3 hours into my 1st brisket

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patg

Meat Mopper
Original poster
Sep 14, 2014
196
17
Chicago, Il
Well my second smoke ever is a 5lb or so brisket. 3 hrs in and i think so far so good. I am using pecan wood chips and a little rub i had to whip up quick. Lightly coated with mustard and rub and into the smoker she went. No pics yet sorry. Will be doing a temp check in a few so I will take one then. When will the bark start to form? At 2 hrs it looked pretty close to when it went in with an IT of about 150. At 2 hrs filled water pan with a beer. Wish me luck
 
For your first time I suggest leave it that way. After you get to enjoy it if the flavor is enough you'll be happy if you want more add more the next smoke just keep a journal to remember what does and doesn't work.
 
It was everything I hoped it would be. I would tweak a bit by foiling. For some reason the IT was only 180ish and it was well done and rather dry. I chalk it up to not being able to go to sleep because everyone was ready to turn to canabalism. But trying different things is what we do this for right? My quick rub actually turned out rather good maybe a little less salt. All in all i am pleased and now full :)
 
Looks great, sorry to hear it was dry but like you said trying different things! Did it have the smoke flavor you hoped for?
 
Thanks. The smoke was just right, so thank you for that call. I think my rack placement was not quite right. Gotta start somewhere though. I started closer to the bottom of the smoker next time I will go upper middle. My rub actually worked out too which was a happy surprise. And now I have smoked brisket for chili :)
 
Thanks. The smoke was just right, so thank you for that call. I think my rack placement was not quite right. Gotta start somewhere though. I started closer to the bottom of the smoker next time I will go upper middle. My rub actually worked out too which was a happy surprise. And now I have smoked brisket for chili :)
It's going to sound strange as it's counter-intuitive, but your brisket was dry because you didn't cook it long enough.  The connective tissues between the muscle fibers didn't have a chance to break down, which leads to a dry and somewhat rubbery brisket.

Instead of relying on how it looks on the outside, or what the internal temp is, poke the brisket in the thickest part of the flat with a toothpick, probe, skewer etc and when it goes in and out with little to no resistance, the brisket is ready.
 
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  Also check your IT probe.  One of 2 things happened IMHO, it would not have passed the poke test OR that brisket was WAY over 180 IT.  The poke test is the best test for brisket.  Brisket can be funny.  you can cook 3 different 10lb briskets in the same smoker and they can reach "doneness" hours apart.  All in all, GREAT first attempt.  Can only get better from here.  Keep Smokin!


Danny
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys no doubt I do need a better temp system as a whole, unfortunately I have to wait on that. So for now I will have to do my best and rely on the poke test. There's top notch restaurants that can't make a good brisket so I would consider this a relative victory for the first time.
 
Pat,

About the dry brisket, how long did you let it rest and how was it done? I find wrapping mine in foil then a towel and sticking it in a cooler for at least an hour really helps keep it moist and tender.

Scott
 
The resting process for sure was no where what it should have been. I was pressured to get dinner on the table by my wife so it was foiled and let sit for half an hour. I really feel as though it did not smoke as long as it should have. I did a similar size pork shoulder and it took 15.5 hrs. I am also getting use to my smoker. Thanks for your input though I am going to definitely follow that method next time. Thanks Scott.
 
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