My First Brisket

[m grau]

So I tried my first recipe out of Planet BBQ. It was the High Country Brisket.

I got my Brisket at Costco and it had a great deal of the fat cap removed. After reading a number of Brisket FAQs, I decided to go fat down anyways, so I was okay with the fat missing. I used the dry rub from Planet BBQ.

I cured it overnight and at 8:00 AM I went ahead and set up my 22.5 OTS kettle for smoking. I used pretty much the same setup I used for the port butt a couple of weeks ago.

The only difference was that I paid less attention to the number of Kingsfords in the "fire box". I lit 10-15 brikets and added them to my charcoal/wood mixture. I used a mix of Pecan and Hickory.

I added a pie pan with water as a heat sink. I also added the brisket from the beginning. It smoked quite nicely.

I think I have temp control down pretty well now. It stabilized between 275 and 250 right away.

Once it went up to 300 when the pie pan was empty.

I checked once an hour and the temp was rock solid. At 12:30 (4 hours after I putthe brisket on) I checked it

And the temp was at 159

At this point I wrapped the brisket in a double layer of foil and by 2:30 the temp was at 205. Since our guests were not coming until 5 I wrapped it in two towels and put it in a cooler and the cooler in the sun.

After grilling asparagus and mushrooms, I ended up slicing into the brisket. The brisket had a very intense smoke ring and flavor and was super tender and moist.

I didn't get a bark anywhere close to what I get with pork butts, but the flavor was amazing. Our guests eat a lot of brisket (not smoked however) and said this was the best they had yet.

When I opened the Tupperware container with the tiny amount of left overs in it this morning, the house filled with an intense smoke aroma.

All in all, I think my first brisket was a huge success. I was quite intimidated by the daunting task of making brisket. I will make it again, and, like Sunday, I will have flank steak around, just in case the brisket turns out to be a dud...

 

[Russ Sylvester]

That is a very good looking cook! It looks extremely moist even in the pistures.

Two questions, First, would it help with the bark to go direct for a short while towards the end of the cook?

Second, I've never tried to do a brisket with indirect grillng. Do you put the top vent over the fire or over the meat? Does it make a difference?

Russ

 

[m grau]

Since this was my first brisket, I am not sure if searing it over direct heat helps the bark. Not a bad idea to try though.

I have the vent opposite the fire to pull the smoke across the meat.

 

[George Curtis]

thats looks purty good. just an observation but it looks like the meat was close to shredding. might wanna pull it at the 195 point if yer gonna wrap it for a long time.

 

[Noe]

Grau, nice looking brisky, the only thing i see wrong is that it does not appear that u sliced across the grain, maybe thats why it looks almost shredded

 

[Angel Bocanegra]

I have never done a brisket before, but isn't the meat supposed to look a tad more done almost like a pulled pork type where you just pull the meat right off. This to me looks a bit tough still to pull, but still looks yummy also.

 

[Terre Hooks]

Slice against the grain next time.

 

[anders]

Looking very good. I like the write up.

Now I just have to figure out what brisket actually is, considering how common it is on this board. The only other brisket reference that I've heard outside of this board is from the "Big Bang Theory". Any Scandinavian/French/UK to the help?

 

[Ryan B]

Looks great for a first try at a brisket! I especially like the chunk of flooring in the pic--hope it wasn't prefin.

 

[anders]

Originally posted by Albert Adato:
Anders, when you get the butcher to kill the cow you tell him that you want the brisket in the picture, take the drawing along so you can show the butcher.

Hmm, considering that your link returns a "Your client does not have permission to get URL /meatcharts_photos/beefchart.pdf from this server.", I suspect a brisket conspiracy...

 

[Geir Widar]

Anders- the brisket is not much more excotic than "bog".

Keep in mind that the US hogs are much bigger (at least twice the size) than the Norwegian relatives, so the same cut in Norway might be a big dissapointment.
As a comparison, Norwegian "spare ribs" are totally useless as meat for BBQ spare ribs, cooked in a smoker. They are ment to be grilled for 15 minutes on high heat.
Use "Tynnribbe" instead, and remove the membrane on the ribs, and the skin. Use the rest.
(You can use the skin if you want to. Remove it, remove the fat, cook the skin in hot water with salt for at least on hour, let it dry in a large pan for a couple of days, and fry the skin. Fantastic pork rinds!)
I have not tried to do brisket yet, but I think I will have to order a fresh "skinke", and use that part of the animal. Big chucks of meat are having a party in the WSM!
Link, 230 pounds, give or take 5 pounds, according to the hog farmer next door.

http://www.norsknettskole.no/studentar/IT1h01eiho/