I'm a newbie and after a couple of successful smokes I decided to try my first Brisket for Father's Day. We had 9 over for dinner and to be save I also planned my first Boston Butt for "just in case" pulled pork since I'd heard it was virtually foolproof. This would be the first overnighter or the 16" Oklahoma Joe offset smoker I rehabed.
After reading and reading I decided my first brisket would be smoked without foiling. Not that foiling is a bad idea, I just wanted to see if I could produce an acceptable result by straight smoking. I decided to use 1.5 hours per pound on the 11 lb brisket I purchased at my local butcher ($2.99/lb). This meant I would have to do an overnight smoke, also something I hadn't done before. I purchased the brisket on Friday. I trimmed just a bit of fat off the top but left the cap untouched as it seemed pretty uniform at 1/4" or so. I also cut a bit of the fat out of the "slot" where the flat meets the point so it would be a bit easier to separate after cooking. Jeff's rub liberally applied over the yellow mustard base and the brisket was off to bed in the frig.
Also bought a 6 pound Boston Butt pork shoulder at Wallyworld ($1.58/lb). Simple mustard/Jeff's rub and it too was off to bed in the frig.
So here was the timetable I started with based on serving dinner at 6 pm Sunday:
8pm Sunday - Start fire. I decided to use the minion method using a base of Stubbs Natural Charcoal. A mix of hickory and cherry wood hunks and a top layer of Good One Lump. I used Stubbs in the chimney to get started.
9 pm Sunday - Brisket on fat side down. Fire holding 230.
12:45 - Added Stubbs charcoal to top of charcoal basket. Set the Maverick ET 732 for a 250 hi temp alarm and a 200 low temp alarm.
1:30 - Awakened from sound sleep by hi temp alarm. Closed the firebox vent to 1/4" and the chinmey to 1/8" and went back to bed. All of a sudden I was having a hard time falling back to sleep wondering about the fire...
4:45 - Awakened by low temp alarm. Headed out to see that fire had burned to about 1/4 fuel left so I refilled with a 50/50 mix of lump and Stubbs. Fire took a bit to regain optimum temperature. Backed to bed about 5:30.
6:45 - Up and dragging...see Lesson's Learned below. Fire was OK so I readied the Boston Butt.
7:00 am - Boston Butt joins Brisket on the smoker.
1:00 pm - Brisket shows 198 degrees. I'd planted the food probe about mid brisket in what I thought was the "thickest part of the flat". Tempted to pull but thought I'd probe a bit lower on the flat. To my surprise temp in what I thought was a thinner part of the flat was 180. Probe also met some resistance as it entered and I'd remembered someone writing to say that you'll know the brisky is done when the probe slides in easily. So I gambled and left the brisky in.
4:00 pm - Brisket now shows 198 in middle of flat and probe enters much more easily so I pulled the brisket. I had two aluminum plans ready with double wrap foil in place. I added a layer of Au Jus prep I'd found online to the bottom of the foiled pan. The flat and point separated easily and each went into its own pan and double wrapped. Then off to the cooler with towels...flat on the bottom and point on the top.
5:00 pm - Point cut into cubes and left in its aluminum pan with a light coating of Jeff's sauce. Back into the smoker for burnt ends next to the boston butt.
6:00 pm - Pulled flat from the cooler...still plenty hot. Sliced and drizzled the Au Jus I'd reduced on the stove. Plated along with burned ends. Friends had brought over homemade red slaw, potato salad, steamed veggies. Served meat with Jeff's sauce on the side.
Meal was a BIG HIT. Melt in your mouth flavor. WOW...other than not enough sleep the night before the meal was a hit.
Boston Butt came off about 7 pm. Cooled and pulled...then into freezer bags for another day. Good thing I didn't rely on the pulled pork as emergency backup to the brisky!
LESSONS LEARNED:
1. Leave enough time before you want to eat to handle up to 2 hours/lb cook time. I'd planned on 1.5, and worried it might be as little as 1.25 hours/lb and it worked out I was done almost exactly at 1.5 hours/lb. I tried for 215 degrees but I'd say my average was more like 225-230.
2. Probe and measure flat in several places before declaring "done". You'll know both by temp and the ease with which the probe enters the flat that its done. After separating the flat from the point I now know the flat is actually thinnest where it meets the point. I'd assumed it was thinnest at the end opposite the point and I was wrong. I have to assume the initial 198 degree reading I got might have been in the fat layer between the flat and point. If i had it to do over again I'd use 195 degrees in the middle of the flat...might have kept more of the flat sliceable. As mine got to the thin part near the point the crumbled (think "pulled brisket").
3. Don't be afraid of holding in cooler after reaching "done". It was hot outside and I'd left the cooler in the sun for several hours before I needed it. I could easily have stretched 3 hours if needed before serving. And it you're done really early put in frig and reheat after meat sets for at least 2 hours in the cooler.
4. Figure about 3.5 hours of sleep for each interval for overnight fueling. With a good temp system (Maverick ET 732 is great) you can almost guarantee solid sleep and only about 15 minutes of wake time to refuel. Waiting too long lets the fire start sloping downward and you feel its important to see the fire back up to stability before returning to bed. For the overnight I might have relied 100% on the Stubbs All Natural briquettes. I really recommend them if you can get them. Lump would be used to after dawn as the increased heat can be more carefully monitored.
5. Add time for a second item cooked along with a larger item. The Boston Butt took nearly 2 hours/pound. If I'd relied on it for dinner we've have eaten late. I can only assume the longer cook time was due to the fact that the smoker was opened more during the final brisket stages and to add the burned ends back.
When I get a chance I'll try and add the resources I used in reading up for my cook.
BOTTOM LINE: Brisket is easy to do if you give yourself enough time and are patient throughout the process.
After reading and reading I decided my first brisket would be smoked without foiling. Not that foiling is a bad idea, I just wanted to see if I could produce an acceptable result by straight smoking. I decided to use 1.5 hours per pound on the 11 lb brisket I purchased at my local butcher ($2.99/lb). This meant I would have to do an overnight smoke, also something I hadn't done before. I purchased the brisket on Friday. I trimmed just a bit of fat off the top but left the cap untouched as it seemed pretty uniform at 1/4" or so. I also cut a bit of the fat out of the "slot" where the flat meets the point so it would be a bit easier to separate after cooking. Jeff's rub liberally applied over the yellow mustard base and the brisket was off to bed in the frig.
Also bought a 6 pound Boston Butt pork shoulder at Wallyworld ($1.58/lb). Simple mustard/Jeff's rub and it too was off to bed in the frig.
So here was the timetable I started with based on serving dinner at 6 pm Sunday:
8pm Sunday - Start fire. I decided to use the minion method using a base of Stubbs Natural Charcoal. A mix of hickory and cherry wood hunks and a top layer of Good One Lump. I used Stubbs in the chimney to get started.
9 pm Sunday - Brisket on fat side down. Fire holding 230.
12:45 - Added Stubbs charcoal to top of charcoal basket. Set the Maverick ET 732 for a 250 hi temp alarm and a 200 low temp alarm.
1:30 - Awakened from sound sleep by hi temp alarm. Closed the firebox vent to 1/4" and the chinmey to 1/8" and went back to bed. All of a sudden I was having a hard time falling back to sleep wondering about the fire...
4:45 - Awakened by low temp alarm. Headed out to see that fire had burned to about 1/4 fuel left so I refilled with a 50/50 mix of lump and Stubbs. Fire took a bit to regain optimum temperature. Backed to bed about 5:30.
6:45 - Up and dragging...see Lesson's Learned below. Fire was OK so I readied the Boston Butt.
7:00 am - Boston Butt joins Brisket on the smoker.
1:00 pm - Brisket shows 198 degrees. I'd planted the food probe about mid brisket in what I thought was the "thickest part of the flat". Tempted to pull but thought I'd probe a bit lower on the flat. To my surprise temp in what I thought was a thinner part of the flat was 180. Probe also met some resistance as it entered and I'd remembered someone writing to say that you'll know the brisky is done when the probe slides in easily. So I gambled and left the brisky in.
4:00 pm - Brisket now shows 198 in middle of flat and probe enters much more easily so I pulled the brisket. I had two aluminum plans ready with double wrap foil in place. I added a layer of Au Jus prep I'd found online to the bottom of the foiled pan. The flat and point separated easily and each went into its own pan and double wrapped. Then off to the cooler with towels...flat on the bottom and point on the top.
5:00 pm - Point cut into cubes and left in its aluminum pan with a light coating of Jeff's sauce. Back into the smoker for burnt ends next to the boston butt.
6:00 pm - Pulled flat from the cooler...still plenty hot. Sliced and drizzled the Au Jus I'd reduced on the stove. Plated along with burned ends. Friends had brought over homemade red slaw, potato salad, steamed veggies. Served meat with Jeff's sauce on the side.
Meal was a BIG HIT. Melt in your mouth flavor. WOW...other than not enough sleep the night before the meal was a hit.
Boston Butt came off about 7 pm. Cooled and pulled...then into freezer bags for another day. Good thing I didn't rely on the pulled pork as emergency backup to the brisky!
LESSONS LEARNED:
1. Leave enough time before you want to eat to handle up to 2 hours/lb cook time. I'd planned on 1.5, and worried it might be as little as 1.25 hours/lb and it worked out I was done almost exactly at 1.5 hours/lb. I tried for 215 degrees but I'd say my average was more like 225-230.
2. Probe and measure flat in several places before declaring "done". You'll know both by temp and the ease with which the probe enters the flat that its done. After separating the flat from the point I now know the flat is actually thinnest where it meets the point. I'd assumed it was thinnest at the end opposite the point and I was wrong. I have to assume the initial 198 degree reading I got might have been in the fat layer between the flat and point. If i had it to do over again I'd use 195 degrees in the middle of the flat...might have kept more of the flat sliceable. As mine got to the thin part near the point the crumbled (think "pulled brisket").
3. Don't be afraid of holding in cooler after reaching "done". It was hot outside and I'd left the cooler in the sun for several hours before I needed it. I could easily have stretched 3 hours if needed before serving. And it you're done really early put in frig and reheat after meat sets for at least 2 hours in the cooler.
4. Figure about 3.5 hours of sleep for each interval for overnight fueling. With a good temp system (Maverick ET 732 is great) you can almost guarantee solid sleep and only about 15 minutes of wake time to refuel. Waiting too long lets the fire start sloping downward and you feel its important to see the fire back up to stability before returning to bed. For the overnight I might have relied 100% on the Stubbs All Natural briquettes. I really recommend them if you can get them. Lump would be used to after dawn as the increased heat can be more carefully monitored.
5. Add time for a second item cooked along with a larger item. The Boston Butt took nearly 2 hours/pound. If I'd relied on it for dinner we've have eaten late. I can only assume the longer cook time was due to the fact that the smoker was opened more during the final brisket stages and to add the burned ends back.
When I get a chance I'll try and add the resources I used in reading up for my cook.
BOTTOM LINE: Brisket is easy to do if you give yourself enough time and are patient throughout the process.
