Husband surprised me with both an electric smoker (smoke hollow hollow tronix) and a Traeger for our anniversary so lots more smoking my near future. Because the smoker arrived late the night before our anniversary and I wanted to make the brisket for anniversary dinner, I made some compromises, still pretty happy with the result though. It was my second ever brisket, first was on my old offset charcoal smoker and was definitely a learning experience. This time, bought the last brisket left at the grocery store (not nearly as much marbling as I’d choose, and it was really small - 3.5 lb — next time will pre-order through my usual butcher.)
9 hours total, cooked unwrapped on the rack until it hit 160º, then wrapped. Cooked at 225º until the last 2 hours, then bumped it up to 240º because I was running short on time and it was getting late. Pulled at 190º internal temp because we were just desperately hungry...I know it should’ve cooked longer but it was fairly tender with the probe and I made a judgement call. Rested for 45 minutes, tried to hold out the full 2 hours, but again, desperately hungry.
Despite all that, it was surprisingly moist! Next time I’ll be able to get started earlier, and I won’t have to spend 2-3 hours burning off chemicals and seasoning the smoker... excited to try again next weekend.
9 hours total, cooked unwrapped on the rack until it hit 160º, then wrapped. Cooked at 225º until the last 2 hours, then bumped it up to 240º because I was running short on time and it was getting late. Pulled at 190º internal temp because we were just desperately hungry...I know it should’ve cooked longer but it was fairly tender with the probe and I made a judgement call. Rested for 45 minutes, tried to hold out the full 2 hours, but again, desperately hungry.
Despite all that, it was surprisingly moist! Next time I’ll be able to get started earlier, and I won’t have to spend 2-3 hours burning off chemicals and seasoning the smoker... excited to try again next weekend.
