comes out bad. It’s only meat. I had no pressure going in. This was all experimental for me. I was not making this for a party the next day or had to have it done by a certain time. The forum tells you “it is done when it is done” This made it FUN. I learned a lot. The next one I can plan for a party.

GOOD LUCK!
 
Nice job on your first brisket! I haven't done one yet. Some good advice, especially about not putting yourself under pressure the first time you try something. I'm not following your advice tomorrow when I do my first prime rib, wish me luck.
 
Thanks for the first timer tips and the great pics. Makes those of us newbs a little more confident to consider doing a brisket.
 
Excellent job. Thats a great idea about putting the fat trimmings on top. I will try that with my next brisket. I have one in the freezer so it will probably be next week.
 
Awesome! I remember doing my 1st midnight brisket. I have it pat down now. I tell my buddies, that the WSM is in, a sort of a way, a much better crock pot. It chugs and chugs, all night long. Thanks for the pics, glad yours came out so well. Now, you call your self a "Pitmaster"!
 
Interesting idea about the fat trimmings on top. Did this affect your rub at all? (i.e. remove some of the rub when you removed the fat trimmings?)

The best briskets I have cooked have been when they were eventually put on the bottom rack and had a pork but on the top rack dripping juicy goodness onto them. I assume that the extra fat on the top of the brisket would act in a similar way to help baste it. I'll have to try that next time.
 
Nick, Looks yummy. Nice job on the brisket, and great pics too.
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Thanks All,

Ryan the fat on top did not remove any of the rub. It is such a slow basting, all of it was still there. I thought the same thing when I was putting the fat on top BUT, I figured a dry brisket is much worse that a bit of rub coming off. The brisket was wet underneath 9 hours into the cook. No time for it to dry out. The next 5 hours were enough time to crisp the outside.

Also, I had the brisket on the smoker for 2 hours before putting the fat on top. This way the rub would cook into the meat for a while. I did not know how long the fat on top would last. IMPORTANT: Do not put the fat on right away! The fat does not need to go on immediately because the brisket is not going to dry out in the first two hours. I wanted the fat to protect the brisket in the later hours of the cook, like the 7th and 10th hours not the first few hours. The brisket is not drying out when you first put it on. The later you put the fat on top the later it will protect the brisket further into the cook. Put the fat on between 2 and 4 hours in. The later hours of the cook is when the brisket dry's out. So by waiting to put the fat on top makes the fat last longer into the cook. So I put the fat on at midnight 2 hours into the cook when I was going to bed. The fat on top looked like pork rinds when I pulled it off 7 hours later.

I know briskets come out dry if you don't baste them every hour or so. I knew I was not going to touch the brisket for 7 hours. So putting the leftover fat on top completely protected the brisket. Mission accomplished. I will definitely do that from now on for all of my briskets.
 
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