- Jun 17, 2017
- 4
- 22
Just finished my first brisket in my MES smoker. I had (well, still have) an old propane fired one but it never worked very well, or I never figured out how to use it, and the one brisket I did in that was not particularly good. Not inedible, just not very good.
Apologies in advance for no start to finish pics
3.75# flat which I used a homemade rub on, by which I mean I looked at a bunch of rub recipes online and used those as my guideline to make my own. Smoked with hickory at 230, light spritzing with apple juice starting when the IT hit 145 (at which point I also stopped adding chips) then foiled at 160 until the brisket hit 195. I did bump the temp to 250 after foiling despite the recipes not calling for that but dammit, I was getting hungry and it doesn't seem to have affected the finished product negatively.
So here's the brisket after unfoiling following a half hour or so rest.
And a couple of pics of the sliced product.
General observations:
Overall, I think things turned out pretty well. The rub I made up added just a hint of sweetness and heat but completely let the beef flavor come through. Texture wise, a few bits on the narrow end of the flat where a tad tough/dry but unless I'm mistaken, that's the burnt ends hence drenching them in sauce. The center slices had a bit of pull to them but bit through cleanly which I think is the desired texture. Great beef flavor however the smoke ring wasn't very visible and it did lack that hint of smoke I want.
So, a bit of advice if anyone cares to spare it: Would either using a 'stronger' wood like mesquite help add a bit of smoke or should I have continued adding chips here and there until the foiling? Also, after reading a few things on here about overloading the the wood hopper resulting in white, acrid smoke, I did only add a small amount of chips every 45 minutes or so. Would just adding more chips each time, or more frequently, eliminate the need the smoke longer into the process or use a different wood?
Thanks in advance for any comments, hints or advice all.
Apologies in advance for no start to finish pics
3.75# flat which I used a homemade rub on, by which I mean I looked at a bunch of rub recipes online and used those as my guideline to make my own. Smoked with hickory at 230, light spritzing with apple juice starting when the IT hit 145 (at which point I also stopped adding chips) then foiled at 160 until the brisket hit 195. I did bump the temp to 250 after foiling despite the recipes not calling for that but dammit, I was getting hungry and it doesn't seem to have affected the finished product negatively.
So here's the brisket after unfoiling following a half hour or so rest.
And a couple of pics of the sliced product.
General observations:
Overall, I think things turned out pretty well. The rub I made up added just a hint of sweetness and heat but completely let the beef flavor come through. Texture wise, a few bits on the narrow end of the flat where a tad tough/dry but unless I'm mistaken, that's the burnt ends hence drenching them in sauce. The center slices had a bit of pull to them but bit through cleanly which I think is the desired texture. Great beef flavor however the smoke ring wasn't very visible and it did lack that hint of smoke I want.
So, a bit of advice if anyone cares to spare it: Would either using a 'stronger' wood like mesquite help add a bit of smoke or should I have continued adding chips here and there until the foiling? Also, after reading a few things on here about overloading the the wood hopper resulting in white, acrid smoke, I did only add a small amount of chips every 45 minutes or so. Would just adding more chips each time, or more frequently, eliminate the need the smoke longer into the process or use a different wood?
Thanks in advance for any comments, hints or advice all.