First Brisket


 
B

Brian A.

New member
Have about twenty smokes under my belt but trying brisket for the first time this weekend.

Got a 16lb angus packer from restaurant depot that I am dieing to get on there.

Planning on an overnight low and slow cook with no foiling. Shooting for a constant 225 temp.

The plan is to get it on at about 4pm on friday afternoon and shoot for serving at 1pm on saturday (I am ok with 3-4 hrs of rest time in the cooler).

Any advice for me would be greatly appreciated.
 
Biggest problem a lot of first time brisket cookers have is that they don't cook it long enough and it turns out dry and tough. Then they think that because it was dry they overcooked it and the next brisket actually turns out worse. Cook it till you can slide a probe into the thick part of the flat like its going through warm butter, don't go by temperature.

Another mistake I see people making is not letting it rest long enough before slicing. It should rest 20-30 minutes after removing it from the smoker.

If your going to hold for 3 hours you should also let it rest a bit before wrapping so the cooking process stops.
 
With briskies and butts you are better off starting earlier because the foil hold can be longer and they will come out fine!! I foil hold em for at least -2- hours and as much as -4- and are they good.............and if you are running over just tell your family and guest that you can't rush perfection!! Nothing worse than taking que off before it is ready!!
 
The only recommendation I can add to those above is start earlier on Fri: I plan for 2 hrs per lb and add a 2 hour fudge factor to the total. Others plan for 1.5 hrs per lb. That puts you at 26 to 34 hrs for a 16 lb-er @ 225* with no foil. In my opinion you haven't planned enough time for that piece of beef. If 4 PM Fri is a hard time there's a few ways to get around this: cut it in half, use the TX crutch when it hits the stall, or go high hot. However you decide o proceed good luck to you and post photos of the results.
 
personally, i think that estimating 1 1/2 hours per pound of brisket is fine and you can add an additional 60 to 90 minutes to the cook time "just in case" you need it. so for a 16# brisket, i would plan on a 25 1/2 hour cook time. if you are trimming the brisket of any unnecessary fat than you might end up with a 14#to 15# brisket that will end up giving you more "just in case" time anyway. i definitely like to foil mine because i have found that the meat is less moist when i don't. the fact that the foil also helps in getting past the stall is also a bonus.
you mentioned you have 20 smokes under your belt, so you should be fine.
remember to keep it simple and have fun with it. i think sometimes some people tend to overthink things and in turn make them more complicated than they are.
bbq is supposed to be simple. have your meat ready, your smoker going, and once you put the meat on the smoker just sit back and relax.

good luck and post some pics up.
 
Went on at 1pm and its already up to 150 degrees. been pinned at 225 (dome thermometer) for the last four hours. What gives?!

I put my maverick on and it says its running at 250 in the dome. Even at that temp i feel like getting it up to 150 that quickly is pretty hard to believe.

At this rate it will be done in the middle of the night!

Should I be worried? And if so, is there any way to save this?
 
You'll hit a stall which is where the unpredicatbility comes in on a brisket. The temp rises fairly steady then the meat starts sweating and levels off before it starts inching its way up again. I wouldn't change a thing. Here's some reading concerning the stall so you can see what is happening: http://www.amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/the_stall.html

If it gets done early you can hold it in a cambro for hours.
 
Aaaaaahh the stall! I have always heard everyone talk about it but never experienced it myself. Its holding steady at 150-160 for the last four hours or so. i am still feeling a little hesitant about this but definitely better now. just got it ready for the overnight smoke. Hopefully I can get some sleep. At least the maverick will wake me up if anything needs attention.
 
It came out really good. Took it off at about 10am and let it rest for three hours until company came. The burnt ends turned out even better than expected. Put those back on for four hours and they were amazing.

Thanks for all the advice on this. Brisket has been something that I have been afraid of for quite some time and needless to say its not that hard!
 
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