Beef Brisket / Smoker Size

[airs]

Quick question - Getting ready to smoke my first Beef Brisket tonight - Got a 10 lb'er that is about two inches wider than my Brinkman Bullet Grill.  Is there any problem with using a "Rib" Rack to raise the center of the Packer to get it to fit - at least until it shrinks a little?

Thanks!

 

[Dutch]

Airs, you don't mention what your smoker is. On my electric UDS I've cut a brisket flat in half before and place each half on a defferent shelf. I mainly do whole packer briskets and my Lang and the GOSM will handle those with no problem.

 

[airs]

Dutch -

It's a Brinkman Red Bullet (electric).  I could cut the Packer in half, but thought that might take some of the "fun" out of it or impact the final product. I was thinking that "bowing" the packer up in the middle would buy me a couple of inches until it shrunk down a little.  Guess I could also cut a small piece off of the end and have a mini-brisket to eat before the big boy is finished

 

[turnandburn]

Dutch -

It's a Brinkman Red Bullet (electric).  I could cut the Packer in half, but thought that might take some of the "fun" out of it or impact the final product. I was thinking that "bowing" the packer up in the middle would buy me a couple of inches until it shrunk down a little.  Guess I could also cut a small piece off of the end and have a mini-brisket to eat before the big boy is finished

Airs, thats exactly what i did on the last packer..lol. i cut about an inch or 2 off and rubbed down that "open wound" as i like to call it..haha. and smoked that tiny piece next to the big hunk... when the brisket was done i ate that tiny strip while everyone watched me...haha. talk about cruel and unusual punishment!

 

[michief]

I bow mine using the sides pf the shelves in my Bradley, it takes about 2 hours for it to sit right. I am afraid what cutting it in half would do so I don't.

 

[airs]

Thanks for the info guys - I think I'll either cut a small piece off or bow it over.  I just have a hard time cutting that baby in two - I'm sure it would cook a little quicker, but I'd be afraid of losing more juices.

 

[demosthenes9]

Thanks for the info guys - I think I'll either cut a small piece off or bow it over.  I just have a hard time cutting that baby in two - I'm sure it would cook a little quicker, but I'd be afraid of losing more juices.

As it's a full packer, you could take the path that some others take here and go ahead and separate the flat and the point before smoking.  

 

[airs]

Another question - Meat Temp this morning has just hit 200 degrees - it's a 10lb beef brisket that I put on at 8:30 last night - that is only 12 hours - well short of the 15+ I was calculating (1.5 hrs/lb).  I foiled it at 170 degrees.

Is it possible this thing is really done?  I'm 98% sure I have the thermometer dead center.

Thanks.

 

[airs]

Ok, for the record - just took it off the smoker (12 1/2 hrs) and it is resting comfortably in a towel lined cooler (or heater in this case!)  Going to let it relax for 6 hours and then dig in for an early dinner.  I'll post the results later as to it's final tenderness and juicyness.

Thanks for all of the help.

 

[turnandburn]

Ok, for the record - just took it off the smoker (12 1/2 hrs) and it is resting comfortably in a towel lined cooler (or heater in this case!)  Going to let it relax for 6 hours and then dig in for an early dinner.  I'll post the results later as to it's final tenderness and juicyness.

Thanks for all of the help.

sent you msg...sorry for the late response. you did exactly what i just sent you in the msg. lol.

 

[airs]

Beef Brisket All.JPG

• airs
• May 10, 2013

Beef Brisket Cooked.JPG

• airs
• May 10, 2013

Beef Brisket.JPG

• airs
• May 10, 2013

Thanks to some great advice from TurnandBurn, the 10 lb Beef Brisket turned out fantastic!  For anyone interested, here was the gameplan:

Injected the brisket with a butter/Jeff's Rub mixture 48hrs prior to cooking.

Marinated the brisket in a Jack Daniels type sauce for 24 hours.

Used a Brinkman Electric Red Bullet Smoker with Mesquite wood

Put Brisket on at 8:30 pm and baby sat periodically during the night.

At 6:00 am, temp hit 165 deg and I put the brisket in foil (with more JD sauce)

At 8:45 temp hit 205 deg and I pulled the brisket and sat in insulated cooler for six hours.

After the six hours, the brisket was still too hot to hold.

Great compliments from the family - thanks to all of you!

 

[bdskelly]

Id say you nailed it ol'buddy. Fantastic bark on the slab o beef. 

 

[turnandburn]

Looks great bud. Glad I could be of some assistance to you. :sausage::yahoo:

 

[matt2tle]

Hey Airs,

Great looking briset!  I am actually looking to do one in my brinkman electric this weekend.  Did you keep smoke on it the whole time?  I'm brand new to this...have only done a boston butt and pork tenderloin, so this is my first attempt at the brisket...any pointers or lessons?  Thanks.

Matt

 

[airs]

Matt -

Welcome aboard - lots, make that tons of advice on this forum - some very "seasoned" smokers on here.

I'm far from an expert, but I got some great advice on here when I did my brisket.  In addition to the "gameplan" I listed earlier in this post - I would say the main pointers I would have are:

Definitely keep the smoke going until you foil it - I use three "packets" of wood chips wrapped in foil set between the elements.  Lasts for about 3 hours - then I replace.  Two man job to replace for me - hired help lifts the smoker up about eight inches off of the elements and I swap out the foil packets.  Only needed to swap out once on the brisket.

Use some type of thermometer - I use the remote Maverick - has an alarm you can set for the critical temps. 

Don't know for sure - but I think injecting the Brisket made it a little more juicy - definitely made it tastier.

The Brinkman Electric does vary in temperature a little - just make sure it doesn't get too high - I have never had the too low issue.  The biggest rise in temperature for me is when I poke too many holes in the aluminum foil and get a bon fire going :)

Don't worry about dinner time - get the Brisket cooked early and just put it in foil wrapped in towels and toss in a cooler - keeps hot for six hours.

Good luck!

 

[matt2tle]

Thanks for the pointers. One more question. Did you keep water in the pan the whole time? As mentioned by someone else, the bark looks great. When I did the butt, I kept water in the pan the whole time, but the bark was very moist. Did you mop at all while it smoked?

 

[airs]

I kept the water pan filled the entire time (only think I had to add water once).  I applied sauce for the marinade and that was it - no mopping at all.  The bark was excellent, but it was not as hard as some would like - that was from putting it in the foil - not the water pan. 

 

[airs]

Matt -

Did you do the brisket this weekend - How did it turn-out?

 

[matt2tle]

I did...and I learned a valuable lesson - don't cheat on time. I could only find a "flat", so I went with that. Due to not getting it on as early as I needed to, I ended up pulling it about 185 IT and only rested about 30 min. Not very tender, but great taste. As soon as I sliced a few, I realized it. So I foiled the rest and put it in the oven at low temp until IT of about 200. Let it rest a couple hours and ate the rest the next day...much better - very tender. Again, valuable lesson learned, and luckily it was learned on a smaller flat. Thanks again for your help and suggestions.

 

[turnandburn]

I did...and I learned a valuable lesson - don't cheat on time. I could only find a "flat", so I went with that. Due to not getting it on as early as I needed to, I ended up pulling it about 185 IT and only rested about 30 min. Not very tender, but great taste. As soon as I sliced a few, I realized it. So I foiled the rest and put it in the oven at low temp until IT of about 200. Let it rest a couple hours and ate the rest the next day...much better - very tender. Again, valuable lesson learned, and luckily it was learned on a smaller flat. Thanks again for your help and suggestions.

lesson learned i see..lol. you shoulda given it at least another 10 degrees and another half hour of rest. theres always next time.