First Brisket This Weekend


 
R

Robert T.

TVWBB Super Fan
Well, the wife, who originally gave me a lot of grief about my new hobby, now wants me to use the smoker every weekend. This weekend, I am looking to try my first brisket, probably just a flat. I am also going to do a medium size butt on the top shelf with the brisket on the bottom of the WSM. Plan on also making a tray of ABTs.

Any tips for doing my first brisket?

Buckeye Bob
 
My .02:

I would definitely say go with a packer as opposed to a flat for your first time as this will greatly help reduce the margin of error for ending up with dry brisket.

Depending on the size of the butt and brisket, in most cases the brisket will finish first so I would keep that on top, then move the butt to the top grate once the brisket is finished. You'll have to judge this by size, in my experience the rule of thumb for 1 hour per lb. for brisket and 1.5 hours per pound for pulled pork holds true, so just do the math of what will need a longer cook. Whatever goes on the bottom rack will also take slightly longer since the temperature is less hot down there.

Ideally it would be best to put both items on the top if you can fit them.
 
Jeremiah,

Thanks for the thoughts. The reason I was going to do the brisket on the bottom was due to many of the posts I had seen here about putting the flat on the bottom below the butt so that the juices from the butt will keep the brisket from drying out. Is this not the case?

Also, I know I can find a flat but not sure if I can find the whole packer locally. Is a packer that much easier?

Bob
 
I'll have to second (or third as the case may be) the choice of a packer brisket vs. a flat. For years I bought only flats because that was the part I was most interested in and since they were usually small enough for me an my wife to eat on for a few meals. After I got my WSM, I cooked a few this way with decent results. I finally got up the nerve to buy the bigger packer cut one day and have never thought twice about it again. They are much easier to cook, and for me, have always turned out fantastic. Yes there will be tons of leftovers if you don't have a lot of people to feed however, you can freeze and re-heat it with good results.
 
I've had sucess with both packers and flats.

If you get a flat, make sure it is not over trimmed.

IMO, the packers tend to be a little more flavorful in the end....but you'll be fine either way.
 
Hey Robert, best to put the brisket on the bottom grate fat side down for protection and put the butt on the top rack fat side up!
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Windy City Smokers
 
I'd go with the packer, trying to keep it under 12 lbs (at least make sure it's going to fit). Also, don't get nervous when the meat temp rises very fast, or discouraged when the temp stops rising (may even fall a little at around 175f). Start the cook around 6pm and get a good night's sleep.
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Robert T.:
Is a packer that much easier?
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes, and tastier too
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Okay, I ended up with a big flat as I couldn't get a packer from my local butcher for this weekend. It, and the butts for that matter, are bigger than I thought they would be. About 9 lbs on the Butts and 6 lbs on the brisket. My question is about timing. We want to eat about 6pm tomorrow. I'm thinking of starting the butts late tonight and then throw the brisket on in the morning? Any thoughts on that strategy?

Matt J, by the way, I am in the western suburbs of Chicago.

Dave G, when you did your brisket, did you do anything special to keep it from drying out?

Buckeye Bob
 
Sure, you can do that. You might want to go lighter on the wood at the outset then add new when you put on the brisket.
 
Took the pork off after about 12 hours. Brisket came off around 12:00 noon. My wife moved back the cookout time to almost 5:00 so I have all of the meat in a cooler and hopefully, it will hold till then okay. I put the probe in the brisket and it is still at 180 degrees after almost 90 minutes.
 
Everything was awesome. The meat held up great even though we didn't eat until about 6 hours after I took it off the WSM. We ended up having to reheat the brisket with some sauce. Just your basic bottled sauce as I ran out of time to make some of my own. Pulled pork was done with vinegar-based sauce. Also, did a batch of ABTs on the Gasser. Everyone raved about it. One of my friends commented that it wasn't quite perfect yet and that I needed to keep doing this every weekend to get it down. He of course would have to help me eat it.

All in all, a great meal. Thanks to everyone for all your help.

Bob
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Robert T.:
One of my friends commented that it wasn't quite perfect yet and that I needed to keep doing this every weekend to get it down. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Translation:

This stuff kicks butt and I want to eat it every weekend
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