My first brisket

[Gregg Reavis]

Since I knew I'd have a three day weekend for Easter, I knew I'd have time to try something on my WSM. For my second smoke, I decided to try a brisket. I'd never had one, but a coworker had raved about it. I found one at a local grocery store, but at 5 pounds, it was considerably smaller than what was talked about in the cooking section. Given that it was my first attempt, I thought a smaller one would be easier to deal with. It went on at 10:30am and was done at 6:30pm. I'd wanted to let it rest for 30 minutes, but my wife couldn't wait but 20 minutes. /infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif
I must say that it turned out quite well and I can understand the popularity of brisket.

I made a ketchup based barbecue sauce for it, but wasn't exactly sure if it was the most appropriate sauce for a brisket. Any recommendations for a barbecue sauce for brisket?

 

[Doug D]

I prefer a less-sweet sauce for brisket, as opposed to what I like for pork. Most times, I just let the brisket stand on its own, without any sauce. For me, it's the same as with a steak-- let the meat speak for itself. Other than a rib roast or a prime rib, it's the only cut of beef to do on the WSM-- although I must say a chuck roast I tried once was pretty darn good, a testament to the power of "low and slow", I guess.