Brisket - Breaking a cardinal rule?

Stuck in the proverbial stall ...... she's been at 150 for some 2 hours now .....

But, we have the Captain and a great lookin' brunette over seeing things so we are chilled ...

Now 5-plus hours into a stall which peaked @ 155, dropped to 145, and now slowly climbing back to 151.

The Captain is holding steady but my first mate gave up and crawled into bed.

So, I figure it's almost noon in Rio which means I can rationalize a mimosa ...... :-)

Mornin' ..... yeah, well, she finally broke through it after a little over 6 hours.  Dropped to 145 and is now sitting @ 162 and climbing slowly. Actually been sitting @ 162 for 30 min now.  Did a quick toothpick test of the flat.  She actually seems to be making progress.

Promised myself no wrap/foil this time, but I am starting to second guess myself at this point.  But in all candor, the point is about 9 pounds, I have only been at 9 1/2 hours thus far.

Finally broke that long stall and removed at 180 internal for a butcher paper wrap.

Another hour and we should have something.

Getting started on sauce for the burnt ends now (Bourbon, Chipotle, Turbinado, etc.)


Above is the flat after 10.5 hours and 180 internal.


above is  the point after 10 hours and 180 internal.

Good morning ... sorry for the late final post.

Overall, we were given a 9 out of 10 ..... by 6  different sets of neighbors. I will take that!!  Thanks to everyone for their insight  through this little thread and all the others on this site.  They said the only reason it did not get a ten is because I did not provide enough wine!!

With that said, there are a couple of things I will do a bit differently next time, which are:

1. I'll start at 2am instead of 8pm the night before ..... the packer was done in essentially 13 hours but were not scheduled to eat until 2pm so I miss-timed the overall effort. 2am also provides the opportunity for a little sleep before hand which we did not get a wink of ... well, I didn't but my better half got 5 hours.  She got up at sunrise and looked at me and said you look like shit and smell worse! What's wrong ....???? Seriously???   

2. Will probably stick to one choice of wood - we really could not differentiate between the Pecan and Apple, which I alternated for 8 hour of the smoke.  Just personal preference and need to make a choice. 

3. Will remove @ 170 internal and butcher paper wrap instead of 180 and remove @ 190 (same as this time) and then put back into smoker to a 201 internal.  We did not get nearly the Aus Jus using butcher paper (vs foil) but really liked the effect using butcher had on the bark and smoke ring. Hoping a little longer wrap will generate more juice without negative effect on the bark, etc.

4. Though the overall flavor profile was excellent in everyone's opinion I will probably add a little chipotle to the second rub layer to satisfy those looking for a bit more bite.  It's a Texas thang ..... though the beans compensated with spice in my opinion.

5. Soaked the almonds a little too long before smoking them.  I would drop that back to an hour or so vs. a full two.  My thanks to my good friend in Modest CA for suggesting we try them. They are now a staple on EVERY smoke I do. Great snack in the middle of the smoke - made an entire pound of them and they disappeared within an hour of people showing up.

6.  Will probably cut the burnt ends off before I butcher paper wrap next time to give them a an extra hour or so to tenderize in a foil wrap in the sauce.  They were absolutely mouthwatering, but I personally think they should have been on a another 20-30 minutes. I know we don't "do" burnt ends here in Texas, but I gotta' tell ya' there is NO WAY am I ever NOT doing them again!!!  Apparently it was the Bourbon sauce/glaze .... let me know if you are interested in the recipe .... a little different, but damn good (surprised us all) - so good that I made up an entire quart at the last minute at the request of friends that had to drive back to Austin.  Yes, it was that good.

Thanks again to all ... until next time.


Flat after 45 mjnutes in butcher paper @ 225


Point after 45 minutes in butcher paper @ 225


Point after one hour rest - first slice


Flat after one hour rest - first slice


Flat again - after one rest - first slice


Burnt Ends


Burnt ends again just out of smoker


Smoked Almonds

OK.  Bourbon Glaze. The simplicity is what makes it in my opinion. I can mix up a gallon of this in 20 minutes ..... literally.

Here's the deal .... to me, and in my experience, the best "recipes" are those with no set formula. Thus, this Bourbon Glaze formula.  Build it up slowly.  Let's assume I am mixing up about 12 oz before simmer down (33% at least) - usually enough for "true" burnt ends off a 15lb pre-cooked brisket.

1. Base is 2-3 oz of  the Aus Jus from the brisket (hopefully you have some!) If not, no problem.

2. 1/2 - 1 tsp beef base

3. 3 - 4  tsp tomato paste to personal preference

4. 1 tblsp butter - any kind of butter ( we use a "light butter" which is 1/2 water)

5. 7 oz 100% Apple Juice

6.  3-4  oz of your fav Bourbon (Kentucky, please) :-) 

7.  BIG handful of Brown Sugar - more if you want it sweeter, of course

8.  Chipolte seasoning to taste - be careful because when it meets Bourbon all hell can break loose!

Note: No salt, no pepper. The beef base covers the salt and the Chipolte covers the pepper.

Simmer down 15-20 min to 2/3 of what is in the pan until it is not quite a glaze but close. Add/change/tweak flavors to preference.  More Bourbon = more bite. The Chipolte really works well with the Bourbon.  You want this sauce to be all about the Bourbon "bite" and how it interacts with the Brown Sugar and Chipolte.

Pour over burnt ends in foil and triple wrap those babies.  I leave my burnt ends in the smoker at 250-275 for at least an hour ..... and the sauce will become like a sticky glue. It is the last thing I serve as a teaser before we eat.  With this method they should melt - literally - in your mouth.

This past weekend my better half asked me is we could take this sauce to bed with us. 

Of course, dear.    Just  for the record, it's quite good "room temp".

Good luck with it. I hope you all like it.

PS For Pork cuts, throw in a little cinnamon and ground all spice. Yum. And it  works VERY well on spatchcock bird as well (as a glaze at the very end of the smoke).