1st Time Smoking Brisket

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refry

Newbie
Original poster
Aug 6, 2016
7
10
Greetings everyone,

Looking for all the help I can get and any tips and tricks one might know for smoking brisket.

I've purchased a Beef Brisket Whole USDA Prime Vacuum Packaged with a net weight of 10.64 pounds.

I will be smoking in an old Treager electric vertical smoker with auto fed pellets.

I've been watching  Malcom Reeds and BBQ with Franklins youtube videos and checking out http://amazingribs.com for recipes and the process of smoking the brisket.  

I am borrowing this smoker from a friend so I have never used it before.  I own a Brinkman smoke n' grill that ive modded and have experience smoking pork butt, ribs, sausage, and tri tip.  

I'm wondering if any ol' timers can give me any tips or share any knowledge of the entire process from trimming to rubs to type of smoke temperature time etc.

I've included two images front and back of the brisket that I bought.

I have some initial questions upfront.  I've read that a brisket should be smoke without a water pan.  Due to the size of this electric smoker  I was wondering if I could smoke pork belly and pork shoulder at the same time?  Would not having a water pan ruin the pork or should I just add the water pan and have a less barky brisket?

Just want to know what else I can smoke with the brisket?

I'll be using my brinkman to smoke some slc ribs.

Any tips or any info would be greatly appreciated.  Sorry in advance if there has already been a million posts like this.

Thanks so much

Ryan

 
Also the brisket was packaged 08/08/16 i bought it today 8/10/16 and want to cook it on 8/26/10

should i freeze it or let it sit in it's juices till im ready to cook

it is vacuum packed 
 
That's some brave brisket smoking your getting into prime on the first try! There should be a use/freeze by date on the package. Reading is the best bet and there's lots of great posts here but posts by Gary S are very straight forward and awesomely done. Everyone does somethings different but as long as you wait till its done using the probe test it should slide in like butter or very little resistance. I suggest about a 1/4 inch of fat left on season simply with worchestshire salt and pepper for your first take it light on the smoke till you have a better idea how you like yours. You will also have to decide to wrap or not and if it's foil or butcher paper if you wrap. I cook fat side up others down some even flip,good luck.
 
Last edited:
Hey thanks for the tips.

So defiantly trim down the fat.  Keep the seasoning simple.  Don't inject it.  All of the videos iv'e seen wrap it in butcher paper or foil so I think I'm going to use that method.

I havnt opened it or really held one so do you think I will need to trim the top and the bottom or just the side with the large fat cap.

What type of wood do you suggest?

You think it's fine to smoke with a waterpan?
 
After reading some of the posts on here maybe I should leave all the fat on.  Seems like folks run into some dryness problems when trimming the fat.
 
I used a water pan but no longer do, I like a 50/50 pecan cherry mix for most smokes but have also done some post oak on brisket. I have always cut all the bottom fat off and trimmed the cap. Leaving all the fat should be fine as you can basically push it off with a knife or slice it and decide to eat it or not. Don't forget more pics when it all goes down!
 
So if I use a waterpan I think ill be good to smoke pork belly and pork butt all at the same time
 
Hey,

So I finally got the smoker from my gfs parents.  It's a Bradley not a Traeger vertical smoker and it's not what I would consider big.  I guess thats what I get for not properly researching my cooking device and putting faith into someone else.

Theres no way I can fit the whole packer brisket on that smoker.  I could maybe hang it vertically that way it could fit length wise.  I know its not a good idea to cut it so I was wondering if you have any tips?

Tried out the smoker and made pulled pork that cooked low and slow for 13 hours including two hours of smoke.  I like not having to add charcoal every hour or so.  Makes for a smooth cook.


 
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