Brisket cooks - step inside - need help smoking my first brisket Update with Pic's !!

January 17, 2018, 09:51 AM

Oh, and my personal experience is that any of the methods using foil will typically lead to more tender brisket, but do run the risks of getting it soggy, and falling apart. Also more of a meat taste.

Going w/o any foil gives it more of a smoke taste, at the risk of drier meat.

cc

January 17, 2018, 10:11 AM

snwghst

I don't wrap mine, I like a good bark, just wait and push through the stall (which in itself can be mind numbing)

January 17, 2018, 10:29 AM

ggile

quote:
Originally posted by JALLEN:
Study the online videos by Aaron Franklin.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VmTzdMHu5KU

There is a series of videos from selecting the brisket, trimming, the pit, the fire, the whole works. Do it like he does!

^^^^This!

I cooked my first brisket, following Franklin's suggestions, last summer and it turned out great. It's going to take about 8 hours out of your day, but it is worth it.

_____________________________

"The problems we face today exist because the people who work for a living are outnumbered by those who vote for a living."

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January 17, 2018, 10:44 AM

JALLEN

quote:
Originally posted by ggile:
quote:
Originally posted by JALLEN:
Study the online videos by Aaron Franklin.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VmTzdMHu5KU

There is a series of videos from selecting the brisket, trimming, the pit, the fire, the whole works. Do it like he does!

^^^^This!

I cooked my first brisket, following Franklin's suggestions, last summer and it turned out great. It's going to take about 8 hours out of your day, but it is worth it.

Around here, exposing the brisket to (usually mesquite) smoke for a minimum of 12+ hours is Holy Writ to “let the strings out.”

Whatever the old way, Franklin certainly has sold a lot of meat to a great many very happy customers who stood in line for hours in inclement weather to become one.

The restaurant is open again after the fire.

Luckily, I have enough willpower to control the driving ambition that rages within me.

When you had the votes, we did things your way. Now, we have the votes and you will be doing things our way. This lesson in political reality from Lyndon B. Johnson

"Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible." - Justice Janice Rogers Brown

January 17, 2018, 11:43 AM

HayesGreener

195 internal temp is the magic number no matter which method you use. It has to get there to break down the collagen and make it tender. Anything you do to keep the moisture in is good. If you use Adam Perry Lang's recipe for "Get a Book" brisket you can't go wrong, we have done this recipe many times and it always gets rave reviews from our guests.

http://www.adamperrylang.com/r...k-whole-beef-brisket

January 17, 2018, 05:18 PM

Outnumbered

quote:
Originally posted by bozman:
I think he means let it rest until it comes back down to 150 for serving temp.

You are correct. It will LIKELY be in the 195-205 degree range when it probes tender, but it's the buttah-soft feel you're after, not a magical temperature. Then it rests, wrapped, back down to 150. Very easy, and worth it.

SUPER extended low-temp/post cook hold times (in Alto Shaams) is how many chain restaurants are able to achieve tender and moist brisket from average quality cuts, not because they employ pitmasters.

For the record, I can rock a brisket in my stickburner, drums, insulated cabinet, Weber etc with a traditional low-n-slow, but the BluDawg method I posted is a VERY bulletproof hack for first-timers. It's actually an incredibly consistent process that turns out a great brisket, even for us BBQ-geeks!

January 17, 2018, 07:05 PM

lastmanstanding

quote:
Originally posted by HayesGreener:
195 internal temp is the magic number no matter which method you use. It has to get there to break down the collagen and make it tender. Anything you do to keep the moisture in is good. If you use Adam Perry Lang's recipe for "Get a Book" brisket you can't go wrong, we have done this recipe many times and it always gets rave reviews from our guests.

http://www.adamperrylang.com/r...k-whole-beef-brisket

Interesting recipe until this.

quote:
Wrapping Mixture
1⁄2 cup honey
1⁄2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter or margarine, melted

Pretty sure that will get you shot then hung in Texas!

January 17, 2018, 07:19 PM

Skins2881

quote:
Originally posted by lastmanstanding:
quote:
Originally posted by HayesGreener:
195 internal temp is the magic number no matter which method you use. It has to get there to break down the collagen and make it tender. Anything you do to keep the moisture in is good. If you use Adam Perry Lang's recipe for "Get a Book" brisket you can't go wrong, we have done this recipe many times and it always gets rave reviews from our guests.

http://www.adamperrylang.com/r...k-whole-beef-brisket

Interesting recipe until this.

quote:
Wrapping Mixture
1⁄2 cup honey
1⁄2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter or margarine, melted

Pretty sure that will get you shot then hung in Texas!

Not really sure what you'd be making with those ingredients, but it's not brisket for sure. Smokey, not sweet. I make my pulled pork sweet which makes my friends from North Carolina cringe. No way I am having sweet brisket though.

January 17, 2018, 07:20 PM

tatortodd

quote:
Originally posted by Outnumbered:
quote:
Originally posted by bozman:
I think he means let it rest until it comes back down to 150 for serving temp.

You are correct. It will LIKELY be in the 195-205 degree range when it probes tender, but it's the buttah-soft feel you're after, not a magical temperature. Then it rests, wrapped, back down to 150. Very easy, and worth it.

SUPER extended low-temp/post cook hold times (in Alto Shaams) is how many chain restaurants are able to achieve tender and moist brisket from average quality cuts, not because they employ pitmasters.

For the record, I can rock a brisket in my stickburner, drums, insulated cabinet, Weber etc with a traditional low-n-slow, but the BluDawg method I posted is a VERY bulletproof hack for first-timers. It's actually an incredibly consistent process that turns out a great brisket, even for us BBQ-geeks!

Thanks for the clarification but in the future I suggest rewriting the instructions with this clarification

January 17, 2018, 07:36 PM

sig229-SAS

Thanks for all the input, just a follow-up point I have been using Amazing Ribs for quite a while plus I purchased the Meathead book, which is great. I will post pictures in the next few days of the results.

I do like Aaron Franklin, I have watched his TV show but not his Youtube work. The two shows on brisket were interesting.

January 17, 2018, 07:55 PM

steelcityfishanddive

quote:
Originally posted by lastmanstanding:
I've never wrapped a brisket. I do all packer briskets in the 12 to 14lb range. I use a wood fired smoker so my technique is most likely different than what you may do with a pellet grill.

Trim the brisket. I like to get it down to about 1/4 to 1/2" fat cap. Apply your rub and let it sit in room temp for a hour or so to let the rub set up.

Run the smoker around 250. Put the beast in the smoker. I spritz mine with a mixture of beef broth and whiskey every so often. Maybe once a hour or so. Once the internal hits around 160-170 I put it in a pan. I do not cover the pan with foil I leave it open and put it back on the smoker. I pour a bottle of dark beer in the bottom of the pan.
I don't foil or wrap because I don't like my brisket to take on that pot roast flavor and texture you get from wrapping it. I want to keep forming that great crunchy bark.
The only reason I pan at all is to catch all the juices once the brisket has reached the right temp. If I want to slice I pull it at 195 if I want pulled I let it go close to 205.

Once desired temp is reached I tent foil the pan and put it in the Cambro to rest for a couple hours.

Man o man does that look fantastic.

January 17, 2018, 08:01 PM

HayesGreener

quote:
Originally posted by Skins2881:
quote:
Originally posted by lastmanstanding:
quote:
Originally posted by HayesGreener:
195 internal temp is the magic number no matter which method you use. It has to get there to break down the collagen and make it tender. Anything you do to keep the moisture in is good. If you use Adam Perry Lang's recipe for "Get a Book" brisket you can't go wrong, we have done this recipe many times and it always gets rave reviews from our guests.

http://www.adamperrylang.com/r...k-whole-beef-brisket

Interesting recipe until this.

quote:
Wrapping Mixture
1⁄2 cup honey
1⁄2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter or margarine, melted

Pretty sure that will get you shot then hung in Texas!

Not really sure what you'd be making with those ingredients, but it's not brisket for sure. Smokey, not sweet. I make my pulled pork sweet which makes my friends from North Carolina cringe. No way I am having sweet brisket though.

The sweet is mostly gone by the end. Brisket is a cut of meat not a recipe. I have lived in Texas and love Texas bbq. I have also seen a lot of sugar and honey being used on brisket in Texas

January 17, 2018, 08:10 PM

HayesGreener

quote:
Originally posted by HayesGreener:
quote:
Originally posted by Skins2881:
quote:
Originally posted by lastmanstanding:
quote:
Originally posted by HayesGreener:
195 internal temp is the magic number no matter which method you use. It has to get there to break down the collagen and make it tender. Anything you do to keep the moisture in is good. If you use Adam Perry Lang's recipe for "Get a Book" brisket you can't go wrong, we have done this recipe many times and it always gets rave reviews from our guests.

http://www.adamperrylang.com/r...k-whole-beef-brisket

Interesting recipe until this.

quote:
Wrapping Mixture
1⁄2 cup honey
1⁄2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter or margarine, melted

Pretty sure that will get you shot then hung in Texas!

Not really sure what you'd be making with those ingredients, but it's not brisket for sure. Smokey, not sweet. I make my pulled pork sweet which makes my friends from North Carolina cringe. No way I am having sweet brisket though.

The sweet is mostly gone by the end. Brisket is a cut of meat not a recipe. I have lived in Texas and love Texas bbq. I have also seen a lot of sugar and honey being used on brisket in Texas

And Sigs are better than Glocks and Fords are better than Chevys

January 17, 2018, 08:40 PM

JALLEN

quote:
Originally posted by HayesGreener:

The sweet is mostly gone by the end. Brisket is a cut of meat not a recipe. I have lived in Texas and love Texas bbq. I have also seen a lot of sugar and honey being used on brisket in Texas

I’m not sure about “on brisket” but here, where the rubs tends to be very basic, I’ve seen at least one very popular sauce, prepared with the drippings and seasonings, use Krafts French Dressing among other things. I think I may have posted that recipe here a few years back.

January 17, 2018, 09:55 PM

parallel

It seems the various cooking methods have been thoroughly covered here. I'd like to add that when it comes to dry rub for brisket I opt for a simple 1:2 salt and cracked black pepper blend and no wrap or if one must wrap do so with parchment paper to lessen the sogginess that csan occur in the bark.

January 17, 2018, 10:06 PM

tatortodd

quote:
Originally posted by parallel:
It seems the various cooking methods have been thoroughly covered here.

We've only scratched the surface. This thread could go on for MANY more pages.

January 18, 2018, 08:15 AM

Georgeair

quote:
Originally posted by tatortodd:
quote:
Originally posted by parallel:
It seems the various cooking methods have been thoroughly covered here.

We've only scratched the surface. This thread could go on for MANY more pages.

NO doubt. Most of us haven't even shared the good stuff....

January 18, 2018, 08:21 AM

RogueJSK

quote:
Originally posted by Georgeair:
If I may offer an alternative to the Crutch from the pages of Mr. Franklin's methods that has worked wonders for me - get some brown kraft paper from Hobby Lobby or similar and when you would be wrapping, use 3-4 pieces of that instead. Plain, uncoated brown paper, not butcher paper. This will insulate enough to keep the temp rising but also not hold so much moisture that you are essentially braising as will happen with foil. This gives you reasonable cook times, avoids drying out too much but still gives incredibly bark.

quote:
Originally posted by parallel:
if one must wrap do so with parchment paper to lessen the sogginess that csan occur in the bark.

I use paper instead of foil with my briskets as well.