Brisket help for a first-timer

Briskets get done on their own schedule & usually take 12+ hrs to smoke. Of coarse depending on the cut ( I usually do packers) ! Packers mean the whole brisket, now ya may find like I do in my butcher shop sometimes they offer for example the flat or point parts of the brisket.... There are two parts to a brisket, the flat & the point.... I sometimes try to change things up a bit and will get a variety in sizes, but I for the most part stick with the packers !

Now the prep ! Now a lot of folks trim the fat cap.... to each their own but I personally trim up the loose stuff if there is any but do not trim off the fat cap.... I leave it on ! Now the rest of the prep, I rub down with plain yellow mustard or EVOO or Peanut Oil (I do this with a lot of my smoked meats as it IMHO creates a great barrier to help with keeping in moisture... Things that are gonna smoke for a while & it gives a great base to apply rub and the mustard or EVOO or Peanut Oil does not affect how the meats turn out, ya can't even taste it..). So after that I apply the rub or half the time I just use salt, pepper and a little onion powder and garlic salt.... Then let sit for half hour or so....

Smoker ! I let it heat up to 225*-235* while gettin the prep done, then put er on for a long smokey nap !! I put the brisket with the fat cap up as IMHO, as it smokes the fat cap so to speak self bastes the brisket...I don't spritz or foil, I just let er go til approx. IT of around 198*, I will start checking for tenderness, i.e. the toothpick test.... Now each brisket is different, I've had some done at 198* IT and some go til 205*+ IT !! The toothpick test means ya just get a good round toothpick and if it slides into the brisket easily, like butter then she's done.... Pull off smoker, wrap in foil & a couple towels & off to the cooler for a few hours to rest so the juices will redistribute throughout the meat... I just use my camping cooler !!

This is just my method I usually use !

Hope this helps some !

Couple pics of the last brisket smoke using this method !

Bert,

Like Water said, time will depend on the cut of the brisket.    Generally speaking, a flat will cook faster than a full packer.  It's not about the weight, but rather, the thickness of the particular piece of meat.

Water's advice is spot on (as it always is).  One thing that I'd add is to warn you about "the stall".   The internal temp of your brisket will rise steadily after putting it in the smoker.   Somewhere around 150 degrees or so, it might hit a wall and the temp will STOP climbing.  The temp might even drop a little.   You'll swear that something must be wrong, that your thermometer must be broken, or that you are probing the brisket incorrectly. 

What is actually happening is that the brisket will be undergoing something called evaporative cooling.  Basically, the brisket is sweating which cools it down.     There's three ways to deal with the stall.    First way is to shrug it off, open another beer and just give it time.  The temp will start increasing again at some point.   Second method is to wrap the brisket tightly in some foil and put it back on the smoker.   Third option is to crank the temp up on your smoker (if you can) and power through the stall.    One other thing to point out is that while the brisket is wrapped in foil you can put it your oven if you want/need to.

One downside of foiling is that it makes the bark of the brisket much softer. 

Demosthenes9 said:

Bert,

Like Water said, time will depend on the cut of the brisket.    Generally speaking, a flat will cook faster than a full packer.  It's not about the weight, but rather, the thickness of the particular piece of meat.

Water's advice is spot on (as it always is).  One thing that I'd add is to warn you about "the stall".   The internal temp of your brisket will rise steadily after putting it in the smoker.   Somewhere around 150 degrees or so, it might hit a wall and the temp will STOP climbing.  The temp might even drop a little.   You'll swear that something must be wrong, that your thermometer must be broken, or that you are probing the brisket incorrectly. 

What is actually happening is that the brisket will be undergoing something called evaporative cooling.  Basically, the brisket is sweating which cools it down.     There's three ways to deal with the stall.    First way is to shrug it off, open another beer and just give it time.  The temp will start increasing again at some point.   Second method is to wrap the brisket tightly in some foil and put it back on the smoker.   Third option is to crank the temp up on your smoker (if you can) and power through the stall.    One other thing to point out is that while the brisket is wrapped in foil you can put it your oven if you want/need to.

One downside of foiling is that it makes the bark of the brisket much softer. 

Click to expand...

Demos makes a great point on the infamous stall.... Real good point... Out of the three ways to cope, :cheers: IMHO, that's the one I'd opt for !

  Hi Bert  I would not wait till it comes to" room temp" as this will have the meat in the food safety zone for too long. Set the meat out, rinse, and pat dry. Go set up smoker then prep with your rub. Or , have meat pre-rubbed, put on counter, then get smoker ready. So starting about 1/2 hour before putting on smoker. Hope this helps.

   Mike

Bert,

SMS had some great advise there for ya ! Usually with brisket I would say estimate an hour and fifteen min. per # at between 225-230* ! However, each piece of meat (brisket, pork butts, etc) have a mind of their own.... Some get done sooner & some later ! That's the best I can tell ya with my experience... Hope it helps ! IMHO, if ya don't have one yet.... get a Maverick ET-732 thermometer & ya can get a little shut eye as ya can set an alarm at a specific I.T.

Justin