Saturday Overnight Brisket - When to Inject?


 
J

James Harvey

TVWBB Pro
I've got a 14lb brisket (after trimming) that I plan on starting Saturday night around 10pm. I'm thinking of cutting a few pounds off so it will fit on my 18" WSM (and to square it up). I'm going to inject it with beef broth but I'm not sure on timing. I'm concerned that, if I inject and rub tonight, the injection will leak and wash away the rub by tomorrow night. I know I can always re-rub it tomorrow but I thought I'd see what you all think?

I usually inject down at an angle to reduce leakage but I'm probably going to have to go in pretty parallel to the counter on this one since it's long and flat (but a packer still).

This is the biggest brisket I've ever tried. It looks like a kite.
 
I did a 15-pounder (trimmed) last weekend in an 18.5 and ended up chopping about 3" off the flat to get it to wedge between the handles of the top grate. It netted out at around 12lb and took 14 hours @ 250. I haven't injected for a long time, so I won't be much help there. I wouldn't worry about washing off the rub, since as you say, you can always re-rub. I've gone the butcher paper route and have been pleased with the result. I put mine on at around 11:00p.m. and the brisket was a good color at around 7:00a.m. so I wrapped it for the rest of the cook. I still have a few hunks left and it's still good.

I cubed up the flat cut-off and bagged it in the freezer -- it's great to grind up with chuck and pork rib trimmings for burgers.

Have fun, and enjoy some good eatin'.

Jeff
 
I rarely inject anymore, but I've always gone by Ray Lampe's suggestion, aka Dr BBQ. He says to inject and rub anywhere from one to12 hours before the cook.

I wouldn't cut too much off, maybe just a little to square it up. I've horseshoed 14 pounders between the handles on my 18, no problem.
 
Thanks Dave. I took off about a pound and a half to square it. It only took 1 straight cut and now I have a nice pot roast left over. Brisket was really diamond shaped and would have been tough to get on my 18". I'll still have to shoehorn it between the handles.

Anyway, I just rubbed and injected it since I won't have time to tend to it again until the afternoon and I wanted to let the injection sit for a while. I used straight beef broth so I'm not too concerned about being over eager. I might give it another dusting just before I put it on tomorrow night.
 
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