1st Brisket w Q-view

[Ackmack78]

We'll see how it goes, technically the 2nd one but we don't talk about the first one. Planning on throwing this on the WSM at 6pm tonight for dinner tomorrow at 6. Shooting for 225 and wrapping in paper, may bump it up to 250 when I wake up. Plan is to do this one low and slow and the next one hot and fast to compare.
16lbs Prime from Costco Trimmed off almost 6lbs of fat but this thing was covered in fat. Beside 2 small meat chunks everything that came off was fat. I'm mostly happy w the trim, nicked the fat cap a couple more times than I'd like but it showed up with a few nicks already. I did end up removing most of the fat cap on top of the very end of the point. It was all hard fat nothing soft underneath at all. There's a knob at the end of the point in the pics but I ended up rounding that off, it had a fat vein and some cartilage running through it.
Fingers crossed but Im thinking it's gonna be good, been reading up on them long enough its time to get out there and cook one. Any constructive criticism on the trim or anything else is greatly appreciated.

 

[912smoker]

Good start and post pics !

 

[Ackmack78]

630pm- Meat on let's roll. Time to pour a drink

 

[thirdeye]

That's a great trim job on a Prime grade brisket. The internal fat will keep it moist. It's good that you have a photo showing the grain direction on the flat. Start your slices from that one corner and you will be golden.

You could have taken a wedge of fat from that big kernel between the muscles, but it can be cut away later. I do like to put a chamfer on any square edge as they can burn. And those nicks on the outside face you mentioned are no big deal, but if you ever have a bigger one, just fillet some adjacent fat and fold it over to act like a band aid.

 

[bauchjw]

Can’t wait to see how this turns out! Good luck!

 

[SmokinAl]

Looks like a great start!
Al

 

[Ackmack78]

So we're wrapped and back on the smoker. I waited till it hit the 180s to wrap, the fat didn't seem rendered down all that great at 165. It cooked a little quicker than I expected and there really wasn't much of a stall. I did spritz a couple times but didn't really worry about it too much.
4 hours in some bark


Ready to wrap, threw a little tallow in for fun


Back on the smoker

 

[smokerjim]

Going to be some good stuff, looks great

 

[SmokyMose]

Looking good!
Is it getting close to being done? My stomach is growling.....

 

[ravenclan]

Looking good. Don't forget the end pics and the slice pic!

 

[Ackmack78]

We're getting there. But not sure what to do here. Everything is butter except for the one really thick part of the flat. It's tender but definitely still has a little resistance. But I'm worried waiting for that last part to hit tender will overcook the rest. Everything else has absolutely no resistance

 

[SmokyMose]

We're getting there. But not sure what to do here. Everything is butter except for the one really thick part of the flat. It's tender but definitely still has a little resistance. But I'm worried waiting for that last part to hit tender will overcook the rest. Everything else has absolutely no resistance

Let it ride. It's wrapped.

 

[SmokyMose]

Or if you're worried, pull it and rest in a cooler for a couple hours.

 

[Ackmack78]

I let it ride till everything probed tender, got a real nice wubba out of it. I had bark on the few spots that look bare but I unwrapped it to get a peek when I was deciding whether to let it ride and the rewrap looks like it took off those pieces. But so far I'm glad I did let it ride.
3.5 hours till we eat and I get the final report. Not expecting much from the 11 year old. Shes too cool for school, last time my pulled pork was too moist and buttery. She is not thrilled now that I tell that story anytime I talk BBQ w someone. Haha

 

[SmokyMose]

Yeah, if she's like my grandkids she'd rather have chicken nuggets or mac & cheese and hot dogs.
Looking forward to a sliced pic

 

[texomakid]

That Bark is beautiful. Be sure and post pics when you slice it.

 

[Ackmack78]

Didn't get a pic of the slices. The flat ended up a little overcooked and falling apart. First cuts were a little dry and got moister as I went. Towards the pount the flat was very moist but still falling part. More of a chopping than slicing meat. The point was great. Overall a decent learning experience. The family was happy with it. Me not so much I'm looking at doing the next one already.

 

[SmokyMose]

My last one came apart a little also, but I just cut up those pieces for some chili.
The cook's the hardest one to please. At least the family liked it and you're now hooked!

 

[tallbm]

Didn't get a pic of the slices. The flat ended up a little overcooked and falling apart. First cuts were a little dry and got moister as I went. Towards the pount the flat was very moist but still falling part. More of a chopping than slicing meat. The point was great. Overall a decent learning experience. The family was happy with it. Me not so much I'm looking at doing the next one already.

Man you are getting there. You are making good brisket and just a few things to make GREAT brisket!

The 180F wrapping had to really kick things up a notch or 2.

As for falling apart, a longer rest time will help with that. I tightly double wrap in 2 layers of foil then tightly wrap in 3 bath towels and set on the counter and it holds 4-5 hours no problem.
I find that 4 hours of resting that way it slices well, 3 hours can still want to tear some as it is still too hot.

As for the first cuts a little dry, that will be from the flat where it is thinner.
Here is my post on it:

My Brisket Flat Trimming Approach Explained - QView

Well I have had a number of private messages where people ask for more info about what I do when I trim away the thin Flat portion of a brisket I smoke. So today I figured I would just post about it with plenty of pics so it becomes easier to understand vs when I just go "blah blah blah trim...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

In short I trim away the thinner portion of the flat and repurpose that meat. What is left of the flat is about uniform in thickness and greatly solves the problem you describe. See here:


So some simple changes will help you greatly fix your issues.
Then when you have it nailed I challenge you to do an unwrapped brisket the whole time. Another game changer :D

 

[uncle eddie]

Heck ya! Looks great…thanks for sharing!