First Brisket

[jake628]

I will be doing my first brisket this weekend and would like some guidance.  I recently upgraded my smoker to the Traeger Lil Tex Elite and absolutely love it.  I have a 5.5lb flat cut brisket we got from Costco.  Traeger has a great cooking guide called Brisket 101 that pretty much walks you through the process but I still have some questions.  They suggest to foil the brisket when the IT reaches 160 and continue cooking till the temp reaches 190.  Since I have had terrible luck with foil wrapped items I plan to use a disposable alum pan and just cover it good.  Would this be a good time to add some liquids and/or aromatics while it is covered for flavor like we do for ribs and shoulders?  What would be the estimated total cooking time for this size brisket?

 

[sunman76]

I will be doing my first brisket this weekend and would like some guidance.  I recently upgraded my smoker to the Traeger Lil Tex Elite and absolutely love it.  I have a 5.5lb flat cut brisket we got from Costco.  Traeger has a great cooking guide called Brisket 101 that pretty much walks you through the process but I still have some questions.  They suggest to foil the brisket when the IT reaches 160 and continue cooking till the temp reaches 190.  Since I have had terrible luck with foil wrapped items I plan to use a disposable alum pan and just cover it good.  Would this be a good time to add some liquids and/or aromatics while it is covered for flavor like we do for ribs and shoulders?  What would be the estimated total cooking time for this size brisket?

That is what I do with mine and it turns out good....

I add some apple juice at this point.....

I would say around nine hrs could be shorter or longer I would add a hour or two, then hold in a cooler.

some one should be by to give you better info in just a bit.

good luck.

 

[raptor700]

sunman76 has you covered, I like to go with a (minimum) cook time of 2 hrs per pound.

 The more time you allow for cooking, the better.

It will hold for several hours in a cooler wrapped with towels if it's done early.

   

 and remember the Qview

 

[SmokinAl]

Sounds like the guys have your answers!

 

[africanmeat]

good Luck

 

[Bearcarver]

Yup---Sunman covered it real well!!!

I only add very slight differences in mine:

Foil mixture at 165˚ for Beef:

Apple juice----------------------------6 ounces

Kens Teriyaki Marinade------------1 ounce

BBQ Sauce (your favorite)---------2 ounces

I also take it to 200˚ IT for slicing, but I use an electric knife for slicing it (could get very tender).

Nothing wrong with what you already have there though!!!

[font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]We'll be watching..........[/font]

Bear

 

[meateater]

Sounds like they got you covered.

 

[fliphyzer]

to foil or not to foil, that seems to be a bit of a debate around here.

good luck and congrats on the smoker!