Karl Quist
TVWBB Pro
Posting this today, but did this cook yesterday for WSM Smoke Day.
I cooked my first brisket Friday night/Saturday morning. Like many "first times", didn't need to be as nervous about it as I was.
Started with a nice prime packer from Costco. Bought it back in February when they had a sale. Took it out of freezer to defrost in the fridge about a week and a half ago.
Trimmed it up Friday evening. I wasn't shy about trimming it, but still tried to be cautious. About 4-ish pounds removed. Trimmings all went into freezer bags, and into the freezer for future use.
Rub was a salt/pepper even ratio, with worchestire sauce for a binder.
I loaded up the WSM charcoal basket with as much charcoal as I could fit, and added some chunks of cherry wood for smoke. No water pan, and just wrapped a pizza pan in foil for the heat deflector. Through my numerous pork butts etc cooked on this WSM, I know that a small chimney of lit coals in the middle (Minion style) provides me with 10-ish or so hours of 230-245F solid temps. Bisket went on at midnight.
I set my camping hammock up in the backyard, and set an alarm for 6:30a to check things. Had a great sleep after the neighbor's hot tub trivia game party(?!?) broke up about 1am.
Got up at 6:30 to check. Temp was still rock solid at 240F. Brisket temp measured 160-170. Bark was nice and set, and color looked good, so I wrapped it foil with a little beef stock added. By the time I had it wrapped and back on the WSM to finish, it was 7:00a. I went back to sleep another 1.5 hours.
Woke up at 8:15-ish and probed for tenderness. It was probing like butter in both the point and the flat. Reference temp (point?) was 204.5. I wrapped it in a nice clean fluffy rug, with beach towel for good measure. Into the cooler at 8:45a.
I promised myself I would let it rest for at least a couple hours. At 12:30p I couldn't wait any longer, and unwrapped it. It still measured 165F. Turned out beautiful! The flat was juicy and tender. The point was incredibly juicy and tender. My family crowded around the cutting board to get samples.
I think the only thing I would change is maybe just a tad less pepper, but maybe not even that. It turned out fantastic! A brisket was my last milestone goal as far as BBQ.
I cooked my first brisket Friday night/Saturday morning. Like many "first times", didn't need to be as nervous about it as I was.
Started with a nice prime packer from Costco. Bought it back in February when they had a sale. Took it out of freezer to defrost in the fridge about a week and a half ago.
Trimmed it up Friday evening. I wasn't shy about trimming it, but still tried to be cautious. About 4-ish pounds removed. Trimmings all went into freezer bags, and into the freezer for future use.
Rub was a salt/pepper even ratio, with worchestire sauce for a binder.
I loaded up the WSM charcoal basket with as much charcoal as I could fit, and added some chunks of cherry wood for smoke. No water pan, and just wrapped a pizza pan in foil for the heat deflector. Through my numerous pork butts etc cooked on this WSM, I know that a small chimney of lit coals in the middle (Minion style) provides me with 10-ish or so hours of 230-245F solid temps. Bisket went on at midnight.
I set my camping hammock up in the backyard, and set an alarm for 6:30a to check things. Had a great sleep after the neighbor's hot tub trivia game party(?!?) broke up about 1am.
Got up at 6:30 to check. Temp was still rock solid at 240F. Brisket temp measured 160-170. Bark was nice and set, and color looked good, so I wrapped it foil with a little beef stock added. By the time I had it wrapped and back on the WSM to finish, it was 7:00a. I went back to sleep another 1.5 hours.
Woke up at 8:15-ish and probed for tenderness. It was probing like butter in both the point and the flat. Reference temp (point?) was 204.5. I wrapped it in a nice clean fluffy rug, with beach towel for good measure. Into the cooler at 8:45a.
I promised myself I would let it rest for at least a couple hours. At 12:30p I couldn't wait any longer, and unwrapped it. It still measured 165F. Turned out beautiful! The flat was juicy and tender. The point was incredibly juicy and tender. My family crowded around the cutting board to get samples.
I think the only thing I would change is maybe just a tad less pepper, but maybe not even that. It turned out fantastic! A brisket was my last milestone goal as far as BBQ.
