First Large Brisket and Beef Ribs

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vetmp

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Dec 20, 2012
93
11
Newburgh (Town), New York
Hey all,

I went to the store today and picked up a full brisket, (Just under 14lbs) and was wondering, how long should I plan on for a cook of something this big? I've never cooked a full size brisket and I want to make sure that I do it justice. I could also use a recipe for a good rub for it. I made a kosher salt, black pepper, garlic rub that I found in Jeff's book but it seemed to have lost all of it's flavor when it is cooked in foil. Anyone have any suggestions? I plan on cooking it tomorrow as well as some beef back ribs (could use advice on those too) so time is of the essence. Thanks y'all.....
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Hi, Michael.

It's always just an estimate, because every piece of meat tends to have a mind of its own, but a rule of thumb is 1.5 to 2 hours per raw pound. 

So for a 14 pounder you could be looking at as long as 25-30 hours.  The key is to use a reliable meat probe to monitor the internal temp.  For a good tender brisket, you want to shoot for an IT of perhaps 180-185*, then test it in several places with a toothpick, and keep testing periodically until the toothpick glides in like into butter.  When it gets that tender, you're there!

As for rubs, I like simple for beef to let the flavor of the meat shine.  SPOG or Montreal Steak seasoning are my favorites.

Good Luck!  Be sure to show and tell us how it turns out!

Red
 
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Good luck vet ! I'm thinking about doing my first brisket very soon also . So yes , be sure to let us know how everything turns out .
 
Vet, make sure you have a dependable thermometer and Calibrate it before the cook , you'll thank me later.

Keep the cooking temp around 225*F for the (estimated time) and watch the Internal meat temp. for an internal of 165*F ( if you are going to wrap in foil) or for more bark, un-wrapped  until 200*F IMT.

THEN wrap in the foil and set in a cooler(wrapped id a towel) to finish and tender more. It can stay there up to 6 hrs. ,(if you need to travel to your Party).

Don't go upping the heat , be patient and let it do it's thing. makes a better Brisket.

You want it to look like this:

 Out of the foil Post rest...

 The point fell off . . .

 but was Goooooooood !!!

Have fun and as always . . .
 
With a bigger cut i would foil at 160-165 because it'll cut down on the time and then because i like a good bark would unwrap at 180 and increase the heat to 275 -300. 
 
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