First brisket: Satisfactory


 
K

Kurt H

New member
I tried my first brisket on my WSM 18.5.
It was a 6 lb flat from Harris Teeter. I applied a rub of salt & pepper, and let it rest in the fridge for about an hour in a metal pan sealed with aluminum foil.

I started the Smokey Mountain with the minion method, and some hickory chunks. I also filled the bowl with water. The temperature was pretty stable at 240 with an occasional spike. I did not adjust it at all. The brisket was placed on the cooker fat side up. I did not flip it.

I wrapped it in foil at 170 after about 4.5 hours but there was almost no bark, but the brisket was a nice dark red. I pulled the brisket at 201 degrees, and most spots I probed were pretty tender.

I let it rest for two hours in a cooler.

It was pretty tender, and tasted Ok, better than I expected, but I know I have a way to go. I am not sure why I did not get any bark. Did I wrap it too soon? It did not really seem to stall.

Lesson learned is to trim more fat, there was one section with a pretty thick layer of fat, but I only noticed this when I sliced it. I really did not have any idea what i was doing while trying to trim it.

Thanks

Kurt H
:blackperformer::genesissilver::wsm22:
 
That is a small flat so it probably cooked faster than it took to produce much bark. Also you used water in the pan, and that can in some cases hinder bark formation. You wrapped it so that tends to soften up what bark is there. Nothing you did was wrong. It's all up to you and what final product you are trying to achieve. I still leave too much fat sometimes. The last time I felt like I trimmed too much. Your brisket sounds like a success to me!
 
I finally ate all the leftovers. It seemed to actually get better after being re-heated. I have joined Costco so now I have access to full packer briskets, and a better variety of meat. Thank you for your feedback, and encouragement.

-Kurt
 
All right! I did another flat today, I went fat side down and did not wrap. I got an amazing bark but it took over 9 hours. It was mostly tender, and finally I smoked something I would be proud to share. At one point the temperature dropped from 220s into the 200s for a while so I had to intercede, stirring the coals and adding a little bit of charcoal. and then after 8 hours it got dark and I ended up adding more charcoal. I ended up pulling it from the smoker at 195 because i was starting to starve, but it probed tender. I just did a 30 minute counter top rest, i did not rest it in a cooler.
 
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