brisket advice

[Lloyd Smale]

never did one in the smoker. Any advice on a rub or cooking instructions would be appreciated

[Huntsman52]

For my offset smoker:

Very simple. I use Granulated Onion, Course Sea Salt, Granulated Garlic & course ground black pepper. Can add some paprika for color and a touch of Cayan for some heat. Rub the brisket in olive oil and liberally apply salt, pepper, onion and garlic rub. For a trimmed 13 LB brisket I use about 1/8 salt, 1/16 cup pepper, 1/16 cup onion, 1/16 cup garlic. Cover all sides of brisket. Let sit overnight. Allows for salt to penetrate meat.

I smoke the brisket with the fat cap bottoms down.

For smoking I run between 225 to 250 (with some spikes up to 275 when adding fuel) and smoke until the brisket hits an internal temp of 150 to 160. To speed up pull brisket at the 150-160 temp and wrap tightly in pink butcher pater (Unwaxed). Back in cooker until 190 to 195 in thickest part. Pull at 190 to 195 and let rest for about 1 hour. Temp will rise to 200-210 internally. Do not unwrap until fully rested.

Time of smoke depends but it takes all day and most of the night at 225 for a 13 LB brisket in my area. You can cheat a little by pulling once you wrap it and finish up in your oven at 250 wrapped. Just put a drip pan below it.

Another thing is to make a sprits of olive oil, apple cyder vinegar and apple juice. 50/50 on juice and vin, 2 table spoons olive oil. Spritz every 30 to 45 min until you wrap it. Will barq the meat up real nice and keep it moist. No need to spritz post wrap at 150 deg.

For smoke, you want a lite blue almost clear smoke. To much heavy white smoke makes it bitter. I use Pecan, Oak or Mesquite. If using Mesquite go lite as it burns hot and smoke is strong. Can mix the woods to.

Most important is to just get smoker up to temp with a strong coal bed and add a log every so often or so keep it going in the temp range.

If you don't like garlic and onion, then just leave it out.

For my Pellet smoker (cheating but I don't mind): Same rub as above, set temp to 250, spritz every 30-45 min. and set my smokers' Bluetooth alarms for an internal temp of 190. I also wrap at 150ish as well.

[farmbif]

that's sounds really good, thanks for the detailed instruction. I don't quite understand what you mean about the white smoke but got a feeling the techniques I've been using for pork will work for beef. I've never had white smoke problem, been using select shag bark hickory for pork and white oak and maple for fowl.
the price of brisket has been in the $7-$8 lb around here for past few years so I' haven't had much experience with brisket. turkey breasts are down to a $1.50lb and I might be smoking one of those coming up soon.

[Huntsman52]

as in white smoke; think of when you first start a fire, the smoke is heavy white/grey but the color and thickness of the smoke thins out when a coal bed is established. White some will appear when you add fresh fuel, but thins out rather fast and that smoke is not a problem. If the smoke is to thick it creates creosote buildup on the meat. In a nut shell don't let your coal bed run out and don't add to much fuel at one time.

[DougGuy]

I believe the Texan has posted a recipe that would work very well. Texas brisket is an art all to itself and they pride themselves on doing it their way. I have seen the Franklin BBQ videos on youtube, they are well worth watching because he trims each brisket and tells the viewer how and why he trims a certain way and it all makes sense. His rub is a little simpler than Huntsman's but I would use either one.

Not trying to steer or hijack your reply sir, just adding to it with some vids if that's alright..

Here is the trimming video:



Here is the video review of Aaron Franklin's Masterclass:



One more Aaron Franklin video prepping a brisket:

[DougGuy]

One more vid with a slightly smaller brisket done on a pellet smoker, with an additional smoke tube, I love these things I have an Amazen smoker tube, but there are others they are just a perforated stainless tube that you put pellets in and light it. Very much recommended for a pellet grill..

I liked this video a lot, very informative and didn't really leave out anything:

[Winger Ed.]

I've used Williams or Earl Campbell's brand rubs from the grocery store.
Earl Campbell is the hot link guy, his stuff is more on the spicy side than Williams' brand.
I haven't had any complaints yet.

[dale2242]

I did my brisket in my Pit Boss pellet grill.
I used their Beef & Brisket rub.
Set the temp at 225 and insert the temperature probe.
Smoke until internal temp reaches 200*. Usually 8+ hrs.
Spritz with beef broth or every hr or so.

[Lloyd Smale]

thanks guys. I love brisket and am an avid smoker. Just never tried this. big meat sale at the local store this week and they had pork buts for 99 cents a lb and brisket for 1.75 So i bought two 10 pounders and a 100lbs of pork but for sausage making.

[Lloyd Smale]

well its in the smoker.

[gwpercle]

Low and Slow
You can start it out in the smoker (4 to 6 hours) remove , wrap in foil and finish it off in the oven inside the house .
When it starts to reach it's 190* internal temp. shut the oven off and let the brisket sit inside the oven , wrapped in the foil and cool down completely ... this makes it super tender and moist.
Gary

[Lloyd Smale]

is been in 5 hours now and i just kicked up the heat to 275. Internal temp is 166 right now and I just wrapped it in butchers paper. Looks great right now. Nice crust on it. All i can do to keep from cutting off a chunk.

[MaryB]

that's sounds really good, thanks for the detailed instruction. I don't quite understand what you mean about the white smoke but got a feeling the techniques I've been using for pork will work for beef. I've never had white smoke problem, been using select shag bark hickory for pork and white oak and maple for fowl.
the price of brisket has been in the $7-$8 lb around here for past few years so I' haven't had much experience with brisket. turkey breasts are down to a $1.50lb and I might be smoking one of those coming up soon.

If you look at the top of the upright door you will see thin blue smoke, that is what you want. Billowing white smoke is bitter and will ruin the meat. A little white as a log starts is fine but don't stuff the firebox and choke off the oxygen so it burns for hours. I used a small hot fire and fed fuel every 30-45 minutes...

[MaryB]

My brisket rub is equal parts salt/onion powder/garlic powder/black pepper to taste/ a tiny amount of ground bay leaf/ ground celery seed to taste(you don't want to have it be a main flavor, just that background hmmm celery)/ tiny bit of ground dill seed(you do not want o taste this in the finished rub, it adds a subtle under note).

Sorry I can't give amounts, been doing this so long I can eyeball it... rough guess would be 1 cup each the first 3, a teaspoon of the bay and celery seed, and 1/2 teaspoon of the dill...

I never foil or wrap, but I keep temps down to 225. Start fat cap down, after 6 hours I flip to fat cap up so the melting fat bastes the meat.


A quicker cook is a chuck roast. Have the butcher cut one 4" thick and leave the fat on. Treat as you would the brisket but it will cook quicker being a smaller cut(typically 4-6 pounds). When done this will shred instead of cut, I take it to 200-205 internal and I do wrap(foil!) this after 6 hours so you have lots of nice juices to make gravy or use as a dipping sauce. Mix some of the juices into the meat after shredding to make it nice and moist. I like to pile on a buttered and toasted bun, some horseradish, some of the au jus on the side to dip the bun in. Good stuff!

[JimB..]

Tagged, I’m just starting down the smoking trail.

[Lloyd Smale]

well i blew it. It was in the smoker most of the day. Started it at 200 for 2 hours 225 for two hours 250 for two then i kicked it up to 275 to bring it to 200. I ended up rushing it and bringing to 350 to make supper time and took it out and let it sit for an hour on the stove vs letting it cool in the smoker. Tasted good but it wasnt tender. I bought two of them. I started at 8am for this one. Next time im starting at about 5am and will use a bit more paitents. One thing ive learned smoking is that patients truely is a virtue. Rushing it was a dumb move.

[dale2242]

Lloyd, I could see that coming.
Low and slow is the answer for tender brisket.

Mary B, I cook my pot roasts in a pan with a 1/2 inch of beef stock in the bottom.
I slice some of the beef and shred the rest.

[Huntsman52]

Keep on trying!

The only way to kill a brisket is to rush it. I have never been able to hit a deadline for when a brisket is supposed to be done. To many factors, humidity, temp inside and outside the cooker, the cut characteristics of the meat, the biological makeup of the meat, fuel humidity, temp veriations etc...kind of like shooting long range.

As stated by GWPERCLE "low and slow". The biggest factor is reaching the temp of 190. Some take it higher up to 200ish then pull from smoker and let sit. But it is the slow long rise to that temp that does the work. If the internal temp at the thickest part is not reached over time then the tissues and fat do not break down and the fat does not render. You can always do a probe test. The meat probe should slide into the meat like a hot knife in butter at the thick part, if it does not then it is not ready.

The letting it sit part is also crucial as it allows the temp to reach max then slowly cool down. This effect will allow the meat to reabsorbed the juice's. If you cut to early the meat, especially the flat, dries out.

Most of the time I start the brisket on Saturday AM 4 or 5ish and end up finishing very late Saturday or early Sunday AM. This is for a trimmed weight of around 13 LBS. I normally buy an untrimmed packer and trim to my liking. End up eating for Sunday late lunch or dinner.

Question: Did you buy the briskets trimmed or self trim a packer? Was the fat line that runs between the point and flat trimmed out? Reason I ask is that if that fat line (not sure on the terminology) is not mostly removed, it will never render as it is very thick and hard.

[Huntsman52]

MaryB, I like the idea on the chuck roast. Going to try that! Recently I just finished up smoking a few fatties (Texas Torpedo's is what I call them). Bacon wrapped meat hart clogging dream an only takes about 3 hours to do. Made a breakfast one with bacon, ground sausage with potato, egg, vegs and cheese in the middle. My favorite is bacon wrapped over ground axis / beef mix with lots of onion, jalapeno, chili pequin and cheese in the core. Make a great burger when cut.

[45workhorse]

You all are making me HUNGRY!!