End Of Season Brisket Blow Out (Long W/ Heavy Q-View)

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tx smoker

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Apr 14, 2013
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Lago Vista, Texas
We were planning to do this 2 weeks ago but the weather forecast was not cooperating so it was postponed until last Saturday. With the season winding down we thought it'd be nice to have a decent sized gathering and cook a brisket...Tracy's favorite BBQ. We invited 10 people and had 100% attendance for a total of 12 people here. Tracy picked up the brisket from Costco a week before the originally planned event but it had to go into the freezer after we decided to hold off due to the weather forecast. it is a 16# Prime and the most bizarre brisket I've ever seen. I got it out of the freezer on Tuesday last week to thaw in the fridge. trimmed it Friday and got it ready to go. This was the first bizarre thing I noticed. It had far less fat on it than any I've ever seen. I left the mandatory amount on the meat but when all was said and done I only took off about a pound and a half of the heavy fat. Typically it's a lot more that gets removed.

Are you kidding me?? $6 a pound for brisket? If it had been me, I wouldn't have bought it. We can serve prime rib for not much more than this.
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Trimmed and seasoned Friday afternoon. Used Pitt Faced On Point rub for this one
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Onto the smoker at 0-dark:30 Saturday morning. Nasty pic and you can't see much but I did adjust it on the rack (more on that later)
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Ahhhh...this is what we live for. Some sunrise TBS
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Here we are at the four mark. Smoker dialed in at 275. Please note the pan underneath with the drippings in it
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Eight hours we are at an IT of 165. It goes into a large roasting pan
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This is where the fun starts. Take the drippings and mix them with beef gravy, beef broth, bourbon, and black pepper. May sound crazy but this is where I injected the brisket and dumped the rest of the mix over the top. Put the lid on the roasting pan and back onto the smoker. Run the temp up to 300. This looks weird now but wait till later
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The only appetizer. Lori brought a jalapeno queso and some different chips. Folks had already destroyed this before I could get a pic but this stuff was to die for.
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Folks mingling enjoying a cold libation and some queso with chips
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All the side dishes folks brought. First is Lori's potato and bacon casserole
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I made jalapeno cheddar cornbread. Tried a different approach this time by putting the cheese on top versus mixing it in.
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Jodi brought a really tasty corn dish
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Susan's Soppin' Beans. These are always a huge hit and are off the hook delicious
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Matthew and John brought a really nice potato salad
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An amazing veggie salad that Dr. Flo brought
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Cornbread and the potato & bacon casserole on the grill
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Oh this cornbread is looking good
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They are done. Got the browned crunchy cheese on top of the cornbread that I was hoping for
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Brisket is done. I'm liking the way this looks
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Sliced. Not much of a smoke ring but it is so moist, juicy, and tender. Can't figure out the lack of smoke ring. Possibly due to seasoning it the day before?
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Most of the spread. We had more food than would fit on the island so there's stuff scattered all over the kitchen. The bowl to the right of the butter is the jus from the brisket. To the left of the butter is some of Jeff's sauce and a quart of Al's pickles
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Sharks on a feeding frenzy
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Jodi looks happy
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Finally and alas, my plate. I'm always last through the chow line. That's a plate full of food!!
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CHOW TIME!!
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And Rick opening his post dinner concert with "Born To Be Wild" He's been playing guitar for over 50 years and is darned good!!
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Well that's it. If you made it all the way through, thank you for the patience. There was dessert of a couple homemade pies and some ice cream but I never got pics of it. We were all pretty well comatose by the time we got to the pies. So...I did a couple things differently this time. First was putting the brisket on a rack and catching the drippings. This gives me the liquid gold and it saves a heck of a lot of cleaning with the smoker. Second thing was using a roasting pan with the lid versus covering it with foil. This worked great because it was so much easier to probe the brisket as it was getting done not having to peel off the foil them try to put it back on. The other thing was injecting part way through the cook. It always seemed as though the marinade ran out of the meat if injecting at the beginning. My thought was that it'd hold the marinade better if the meat had firmed up some...and I was right. This was a HUGE success. Without question the very best brisket I've ever done. I'm still getting feedback from people about it. One of the new neighbors had just gone through a double mastectomy (I think that's the word for breast cancer surgery) so we loaded up a huge platter of food for her and her husband which Jodi delivered and they were very grateful for. All in all this was an outstanding meal. All of the food was excellent and there was such a variety. I honestly can't say that one thing stood out above the rest...it was all outstanding. What a great way to bring Summer to a closure and ring in the Fall.

Thank you everybody for putting up with this thread but it was just so good I wanted to share all of it. Take care, be safe, and we'll see everybody soon.

Robert
 
Hell yeah Robert everything looks outstanding man! Looks like a mighty fine smoke ring to me. When you say foil pan with a lid do you mean the kind that you kind of crimp on top? That is pretty genius as its a huge PITA to try to take foil on and off. Great way to end the season for sure. I would call that a success.
 
When you say foil pan with a lid do you mean the kind that you kind of crimp on top?

Thank you for the kind words my friend. I used to just use a baking pan and cover it with foil. This time I used the roasting pan which has a matching steel lid so there was no need for foil. The lid took care of that and was much easier to take off to check the brisket for tenderness.

Robert
 
Everything looks fantastic! And learning new tricks or tips is always a good thing! Good Karma points too!
 
I could have made a meal off of the sides and cornbread.......Then you throw that brisket in there. A heck of a meal to round out the official BBQ season.
Jim
 
Looks like a fine time Robert and you're blessed to have a circle of friends like that!
As far as a smoke ring, Aaron Franklin addresses it in a book I have. It's a chemical reaction and has no
impact on flavor. He doesn't stress about it and neither should you.
Your Brisket looks great!
Dan
 
Great job Robert. Everything looks delicious. It looks like a fun time. Did you use a water pan too, or just the pan to catch the dripping?

Rob
 
WoW Robert, what a great day to have close friends over to share a great meal. And all those sides look fantastic.
Great idea with the whole cook on the brisket. And the injection and top coat.

Congrats on a fine meal on a fine day

David
 
Beautiful weather, a gorgeous setting, good friends, and a great feed, doesn't get any better than that Robert! RAY
 
Holy Smokes Robert what a nice party!!!!!

That is some very nice looking grub too!
 
Wow! I’ll be at your next get together for sure! It all looks amazing, thank you for sharing! I like the thought on injecting snd full baste halfway through. It makes a lot of sense. I gave up on injecting efforts a while back, but may dust off the gear to try again with your method. A lot of work, but beautiful meal!
 
OMG does that look good.. great job...

Also let me add... next time poor the blood (FLAVOR) from the package into the drip pan as well

Again.. great job ..
 
It all looks awesome Robert. Great get together. Your new patio furniture looks very relaxing and comfortable also.
 
Man Robert what am awesome spread of food!! Always great to get together with friends and good food. I always try to run a pan under brisket and butts for that liquid gold. Injecting kid way is interesting. I’ll have to ponder that.
 
Looks like good food with good friends! Nice work! But OMG $5.99/lb - wow! I was jsut at Costco and they were 4.99/lb here and I couldnt do it. But I have one last chunk of cooked and one uncooked in the freezer. If i was out - I woulda bought one...I admit.
 
It all looks delicious Robert! Looks like everyone had a good time. Your brisket looked perfect to me but that tater and bacon casserole... oh my!

Ryan
 
So...I did a couple things differently this time. First was putting the brisket on a rack and catching the drippings. This gives me the liquid gold and it saves a heck of a lot of cleaning with the smoker. Second thing was using a roasting pan with the lid versus covering it with foil.
Robert, let me start by saying what a fantastic looking meal this all was, really phenomenal. I also make the jalapeno/cheddar cheese cornbread, but have always mixed in the cheese. I'm definitely doing the cheese on the top next time, thanks for that idea.

I also like the roasting pan idea and will be on the hunt for one big enough for a whole brisket that has a lid. Any suggestions appreciated.

Question about the rack that you used. Is that a turkey rack that you inverted? I like that idea, too, and I may have something that would work. Usually I just put a pan underneath the cooking grate, but that makes it difficult to get to the drippings.
 
Are you kidding me?? $6 a pound for brisket?
OMG $5.99/lb - wow! I was jsut at Costco and they were 4.99/lb here and I couldnt do it.
I just looked at the Kroger ad for next week which starts tomorrow and they are advertising whole brisket for $4.99/lb. I have a couple in the freezer, but with the current prices, when those are gone, that's it...
 
Everything looks fantastic! And learning new tricks or tips is always a good thing!

Thank you KC but as you know, sharing and learning is a huge part of what we do. This is how we all continue to improve.

A heck of a meal to round out the official BBQ season.

Yes sir Jim, it was a great time. Good food, fantastic people, and a post card perfect day with the weather.

Aaron Franklin addresses it in a book I have. It's a chemical reaction and has no
impact on flavor. He doesn't stress about it and neither should you.
Your Brisket looks great!

Thanks so much for the info. I'm aware of the concept behind all of it and know it adds nothing to the flavor but was just perplexed. This is the first time ever that I've not gotten the smoke ring. I do like the visual aspect to seeing it when making BBQ. That to me is what sets BBQ apart from just tossing it in the oven :emoji_wink:

Robert
 
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