First Brisket Going on (Part 2 - NJ Edition)


 
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DaveCrosson

New member
So, like Mark Fitz in the previous thread, I am smoking my first brisket today on my WSM. I've had my WSM for a little over a year and I've cooked lots of ribs, butts and chicken but this will be my first brisket. It started out as a 7lb flat with a giant fat cap which I carved down to about 1/4" - not sure of the new weight. It's 27 degrees outside, so it took some time for my smoker to get to temp, but it usually sticks around 240 when it gets rollin'.

After I cut off the fat cap, I lathered a layer of olive oil on the meat and then generously applied a dry rub and let it sit in the fridge overnight. I took the brisket out of the fridge for an hour or so before going on the smoker. I'm cooking fat side down since the heat source obviously comes from below. Not sure if I'm going to wrap at 150-160, it depends on how close to the start of the party we hit the stall. I am hoping to pull the brisket around 203-205 degrees on the Thermapen.

Pre-cook brisket pic below. Hopefully I can nail this cook! Gonna go play some Super Nintendo while I track the cooker temp. I'll keep this thread updated on my progress.

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Just my .02! My new thing now is not wrap the brisket. I feel that I get a better finish product. With that being said, I do wrap in foil and a towel. After I reach my target temp, I put the brisket in a cooler for about an hour. Also, I have been having better luck not checking for doneness until I reach 200* IT. My last 2 briskets were done at 203* and 205*. Good luck today!
 
Thanks! That's good to know Ryan. Since this is my first brisket, maybe I'll hold off from wrapping this one, and next time try wrapping for comparison. I like to experiment.

Sure enough, the WSM is holding right around 240 and starting to smell damn good during my temp checks. Meat's been on for about 1hr 45min.
 
Just my 2c, but I believe the fat cap should go on top even though the heat source is on the bottom. When the fat drips it will self marinate the meat and keep it moist.
 
ScottyB said:
Just my 2c, but I believe the fat cap should go on top even though the heat source is on the bottom. When the fat drips it will self marinate the meat and keep it moist.
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Have to disagree with that, since brisket is about 70% water, and we know that water and oil/fat do not mix.
I go fat cap down, but don't think it makes a big difference one way or the other, with the exception of HH cooks, then fat down protects the meat side.
 
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Bob, your reply was my thinking as well. I just read about and watched a couple of videos that explained that exact point - although they all seem to end with "it really doesn't matter all that much". I have been basting with water and vinegar. I basted once 2 hours in and another 3 hours in. My plan is to spritz the brisket every hour.
 
You're adding a half hour to your cooking time by opening the WSM every hour to "spritz" it. Spritzing three times adds 1 1/2 hours to your cook. Don't waste your time (and the heat) spritzing/basting.
 
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Man it's COLD! It started to snow a few hours ago but the smoker is partially covered by an awning, so it's been holding temp pretty well. Only thing is that I've had to open the vents more than usual so the fuel's burning quickly. I had to refuel about an hour ago since the temp started to drop very quickly. I had to wrap the brisket in foil and put it in the 245* oven for about 20 mins until the smoker got back to temp after the refuel.

The brisket's been on for about 7 hours now. I'm anticipating another 3 hours or so to reach target temp.
 
Sounds like everything is right so far Dave, good luck. Also, temps give you the ball park, probe tender tells you when it is done. Just a thought!
 
Well that escalated quickly. I checked the temp about 10 mins ago and the brisket was at 206, and the Thermapen met very little resistance. Feels like DONE to my rookie sensibilities. I took the brisket off, wrapped it in another layer of foil and have it sitting in the oven at 170*. People won't be here for another 2 or 3 hours, but I'd rather be in these shoes, than waiting for the brisket to be done. I'll be sure to post a pic once I take the foil off later! For now....nap time...then sauces.
 
All right. So the important thing is that everyone had a great time last night. The brisket situation is a bit frustrating because, while I learned a lot during the prep & cook phases, I don't think I got to see my true final result. Since I ended up wrapping the brisket during a refuel (explained above), it finished a lot faster than I was anticipating. Full cook time was about 8 hours for 7lb flat. The meat was done about 3 hours before people showed up and were ready to eat. I wrapped a second layer of foil and let it sit in the oven at 170 for about an hour, then turned it off. I let the brisket sit in the foil for the next two hour since I wasn't sure what else to do and was getting the place ready for company.

When people finally came over, we served up some homemade fried jalapeno poppers first and caught up on life a bit. That's when I went into the kitchen and started to unwrap the brisket. Results seen below:
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This looks more like pot roast than barbecue. It was overdone, a bit dry and crumbly. That being said - it was the best TASTING brisket I ever had. The fat was fully rendered and the leftover cap on the bottom really added awesome flavor. People loved it, which is really all I needed last night. However, today, I wish I had been able to a few things differently. I wish I had started the refueling process sooner so I wouldn't have had to wrap and keep it in the oven for 20 mins. I wish the timing ended up being closer to what I wanted so I could have cut up the meat after an hour or so of resting and seen THOSE results. I don't know for sure at what point it was overdone and dried out - during the cook? Did the carryover in the foil, along with resting for hours in the foil dry it out? I guess a few more briskets will tell...

It's a bit frustrating since brisket is too expensive to purchase often and I don't always have a reason to buy it when it's just me and my girlfriend. I suppose I still learned a lot - just not the lessons I was hoping for. Like I said, everyone loved the food regardless and I know I'm my harshest critic. I will give this another go in the Spring - that tasted too damn good not to perfect.
 
Congratulations on your cook ! Brisket can most certainly be one, if not the most, frustrating cooks. During the cooking phase, it can go from under cooked to over cooked in (what seems like) seconds.

Typically one should stop the cooking process before the holding stage. The 170 degF oven is not a problem if the meat, be it brisket or whatever, is first allowed to stop the cooking process before placing in the heated oven. On the counter, open the foil package to allow the meat to cool until it reaches about 170 degF. Once there, it can be wrapped back up and placed in a heated oven or in a cambro or faux cambro/cooler.
 
Thanks for that tip Bob. I figured putting right in the oven at 170* was the way to go. I will most definitely let it rest for a good long while before heating up the oven again. Can't wait to do it again!
 
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