Yet another "first brisket". Need a different rub.

[crackhead]

My wife put me on the hook to smoke a brisket for our Easter gathering today. I can do butts and ribs with my eyes closed, but have never tackled a brisket before. I ran all over town trying to find a Choice packer, but all I could find was a Select, so I rummaged through the boxes and found a 10ish lb'er that looked good. Being short on time and not wanting to experiment too much, I figured Montreal Steak Seasoning would work as good as any for a rub and just used beef bullion for injection.

I got it all trimmed up and threw it on about 0715 this morning. 200-225 on lump with some hickory thrown on from time to time.

Ran it to 170ish and foiled, then took it to a touch over 200.

Separated the point, cubed into burnt ends, then let the flat rest for a couple hrs in the cooler. This is what I ended up with.

Texture and moistness was spot on. In my opinion, the beef bullion worked really well in this situation. My only gripe, if you can call it that, was that it smelled and tasted remarkably like pastrami. I really felt the Montreal Steak Seasoning mimicked a pastrami taste almost to a T. I ground it in a blade coffee grinder before using and although it worked great in a pinch, I wont use it again. The only other things I would do different:

Completely (or almost completely) remove the fat cap off of the point

Towel it before resting it in the cooler. I just foiled it and threw it in.

Try to get a Choice packer. my wife said she wold have preferred it with a bit more fat in the meat.

Other than that, for a challenging piece of meat, I grade myself a B+ for a first attempt.

 

[daveomak]

CH, evening.... looks good to me.....  Ever think of leaving the fat on the meat ???  Doing that should make the wife happy as it adds moisture and flavor....  fat is good....

.... for flavor....

Dave

 

[crackhead]

It needed more intramuscular fat. I trimmed a fair amount of the cap off and the cap that was left was just a goopy mess after the smoke was done. Served its purpose as an insulator I guess. Thanks for the input.

 

[philh]

You nailed the smoke ring.. Nice job..

 

[big sexy]

Looks good from here.  Any pics of the burnt ends?

 

[so ms smoker]

  That is an awesome smoke ring!

Mike

 

[rbranstner]

Looks really good. Especially for your first time. I like to use garlic & onion powder, sea salt, pepper and some Canadian steak seasoning for my beef rubs. I like to keep them pretty simple. I will also inject them with a mixture of beef broth, V8 and  the rub sometimes to.

 

[alelover]

That's a beauty for a 1st brisky. Nice job.

 

[tim202]

That's a nice looking Brisket !!!  It's on my list.

Tim

 

[crackhead]

I wasnt entirely sure what to do with the burnt ends. I cubed the point, mixed some real quick homemade sauce up, put it in the pan and threw it back on the smoker for a bit. The smoke was dying down by that time, so I moved them over to the gas side and carmelized the hell out of them. Between the adult beverages, the ABT's and the ends, a good time was had by all in front of the smoker.

As a side note, I tried to smoke some eggs as well. Threw them on straight out of the fridge for about 1.5hrs at 225 to 250, then into a cold water bath. They were WAAYYY to over done. My wife said they tasted great, but were overcooked. Ih well, better luck next time.

 

[oldschoolbbq]

Crackhead , (hmmmm) here's the only seasoning I put on Brisket , S/CBP with maybe some Garlic powder. Beef needs the Pepper and the taste is phenomenal. Bark comes out very good and the flavor needs NO sauce , the flavor stands on it's own .

Even when cut with the grain ( Jr. did that , he just kinda chops it up and makes a mess of it ).

I don't wrap my meat in the Smoker , ever , and all my meat comes out moist and tender , see the sweat on the outside

 , that's the way I like to see them . I know I'll have a good smoke ring and juicy meat... same with Ribs , when I see the sweat , I bend test them :

See the moisture , and they are tender without falling off the bone - a little bite gets them off the bone...

Have fun and...

 

[smokinhusker]

Good looking brisket! 

 

[john442]

Wow, nice job!!

 

[philh]

All I ever use on my briskets is Sea Salt & a butt load of Coarse Ground Pepper. The meat comes out flavorful & doesn't even need sauce it tastes so good..

 

[crackhead]

Looks good. You dont inject at all?

 

[philh]

Looks good. You dont inject at all?

Nope - Never have.. What I did do though was trim off some of the fat. I only do this when the brisket has a lot of fat. I like to keep at least a 1/2 inch of fat on the meat.. Then I placed the fat on a rack above the brisket. As the brisket cooked the fat would drip onto the brisket & kept it nice & moist.

I cooked the brisket fat down so the fat could drip on the meat directly. You saw the pics of the results.. lol

Hope this helps some..

Phil

P.S. There are many different ways to cook this kind of meat. You just need to find the way that makes the best sense to you & then perfect it.. Then repeat & you'll always have great brisket..

 

[scrappynadds]

You da MAN...........

 

[wes w]

I ran across a  full brisket today on quick sale.  Wasn't in my budget, but couldn't pass it up.  Cut in half and into the freezer.

My question:   Just about everyone says salt and pepper on the awesome cut of meat.     How much of  each?   I don't want to over power it with salt, nor kill it with pepper.

Thanks

Wes

 

[daveomak]

Wes, when I salt stuff... generally 1.5 % by weight... or 2%... depends... It is a personal taste thing....  Use the lower if you are salt sensitive...   Black pepper..... You probably couldn't eat what I put on meat...  I pour it on.... I normally take the lid off when eating out..  I don't know how folks get pepper out of those shakers...   Dave   

 

[wes w]

Haha, thanks Dave.  

I've used Montreal  Steak Rub before on beef.  I really liked it.  Its about the edge of my spice range, but good.  To risk messing it up, I may just use it.  

I didn't realize brisket had so much fat in it.  Can't wait to smoke it.    I trimmed some but not all. 

Thanks Dave!