Brisket

[babydocsmoker]

Well, wanted to try a new method for brisket. The “hot hold method” that is. So…

Choice packer brisket. A little disappointed it came out of the vac seal with a weird chunk cut out of the point.

Trimmed.

My secret rub no binder (just salt and pepper for me as I love the taste of brisket and hate to cover the flavor with too much “other stuff”)

First time using this SmokeDaddy cold smoke generator. We’ll see how she does!!

Smoked straight at 225F without wrapping until about 198F at the thickest part. Ready to wrap in tin foil (instead of my usual butcher paper) and on to the hold at 150F overnight.

Held overnight at 150F. Not a ton of juices in the foil. Not sure if that’s good or not.

…and it turned out ok. A little dryer than I like. Okish smoke flavor but expected a little more with the added hardware.

I think this method has potential, but is gonna need a little tweaking. I think that little smoker added a little more heat than I expected. I started it up with a little bit of hot charcoal, and I think I should have ditched the charcoal and just lit with a torch. Also, probably smoke it overall at a lower temp. The thought behind this method (at least I thought) was to get it up to temp, and then let it sit and marinate itself overnight. Problem is if you’ve cooked all the juice out, you’ve got a problem. Also, maybe less trimming? Maybe leave a little more to render at a hotter temp?

All in all, none went to waste and it’s fun to experiment!

 

[912smoker]

Looks mighty good from here Doc !
Great color and bark !!
I believe adding some liquid to the wrap well help. I use Kosmos Q Brisket mop, beef bullion or tallow.

Keith

 

[Coreymacc]

That brisket looks pretty lean also IMO. The dryness may have just been due to that. Ive done a bunch of briskets now and each one seems a bit different for moisture. Only way to test a procedure in my opinion is do it twice the same way, if the result is the same then you can make a decision.

That bark looks amazing though.
Corey

 

[babydocsmoker]

Looks mighty good from here Doc !
Great color and bark !!
I believe adding some liquid to the wrap well help. I use Kosmos Q Brisket mop, beef bullion or tallow.

Keith

I've had friends use Kosmos. I'll have to give it a try!!

 

[SmokinEdge]

Looks good Doc. But question. Did you let the IT cool before the 150 rest? That can make a big difference. Getting that IT below 180 before the hold is what I shoot for.

 

[babydocsmoker]

Looks good Doc. But question. Did you let the IT cool before the 150 rest? That can make a big difference. Getting that IT below 180 before the hold is what I shoot for.

Nope! That's something to try too. I just put it straight to rest. Good to know!!

 

[Smokin Okie]

Looks mighty good from here Doc !
Great color and bark !!
I believe adding some liquid to the wrap well help. I use Kosmos Q Brisket mop, beef bullion or tallow.

Keith

I've not used Kosmos Brisket mop on a brisket, but a few dashes of it in Zing Zang Bloody Mary mix really adds a lot . That tip came from Kosmo himself when I was at his shop one day.


And just as everyone is trying long brisket holds, in Aaron Franklin's latest book, he says that ya might as well eat a brisket two hours after its temp has dropped to 145* range. He says it won't get any better.

 

[thirdeye]

You might try wrapping or boating when you get the color you want, which may be in the 160° - 170° range. And like SmokinEdge mentioned, you need to let the brisket drop in temp before hot holding.

 

[babydocsmoker]

You might try wrapping or boating when you get the color you want, which may be in the 160° - 170° range. And like SmokinEdge mentioned, you need to let the brisket drop in temp before hot holding.

Reasoning behind the rest before the hold is to not continue to cook I'm assuming? So, not keeping it at a higher temp and loosing moisture during that time?

 

[JLeonard]

I'm no expert, but it looks darn good to me!! Good advice above.

Jim

 

[Smokin Okie]

Just me, but I would recommend Aaron Franklin's new book. He goes into brisket in-depth. And if anyone knows brisket, he does.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Reasoning behind the rest before the hold is to not continue to cook I'm assuming? So, not keeping it at a higher temp and loosing moisture during that time?

Correct, you have to stop the cooking process once the meat is done. Then transition it into holding, think of a rest stage here. Then into a low but safe temp to hold. This would be above 140 but below 180. Mostly in the 140-160 range.

 

[babydocsmoker]

Just me, but I would recommend Aaron Franklin's new book. He goes into brisket in-depth. And if anyone knows brisket, he does.

I'll look it up. The guy is a legend that's for sure!

 

[Smokin Okie]

I'll look it up. The guy is a legend that's for sure!

He's made some small changes to his brisket cook since his first book. And he goes into more depth. And he's been doing more thinking about a lot of things in 8 years since the first book.

 

[goldendogs]

I'm wondering what you thought of the smokedaddy?

 

[babydocsmoker]

I'm wondering what you thought of the smokedaddy?

It was really hot. Hotter than I expected and burned through the chips faster than I expected too. I put some really fine lit charcoal at the bottom, instead of just lighting the chips so this might be on me. Im gonna try it again with something else, and I'll post some feedback!

 

[DRKsmoking]

All in all, none went to waste and it’s fun to experiment!

That really is what it is about mostly for me,

And some great advice from above posts ^^^,

But have not done a brisket yet, and yours looks good to me.

David

 

[Gonna Smoke]

Two of the greatest things about this forum are the knowledge and willingness to share it.

My secret rub no binder

Mine is a super secret rub... Don't tell anyone, but I like salt and pepper, too...

 

[Buckeyedude]

Correct, you have to stop the cooking process once the meat is done. Then transition it into holding, think of a rest stage here. Then into a low but safe temp to hold. This would be above 140 but below 180. Mostly in the 140-160 range.

So would you consider the same as wrapping and putting into a cooler after hitting your meat is done temp? Assuming the environment is warm and not feb in alberta cold !

 

[SmokinEdge]

So would you consider the same as wrapping and putting into a cooler after hitting your meat is done temp? Assuming the environment is warm and not feb in alberta cold !

No is the short answer.
Once the meat probes tender and you call it done. Out of the cooker, then open the wrap, (if you used a wrap) then once it cools to about 180 IT wrap it back up and into the cooler. If you don’t do this step, the meat will continue to cook at a high temp (above 200F) for an unknown amount of time. This can result in a very soft texture, maybe mushy. Basically beyond pull or shred texture.