First Post - Cooking My First Brisket

[Rinod72]

First off I'd like to say I love this forum. I have learned a ton of different things over the last couple weeks of reading posts, articles, and comments from other members, things that would have taken me months to figure out on my own. So thank you everyone for that.

Now that I've said all that I wanted to see what peoples preferences were in terms of wrapping a brisket (Or if you all even do that).

So let me preface this by saying I have read a number of articles and watched some videos on wrapping brisket and there was very little difference in the juiciness/tenderness of the meat, but it seems that had more to do with the fact that most of these videos entailed people using very expensive cuts. So if I'm gonna go down to the local grocery store do people prefer to smoke their brisket wrapped in butcher paper, wrapped in Aluminum foil, or just leave it naked in the smoker?

Hopefully I make sense as I'm completely new to brisket and don't want to mess it up.

Edit: I use a Masterbuilt Electric (Bluetooth) - Think that's the MES 30

 

[TulsaJeff]

Welcome to the forum.. hopefully we treat you so well, you'll want to stick around:cool:

For the last while, I've been using butcher paper and getting a much better crust while still getting the benefits of wrapping and holding in some of that steam to help it tenderize. Foil works good at the tenderizing part but it pretty much renders the crust un-crusty.

Another option if you choose to use foil is to only wrap for a few hours then remove the brisket from the foil and place it back onto the grate unwrapped for a while to re-form that delicious crust.

 

[Rinod72]

Welcome to the forum.. hopefully we treat you so well, you'll want to stick around:cool:

For the last while, I've been using butcher paper and getting a much better crust while still getting the benefits of wrapping and holding in some of that steam to help it tenderize. Foil works good at the tenderizing part but it pretty much renders the crust un-crusty.

Another option if you choose to use foil is to only wrap for a few hours then remove the brisket from the foil and place it back onto the grate unwrapped for a while to re-form that delicious crust.

Awesome thanks for the response. I was leaning butcher paper, but just wasn't sure.

 

[SmokinVOLfan]

You just opened Pandora's box on the meat forum. The debate on whether to wrap or not to wrap. Haha Im JK

There really is no right or wrong answer here. Like you mentioned its more a personal preference and time issue. Jeff made some really good points above.

If you are hurting for time you can wrap in foil to help get through the stall but you risk losing that nice bark on it. I've never tried the paper but I am going to order some from amazon and try it next time.

I did a full packer a couple weeks ago and once it hit the stall I slid it into the pan I had underneath it catching those wonderful drippings and covered it up until it hit about 190 and then uncovered it until it was done and still had a really nice bark on it. This was a 13 pound choice packer I picked up from Krogers. Took about 15 hours at 225

 

[browneyesvictim]

Welcome Rinod!

Starting with a higher quality cut is definitely a plus to begin with. But if you can master keeping a select grade juicy then you deserve all the credit! Oh... and just don't use the wax-lined type of butcher paper.

 

[radioguy]

Welcome to SMF,

i prefer to wrap in a alum pan and foil. I use a rack in the pan bottom. Makes for easy clean up. Pan doesn't puncture easily. I like to catch drippings for sauce. Sometimes ill throw a carrot, celery, onion, garlic and bay leaf in for stock.

Best of luck,
RG

 

[SmokinAl]

Lately I have been doing my briskets hot & fast without wrapping.
At a pit temp of 270-280 they take 45 minutes to an hour per pound to cook, usually without experiencing a stall at the 165 degree range. They are juicy & have a nice bark on them. I usually get Choice if I can, but have done OK with Select. I just had my first Prime brisket, and there is a big difference between Select & Prime. But Choice is very doable.
Al

 

[Rinod72]

You just opened Pandora's box on the meat forum. The debate on whether to wrap or not to wrap. Haha Im JK

There really is no right or wrong answer here. Like you mentioned its more a personal preference and time issue. Jeff made some really good points above.

If you are hurting for time you can wrap in foil to help get through the stall but you risk losing that nice bark on it. I've never tried the paper but I am going to order some from amazon and try it next time.

I did a full packer a couple weeks ago and once it hit the stall I slid it into the pan I had underneath it catching those wonderful drippings and covered it up until it hit about 190 and then uncovered it until it was done and still had a really nice bark on it. This was a 13 pound choice packer I picked up from Krogers. Took about 15 hours at 225
View attachment 367157

So basically I can weather the storm (Stall) if I have the time or can help speed of the process by wrapping in aluminum to raise the core temperature of the meat? Hopefully I understand that correctly.

 

[Rinod72]

Welcome Rinod!

Starting with a higher quality cut is definitely a plus to begin with. But if you can master keeping a select grade juicy then you deserve all the credit! Oh... and just don't use the wax-lined type of butcher paper.

The more comments I get the more nervous I am about smoking a brisket. Good friend of mine owns a BBQ Company (brisket) and told me I should use a lower grade meat on my first try, just in case I completely screw up. I assumed that it was difficult to ruin a brisket but it seems there is more of non-exact science of cooking one and me ruining the meat is a possibility.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[SmokinVOLfan]

So basically I can weather the storm (Stall) if I have the time or can help speed of the process by wrapping in aluminum to raise the core temperature of the meat? Hopefully I understand that correctly.

Yeah you got it! It's really a personal preference thing. I wrap my pork butts. Helps through the stall and that's how my family likes them. IMHO I think it creates a juicer finished product. I take the juices in the foil and dump over the pulled pork. But a lot of people like the hard bark and don't foil. Same thing goes for brisket. Really not a right or wrong answer.

I would try it both ways. If you have the time let it ride and see how it turns out and how you like it. If you don't then next time wrap it at the stall and see if it does any better for your liking.

Brisket isn't a cheap cut to practice on so I would agree with your friend that noted to go with a cheaper cut until you get it down. I did a choice packer and it came out great. I think it was $2.99 lb on sale here.

 

[radioguy]

I do agree with Al. I've been smoking mine @ 260-280 with great results and less time.
Large packers done in 8-9 hours. Also just use temp as a guideline. I start probing at about 195.
They will finish tender 198-210.

Dont get discouraged
Have some fun!
RG

 

[KrisUpInSmoke]

I have read that one of the reasons meat is wrapped is to keep it from getting too much smoke. I guess in big pits, smoke can build up and become overwhelming or turn bad. I don't know if what I read was correct, but it's interesting.

 

[gmc2003]

I like to use a foil pan with rack on the bottom. It keeps the brisket from sitting in the juice. My family isn't big on thick bark so that's not a concern for us. I just wish full packers were more readily available around here.

Chris

 

[tallbm]

The more comments I get the more nervous I am about smoking a brisket. Good friend of mine owns a BBQ Company (brisket) and told me I should use a lower grade meat on my first try, just in case I completely screw up. I assumed that it was difficult to ruin a brisket but it seems there is more of non-exact science of cooking one and me ruining the meat is a possibility.

Thanks for the feedback.

Hi there and welcome!

The Flat part of a whole packer brisket is the problem child to worry about that drives people nuts. The Point is super easy going. Just be sure to put your meat probe in the center of the flat and start checking for tenderness (with a tooth pic all over) when you get to 198F-200F Internal Temp (IT) of the Flat. Also I run 3 meat probes in the Flat as I find that brisket flats are possessed by spirits and their temps increase with no logic when it comes to IT readings lol. Between 3 probes I usually get 1 in the right spot and can use all 3 to let me know how things are going so I avoid getting to the tenderness check prematurely hahaha.


As for wrapped/unwrapped, I prefer to go unwrapped the whole way! I find the flavor to be best this way and if you like bark this is your best bet.

I feel I currently do my briskets to about 90% "perfection" (in my eyes lol) where that last 10% of perfection would be for me to get the perfect bark/crust all over and to do so EVERY time.
I SOMETIMES get some areas of bark/crust that do not want to easily cut with a knife and want to pull off the brisket while slicing. To get to 100% perfection in my eyes, I want to eliminate those 1 or two spots of over crustiness/bark I run across.

There are people in my camp that LOVE those sections of extra bark/crust but I want to eliminate them if I can as I feel the brisket is overall still plenty crusty/barky as it is. Plus I even make crusty burnt ends with the good portion of the meat I trim from my brisket so I don't feel like I need even more crust/bark on top of purposely crusty stuff I'm intentionally making lol.

One final tip. Trim your brisket sensibly and get over the fear of trimming away good yet thin meat at the end of the Flat. I have found that stuff will just burn/crust up on you and be useless. I trim away the thinnest portion of the flat so that what is left of the flat on the brisket is all basically the same uniform thickness.
I take the good trimmed flat meat and throw it in the pan I set under the brisket to catch drippings, along with a couple of handfuls of trimmed fat to keep things from drying out in the pan. You will get a better overall brisket with little to no burnt up unusable thin flat meat this way. See my flat trimming example image below:

BrisketFlatTrimAway

• tallbm
• Oct 7, 2017

I leave about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of fat cap on the flat side of the brisket. Honestly unless you have a very fatty brisket on that side you can probably just leave it untouched :)

I hope this info helps and ask plenty of questions. The whole packer brisket is not some impossible cut of meat to cook it is just one that you have to be well prepared to do. That is the big secret :D

 

[KrisUpInSmoke]

Lol @

I find that brisket flats are possessed by spirits and their temps increase with no logic

 

[Faarg]

The more comments I get the more nervous I am about smoking a brisket. Good friend of mine owns a BBQ Company (brisket) and told me I should use a lower grade meat on my first try, just in case I completely screw up. I assumed that it was difficult to ruin a brisket but it seems there is more of non-exact science of cooking one and me ruining the meat is a possibility.

Thanks for the feedback.

I was really nervous about my first brisket as well. I'm certainly no expert but I survived my first one and it tasted pretty darn good. The two biggest impediments seem to be: (1) having enough knowledge of your smoker to maintain a steady, low temperature and the right amount of smoke, and (2) patience, patience, patience including having the willpower to wrap up the brisket and put it in a cooler for an hour or two after you're done with the smoker. I picked up some areas where I went wrong on my first one and think that I will probably pick up a few more things to improve each and every time I cook.

 

[tallbm]

Lol @

Hahahaha yeah it is ridiculous what a brisket does with it's IT.
On my next brisket smoke I'll post the graph of the 3 meat probes and the craziness of their temps. I run a HeaterMeter PID and it records all that information in graph form so all I have to do is take a screenshot of it... provided I get my smoker set back up properly since it has been relocated :)

 

[Rinod72]

Hi there and welcome!

The Flat part of a whole packer brisket is the problem child to worry about that drives people nuts. The Point is super easy going. Just be sure to put your meat probe in the center of the flat and start checking for tenderness (with a tooth pic all over) when you get to 198F-200F Internal Temp (IT) of the Flat. Also I run 3 meat probes in the Flat as I find that brisket flats are possessed by spirits and their temps increase with no logic when it comes to IT readings lol. Between 3 probes I usually get 1 in the right spot and can use all 3 to let me know how things are going so I avoid getting to the tenderness check prematurely hahaha.


As for wrapped/unwrapped, I prefer to go unwrapped the whole way! I find the flavor to be best this way and if you like bark this is your best bet.

I feel I currently do my briskets to about 90% "perfection" (in my eyes lol) where that last 10% of perfection would be for me to get the perfect bark/crust all over and to do so EVERY time.
I SOMETIMES get some areas of bark/crust that do not want to easily cut with a knife and want to pull off the brisket while slicing. To get to 100% perfection in my eyes, I want to eliminate those 1 or two spots of over crustiness/bark I run across.

There are people in my camp that LOVE those sections of extra bark/crust but I want to eliminate them if I can as I feel the brisket is overall still plenty crusty/barky as it is. Plus I even make crusty burnt ends with the good portion of the meat I trim from my brisket so I don't feel like I need even more crust/bark on top of purposely crusty stuff I'm intentionally making lol.

One final tip. Trim your brisket sensibly and get over the fear of trimming away good yet thin meat at the end of the Flat. I have found that stuff will just burn/crust up on you and be useless. I trim away the thinnest portion of the flat so that what is left of the flat on the brisket is all basically the same uniform thickness.
I take the good trimmed flat meat and throw it in the pan I set under the brisket to catch drippings, along with a couple of handfuls of trimmed fat to keep things from drying out in the pan. You will get a better overall brisket with little to no burnt up unusable thin flat meat this way. See my flat trimming example image below:

BrisketFlatTrimAway

• tallbm
• Oct 7, 2017

I leave about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of fat cap on the flat side of the brisket. Honestly unless you have a very fatty brisket on that side you can probably just leave it untouched :)

I hope this info helps and ask plenty of questions. The whole packer brisket is not some impossible cut of meat to cook it is just one that you have to be well prepared to do. That is the big secret :D

Late reply as I've been out sick, but are you saying in that picture you posted that the area within the green should be completely trimmed off?

 

[tallbm]

Late reply as I've been out sick, but are you saying in that picture you posted that the area within the green should be completely trimmed off?

In an effort to get rid of the thin portion of the flat AND make sure what remains of the flat is about the same thickness, then Yes trim off the green area completely.

I wouldn't throw that good meat out. You can throw it in the smoker later and make burnt ends out of it, you can grind it for burgers, etc. etc. Because that green portion it is so much thinner than the rest of the flat it will basically burn/crust up and be inedible while the rest of the meat continues to cook. This way you can save the meat and produce an overall better brisket in the end.

I know it sounds so odd at first but once you cook a few briskets and you see that the thin portion just burns up you will get over your fear of trimming it away and using it elsewhere :)