First brisket advice.

[SmokingUPnorth]

Hey guys and gals. Planning on doing my first brisket this weekend. Planning on cooking at 225 till it reaches 203*. Thinking of using SPOG as rub. But not sure really how much to apply. Using oak in the Traeger along with A pellet trey filled with oak pellets. Any recommendations I’m all ears. Planning on putting it in on Around 4am. Haven’t got it yet do not sure how many lbs it will be. What’s everyone using on rub?

 

[sandyut]

thats subjective...look at pics maybe to get the visual. these are usually large enough that it can take a fair amount, but depends on how much you like. you want savory, not salt crusted.

 

[SmokinAl]

What ever sticks to the meat will be just fine. SPOG is great, but I just use S&P (Texas style) You don’t want to put too much seasoning on a brisket. You want to taste that beef!! I like to put the rub on & wrap it in Saran Wrap for a few hours, or overnight. If you want you can also inject the brisket with beef stock. Your first brisket will be a fun adventure, good luck! I’m sure you will do well!
Al

 

[JC in GB]

SmokinAl has you covered.

May I suggest running at 250 F? Running at 225 F will make for a very long cook.

Jeff's Texas rub is great on brisket. If you can't season and wrap the brisket overnight, then I would use the injection method to get flavor deep into the meat.

Make sure you post some pics of your cook.

JC

 

[bbqbrett]

For most beef I use salt pepper, garlic powder & chili powder. Let us know how the cook goes.

 

[tallbm]

Hey guys and gals. Planning on doing my first brisket this weekend. Planning on cooking at 225 till it reaches 203*. Thinking of using SPOG as rub. But not sure really how much to apply. Using oak in the Traeger along with A pellet trey filled with oak pellets. Any recommendations I’m all ears. Planning on putting it in on Around 4am. Haven’t got it yet do not sure how many lbs it will be. What’s everyone using on rub?

I do my briskets with SPOG so you will be good to go there.
Like Al mentions, whatever will stick aught to be enough just don't over salt it. Actually add salt last and separately so it sticks less than the other spices.
The flat muscle is thinner which makes a large chunk of meat like a brisket easier to over salt than people think. Here is a pic from my recent brisket post so you can see how much SPOG seasoning was used.

Some people have trouble with the AMNPS tray's in their pellet grill but if yours works then I think you are golden man!

Now as for temp and time. As was mentioned I would kick that smoker temp up. I smoke my briskets at a steady 275F smoker temp, unwrapped the entire time, and never opening the smoker until the meat probe tells me it is time to check for tenderness.
At this smoker temp time is a little over an hour a pound using the untrimmed weight of the brisket (even if the brisket is trimmed when in the smoker). A brisket is done when tender, never by time or temp. You just use the internal temp to tell u when to check for tenderness and you check for tenderness by stabing ALL OVER with a wooden kabob skewer and it goes in like butter ALL OVER.
If you cook at 225F and you put it on at 4am you may not be eating it within 24hrs hahaha.

****IMPORTANT - The number one cause of a bad or failed brisket attempt is not planning enough time for the brisket to cook! Get your timing estimated very well then plan for the cook to finish 4 hours early!
So a 15 pound brisket at 275F the way I cook it takes over 16'ish hours. So I plan to start that brisket at least 20 hours (16hrs + 4 extra hours = 20hrs) before I plan to eat or serve it.
If I want to eat at Noon time on Saturday, I make sure the brisket is on a well heated smoker at 4pm on Friday the day before.
If it finishes 4 hours early GREAT!!! I just tightly double wrap in foil and then tightly wrap in 3 bath towels and set on the table. It will be piping hot and ready to serve 4-5 hours later and has had a great rest.
If it doesn't finish 4 hours early..... I have 4 hours for it to hopefully finish before eating/serving time lol.

Briskets and porkbutts don't care what temp you cook them at so cranking up the heat is a good idea.
I try and buy briskets at 15 pound or higher because they have a thicker flat muscle and I trim away the thin portion of the flat and cook that good meat separately or re-purpose it all together. See my trimmed raw briskets in the pic above.
I trimmed those briskets to remove the thin portion of the flat in a way that leaves a good consistent thickness AND still fits my racks :)

Anyhow, no matter what figure out how much time it will definitely take and add the buffer time and make sure your smoker temps can hold these temps. You do that and you have basically won 50% of the brisket battle. The next 45% of the battle is cooking until the brisket tells you it is tender ALL OVER, never time or temp. The final 5% is just not ruining the seasoning by over salting or adding something weird or adding something like sugar that burns over that long cook lol.

I hope all this info helps on your first brisket, I look forward to seeing you post about it! :)

 

[SmokingUPnorth]

Thanks a lot guys. I think I’ll do 250 based on your guys input. And probably cook it overnight. Are you guys still using mustard for the rub. Or more like seasoning it like a steak?

 

[SmokingUPnorth]

Also should I trim the fat off of it?

 

[MJB05615]

You usually want to trim the fat down to a 1/4" fatcap left. That's enough that it will render during the cook, and make the meat more juicy. I try to trim as much of it as possible to as close to 1/4" as I can. I'd rather leave more than too little fat. Fat = Flavor. Can't wait to hear and hopefully see how it went.

 

[tallbm]

Also should I trim the fat off of it?

I find that most whole packers I get don't really need much if any triming. Everytime i do trim i cut too much. There may be 1 section over the point that get a bit of fat trim these days from me.
I also remove the hard "deckle" fat from the undreside. That chunk is worthless and should go.
Check out an Aaron Franklin trimming video and he will show you a deckle. Just remember he is buying basically the highest quality brisket in the U.S. so if your brisket doesnt have as much fat or size you know why hahaha.

 

[gmc2003]

Since this is your first one I'd keep it as simple as possible. Salt and pepper for the rub, you won't need the mustard. The moisture of the meat should be enough to hold the rub. Also by keeping it simple on the first one you'll know exactly how the brisket tastes. Then on the second and third ones you can add different things like fancier rubs, injections or trying a different wood, I've gone this route before and have since reverted back to the basics. I like the natural beef flavor best. Most of all sit back, enjoy the smoke, and let us know how it turns out. One more thing and probably the most important - Don't overthink it. People go crazy worrying about the stall, temp fluctuations or whatever else may pop up. It's only a piece of meat,

Chris

 

[SmokingUPnorth]

Since this is your first one I'd keep it as simple as possible. Salt and pepper for the rub, you won't need the mustard. The moisture of the meat should be enough to hold the rub. Also by keeping it simple on the first one you'll know exactly how the brisket tastes. Then on the second and third ones you can add different things like fancier rubs, injections or trying a different wood, I've gone this route before and have since reverted back to the basics. I like the natural beef flavor best. Most of all sit back, enjoy the smoke, and let us know how it turns out. One more thing and probably the most important - Don't overthink it. People go crazy worrying about the stall, temp fluctuations or whatever else may pop up. It's only a piece of meat,

Chris

thanka dir all the input. I did keep it simple. It was actually 2 briskets in the pack about 8lb each. So I held off putting it on the bight before and got it on this morning at 5am. Just did SPOG with a little sugar for some bark. But one end is a lot thinner than the other way. Anyway to help that side from not drying out?

 

[gmc2003]

The one in the pic appears to be a flat. There are a few options that I can think of.

Option 1: cut the thinner section off so you have a uniform piece of meat. The cut off section can be cooked at the same time as the main piece or you can grind it up raw for some great burger meat.

Option 2: At the stall foil the brisket with some liquid(beef broth or whatever you like). This may not solve the overcookedness completely but the braising will help.

Option 3: Don't worry if the thinner section is a little overcooked. It will taste great either chopped or made into a hash.

There may be other ideas out there, but those are the ones that came to mind. It looks like your off to a good start. Happy smoking.

Chris

 

[gmc2003]

I should note. That when I foil. I do so in a disposable aluminum pan, and place the brisket on top of a small wire rack so it doesn't sit in the liquid.

Chris

 

[chopsaw]

but I just use S&P (Texas style)

I do it same as Al . I grind the salt and the pepper . Mix 50 / 50 . I give it a good layer , plastic wrap then fridge over night .
Gives it nice bark and great flavor .

 

[noboundaries]

The worst thing about smoking a packer brisket is the conversation that happens in your mind. A packer is actually a simple hunk of meat to smoke but it is over-thunk to the nth degree. You can literally rub it (S&P, SPOG, Mont. Steak Seasoning), load it in the 250F smoker, and forget about it for 8 hours. Do yourself a favor and don't use a meat probe for that time. Meat probes create a constant stream of questions but no answers.

At 8 hours, double wrap it in foil with a cup of beef broth, seal it up tight and insert a meat probe through the wrapping into the flat, not the thick point.

When it hits your target of 203F, probe the flat and only the flat. It there's resistance, keep cooking until the probe slides right in. A little resistance is fine, but will need a longer rest, at least 3 hours.

I've moved away from resting in a cooler. I now use a 170F oven for at least 2-3 hours, even longer. Brisket is a rich meat, and I like it to be sliceable but still practically melt in your mouth. And that rendered fat in the point is literally beef butter. Soooo good.

Looking forward to your results no matter what technique you use.

Ray

 

[tallbm]

As others have mentioned, the meat in the picture looks like a flat only.
Also, in TX we don't put sugar on our brisket (or much of our meat) but I have a concern that the sugar may burn cooking that long and turn out bitter... I guess you will be our guinea pig and let us know hahaha.

Next since this is a flat I would wrap with foil around 185F with a splash of some liquid or broth because flats alone can come out a little dry.

For that thin end I would cut it away and smoke it along with the brisket and just pull it early or I would repurpose it for another dish like braised beef tips or save it for burger grind when I do my grinding a couple times a year.

Anyhow, let us know how it comes out :)

 

[noboundaries]

Sugar on beef? Interesting.