Wendy & Albert's First Brisket Smoke

rivet · Jul 30, 2009

My kids have really gotten bit by the barbecue/smoking bug this year. Nice to have interested helpers by the grill, coming into their own, wanting to get their hands dirty!

So before they fly back to their mom and step-dad, they asked if they could smoke a brisket. Oh, heck yeah!

Four day weekend for me

and today we started. Picked out the best we could find (they researched the details on selecting the right brisket) and here we go!

I'll keep this thread updated as the smoke progresses; fire is scheduled to be lit at 0330 hrs Friday morning for an all day smoke.

Bought a nice 11.5 pounder at $1.89 / LB-

After learning about the point and the flat, they separated and trimmed it themselves-

We discussed what made a good rub and mop. Here's the ingredients for the rub (added 1 TSP cinnamon, not shown) and the ingredients for TASUNKAWITKO's mop recipe which is DR Pepper, Lo-Salt soy sauce and EVOO.

They mixed them up and here's the rubbed results-

The meat was then wrapped in Saran and put in the fridge till tomorrow early morning. We'll pull out the smoker later and set it up so we aren't stumbling around at oh-dark-thirty.

I'll keep this thread going for updates and all kinds of Q-Vue. Thanks for taking the time to check out my kids' first brisket!

fire it up · Jul 30, 2009

Amazing how far your kids have come and it's wonderful they are going for a brisket!
Picked it out, trimmed, the whole 9 yards. Pretty big challenge but judging by their other posts I have no doubt they will smoke up a great brisket.
Hope they will be able to keep on smoking after they head back because they sure have a knack for it.

Dutch · Jul 30, 2009

Way to go Rivet!! Nice way to spread the knowledge-show 'em, then let 'em and guide them along the way. Teachings that will last them a lifetime!

the dude abides · Jul 30, 2009

Kudos to you and the kids. I'm bummed for you knowing they have to leave soon. Give 'em hugs and spend every minute you can. I guess getting them out of bed at 3:00am counts LOL.

Enjoy brother. We'll be watching.

dexter · Jul 30, 2009

I am sure the kids are having a great time, they will probably hate to leave.

I hope you all enjoy every minute of your quality time together.

As far as smoking a brisket, I am going to be doing my first tomorrow. Where do I look to learn about the point and flat. I have no idea what this means.

bigtrain74 · Jul 30, 2009

Man, I need a 4 day weekend! I have lots I need to smoke too!!!

Nice start there Rivet!

shooterrick · Jul 30, 2009

Pnts to the man beging a dad! Great Job! With the kids I mean. Tell the kids great job on the brisket to.

mballi3011 · Jul 30, 2009

Great job rivet with the kids. It's nice to hear of real fathers are still around these days. That has alot to do with whats wrong with these kids today NO home training. I hope they are just as excided as you will be at 3:00 am. I'm gonna have to keep a close eye on this thread cause I'm starting to get excided too.

werdwolf · Jul 30, 2009

Enjoy these times with your kids and smoking. I only get to get together with my daughter every once in a while now that she's in college, but they are good times.

congrats on getting them involved!

tasunkawitko · Jul 30, 2009

i think this is going to be a good one, rivet! i'm honored that you'll be giving my mop a try. it's a great mop that is also versatile and can go in a lot of directions for future smokes.

back to the brisket, it sounds like the kids are doing great with all of their hard work and are in for something that's going to be long-remembered! enjoy the time and send them back with some great memories!

looking forward to updates, q-view and everything else ~

scubadoo97 · Jul 30, 2009

fantastic Rivet. Doing things as a family can be some meaningful and provide lasting memories. My kids are 22 and 20 so we have some time before their parents finally get smart, when did that happen, and they enjoy being with us.

rivet · Jul 30, 2009

Hey no worries Dexter, neither did I at one point. Here's a link that shows you how to separate the two in an easy step by step sequence. Just give it a few minutes to load once you get to the page.

http://www.azbbqa.net/articles/brisket-trim.htm#

A full packer brisket is made up of two separate muscle masses. The "flat" and the "point".

The "flat" is the flat rectangular part that you expect to see when you make pastrami, or buy a trimmed brisket at the store. It is rectangular in shape and about 3 or so inches thick.

The "point" is a roughly triangular knob of meat that makes up the thick part of a full packer brisket. It is rounded on one end, dull, kind of like a torpedo. It spreads back into the flat portion of the packer brisket.

The two muscle masses have grain that run counter eachother, so they are best separated prior to slicing once done.

Once I learnt to separate them, I always do since two smaller pieces will cook more evenly and (hopefully

) faster than the whole thing together.

That is not always the case, though!

I like to trim some of the fat off the packer, since a lot of it doesn't melt off and no sense wasting heat cooking what you are going to toss out anyway. For this brisket, the kids trimmed off about 1 and a half pounds of fat.

Good luck on your first tomorrow, buddy! May the TBS follow you all day and night!

cajunsmoke13 · Jul 30, 2009

Good job on the brisket...Great times with your kids. Bet they will remember that down the road

alx · Jul 31, 2009

Excellent post Rivet.

Look forward to the Q-VIEW.

Smoke it like you own it.....

rivet · Jul 31, 2009

Hey all, thanks for all the good words and support!

Well, 0300 came nicely and we all jumped right out of bed ready to smoke! Fired up the Tiki lamps and started the charcoal by 0315. Coffe maker on and it's near 0400. brisket should be going in soon. I will post throughout the smoke~ we got a fattie, ABT's, Spam and Pignit's bacon-wrapped liver to throw on too!

oneshot · Jul 31, 2009

Ok Rivet and chillins, let's get this smoke a goins.....LOL
Time for me to hit the rack but was holdin out for the beginin of yer smoke. Good luck with yer first and we're all proud of the way yer headin.
Can't wait to see the Qview as you go along....

rivet · Jul 31, 2009

Okay 0600 and the fattie goes in so we can snack around 0800. Kids opted for a plain, unstuffed fattie. Just a bacon weave, with some Old Bay and that's it.

Oh, forgot to mention earlier we are smoking with Pecan wood and hardwood briquettes to start off.

Here's the goods-

And here's Albert's weave, with the Old Bay sprinkled on it-

Sun's coming up and the weatherman says it's gonna be sunny with a high of 84. Perfect weather!

meatball · Jul 31, 2009

Sounds like the perfect day for a smoke...enjoy and hope all turns out well for you!

wutang · Jul 31, 2009

Looks like a great day at the Rivet house. Can't wait to see the finished product.

tasunkawitko · Jul 31, 2009

everything's looking great so far! keep up the good work!

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