Smoked Brisket Advice...

This is a fun thread. I’ve never done a brisket but smoked a lot of ribs, butts, and chicken. I’m inspired to try brisket soon. 

Just a thought though. For a 15lb’er at 225, I would think you’re on the 15 hour+ train. I’m also a purist and don’t like the Texas crutch because I’m all about the crispy bark on my smoked pig, but brisket isn’t about bark is it? It’s more about the tenderness of the meat and that comes from how long you can hold it from that slow climb from 185 to 203 as the fat liquefies and melts into the meat.

Therefore, for brisket, I think I would wrap in heavy foil at the stall and remove at 203 degrees internal temp and place in a faux cambro for at least an hour or until ready to eat....mmmmmm mouth watering

yeah since this is my first time using the offset smoker I'm finding that the smoker really likes staying at 250-275, which I know will be totally fine. I'm getting into the rhythm of adding wood, temp increases, close vent, temp drops, open vent, temp up, add wood... etc.

Here's an update from the 4 hour mark.

Oh, a thing of beauty. That temperature gauge looks like it has some history. 

Thanks for the pics and post.

Loookkssss sooo Damn Good!!!

Ok, fine. You guys are such a bad influence. I’ll be up past midnight. 1 turkey, 5 chickens and two corned beef briskets left over from st Patrick’s day sale.

I spend my fair share of time manning the smoker.  Mostly the egg but  theres a recteq en route that i cant wait to meet.  Im going to have to get rid of the existing grill and my baby smoker.

Im also researching how to build a curing chamber to make cured meats. 

Im starting to prep for my annual family bacon fest (i serve more than bacon)  so the recteq is going to come in handy.

Briskets aren’t too hard but it takes patience.   I wrap in pink paper. 

I’m sure your brisket was great. Don't over think it, it’s meat and fire.... we’ve been doing it for years. 

Next time you do another brisket, try rendering some of the fat that is leftover from trimming by cutting it into half-inch cubes in a pot that is oven-safe at low temp. This can happen while the brisket is cooking. When it's time to wrap, strain the rendered fat into a container. Soak a bit of the butcher paper where would you would put the brisket down. Put brisket down and coat it in tallow, then wrap. You don't want to put too much as it will ruin the bark.

Ok, fine. You guys are such a bad influence. I’ll be up past midnight. 1 turkey, 5 chickens and two corned beef briskets left over from st Patrick’s day sale.

whoa whoa ,not you guys .you know better counselor.your an adult.you made a decision. you`ll just have to stay up and drink good beer.live with your choices.

Pastrami just finished steaming in oven.  Turkey stuck at 140° last hour, will check in a bit.  No beers were harmed tonight.

I was too drunk to post results last night. After 12 hours, my internal temp was 196 and I couldn't get it any higher for a couple hours even after cranking the heat some more. So I pulled it and put it in the yeti for an hour for a total of 13 hours of cook time (if you count the resting in the cooler, which I think I do.)

It came out marvelous. I was spritzing with ACV + Water every 30-60 mins and the bark was sensational. I still have a lot to learn about maintaining a fire in one of these smokers--holy sh*t that was a lot of work--and I might make some slight modifications.

Anyway, made homemade baked beans, bbq sauce, and slaw for a downright amazing dinner. I couldnt be happier. Although my beard and basically everything I own smell like smoke this morning. Definitely worth it. Thanks for the good thread! And I'm stoked to inspire some of you to give it a shot!

Ok, fine. You guys are such a bad influence. I’ll be up past midnight. 1 turkey, 5 chickens and two corned beef briskets left over from st Patrick’s day sale.

whoa whoa ,not you guys .you know better counselor.your an adult.you made a decision. you`ll just have to stay up and drink good beer.live with your choices.

Pastrami just finished steaming in oven.  Turkey stuck at 140° last hour, will check in a bit.  No beers were harmed tonight.

Haha I love it! You were up late! Post results!

Although my beard and basically everything I own smell like smoke this morning.

Your next few showers will reconstitute the smoke smell in your nostrils and you'll be getting hungry for leftovers in the shower. 

Ok, fine. You guys are such a bad influence. I’ll be up past midnight. 1 turkey, 5 chickens and two corned beef briskets left over from st Patrick’s day sale.

whoa whoa ,not you guys .you know better counselor.your an adult.you made a decision. you`ll just have to stay up and drink good beer.live with your choices.

Pastrami just finished steaming in oven.  Turkey stuck at 140° last hour, will check in a bit.  No beers were harmed tonight.

Haha I love it! You were up late! Post results!

Finished resting, foil wrapped and in the fridge at 3am. I didn’t snap any pics but I’ll take a photo of the pastrami sandwich I had for lunch.

Your brisket looks perfect. Bark, ring, and I can actually smell the smoke through the photograph. Or maybe that’s from my clothes in the laundry?  Nah, pretty shure it’s your fantastic looking brisket. Solid work!

fat side up and let it baste itself. 8 hours seems like enough time. Or you can "cheat," get it off in about six hours. Wrap it in foil and put it back in the smoker or put it in the over at 350 for an hour and a half and the meat will be real tender.

I definitely ain't no cheater. Got my paper ready for the stall. Fat side up all day!

Nothing wrong with cheating   Marv and I were messing around with his smoker when he first got it.  He did one the way he usually does but I took mine out, wrapped it and cooked to temp in the oven at 250.  taste test showed it was very similar. 

I was too drunk to post results last night. After 12 hours, my internal temp was 196 and I couldn't get it any higher for a couple hours even after cranking the heat some more. So I pulled it and put it in the yeti for an hour for a total of 13 hours of cook time (if you count the resting in the cooler, which I think I do.)

It came out marvelous. I was spritzing with ACV + Water every 30-60 mins and the bark was sensational. I still have a lot to learn about maintaining a fire in one of these smokers--holy sh*t that was a lot of work--and I might make some slight modifications.

Anyway, made homemade baked beans, bbq sauce, and slaw for a downright amazing dinner. I couldnt be happier. Although my beard and basically everything I own smell like smoke this morning. Definitely worth it. Thanks for the good thread! And I'm stoked to inspire some of you to give it a shot!

That looks absolutely amazing. Great smoke ring and dark bark!!

 Sure looks like you have smoked more than 3 briskets prior.

Nice job !

Alex

Your finished brisket looks great! Good job.
 Thanks for sharing.

Al