Brisket recipe

Good luck Doug...and be sure to post up some qview so we can admire your skills! Opinions will vary on the best way to do a brisket...I generally keep my brisket smokes pretty simple. Salt and pepper, some garlic and/or onion powder...then smoke @ around 250* until the IT reaches 160* or so, then foil-cover it until tender - usually somewhere around 200* IT. Maybe the best advice is to allow for an hour or more rest time once its done. When I can do this its always more tender and juicy.

Good luck!
Red

Doug , as Red said , you'll get a lot of ways to prepare your Brisket.

I tend to agree with Red and a lot of others here , Sea Salt / Cracked Black Pepper / Onion Powder / and Garlic Powder , simple . Do this liberally !

Now the changes , I only suggest a different method of cooking . This is for the hard core Bark fans...I heat my Smoker to 225*F (actually 250*F to start , the meat will pull the temp. down  25*F , at least , and you already have a jump on it...).

I take the Brisky to the Smoker and insert it in my place of choice to cook and shut the lid for 1 hour , then open , Probe and shut the lid again and LEAVE IT SHUT until my (calibrated) Maverick says 190*F nd do a toothpick check and if tender to my specifications , wrap in foil and placed in a cooler to rest .

I get good Bark , nice looking hunk of meat and juicy as can be...

 Tender...juicy and...

 Tender , here the Point just fell off...

Have fun and . . .

I agree with the others, keep it simple then go from there.  I prefer equal parts (5 tbsp of each) coarse Kosher salt, brown sugar and black pepper (your choice of either coarse or fine, I use table grind), from there you can add 2 tbsp each of garlic powder and onion powder, then a little (2 tsp each) cayenne, paprika and chili powder to give it a little kick at the end.  I make my rub up the day before, then I'll run this mixture through a Ninja or a spice grinder the next day to blend the spices and break up any clumping from the brown sugar.  Season it heavy, very liberally, this is a big cut of beef.

Personally I have never had a brisket finish to fork or probe tender at 190 IT, but it's a good benchmark to start checking the flat section for doneness with a toothpick every 5 degrees after (195, 200, 205, 210)  I pull most of my competition briskets at 210 or above, and yes it is fall apart tender, but that is the way I like it.  Give it a good 2 hour rest in a cooler or at the very least on a counter covered with towels.  For optimum moisture retention, it's best to not slice the brisket until it's IT has dropped below 170.  This is why the rest is so important, the muscles need the time to relax after being under pressure from the heat for so many hours, allowing the moisture that is towards the outer surface to move back towards the center of the piece of meat.    

Best of luck and happy smoking, but most of all have plenty of patience with the brisket, try to not have a timeline with it!  it's done, when it's done!  

I agree with all of the above methods. I like to have a drip pan under it to catch the drippings.



Happy smoken.

David

Thank you for directions. I am about to try my first brisket in the smoker. I found this site because I was having difficulty with the temperature. The general feel is that it is hard to keep it high enough while I am having difficulty keeping mine low. I have a Masterbuilt propane unit. I openned all the vents and left the door ajar to prevent the charcoal I produced the first time. Do you have any recommendations for future escapades? Also people here have mentioned TQ, cure #1 and other preservatives, I cannot find these products in Canada. With all the salt are these items necessary? I would appreciate any assistance as I am tired of ruining all this meat.

Aura said:

 
Thank you for directions. I am about to try my first brisket in the smoker. I found this site because I was having difficulty with the temperature. The general feel is that it is hard to keep it high enough while I am having difficulty keeping mine low. I have a Masterbuilt propane unit. I openned all the vents and left the door ajar to prevent the charcoal I produced the first time. Do you have any recommendations for future escapades? Also people here have mentioned TQ, cure #1 and other preservatives, I cannot find these products in Canada. With all the salt are these items necessary? I would appreciate any assistance as I am tired of ruining all this meat.

Click to expand...

You might need a needle valve on you propane bottle to be able to turn the flow low enough.

You can get Cure#1 online. I buy mine on Amazon. 

This sounds like very good advice and I will follow through on the valve needle as well as Amazon for the cure stuff. Thank you for the help.