Smoking a Brisket in Texas

bdskelly · Mar 30, 2013

Easter Sunday is always a great time for our family gathering. Easter always seems less hectic than the other holidays and that allows time to visit and do some catching up with family and friends. One of our traditions is to always serve a Honey Baked ham AND a Smoked Brisket.

I'm new here and have been voraciously reading threads on brisket. I'm fascinated by the different methods. More so I'm even more intrigued by they folks that have given up on this fantastic meat or have claimed too difficult to beat into submission. You see, brisket was the first and only meat I had smoked for many years. The noble pork butt was my curiosity. ...That is until I found this wonderful group of folks.

Soooo. This is the way I do it. Clearly there is more than one way to cook this cow. I'll be using my MasterBuilt 40 Window for the cooking.

I'll be starting off with a 14 pound "Packer Cut" untrimmed brisket. I do no trimming what so ever. First, set her out on the counter for a couple hours to get close to room temperature.

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bdskelly
Mar 30, 2013

After this hunk o meat warms up a bit I take it out of the package and only trim any small loose meat or fat. My rub is easy. I use to make my own. Now I just blend one from prepared stuff. The base is my standard rub which I use on all my smoked meats. It's made locally and kind of a general purpose rub. For brisket I add [color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]Comino[/color], Red Pepper flakes, Garlic powder, and just a dash of powdered Taco Seasoning. Trust me on this. All combined you have a great western flavor to the beef.

bdskelly · Mar 30, 2013

By the way. Like my BBQ pan? Government surpluss biscuit pan from Ebay. Cheap...

For brisket I add Comino, Red Pepper flakes, Garlic powder, and just a dash of powdered Taco Seasoning. Again Trust me on this. All combined you have a great western flavor to the beef.

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bdskelly
Mar 30, 2013

bdskelly · Mar 30, 2013

Now some folks like a lot of rub on their meet. I put just enough on so you can still see the beef underneath. I do not brine or inject anything into brisket meat. It just sits there on the counter looking back at me for about another hour as the rub takes hold...

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bdskelly
Mar 30, 2013

bdskelly · Mar 30, 2013

Okay, Heres the Beef! ...Loaded in my early generation MES 40" window model with the wood tay mod and 1200 watt element.

Note the temperature probe? USE IT. A mandatory accessory for both brisket and Pork Butt.

So its now 6pm Saturday night. Easter dinner will be around 4pm Sunday. 14 pounds Im figuring 15 to 18 hours. But I'm going to let the probe tell me when to take it out.

225 Degrees.
Only a handful of hickory chips in the hopper. Bet you thought that being a Texan I was going to use Mesquite. Nope... Hickory.
Close the door and do not open it until I see an internal temp of 180 degrees.
I'll check it at one eighty by sticking a fork in it. If it has the same resistance as soft serve ice cream then take it out.

I'll post more in the morning as we move along.... B

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bdskelly
Mar 30, 2013

oldschoolbbq · Mar 30, 2013

Looks like it will be a good -un . Please show finish and plated

.

I have one frozen waiting for Trish to say I can go out and play

(darn COPD).

We'll be waiting for the finish...

.

Meanwhile be sure to ...

bdskelly · Mar 31, 2013

It's now 8am on Sunday morning. 14 hours at 225 degrees. The internal temperature of this brisket is already at 180. It warmed up faster than expected. BUT when I stuck a fork in the flat area of the meat I still had a bit of resistance. So the beef isn't cooperating with MY idea of the perfect internal temperature. Soooo, we continue the cook until we hit 185 and check it then. When its ready I'll show the next step.

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bdskelly
Mar 31, 2013

seenred · Mar 31, 2013

Lookin' good so far...

jmud · Mar 31, 2013

Watching closely, for I will be doing a brisket for the first time next weekend, along with ribs all on my new reverse flow I built

bdskelly · Mar 31, 2013

Another 2 hours later, the internal temperature moves to 185 degrees and the fork now slips into the flat area of the beef with the same resistance as soft serve ice cream. Total cook time is now 16 hours. Time to pull it out of the MES.

We are now going to double foil wrap this beast along with pouring into the wrap a 50/50 mix of Apple Cider Vinegar and Apple Juice. Use less than a cup! No more than that. This is only an insurance policy that the beef won't dry and to add just a "hint" of apple cider spice. Remember we still have an untrimmed brisket here. There is still lots of fat on this big fella to keep it moist. Too much liquid and the brisket turns mushy. Texture for a good brisket should have just a bit of "pull" or 'snap" when you chomp down on slice. Be back shortly for the next step.... b

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bdskelly
Mar 31, 2013

.

bama bbq · Mar 31, 2013

Originally Posted by BDSkelly

...225 Degrees.

...check it at one eighty by sticking a fork in it. If it has the same resistance as soft serve ice cream then take it out.

I'm like you on brisket -- LOW and SLOW until fork tender. Did an overnighter Fri/Sat for a 17 hr cook. Must the the TX thing -- I grew up in Dallas.

bdskelly · Mar 31, 2013

So now I've double foil wrapped the brisket and added about 3/4 cup of the 50/50 Apple Vinegar / Cider mix. Now I know not everyone has a warming oven. ...A kitchen remodel at the ponderosa and decided to put one in. The wrapped beef goes in the warmer at 180 degrees for a minimum of 2 hours. The ice chest and wrapping with a towel resting method mentioned in other posts works just as well.

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bdskelly
Mar 31, 2013

Before the wrap I cut off just a bit of the large end of the brisket. I chopped the brisket and sliced smoked sausage along with two hot links. These go into a pot of Pintos simmering on the cook top.

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bdskelly
Mar 31, 2013

bdskelly · Mar 31, 2013

After a few hours I take the beef out of the the resting oven or cooler. Leave it on the counter for 30 minutes and it will be ready to slice. Remember that we started off with an untrimmed packer brisket. In raw form, the fat cap on the flat area was about 3/4 of an inch thick. As you can see it has now rendered down to about 1/8 to 1/16 of an inch thick. Perfectly acceptable for table service. You will still need to carve out a bit of fat from the point area.

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bdskelly
Mar 31, 2013

bdskelly · Mar 31, 2013

Finally. Someone requested plating so I'll show that as well. We keep it pretty darn simple. Here in Texas we are very fortunate and enjoy the Mexican culture in many aspects of our day to day lives and food is certainly no exception. Many of you eat brisket sliced on a plate with two sides and sauce. We enjoy ours on a flour tortillia with a relish made from Tomato, Avocado, Onion and White Cheese. .... With a simple side of pinto beans.

Thanks for reading folks. Brian

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bdskelly
Mar 31, 2013

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bdskelly
Mar 31, 2013

bdskelly · Apr 3, 2013

Bama

I live in the Dallas area as well. And you're correct, low and slow is the way we do it. You just can't rush a brisket. I sure like that outdoor cooking area you have. First class! b

chef jimmyj · Apr 3, 2013

Nice! I like the condiments. I spent the Summer of '89 in Arlington, most of August it would hit 110*F in the shade!. Way too hot for a Yankee...JJ

bdskelly · Apr 4, 2013

JJ

We trade triple digit summertime heat for no snow shovels in January. ;)

Smoking a Brisket in Texas

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