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needsmetidaho

Fire Starter
Original poster
Dec 17, 2011
57
10
Boise, idaho
I have been smoking meat for years. I am from Texas. I think if you from Texas and dont love grilling and smoking your meats, something is seriously wrong with you.

I love to smoke Turkey, Chicken, Brisket, but in the past few years, things seem to have changed. Maybe its because of new methods and new equiptment. Maybe its because we are all so connected now with the internet. Before, the internet, if you wanted to know something about smoking, you asked someone in your local store or a friend.

Now with the coming on the scene of the internet, we have folks from all over the US and even the world. Everyone seems to have their own favorite meathod for smoking. It seems that now, we are back to the drawing board because of all these different styles, tastes, etc...
  • To brine, or not to brine
  • Dry rub or web rub
  • To use a water pan in the smoker or not
  • To use sauce or no sauce
  • Smoky sauce or a sweet cause
  • To use Misquite, Hickory, Chery etc...
and on and on.

It all makes my brain hurt. I live in Idaho now. I moved up here to marry my wife. When I came, I brought Texas with me. (Sounds like that line from Wyatt Earp or maybe it was one of the off shoots of it. "Tell em Im coming, and Im bringing hell with me")

Anyway, My in-laws are all Yankees. I am slowly turning them into Southerners. (Resistance is futile) For Christmas dinner this year, like every year now, I smoke a Brisket. We are also having Fried Okra this year.

I dont have a real smoker. I have a grill that I can use as a smoker by shoving all the coals to one side and putting on wood. I dont use a water pan. In the past, I have brined the brisket after trimming just about every bit of fat off it that I can (We dont like a fatty meat. Nice and lean for us)

I smoke it at around 200 (if I can win the it the temp war. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose) for 8 to 10 hours depending on how big the brisket is. But I have lots of people to feed, so generally, it will take around 15 pounds or so.My brisket comes out good, but its rather dry.I take it off the smoker when it reaches about 170 or so.

I have not used a rub in the past. But Im very much considering it this year instead of brining. When I smoke turkeys, I inject butter and lots of spice. They come out tender and moist. Anyone else tried injecting a Brisket?

I have used Hickory in the past, but Im thinking about Cherry wood this year. Though fruit woods are hard to come by up here.

This year, Im open to going back to school on smoking to learn how to get the brisket tasting even better. I would love for it to come out more tender, but not fatty and of course full of smoky flavor.

I am open to suggestions and ideas.

Phillip
 
It sounds like you are doing most everything right except your taking the brisket off too soon. We take them to 205 internal temp. Most of the guys on here foil the brisket at 165 with some kind of liquid. Dark beer, apple juice, beef broth, it really doesn't matter what you use. The meat will steam in the foil & get real tender. When it hits 200-205 or when you can put a toothpick in it & you have no resistance then it's done. It will be tender & juicy. Save the juice in the foil & pour it over the sliced brisket.
 
It sounds like you are doing most everything right except your taking the brisket off too soon. We take them to 205 internal temp. Most of the guys on here foil the brisket at 165 with some kind of liquid. Dark beer, apple juice, beef broth, it really doesn't matter what you use. The meat will steam in the foil & get real tender. When it hits 200-205 or when you can put a toothpick in it & you have no resistance then it's done. It will be tender & juicy. Save the juice in the foil & pour it over the sliced brisket.


EXCELLENT advice there. AL knows his stuff, and turns out some very good Q, never tasted but I know good Q when I see it. Follow Al's advice and you cant go wrong. 
 
I agree with Al for the most part.  I do inject mine with beef broth and my rub mixed in the broth.  I foil between 155-165 F with more broth or applejuice added and take to 190-193 F to slice and 205F to pull.  Always moist and don't forget to save the juice.
 
:yeahthat:

but I will also add that you say you trim off ALL the fat before smoking... You should leave about 1/4' of the fat cap on so that it will render down into the meat and keep it juicy as well... when you get ready to slice it just cut the rest of the fat off then
 
Yea, your first step in my opinion is not being so aggressive trimming the brisket.  Quarter inch is good advice.  Many of us will not trim any of the fat cap, doing a tight trim before serving.  Injecting will help but the flavor of a little fat is special.

Do yourself a favor and ask Santa for a smoker.  Even a small ECB   (el cheapo brinkman) for under 60 bucks is a good addition to your arsenal.  The indirect heat goes a long way to helping you keep your cooking temps in the 220 - 240 range.  The water tray can be filled with any type of liquid or even clean, damp sand.  This solves two problems, adds moisture to the smoke and provides a heat sink that will stabilize cooking temperatures

Good Luck,  Welcome to the forum.  Lots on nice people here wanting to help out!
 
From my experience, Fat = Flavor, It may not always be the healthiest way to think about it, but it is a proven fact. Leaving the fat on and trimming it off before serving is the best way to go.....
drool.gif
 
Thanks a lot everyone for the advice. Foil at 165 or so sounds interesting. My mom used to foil after a couple hours of smoke. My thought was that if I left it in full smoke the whole time, the flavor would be better. But I like the idea of foiling it. I will certainly try that this year.

I was begenning to wonder if anyone had replied to my post. I thought the system said that I would get emails when people replied. Maybe its broken or I have something set wrong. I will have to check that out.

I will chime in at the roll call. Thanks for the suggestion. I love to smoke and grill. So its a wonderful idea to make myself known here. One day, if I get the money, I would love to open up a little smokehouse restaurant. Been a dream of mine for a long long time.

Back to the Foiling around 165. It was suggested to put in Apple Juice or something. Do you put that right inside the foil? It would seem to me that putting it in the foil would be tricky as it would tend to drip out or burn off.

And most folks leave it till its closer to 205 or so? Thats also very interesting. The reason why I have not done that in the past is that I assumed that it would only get tougher leaving it in longer. But It sounds like you guys know what you are talking about. Thanks for the advice. I really apprecaite that.

Leaving a bit of fat on sounds like probably a good idea too. I will try that this year. Perhaps I will get 2 briskets and cook one my old way and one that new way and see how it goes. Might be a fun test.

I would love to get a real smoker. Ive had my eye on one that I can put behind my Expedition and toe around so I can BBQ at events and such. Maybe I could call my mobil smoking restaurant 'Have Smoke Will Travel"

Good to meet you all.
 
Thanks a lot everyone for the advice. Foil at 165 or so sounds interesting. My mom used to foil after a couple hours of smoke. My thought was that if I left it in full smoke the whole time, the flavor would be better. But I like the idea of foiling it. I will certainly try that this year.

I was begenning to wonder if anyone had replied to my post. I thought the system said that I would get emails when people replied. Maybe its broken or I have something set wrong. I will have to check that out.

I will chime in at the roll call. Thanks for the suggestion. I love to smoke and grill. So its a wonderful idea to make myself known here. One day, if I get the money, I would love to open up a little smokehouse restaurant. Been a dream of mine for a long long time.

Back to the Foiling around 165. It was suggested to put in Apple Juice or something. Do you put that right inside the foil? It would seem to me that putting it in the foil would be tricky as it would tend to drip out or burn off. Make the foil so it forms a bowl like... Double foil is better... pour the apple juice right in the foil and then wrap it up.. put another double foil over the top and wrap around underneath... be sure not to turn it over as the juice will then run out... be careful with it as to not puncture it..

And most folks leave it till its closer to 205 or so? Thats also very interesting. The reason why I have not done that in the past is that I assumed that it would only get tougher leaving it in longer. But It sounds like you guys know what you are talking about. Thanks for the advice. I really apprecaite that. 205 for pulling... 190 or so for slicing

Leaving a bit of fat on sounds like probably a good idea too. I will try that this year. Perhaps I will get 2 briskets and cook one my old way and one that new way and see how it goes. Might be a fun test. Yes.. leave some fat on the cap and put it on smoker fat side up

I would love to get a real smoker. Ive had my eye on one that I can put behind my Expedition and toe around so I can BBQ at events and such. Maybe I could call my mobil smoking restaurant 'Have Smoke Will Travel"

Good to meet you all.
 
Thanks a lot everyone for the advice. Foil at 165 or so sounds interesting. My mom used to foil after a couple hours of smoke. My thought was that if I left it in full smoke the whole time, the flavor would be better. But I like the idea of foiling it. I will certainly try that this year.  Don't forget to foil with liquid

I was begenning to wonder if anyone had replied to my post. I thought the system said that I would get emails when people replied. Maybe its broken or I have something set wrong. I will have to check that out.  Go to subscriptions and set for immediate notification,  need to subscribe to the thread.  If done properly this will send you an email when you get replies,  I think!

I will chime in at the roll call. Thanks for the suggestion. I love to smoke and grill. So its a wonderful idea to make myself known here. One day, if I get the money, I would love to open up a little smokehouse restaurant. Been a dream of mine for a long long time.  Everybodies dream on this site but ALOT OF WORK hehe

Back to the Foiling around 165. It was suggested to put in Apple Juice or something. Do you put that right inside the foil? It would seem to me that putting it in the foil would be tricky as it would tend to drip out or burn off.  Use heavy duty foil,  use enough of it and fold the top on itself to seal the seams very well.  Or you can just put in a baking pan and seal the top with foil.. Both methods work for me and the baking pan keeps the foil from ripping on the grates or in the oven

And most folks leave it till its closer to 205 or so? Thats also very interesting. The reason why I have not done that in the past is that I assumed that it would only get tougher leaving it in longer. But It sounds like you guys know what you are talking about. Thanks for the advice. I really apprecaite that.  Only if it has sufficient moisture

Leaving a bit of fat on sounds like probably a good idea too. I will try that this year. Perhaps I will get 2 briskets and cook one my old way and one that new way and see how it goes. Might be a fun test.

I would love to get a real smoker. Ive had my eye on one that I can put behind my Expedition and toe around so I can BBQ at events and such. Maybe I could call my mobil smoking restaurant 'Have Smoke Will Travel"  HeHE  or Bumper Butts?

Good to meet you all.
 
Thanks a lot for the suggestions. My hope is that this years brisket will be the best ever. I will take pics and post them. This seems to be a common thing around here.

I like the idea of getting a foil baking pan and coming it with foil. I have some questions on this though.

Do yall submerge the brisket in the liquid?

If so, do you submerge completely or partially?

How much liquid do yall use?

Or are yall talking about putting the liquid underneath the brisket somehow but not actually submerging the meat in it.

Dazed and Confused in Idaho
 
Just enough that there is moisture trapped in the foil.  The heat will drive the moisture into the meat.  1/2 to 1 cup in a foil pan works out about right.  You can always add more if you have to.
 
I am from Texas originally. Fort Worth to be more specific. But I live in Yankee land now. I moved here about 8 years ago to get married. hmm, maybe I should not say yankee land so loud. No offense met to any of you yankees on here.

:)
 
I am from Texas originally. Fort Worth to be more specific. But I live in Yankee land now. I moved here about 8 years ago to get married. hmm, maybe I should not say yankee land so loud. No offense met to any of you yankees on here.

:)
If ya did a little history search you will find all Americans are Yankees.

 Craig
 
 
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