Finally, smoking a brisket.

[DesertRat]

Several months ago I did a 3-pounder, and it did not come out very good at all. So I'm considering this 10 pounder my first. I watch some videos and decided to trim it a little bit myself, although I saw a video by smokin' Joe's BBQ where he, for the first time ever, smoked a brisket without trimming it, and he thought it came out just fine.

I seasoned it with salt and pepper, four parts pepper to one part salt. Put it on the 590 at 225° at 7:00 p.m. I'll get up in the middle of the night and check it. Any tips will be appreciated.

 

[Jim6820]

You will probably get a temperature stall at 160-170F. At that point, you can either wrap the brisket (my choice & using pink/peach butcher paper) or let it go until it releases naturally. The latter may add 1-4 hours to the cook, IME.

And, don’t cook to temperature, cook to probe tenderness. Start probing your brisket when it reaches about 190F and continue periodically until the probe slides in like it is going into creamy peanut butter. IME, that can occur anywhere from 190F to 205F; it just depends on the individual piece of protein.

Finally, plan on resting your brisket in an insulated container (cooler, etc.) and covered by a big towel or two. I use a foil pan that will fit in my soft-sided cooler to put the brisket in. Then a loose drape of foil over the top to protect the towels. Place in the cooler and cover with a couple of large, folded towels. Rest the protein for at least 2 hours; I prefer 3-4 hours.

Good luck.

 

[DesertRat]

Well, I woke up a while ago and it was a little warmer than I had planned. I had four other reasons put my phone in airplane mode and didn't get an audible alert. But I wrapped it, and I sure got a look at a couple more of those videos cuz my wrap job sucked. I have reset it to about 200 but will be up before then and do some probing as you suggested. Time is currently 2:44 Pacific time.

 

[DesertRat]

Padlin00. I have an email notice about your post, and I'm able to read it in the email. But for some reason it is not appearing here in the forum. To answer your question, I do not recall whether it was point or flat. And the point has warmed up much closer to the temperature of the flat. Early in the cook, before I went to bed. There was a wide disparity in temperatures. So I'm going to probe that puppy in the thick part of the point until it feels like butter.

 

[Gonefishin]

FWIW… Someone suggested when wrapping to spray the paper, if that’s what you used, with your spritz to make it pliable. It works wonders and would be worth doing even if you just use water. Don’t recall if the thread was about ribs or brisket, bit it’d be worth doing for either.

I deleted the post when I saw your image of the cooler thinking you were already done, did’t know it emails a copy! Oh well, it was worth typing then.good luck.

 

[Gonefishin]

I would do it till the thickest part of the flat is tender, but that’s just me.

 

[Gonefishin]

Just to clarify for anyone interested, I wrote a now deleted post describing how figuring when the brisket is done is the hardest part for me. The differences in thickness and fat content cook at differing speeds, especially with a full packer.

 

[DesertRat]

Padlin. Sorry to confuse you with the photo, I was just showing that I was prepared. I took it off about an hour ago, via notifications did not go off so it was up a little over 2:05 on the point. So I've wrapped it in the towels and it's been a little over an hour of rest. I'm anxious to slice it up and see what I've done. It did feel, I guess the term is buttery, my temperature probe went into it easily. I'm a little disappointed in the app. The first time was my fault, having it on airplane mode so I didn't get beeps every time there was a text or Facebook post or whatever else causes those alerts. But this time I undid that and got a couple Beeps in the middle of the night but not from my app. Maybe someone can tell me what's going on with that.

 

[Motodad1776]

The APP sucks and isn't adjustable for alerts and tones of our choosing and nor are they continuous until you silence, IMHO it's pretty much worthless otherwise. I went with an external probe option; alerts never get missed now for hitting temp. Premium grills that use a SUBPAR app, RT would be wise spending some money to remedy that.......but alas I'm sure they won't.

 

[DesertRat]

The APP sucks and isn't adjustable for alerts and tones of our choosing and nor are they continuous until you silence, IMHO it's pretty much worthless otherwise. I went with an external probe option; alerts never get missed now for hitting temp. Premium grills that use a SUBPAR app, RT would be wise spending some money to remedy that.......but alas I'm sure they won't.

Actually, I have a couple that I acquired back in approximately 2012 or 13 when I bought my first electric smoker. I think I should dig them out and use them.

 

[Roaniecowpony]

If you aren't happy with your first brisket results, don't give up.

One thing I learned was that little briskets are hard to cook to tender and still have moist meat. In some cases, moist, tender and small brisket are just not in the cards. The issue is that they don't contain the interstitial fat that a large brisket can have. When you cook something to 200F+ the water is mostly going out of the meat, leaving the fat to act as the "moisture". Fat also traps more water. This is why you'll hear experienced brisket bbq chefs say that they like big briskets.

For your next brisket, get as large a brisket as you can find, spring the extra cash for a USDA Prime. I like 20 pound whole (packer) briskets. It's just me and my wife, but I slice to about 1/2" and vacuum pack the slices in 2 person servings. You can Sous Vide the packs or just zap them in the microwave. Cooking a big brisket is the same process, but you get better results. The saying that: "you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear" holds true to brisket. The old foil vs butcher paper argument continues, even on the competition circuit. You can get great results either way. Pick one.

 

[C. Keeper]

If you're cheap like me, practice on chuck roast to perfect your next brisket cook.

 

[Motodad1776]

If you're cheap like me, practice on chuck roast to perfect your next brisket cook.

Or......just say to hell with briskets "as I did long ago" and just go with those cheap yummy and forgiving chuck roasts!!!

 

[DesertRat]

If you aren't happy with your first brisket results, don't give up.

One thing I learned was that little briskets are hard to cook to tender and still have moist meat. In some cases, moist, tender and small brisket are just not in the cards. The issue is that they don't contain the interstitial fat that a large brisket can have. When you cook something to 200F+ the water is mostly going out of the meat, leaving the fat to act as the "moisture". Fat also traps more water. This is why you'll hear experienced brisket bbq chefs say that they like big briskets.

For your next brisket, get as large a brisket as you can find, spring the extra cash for a USDA Prime. I like 20 pound whole (packer) briskets. It's just me and my wife, but I slice to about 1/2" and vacuum pack the slices in 2 person servings. You can Sous Vide the packs or just zap them in the microwave. Cooking a big brisket is the same process, but you get better results. The saying that: "you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear" holds true to brisket. The old foil vs butcher paper argument continues, even on the competition circuit. You can get great results either way. Pick one.

This one is pretty good. I'm sure it could be better. I need to work harder on trimming fat on my next one. I thought I had done a good job. I did a lousy job. And I accidentally overcooked it, having it relied on my app to alert me when it hit temperature. I was surprised at the following. This was about 9 and 1/2 lb from the grocery store. After I sliced it and packed it for freezing I got a little over 5 lb. If that is typical, I will shoot for a larger packer and do it again. Another surprise though, I filled my Hopper with pellets and it still looks full.

 

[Roaniecowpony]

This one is pretty good. I'm sure it could be better. I need to work harder on trimming fat on my next one. I thought I had done a good job. I did a lousy job. And I accidentally overcooked it, having it relied on my app to alert me when it hit temperature. I was surprised at the following. This was about 9 and 1/2 lb from the grocery store. After I sliced it and packed it for freezing I got a little over 5 lb. If that is typical, I will shoot for a larger packer and do it again. Another surprise though, I filled my Hopper with pellets and it still looks full.

I was getting about 45% by weight, finished (cooked) meat vs the cold raw weight (store weight).

 

[SmokeOCD]

Or......just say to hell with briskets "as I did long ago" and just go with those cheap yummy and forgiving chuck roasts!!!

I get brisket cheaper than chuck (Chicagoland)...
Unless maybe you're compensating for trim loss....

 

[DesertRat]

I was getting about 45% by weight, finished (cooked) meat vs the cold raw weight (store weight).

The difference is probably fat left on the slices.

 

[DesertRat]

I was getting about 45% by weight, finished (cooked) meat vs the cold raw weight (store weight).

It's not unusual to see steak priced below chuck. I don't get it.

 

[Motodad1776]

I get brisket cheaper than chuck (Chicagoland)...
Unless maybe you're compensating for trim loss....

Wow I NEVER see brisket cheaper than chucks, unless the brisket is a baby or low quality? Nah I just prefer chucks overall for many reasons, I have fooled plenty with chuck meat who thought it was brisket.

 

[Roaniecowpony]

The difference is probably fat left on the slices.

I trim fat to about 1/4" thick. That seems to be about right for those that like to eat a little fat with the meat. There's always people that will not eat any fat. Don't worry about them. They are expert at trimming on their plate.