Should I brine my brisket?


 
Andrew Binkard

Andrew Binkard

New member
I'm going to do a brisket tomorrow on the kettle. It's a 10 lb packer cut, will most likely end up at 9 lbs when I'm done trimming it. I've finally figured out how to keep the kettle steady at about 225-230, so I'm planning a cook time of about 11-12 hours. A couple questions:

1. I'm considering brining it. Should I?

2. Somewhat related to number 1, I'm also considering not wrapping it. Because I'm cooking at such a low temp, is the wrapping necessary? Will I run a higher risk of drying it out?

I want moist and tender but I want to stay away from injections. Pros and cons of brining brisket/not wrapping?
 
Only if you're wanting corned beef or pastrami ;)

There really is no need, if you got a decent cut there should be plenty of intramuscular fat to keep the meat moist as it cooks. I also like a water pan, for a little humidity. Personal preference. My personal favorite is injecting it...this will do more for it than two days worth of brining...
 
You might plan on it being done in the 10 hr range though and it if it goes 12 fine ... My first 2 briskets finished much sooner than I had anticipated ..
 
I brined one once. It was expensive to make that much beef broth. The problem is it cooked much differently and turned out overcooked. The flavor was good. It was so much trouble I've not tried to do it again.

You cannot cook it by temp. I did and it took forever to get into the 190's. Like almost 20 hours, and then was overcooked.
 
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