Total newbie - first brisket, please check my method :)


 
H

Holeigh Reilly-Hynes

New member
Got my boyfriend a WSM 18 for christmas, I think I'm more excited than him about it because I did our first smoke on it yesterday - small cut of brisket 2.5kg. Would love if you could do a quick check over what I did it, turned out better than I expected but already keen to make improvements.

- 20 lit briquettes into basket of unlit using minion method
- wait until 275 degres (I used our new digi q dx3) placed some dry hickory wood chips around lit coals
- IT hit 163 after 4.5 hours and I wrapped in foil expecting a stall but it only lasted about 20 mins and kept rising quite steadily
- Pulled off 2 hours after wrapping at IT of 207
- Rested in cooler with with towels for 3.5 hours

Had some fluctuations in pit temp, although maybe that's pretty normal for a brand new bbq and new ATC etc, it was a pretty warm day here in Oz.

I didn't use a water pan, i have read it defeats the purpose when using an ATC, is this true? Our friend swears by using both, saying it keeps meat moist.

Overall very pleased with our brisket, it was tender, has a light smokey flavour (I think we need to use the blocks of wood instead of chips) but it was definitely a bit dry so that's the first thing I'd like the try working with if anyone has any tips on how I could change up my method, was maybe thinking a lower temperature?

The butcher cut me off a 2.5kg bit off the thicker end of the whole brisket so when it cooked it was kind of separated, I'm assuming point and flat. Should I be asking for a particular part or separating these two sections beforehand? See second picture a few hours into cook.
 

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The setup is great. Pretty typical of what people would normally do. 275F is on the high side for many, but if it works for you, keep at it. Personally, I like to roll brisket at 250F. 225F is too low and takes way too long, it's kind of the "old school" way.

You wrapped it at a good time, at 163F. Wrapping it in foil will make the stall run faster than wrapping it in butcher paper or unwrapped. It's a preference of taste and texture when it comes to wrapping. Also since your piece is smaller, I'm not surprised it broke through the stall quick. I also tend to spritz water or apple juice once every hour until wrapping. But since you were cooking a point, you were pretty much ok in the juicy-ness.

I'd personally pull the brisket at no higher than 200F. 205F and higher makes it a bit too "pulled" texture for my taste. But if you like it, stick with it!

The important thing you did is resting it. Never change that.

Yes, use wood chunks instead of wood chips. About 4 fist size chunks at the beginning of the cook. I tend to stick to the "woody" woods for beef: oak, mesquite, hickory, pecan. It's a preference. Fruit wood and beef tastes weird to me.

Yes, you got a section of the point, which is the more tender side of the brisket as. Don't separate them, leave them as is. You'll know it is the point when you see the two pieces of meat chunks connected via fat in between them. The point meat runs on top of the flat in that section of the brisket.

Traditionally, you cook the whole brisket, all of the flat and point. But it may be too much to cook and trim.
 
Seneviseth L said:
The setup is great. Pretty typical of what people would normally do. 275F is on the high side for many, but if it works for you, keep at it. Personally, I like to roll brisket at 250F. 225F is too low and takes way too long, it's kind of the "old school" way.

You wrapped it at a good time, at 163F. Wrapping it in foil will make the stall run faster than wrapping it in butcher paper or unwrapped. It's a preference of taste and texture when it comes to wrapping. Also since your piece is smaller, I'm not surprised it broke through the stall quick. I also tend to spritz water or apple juice once every hour until wrapping. But since you were cooking a point, you were pretty much ok in the juicy-ness.

I'd personally pull the brisket at no higher than 200F. 205F and higher makes it a bit too "pulled" texture for my taste. But if you like it, stick with it!

The important thing you did is resting it. Never change that.

Yes, use wood chunks instead of wood chips. About 4 fist size chunks at the beginning of the cook. I tend to stick to the "woody" woods for beef: oak, mesquite, hickory, pecan. It's a preference. Fruit wood and beef tastes weird to me.

Yes, you got a section of the point, which is the more tender side of the brisket as. Don't separate them, leave them as is. You'll know it is the point when you see the two pieces of meat chunks connected via fat in between them. The point meat runs on top of the flat in that section of the brisket.

Traditionally, you cook the whole brisket, all of the flat and point. But it may be too much to cook and trim.
Click to expand...
Awesome thanks so much for your reply. Yep that was it, it had more of a pulled beef texture! Thanks :)
 
I don't go by a set temp when it comes time to pull because each piece of meat will be done at different temps. I pull when it's "probe tender" when the probe goes in like butter. I use my Thermapen as my probe but you can use an ice pick also.
 
Also, between the WSM and the cooler, open the brisket foil a little to let it cool off a bit. Once below the cooking temperature (170ish), reclose and place in cooler. Otherwise you can easily cause unintentional overcooking with a resulting dryness.
 
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