Memorial Day Weekend Full Packer Brisket Smoke

[MileHighSmokerGirl]

In honor of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms we enjoy today and never made
it home... Thank you.






A full packer brisket smoke is in store for today.
I separated the point from the flat to fit on the 18" Weber Smokey Mountain Smoker and a trim. I'll also be watching the Indianapolis 500.

I am also back with new gear and some new techniques which I will reveal throughout this thread.

I am about go fire up the smoker shortly after I finish prepping the brisket.

The brisket fat is on the stove simmering to render some new tallow as well.

 

[yankee2bbq]

I’ll be watching this one. Great price on that packer.
And being originally from Northwest Indiana (and the wife from Indianapolis) we’ll be watching the Indy 500 too!

 

[SmokinEdge]

I’m in

 

[MileHighSmokerGirl]

So I spent a little time reading Myron Mixon's book Smoking with Myron Mixon, Meathead Goldwyn's Texas Brisket Made Easy and Steven Raichlen's The Brisket Chronicles the past several months since my last mediocre brisket I smoked.

Simple garlic, black pepper and kosher salt rub, beef broth injected.

I've gleaned a few techniques from these pro's to shore up my brisket smoking deficiencies.

Namely, my brisket was always dry. Some have been juicy, but not to my satisfaction. I spent the time researching to change that hopefully.

The Brisket Chronicles had an amazing tip about cutting out cardboard around your brisket, covering it with aluminum foil and poking holes in it to keep the bottom of the brisket from drying out. I expect this will slow down the smoking process some but I'm in no hurry today.

My Dad got a tip from Myron Mixon himself in person about why smoke ring doesn't develop. It's because the meat isn't cold enough when you take it out of the fridge and put it onto the smoker. He told Dad to stick in the freezer before you put it on the smoker so it will get super cold but not to allow it to freeze. I put mine in the deep freeze for about 40 mins. Then directly on the top the smoker.

Meathead Goldwyn's book said to look into a "left hand cut brisket" because it's more tender than a right hand cut. Why?

Straight from his book.

“A few years back at the Texas State Finals, several of us arrived on Thursday to get in line for the best sites. Thursday night was devoted to serious drinking.

One of the better cooks, Ole Connie Baker of the team “Li’l Pit Of Heaven” was throwing back quite a few of those Mexican beers with a chunk of lime stuck in the neck. Connie had so many of them limeade beers that he was starting to smile with a pucker.

Someone asked him how come his brisket was so tender and always placed in the top three. I thought to myself, boy oh boy, if loose lips sink ships then Ole Connie is going down tonight. All got quiet as he stuffed another lime in a longneck and he said that he “only cooks left-handed briskets”.

He explained that most, but not all, steers rest on their left side, which means when they get up they have to push harder with their right legs. At this point about half the bunch mumbled something to the effect of “bull hockey” and went back to different conversations.

A few of us noticed that Ole Connie wasn’t smirking. Two or three of us moved closer and I said to him, “You can’t stop there. What does pushing up with their right legs have to do with the left brisket?”

Ole Connie stuffed another lime and told us that when they push up with the right legs, it flexes the right brisket muscle more than the left. Therefore the right-handed brisket will be tougher and less marbled than the left. Not always but usually. I asked him, “How the heck do you tell a left-handed brisket from the right?”

He stuffed another lime and told me that, "with the fat side down, on a left-handed brisket, with the narrow part closest to you, the point will curve to the right.”

Saturday awards time rolled around and Connie took First Brisket and Grand Champion over 180 of the best cooks in Texas. I think that I came in 19th with my right-handed brisket.

This is a concept that I just could not get this off my mind. Then I phoned the kin folk in LaGrange, Texas, and asked if they would check out their herd. Yep, you guessed it. Only three out of 37 consistently rested on their right side. Dangnation, Ole Connie has got it going big time!

I went to five different grocery stores and flexed briskets to see which sides were more limber and more marbled. There are some right-handed briskets that are more limber and marbled than the lefties, but for the most part, the majority of the best are left handed!

Welp, there it is folks. Take it or leave it. As Joe Friday on the 1950s TV show, Dragnet, used to say, “Only the facts, ma’am.”

He's giving his book away free for download. (The quoted parts are from Pages 118 & 119 in the pdf).

https://amazingribs.com/books/Texas-Brisket.pdf

So I went to Costco and it took me 23 minutes of digging but I did find a left hand brisket.

So we are off and running now. I put the brisket on at 8:53 am.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Straight from his book.

I went down that rabbit hole, lol.

 

[indaswamp]

I'm in....

 

[bigfurmn]

I'm totally in for the cook. And the races today. Almost forgot with work and all.

 

[sandyut]

Im in.

 

[babydocsmoke]

Very interested how this turns out. Also interested in the cold-on-the-smoker idea. I always thought that the ring caused by cold smoked meat was an "artificial" smoke ring due to reaction of cold meat with hot air and not a "true" smoke ring.

To be honest, I smoke a lot of cold meat, cause I hate waiting 3+ hours for it to hit room temp. I'd be happy to know I've been doing it right all this time....even if just by accident.

Also, is that a 18 inch WSM or a 22?

 

[MileHighSmokerGirl]

Very interested how this turns out. Also interested in the cold-on-the-smoker idea. I always thought that the ring caused by cold smoked meat was an "artificial" smoke ring due to reaction of cold meat with hot air and not a "true" smoke ring.

To be honest, I smoke a lot of cold meat, cause I hate waiting 3+ hours for it to hit room temp. I'd be happy to know I've been doing it right all this time....even if just by accident.

Also, is that a 18 inch WSM or a 22?

It's an 18".

 

[MileHighSmokerGirl]

3 hrs and 40 mins in. IT readings are at 142° F.

 

[SmokinEdge]

That’s a good track so far

 

[SmokinEdge]

So I spent a little time reading Myron Mixon's book Smoking with Myron Mixon, Meathead Goldwyn's Texas Brisket Made Easy and Steven Raichlen's The Brisket Chronicles the past several months since my last mediocre brisket I smoked.

Simple garlic, black pepper and kosher salt rub, beef broth injected.
View attachment 735313

I've gleaned a few techniques from these pro's to shore up my brisket smoking deficiencies.

Namely, my brisket was always dry. Some have been juicy, but not to my satisfaction. I spent the time researching to change that hopefully.

The Brisket Chronicles had an amazing tip about cutting out cardboard around your brisket, covering it with aluminum foil and poking holes in it to keep the bottom of the brisket from drying out. I expect this will slow down the smoking process some but I'm in no hurry today.
View attachment 735318

My Dad got a tip from Myron Mixon himself in person about why smoke ring doesn't develop. It's because the meat isn't cold enough when you take it out of the fridge and put it onto the smoker. He told Dad to stick in the freezer before you put it on the smoker so it will get super cold but not to allow it to freeze. I put mine in the deep freeze for about 40 mins. Then directly on the top the smoker.
View attachment 735315

View attachment 735316

Meathead Goldwyn's book said to look into a "left hand cut brisket" because it's more tender than a right hand cut. Why?

Straight from his book.


He's giving his book away free for download. (The quoted parts are from Pages 118 & 119 in the pdf).

https://amazingribs.com/books/Texas-Brisket.pdf

So I went to Costco and it took me 23 minutes of digging but I did find a left hand brisket.

View attachment 735319

View attachment 735320

So we are off and running now. I put the brisket on at 8:53 am.

Asking a pit master how he does it, is a lot like asking a gold prosecutor where the gold is. lol, they will always tell you something but mostly half truths mixed with bs. That’s just the way it’s always been.

Not until recently have we nailed the science of meat. Now you can follow science instead of folklore and yarns.

 

[MileHighSmokerGirl]

The point is at 165° F, five hours in.

The flat is lagging behind at 148°. I removed the upper grate cardboard.

I am pulling the point and wrapping it in peach butcher paper in 15 minutes. (No more using aluminum foil). The Brisket Chronicles explained why. Using foil steam tenderizes the brisket and makes a pot roast-like consistency. The butcher paper breathes better and releases steam, yet keeps the moisture in the brisket.

 

[MileHighSmokerGirl]

The flat has stalled at 150°. I pulled the point at 165° and wrapped in peach butcher paper.

 

[MileHighSmokerGirl]

The flat hit 165° and has been wrapped. I forgot the pic.

7 hrs 15 mins in to this smoke and it's looking very promising.

 

[MileHighSmokerGirl]

At 8 hrs and 45 mins I went to check on the smoker and the fire was below 180°, so I turned on the oven to 250° and I'll finish there rather than break the smoker apart and add more coals.

The point is at 190° F.

The flat is about 185° F.

 

[MileHighSmokerGirl]

Ok, the flat and point are jiggly like jello, probe tender and equalized at 200° F IT in the oven.

I put the flat down on the bottom grate to the right and the point up on the upper grate to the left. That worked out nicely.

I pulled both ends and stuck them in turkey bags and sucked all the air out and tied the ends off and stuck them in the brisket blanket, zipped it up and then put it in the Que Crib and latched the doors.

8 hrs 50 mins 36 seconds on the smoker.
1 hr 25 mins 21 seconds in the oven.

Now to rest for 2 hours.

My sidekick Dash here is getting very impatient.

 

[bigfurmn]

Yeah, never piss off the cat. Never know what they will do to you at night in your sleep!

 

[MileHighSmokerGirl]

Well a bittersweet finish here. Feels like 12.5 hours wasted.

The point is excellent. 5 stars. Tender, pulls apart with little to no effort, and the fibers tear when you do. Juicy.

The flat...sucked. 2 stars. Apparently it wasn't done. It felt done. It jiggled. Sigh. Flats and I don't get along. On top of that it was dry despite injecting it with beef broth, putting it on the top rack and protecting the bottom side from heat/burning. What the hell am I doing wrong on my flat's?

The smoker is too big to house a full packer on the rack without separating the point and flat.

The point slices were delicious.