inkjunkie, I feel for you man. Below is my brisket from Saturday, the 26th. And, let me say that I've tried a lot of different rubs on brisket, but the old stand-by of just salt and pepper is by-far the best, and definitely not bland...if done properly and enough used. All the best barbecue joints in Texas ONLY use salt and pepper. And, I always do mine somewhat like Wayne Mueller, at Louie Mueller's Barbecue does...except not quite as peppery. Wayne will tell you his rub is very complicated, so get a pen and paper and get ready, and he'll tell you what all is in it...then, he'll say 9 parts course ground black pepper to 1 part Kosher salt. Mine is probably more like 4 or 5 to 1. And, I smoke beef ribs the same way. That's all beef needs, because beef is so flavorful, that you want to taste the beef, not a rub.
When I smoke a brisket, I usually get up at 4:00 and have it on the smoker by 5:00, because you just never know how long a brisket might take. According to "the stall" and your smoking temp it could be anywhere from 6 to 12, even 14 hours. And, even though I learned a long time ago to smoke brisket at about 275*, instead of lower temps, you still never know. And, the main thing is patience, watching the smoker temp, and playing with the fire. I enjoy all that, as well as sipping on some good whiskey. And, that's the thing with brisket, I can start it at 5:00am, while drinking coffee...and by 9:00am be coffee'd out and graduate to whiskey. Of which, my preference is Garrison Brothers Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey. It was actually the first "legal" bourbon distilled outside Kentucky...a tad on the expensive side, but so good at 9:00am.
I posted the below on the Old Country Wrangler smoker thread, because that's what I use. The Old Country Wrangler is a fairly inexpensive smoker ($500) that does a really good job smoking meat.
This is the fatty side, and will go up in the smoker. I leave a good 1/4" of fat when trimming the brisket.
And, the bottom:
Just put it on the smoker, about 5:00am:
Smoker temp holding at 275*.
I keep a pretty good fire going in the smoker box, with the air inlet door always wide open, along with smoke vent...good air flow is imperative. I can adjust the smoker temp from the wood. And, I don't use little chunks of wood...I use my fireplace wood, about 14"-16" splits. To get to 275*, I start with a chimney of charcoal, and at least one, sometimes two, post oak splits. Below, you can still see some of the charcoal, as well as two splits. I always start with one, but sometimes it takes that second one to get up to temp.
After 2 hours, we have an internal temp of 148*. No need to do any spritzing or anything like that. This isn't a pork butt. That top layer of fat will render down into that meat and keep it moist and juicy. Also, notice I put the point toward the firebox, as that's the hottest side in my smoker, and I keep my Maverick lead toward the firebox as well. That way, normally, the point and the flat will be about the same temp internally, as the flat will actually cook at a slightly lower temp. Even though I have baffles in the bottom chamber to even out the air flow, my smoker will still be a little hotter on the firebox side.
After 5 hours, we have an internal temp of 175*...it went right on through the stall, and is looking great! If it sits on 160* to 170* for an hour or so, I go ahead and take it off and wrap it, and maybe even crank up my smoker to 300*, just to get it through the stall. But, sometimes, like this one, it will go right on through it.
So, I take it off, wrap it in foil or butcher paper and put it back on until it's done. This time I used foil. You can see I had a small water pan in there as well. If you want it a tad crunchier bark, use butcher paper.
After 3 more hours, we're at 205* internal temp, and it "feels" good. I know some people say take them off earlier, but when I take them off at a lower internal temp they always seem tougher to me. And, I've got to where I can go more by feel, than internal temp. I want it to "feel" very loose and pliable in the foil...kinda like a dead fish. I keep it in the foil, and set the pan and all in an ice chest, to rest, until we're ready to eat. You should always let a brisket "rest" for at least an hour or two, to release its juices. If not, the flat especially will be too dry. I actually let this one rest in the ice chest for 4 hours. And, when I took it out to slice, it was still so hot that I had to use my insulated food gloves to hold it.
Very tender, very juicy...perfect taste with the salt and pepper only. It sliced like butter.
I always ask when carving, lean or fatty. It seems all the women will say "lean", which I definitely don't mind. They can have all the flat they want. I always want the point...where all the marbled fat is located. So, brisket, potatoes, and beans. I don't know about the flat, but the point was so tender and juicy, it almost chewed itself.