[MES 40"] Another "Smoking my first brisket" Thread [w/Q-View]

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boneenterprise

Fire Starter
Original poster
Feb 14, 2011
56
10
Houston, TX
So I have been loving the hell out of my MES 40" I got a few months back and have been making everything from smoked ribs, chicken, baked beans, corn, chicken wings, quesadillas, stuffed roma tomatoes, stuffed bell peppers, mac n' cheese, cabbage, cheese, etc.

Now it is time for my first brisket, it will be a 10.22 LB hunk o' meat, have it thawing right now as it was in the freezer (we have been buying up briskets as we can when they go on sale for my brothers wedding in 2 months or so and freezing them), I decided it was time to steal one and cook it up this weekend.

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The Victim.

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Brisket before trimming.

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Brisket after trimming, cut a little more off than I wanted, but all will be good.

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Raw trimmings.

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Trimmings with rub.

Once it gets ready to get out of its package, I will be slathering it with Dijon Mustard, a little extra virgin olive oil, and then covering it with some good ol' dry rub, wrapping it in saran wrap then putting it in the fridge to sit overnight until it meets its fate in the smoker, then later on sometime Sunday...my plate.

Plan on doing a "dry" run this time, then maybe marinade it the next time I do it, unless it is just damn good this way and makes me think otherwise.

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All rubbed down.

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Ready for wrapping.

Currently I do not have any "extra" thermometers other than the built in probe in the MES 40, and some old analog meat thermometers I have in the house, however I plan on pre-heating the smoker to 220°F, lighting up my AMNS and throwing it and the brisket on, getting the brisket up to 165~170°F internal temp, foiling it up with some sort of juice, beer, or some other liquid (bourbon and apple juice?), putting it back in the smoker and let it sit until it gets to 190°F internal temp and removing it from the foil, then back in the smoker until it reaches 205°F internal temp.

From what I have been reading, this guy needs to cook for around 15.5 hours (10.22 LB) if I go with the whole 1.5hr / lb time of measure, does that sound about right for one this size? Need to figure what time Saturday night to start all this, thinking about 9~10 P.M., so it can be ready by around 2 P.M. (giving time for heat loss while wrapping/unwrapping/etc), then let it have its resting time until 3 P.M., so it can be ready to cut and serve.

Also during cooking should I flip this guy any? (I do plan on throwing the extra fat from cutting on the upper rack so it can drip down on the brisket itself, and I do plan on having a pan to catch drippings)

Got any other advice let me know, otherwise stay tuned for more!

*UPDATED WITH PICTURES*
 
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Every piece of meat is different, but you should have plenty of time allotted in your plans there. I don't flip mine. Otherwise, I cook mine just like you plan to do. Should be a great smoke!

At 205* it will probably fall apart or "pull". If you want to slice, stop around 190/5* (I prefer pulled myself).

Post is some more pix of your results!
 
Sounds good, looking forward to how it turns out and some final pics!

No reason to throw smoke at it the first hour or so, at this stage the raw meat will not take in any smoke till at least an hour of drying time. You will not hurt anything doing this, just thought I would mention it to save some smoke if you like and for the knowledge of knowing...

After this smoke I'm guessing you will get a remote thermometer with alarms, it is great for taking naps during long smokes!
 
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Sounds good, looking forward to how it turns out and some final pics!

No reason to throw smoke at it the first hour or so, at this stage the raw meat will not take in any smoke till at least an hour of drying time. You will not hurt anything doing this, just thought I would mention it to save some smoke if you like and for the knowledge of knowing...

After this smoke I'm guessing you will get a remote thermometer with alarms, it is great for taking naps during long smokes!


Yeah that is in my plans, going to get a Maverick off of Amazon sometime soon.

Now I am wondering what else I want to put in while smoking the brisket, already know a few cigars will be smoked in this time frame. 
 
Sounds like you have everything covered. I always put a few ABT's in to snack on, while I'm waiting for the brisket. Good luck!
 
Looks good and enjoy the process. Yea, a Maverick makes for some restful moments for sure.  I'm sickened by the price of that beef - here it's sooooo much more I havent done a brisket since moving.  

Looking forward to the finished qview

John
 
Looks good and enjoy the process. Yea, a Maverick makes for some restful moments for sure.  I'm sickened by the price of that beef - here it's sooooo much more I havent done a brisket since moving.  

Looking forward to the finished qview

John


Got to love Texas beef pricing. =)
 
Me too, however just got it out of the fridge to begin its room temp warm-up process so things do not look much diffrent than before wrapping.
 
So got started around 21:40 or so:

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Brisket on, smaller drip pan than intended but all I had around.

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After I got the meat on the smoker I got a craving for some ABT's (damn you Al!) so went to the store, and got the fixings for them.

(Rib Rub to be mixed with cream cheese and the minced garlic, then put into the jalapeno boats, lil' smokies on top then wrapped in bacon)

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Assembled and ready to go on the smoker.

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ABT's on and also threw the fat on the rack above the brisket at this time as well, guess I will have some tasty green snacks soon!

Now to wait till my ABT's get done so I can eat some, then by that time will be ready to probe the brisket to get its temp and then wait for foiling, everything is looking good already and it is far from done.
 
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Hrmm, looks like I will be going to sit outside at 02:05 the local P.D. just stopped by my house to let me know that there was just a reported theft in the neighborhood, time to grab me a cigar and a chair and sit in the garage, and clean my guns, they need to be anyhow, heh.
 
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So just got the brisket juiced, wrapped, and put back in the smoker, here is what it looks like thus far:

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Used my cheapest bourbon, and then some apple juice, around 6~7oz combined.

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Fresh off the smoker, internal temp 160° F, think I have another 6~7 hours left.

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This guy kept me company for around 2hrs, been aging for about 4 years, was delicious.

Now the waiting game until I hit 190°F, remove it from its foil and then let it ride until 205°F.
 
10:50..time to un-foil, we are almost there:

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Ehh...close enough.

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I want to eat you right now, but alas I must wait, back to the smoker with ye!

The slow race to 205°F continues, might ramp the heat up just a little as it was stalling to get to 190°F with where I had it, going to let it ride for another 2~2.5hrs take it out, lightly wrap it up with foil, and let it sit for 30mins or so, then break out the blades on this piece of meat.

Guess I should start thinking what the hell else I want to go with this, should have thought about that yesterday.
 
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10:50..time to un-foil, we are almost there:

Ehh...close enough.

I want to eat you right now, but alas I must wait, back to the smoker with ye!

The slow race to 205°F continues, might ramp the heat up just a little as it was stalling to get to 190°F with where I had it, going to let it ride for another 2~2.5hrs take it out, lightly wrap it up with foil, and let it sit for 30mins or so, then break out the blades on this piece of meat.

Guess I should start thinking what the hell else I want to go with this, should have thought about that yesterday.


It looks better every time I see it !!!

One thing I have to warn you about---When slicing, be careful not to cut your tongue----It could be hanging in the way!!!

Don't worry about mine---It is about 1,800 miles away.

Bear
 
So final update, got side tracked with yard work and such, then finally hit that brick wall of no sleep, crashed out till Monday morn, went to work, etc, etc......enough with that here is what you came back for:

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All done, time to pull you off.

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Time for you to go rest a bit, you have been at it for a while now.

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The rest is over, and here is the results.

No plate pictures as I did not even eat any of this until tonight, I did notice some pieces were a small bit dry, but I should have guess this was going to happen, as mentioned by my trimming pictures I did cut off more fat than I wanted, but oh well.

While this was tasty, it did not have the flavor I was wanting out of it (though I am hard on myself about my cooking), will have alter something in my process, just have to think of what I want to change.

This was smoked with multiple 6x8 AMNS loads lit at both ends, I chose cherry and hickory for this run, and mixed in some pecan on some of the loads.

So until next time, here are some random bonus pictures:

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A few of my toys.

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A batch of ribs I did a while back.

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Previously mentioned ribs, and some baked beans.

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A batch of cheese.

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And another.

Hope you enjoyed, good day.
 
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