Going to try my first brisket today

  • Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
SMF is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Faarg

Fire Starter
Original poster
May 29, 2018
73
28
With some urging from my wife, who loves brisket, I've decided to take brisket with my second smoke. I'm going to try a whole brisket and make burnt ends with the point.

Any suggestions or tips? I'll post some photos of how it goes.
 
The secret to brisket is patience. You have to let it cook until it’s done! You can do all the fancy crap you want but if you get impatient and pull it before it’s ready it’s not going to matter one bit. If it’s not probing tender in EVERY part, it is not done. People get worried @202* that it’s going to dry out, it won’t. I’ve taken briskets north of 210 and they were tender and juicy as can be.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Faarg
As others have said, be patient and be sure that the flat is probe tender all over otherwise you will love the point and be back on here saying that the point was great but the flat was dry and tough. You want that fat in the flat to basically melt. That’s when you’ll love the end product.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Faarg
Good luck Faarg, I'll be watching this thread, I plan on doing a brisket in the near future
 
3FAFC54D-6F73-4498-BE73-A2C2AA9C6B37.jpeg
752AB5B3-72FF-4D05-B2EA-1E73B648DECC.jpeg
F0A16743-7B8E-4CC2-86FB-EEAFC4BD728B.jpeg
1CFA00E4-3C5D-42ED-89E1-FB733E876B1B.jpeg


30 minutes in and all appears to be going well so far. Working on getting the temperature set but I've been between 220 and 235 the whole time.
 
To help regulate temperatures a water pan does wonders. Put it in the smoker to warm up for 30 to 60 minutes before the meat goes in. Thermal mass is your friend. I'd also put the meat in the middle and the thermometer above the meat.

Thanks for the tip. I moved the brisket to the middle and the thermometer to the top rack. 3 hours in and holding steady at 225.

So far, so good.
 
351946A0-3E17-4662-B7DE-5E21BCAD976F.jpeg


7 hours into the cook and an IT of 159. Smoker has been holding a consistent temp of 225.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RiversideSm0ker
Looking good,only thing I see is with your smoke tube getting drowned by grease and water and maybe hindering smoke I'd drop it down under some thing that will block stuff falling on it
 
C0734A7E-ADF4-49F7-B04C-DCAC5566F9C0.jpeg
The taste and texture was amazing. But I had a tough time carving slices. The meat kept falling apart as I cut it. I think that part of the problem was not having the right knife for the job. But not bad for my first attempt.
 
Just something that I have found of note.... If wondering what knife to use for slicing, and if you make jerky and don't have a real meat slicer, Cabelas has their version of a Jerky slicer which is a cutting board in a steel guide that comes with a knife. The knife out of the box is not bad but once hit with a fine stone was really sharp and would work perfectly on this brisket. I think the blade was 10 or 11 inches. Just trying to help on this one...

The end product looks great!!!
 
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

Latest posts

Clicky