First Brisket... All wrong but oh so right.

[gixxerfrk]

So this actually happened a little over a week ago but never got a chance to post. I had bought a full packer on sale a while back and finally decided to smoke it on a whim.

I have to admit I did almost everything wrong and should have failed miserably. I pulled it out of the freezer around 9 am and threw it in a cooler of hot water. While it was thawing I fired the smoker and got it up to temp.

It took about an hour for brisket to thaw sufficiently. I quickly trimmed it and seasoned it. Instead of measuring and mixing a rub I just seasoned the brisket one seasoning at a time. Salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, and brown sugar.

I smoked it with KB and oak at 275 wrapping it at 160 IT then letting it finish cooking to 205 IT. After pulling it I wrapped it and put in cooler for an hour.

Realizing I had no sauce, I threw some drippings, red wine, BBQ sauce, and ketchup in a pan until it tasted good. Tossed burnt ends in sauce and put under broiler for a few minutes. Never should have worked but it was tender and tasty.

 

[WaterRat]

Looks good, not sure about thawing in hot water though! What kind of smoker is that?

 

[gixxerfrk]

It’s a Brinkmann Vertical Trailmaster w/side firebox.

 

[Dantij]

I've thawed steaks in warm water before and it works well. First I've heard of hot water and a whole brisket!!
Regardless, great looking finished product. Looks delicious.

 

[bdskelly]

Looks delicious!

 

[Hawging It]

Perfection SON!!

 

[mike243]

Looks great and like the temp controller too

 

[gixxerfrk]

Looks great and like the temp controller too

I liked the temperature controller too until it took a dump on me today 3 hours into a pork shoulder.

 

[Preacher Man]

Sure looks like you did everything right.

Pound it

(I like that Cowboys Star in your avatar picture)

 

[Polka]

Ah! Another dump cook! Great going, and thanks for sharing. Be careful with the hot water thaw, but with the quick thaw, followed by getting to the cooker in quick time, you would almost always be okay. Don't make that a habit. Days in fridge, or cold water running in sink is much preferred. Nifty set up. You got natural intuitiveness to your tastes and procedures! Sweet. R