I would describe my first attempt at brisket as "ok". The flavor was there for the most part but it didn't have the moisture I was hoping for. But being the perfectionist I tend to be, that wasn't enough. Life is too short for "ok" brisket. So with one brisket under my belt, I started reading up on here and in various cookbooks to help put together a completely different game plan. Here's what I ended up doing....
The most significant change I made in my procedure was in the very first step. I trimmed very little fat. A couple pieces of hard fat and that's it (I did of course trim whatever membrane I saw on the surface). There is a nice untouched fat cap under there. My decision to do this came from this thread: http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...ood-sliced-brisket-defies-conventional-wisdom
Next I injected it with a simple mixture of beef base, water, worcestershire, and my rub. When I made my injection, I set aside about 1/3 cup for later. Next I coated the entire brisket in rub. I made a change here as well. The first time I did brisket I rubbed it with jalapeno mustard first. Not this time. I didn't notice any difference flavor wise and I think the finished brisket came out looking better than than it did when I used mustard. The first time there were a some cracks in my bark, no biggie but it wasn't as aesthetically pleasing.
I let it sit in the fridge until I got home from the bar at around 3 am (bars are open until 6 am here, if they do close, so technically I went home early...don't judge me), and my girlfriend pointed out that it might be a good time to throw in the brisket. So I set the MES to 220, tossed in the brisket, no water in the pan, loaded it up with some mesquite, then took an alcohol induced coma. Fast forward to about 12:30 pm when I woke up.
To my surprise, it was looking pretty good. From this point, until it hit an IT of 190, I added wood hourly. That was about another 5-6 hours Once it got around 190 I started giving it the trusty toothpick test. Then comes another change I made from the first brisket. No wrapping it in foil and returning it to the cooker this time. Once I felt that the toothpick slid out with minimal resistance I foiled it with that reserved injection from earlier, wrapped it in a towel, and let it rest in an empty ice chest for an hour.
After an hour at the meat spa, here is what emerged.....
I put that baby on the cutting board and it jiggled. That's how moist and tender that darn thing was. I wanted to cry. It was that beautiful. The only thing that would have made it better is if there would have been a nice smoke ring on there, but from what I've read, that's near impossible to achieve with an electric smoker. All in all, I am pretty pleased with the results. I think next time i am going to skip the injection as I don't really think it needs it. Also, I may go a touch lighter on the rub. The first several bites are heavenly, but all that flavor tends to get overwhelming after a while.
**BTW, There will be some liquid in the foil when you unwrap it. DON'T THROW THAT OUT! That stuff is concentrated liquid deliciousness. Pour it in a measuring cup and skim most of the oil off. You can just drizzle it back over all the sliced pieces like I did. Or just drink it, like I wanted to do....
The most significant change I made in my procedure was in the very first step. I trimmed very little fat. A couple pieces of hard fat and that's it (I did of course trim whatever membrane I saw on the surface). There is a nice untouched fat cap under there. My decision to do this came from this thread: http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...ood-sliced-brisket-defies-conventional-wisdom
Next I injected it with a simple mixture of beef base, water, worcestershire, and my rub. When I made my injection, I set aside about 1/3 cup for later. Next I coated the entire brisket in rub. I made a change here as well. The first time I did brisket I rubbed it with jalapeno mustard first. Not this time. I didn't notice any difference flavor wise and I think the finished brisket came out looking better than than it did when I used mustard. The first time there were a some cracks in my bark, no biggie but it wasn't as aesthetically pleasing.
I let it sit in the fridge until I got home from the bar at around 3 am (bars are open until 6 am here, if they do close, so technically I went home early...don't judge me), and my girlfriend pointed out that it might be a good time to throw in the brisket. So I set the MES to 220, tossed in the brisket, no water in the pan, loaded it up with some mesquite, then took an alcohol induced coma. Fast forward to about 12:30 pm when I woke up.
To my surprise, it was looking pretty good. From this point, until it hit an IT of 190, I added wood hourly. That was about another 5-6 hours Once it got around 190 I started giving it the trusty toothpick test. Then comes another change I made from the first brisket. No wrapping it in foil and returning it to the cooker this time. Once I felt that the toothpick slid out with minimal resistance I foiled it with that reserved injection from earlier, wrapped it in a towel, and let it rest in an empty ice chest for an hour.
After an hour at the meat spa, here is what emerged.....
I put that baby on the cutting board and it jiggled. That's how moist and tender that darn thing was. I wanted to cry. It was that beautiful. The only thing that would have made it better is if there would have been a nice smoke ring on there, but from what I've read, that's near impossible to achieve with an electric smoker. All in all, I am pretty pleased with the results. I think next time i am going to skip the injection as I don't really think it needs it. Also, I may go a touch lighter on the rub. The first several bites are heavenly, but all that flavor tends to get overwhelming after a while.
**BTW, There will be some liquid in the foil when you unwrap it. DON'T THROW THAT OUT! That stuff is concentrated liquid deliciousness. Pour it in a measuring cup and skim most of the oil off. You can just drizzle it back over all the sliced pieces like I did. Or just drink it, like I wanted to do....
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