Probably so on many of these levels. It was a learning process. You guys were right. Dinner tomorrow night

I think I’ve tweaked my brisket very well. As Rogue said, you should do things to temperature. Wrapping is to help the brisket through the stall. At my elevation (5,200 ft), I wrap at 155 degrees. At sea level, people wrap at 165 -170 degrees.

I wrap with butcher paper so I can’t give advice on how to wrap with aluminum foil. Before, I wrapped just because I was supposed to. But I was wrapping too loose and it wasn’t helping with the stall because there were pockets of air. Stall occurs because water evaporates from the meat which cools the meat and keeps it from cooking much like you sweat evaporating from your skin cools you. I’m still not sure of the mechanics but I suspect, the wrap is to provide a layer between the meat and the air so that the evaporation isn’t happening on the surface of the meat which would cool it and slow the cooking process. With aluminum, I suspect it’s to keep all the humidity trapped to keep the temperature up just like you don’t cool off when sweating in high humidity.

I learned the secret to wrapping, at least, with butcher paper is to wrap it tightly around the meat and the best way to do that is to spray the paper with water so it conforms to the meat.

Also, besides wrapping based on the internal temperature when the stall has started, you have to base it whether the crust is firm already. You wrap too soon and the crust falls off like make up.

Good luck.

Like others I’ve gone to smoking pot roast. It’s just a fraction of the time and just as good plus it’s just me and my wife and she rarely eats red meat since having colon cancer.

I smoke 12 to 18 pound briskets. I have a pellet grill and I put mine in at 7PM the night before at 200˚ and go to sleep. The next morning I wrap it when it hits 165˚ to 175˚ in butcher paper, then up the smoker temp to 225˚ and leave it until it hits 203˚ to 205˚. I leave it wrapped in butcher paper and wrap it in 2 or 3 layers of foil and put it in an empty ice chest for up to 4 hours and it's still piping hot when I unwrap it.

Brisket is so affordable! It's $5.99 a pound at Costco. Cheaper than ground beef!

If it's a large one, I cut it into 3 pieces and eat 1/3 over a couple of days and vacuum seal the other two for later. I sou-vide them at 140 for 2 hours and it's like they just came off the smoker!

For tri-tip sized briskets, it should take about 5 hours at 225˚. I wrap between 165˚ and 175˚ and smoke until done between 203˚ and 205˚ (or when a meat probe goes through it without any resistance. I let the small ones rest for an hour or two. Start smoking a small brisket around 9am.

I never move the smoke temp off 225˚ when smoking the small ones.

Tony.

Thank T. That sounds about right. Lots of great insight in this thread. Ours should be delightful tomorrow for dinner.

On another topic. Did you get my emails (2)

Been busy this weekend. I'll catch up on them tomorrow. But yes, I remember catching a glimpse of them.

Spent the day at Clearwater Beach yesterday soaking up the sun! It was a perfect day at the beach.

Tony.

Thanks, Time at the beach is always a great time.

quote:

Originally posted by OttoSig:
Am I the only one that finds brisket overrated?

I’ll take a rack of ribs or pulled pork any day.

I’ve had several TX based BBQ joint’s offering and I just can’t come to accept it as the pinnacle of BBQ.

Well, maybe it's a Texas thing. Brisket is the greatest, at least here.

Dry brine in the fridge over night using just salt. Hit generously with coarse ground pepper. Put in smoker cold I've never seen any advantage to letting it sit to room temp or on the counter for an hour just adds more time. Sorry pellet guys but nothing beats a wood fired smoker using red oak. Smoke brisket until it hits 165 or so internal or when you can hear the fat drippings sizzling off the hot smoker. At that point place it in a pan. I like to dump a can of dark beer in the bottom of the pan. Do not cover with foil or wrap in butcher paper. Return it to the smoker. By not wrapping or covering you continue to develop bark and you are not braising or steaming the meat.

I look for 200 degrees or better but pull it as soon as the meat probe slides in and out with ease. Now I let it sit on the counter for and hour. Then I cover it and put it in a food keeper for at least two more hours to rest. I don't like to cover it at full temp right out of the smoker. You will be steaming it for the first hour or so and lose that nice crunchy bark. That's my approach to to brisket. I have had Prime grade 14# briskets get done in 7 hours running the smoker at 250 to 260. Other times it can take up to 10 hours.

What you've got there is a brisket flat, and a small one at that. Personally, I'd never even attempt to smoke one that small. It's not going to have enough fat to render well and will go from nearly done to dry in a flash.

If you have any possible way to wedge a whole packer brisket in there, try that. They aren't all 18-25#, you can find in the 10-12# range with some effort. You'll have much better results.

Wrapping in foil no beuno, either use peach paper or use the foil boat method to preserve bark.

One other tip I got years ago was when trimming all the excess fat and deckle off a packer, keep in as large of pieces as you can and place that on rack under the flat. This helps insulate it some early in cook and even out the cook time somewhat. Throw it out when wrapping, or leave it there as buffer. By that time it's pretty heated up and shrunken though.

If not enough room, still get a whole one and cut off/cook, the half that includes the point. Save the flat for another cook, or better yet make the best chili recipe on the planet.

Urban Cowgirl Texas Brisket Chili Recipe

quote:

Originally posted by OttoSig:
Am I the only one that finds brisket overrated?

You're going to have to tell us where specifically before we decide if you chose poorly or it's just the Yankee-pallet that's holding you back..

Posting for ORC,

quote:

Originally posted by Georgeair:

quote:

Originally posted by OttoSig:
Am I the only one that finds brisket overrated?

You're going to have to tell us where specifically before we decide if you chose poorly or it's just the Yankee-pallet that's holding you back..

lol, far from a yankee. I’ll get Dow on chitlins, cracklings, pigs feet, frog legs and the like.

I try brisket often. Including when in TX. Most recently at Pinkertons in SA which seem highly regarded. I just wouldn’t choose it over a rack of ribs. It’s not the end all be all of flavorful BBQ I always hear. For me that is.

Thanks J, I appreciate it. Wife put some bbq with mustard and some other stuff on it when it came out of the oven. Looks good. Might be a little on the dry side as mentioned. That will be fine. Will see how it is tonite after heating it up, yum.

As long as you like it, that's all that matters. Enjoy it.

Next time try wrapping in the pink butcher paper instead of foil. I took 17 hours to cook the last one I did.

So the brisket was awesome. heated in the oven at 300 for about thirty minutes. Was tender as could be. Cut with a fork and melt in your mouth. I was a bit shocked. It was a 9+. Thank you for all the advice guys. Turned out to be delicious.

We do ours differently. I trim most of the fat cap off as I like meat very lean. Season with 3/4 pepper and 1/4 salt. I use a heavy hickory smoke until there is a bark, and an internal temp of about 141 - 142 degrees. This leaves the brisket/London Broil/Tri tip pink and juicy. A carolina BBQ sauce is wonderful.

Just another way to do it.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
So the brisket was awesome. heated in the oven at 300 for about thirty minutes. Was tender as could be. Cut with a fork and melt in your mouth. I was a bit shocked. It was a 9+. Thank you for all the advice guys. Turned out to be delicious.

That's the important part !

Don't wrap in foil unless you want steamed meat. Use butchers paper or rawdog.