Would you smoke this Brisket??

How did it turn out ?

sorry, i'm a little late noticing this thread, but agree with many of the other suggestions. for future reference i do have one other suggestion as well -

i have found that if you add a little fat in the form of melted butter or oil to a mop and apply at some interval, such as once an hour or when adding wood etc., you will get a result that is comparable to having a fat cap and also be able to have good smoke penetration and a nice bark. since chances are you're going to be spritzing or something anyway, this doesn't hurt anything, especially if done when adding wood or charcoal, whichever you use.

 i recently smoked a brisket on labour day that was trimmed very similarly to the ones pictured above, except it was bigger. using an oil-based mop, i had no troubles at all. i also marinated the brisket, which added some moisture and decreased cooking time. i prefer olive oil added to my favourite mop, but have used melted butter for brisket with very good results. one in particular was simply a 50/50 mix of melted butter and a good beer. that one turned out very well.

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sorry, forgot the q-view - here we are on labour day with a flat that was trimmed until it had no fat cap at all. it tasted very good and was from our own beef, but i don't think that the guy who processed it understood that we wanted a fat cap. will specify next time. anyway, here it is on the SnP, about halfway done, using the oil-based mop as described above:



note taht the oil-based mop allows it to retain plenty of moisture and also get a good maillard effect going on as it browns. the thing about a fat cap is that it bastes the meat as it melts - same principle here.

this particular brisket was cut up into burnt ends, and i must say, they looked pretty good to me.

before, right off the SnP:



cutting up:



and swimming in sauce (probably a little too much sauce):



sure looks good on a plate, though....



flavour and "smokiness" was very, very good, and there was a nice, crispy-shewy bark that turned out very well. my only mistake here was that it didn't spend enough time on the grate or brasing in the sauce, and so consequently, it was a little tough, but this was due to my inadequate cooking time, not the oil-based mopping that i used.

anyway, as i said, it is another option that is easy and inexpensive with no complications - simply add a little oil of your choice or melted butter to your favourite mop or spritz. brushing it on would work better than spraying, and be sure to blend or otherwise mix the mop well right before using, in case the oil separates out.

Yes I would.. looks like it came out awesome

graphicsman said:

how can you tell where the direction of the grain is going??  I know this may sound like a dumb question to some but i want to make sure to do this right.

Click to expand...

I put tooth picks along the grain so I can tell after its cooked. Also, its kind of interesting to see how much a piece of meat/the grain will warp and twist after a good long smoke....