HELP!! First time brisket!

[Liam]

Hello.

I bought the biggest piece of brisket I could find in the supermarket...a whopping 970g (2lb 2oz) rolled piece of meat with very little fat left on. I unrolled and was left with this...

View media item 553963
I mixed up a brisket rub close to one seen on the site here by ristau5471

8 parts brown sugar
3 parts salt (amount varies depending on type of salt & size of crystals, less for fine ground table salt)
1 part spices (garlic powder, black pepper, etc)
1 part leafy green spice (basil, parsley. etc)

I substituted kosher salt for table (it’s all I had) at about half the amount and it looked like this...

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Then added to the brisket and wrapped in kitchen wrap overnight (it’s now past midnight in the UK).

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This is the first brisket I will have cooked. I’ll be using birch to smoke (again; it’s what i’ve got) and i’ll be using a cheap offset smoker but I’m a bit unsure about timings and temperatures given that it so comparatively small.

Thank you for any advice.

 

[tallbm]

Hi there and welcome!
I don't think a picture came through but since it is only 970g I would keep it rolled, season it and smoke it as is.

I would go 107C (225F) since it is so small that way you get more smoke on the meat before it finishes. I wouldn't expect a stall either.

With brisket it is ready when it is tender so check for tenderness by stabbing all over with a toothpic at about 92C (198F) and if it slices in like butter then it is tender/ready. If not then let it go another couple of degrees and try again. Repeat until tender.

Give that a shot and if it doesn't turn out so well then I would say to do a pan smoke with your next attempt on a small brisket. SmokinAl's method pretty much guarantees a good outcome :)

 

[Liam]

So, possibly a stupid question, but i’m Looking to get the brisket temp to about 92c/198f?

 

[SmokinAl]

Any where between 195 & 205 is where you want the brisket to be.
But the ultimate test is checking it with a toothpick or a probe.
It should go in multiple spots with very little resistance.
Also I would roll it back up & tie it before smoking it.
Al

 

[tallbm]

Any where between 195 & 205 is where you want the brisket to be.
But the ultimate test is checking it with a toothpick or a probe.
It should go in multiple spots with very little resistance.
Also I would roll it back up & tie it before smoking it.
Al

So, possibly a stupid question, but i’m Looking to get the brisket temp to about 92c/198f?

SmokinAl said it exactly as I would. To reiterate, keep it rolled. Take the brisket internal temp (IT) to 92c/198f AND at that point stab with a toothpic all over. If it goes in like butter the meat is tender and is ready, if not then check every 1c degree (93c, 94c, etc.) with the toothpic test. Once the toothpic goes in like butter your brisket is ready.

Brisket is ONLY done when the tenderness tells you it is done. The brisket IT is just indicator to check for tenderness :)

 

[Liam]

Thanks all for you advice. Brisket number 1 is currently on the smoker and I am sitting in the garden with a book and a beer. I could get used to this.

 

[hardcookin]

Enjoy your brisket smoke!

 

[Liam]

So, today was smoking day. I was really surprised by how much the colour of the rubbed meat had changed overnight.

View media item 553966
But I let it come up to room temperature whilst I got the fire going. For some reason, the pine logs, although they’re pretty well dried out, really didn’t want to light and it took me ages, putting me behind schedules.

Once the temp was up, I added the meat in the middle of the chamber and closed the lid. You can see in the picture how poorly airtight this cheap thing is.

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I sat back and carried on reading Franklin Barbecue with a beer in the sun. Not too shabby.

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This time, I remembered the difference between Fahrenheit and Celsius, wrapped the brisket for the final cook when I saw it stall and pulled it slightly over the suggested 92-95F (I hadn’t anticipated how quickly it would jump when wrapped.)

Let the meat sit in foil for 20 minutes before I could wait no longer. Cut some slices and served with the barbecue sauce recipe from Franklin again.

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WOW! This was amazing. The rub was a bit heavy on pepper (or I was heavy on the rub) but I was really happy with my smoke ring and the overall taste and texture. With the sauce, I nearly wet myself out of excitement.

No cooking for the next couple of weeks because of holidays, but then it’s ribs!

 

[tallbm]

So, today was smoking day. I was really surprised by how much the colour of the rubbed meat had changed overnight.

View media item 553966
But I let it come up to room temperature whilst I got the fire going. For some reason, the pine logs, although they’re pretty well dried out, really didn’t want to light and it took me ages, putting me behind schedules.

Once the temp was up, I added the meat in the middle of the chamber and closed the lid. You can see in the picture how poorly airtight this cheap thing is.

View media item 553967
I sat back and carried on reading Franklin Barbecue with a beer in the sun. Not too shabby.

View media item 553968
This time, I remembered the difference between Fahrenheit and Celsius, wrapped the brisket for the final cook when I saw it stall and pulled it slightly over the suggested 92-95F (I hadn’t anticipated how quickly it would jump when wrapped.)

Let the meat sit in foil for 20 minutes before I could wait no longer. Cut some slices and served with the barbecue sauce recipe from Franklin again.

View media item 553970
WOW! This was amazing. The rub was a bit heavy on pepper (or I was heavy on the rub) but I was really happy with my smoke ring and the overall taste and texture. With the sauce, I nearly wet myself out of excitement.

No cooking for the next couple of weeks because of holidays, but then it’s ribs!

I'm glad it came out well!

Just a serious word of caution though. You mentioned using "pine logs". Pine, Cedar, and woods like that are dangerous to cook with! You should stick to hardwoods (oak, maple, hickory, etc.) or fruit woods (apple, cherry, peach, pear, etc.).
Also do NOT use any treated lumber or composite/laminate lumber. As a matter of fact just go ahead and avoid any commercial lumber or wood you come across to be safe.

Be safe, prepare properly, and keep on cooking. You will enjoy what you produce greatly :)

 

[Liam]

Thanks for the warning. I don’t know why I wrote pine, I meant birch!