MES n00b w/2nd smoke. This time, Brisket!!! Advice? Tips? Suggestions?

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ostrichsak

Meat Mopper
Original poster
Oct 4, 2013
255
48
Some of you may recall that I got a MES last week and promptly threw a pork shoulder on the thing and was amazed by how easy it was to make some astounding pork.  No time to celebrate that victory because I picked up a 5lb brisket at the local store yesterday and I'm ready to take on round two!

So, anything different I need to know here?  

I was planning to rub it with yellow mustard & a store-bought dry rub (after I use this stuff up I plan to start experimenting with my own) then wrap it in saran wrap (until tomorrow morning or possibly Wed morning) just like I did the shoulder.  Is it okay to use the same yellow mustard & rub or should I be doing something different?  I think I read some just wetted the surface with water or oil before rubbing but I think I saw others say this was alright so I was hoping to keep the variables down from the pork just to get a feel & learn how I wanted to differ things moving forward.  What about temperature?  Is the 225deg I did w/the pork still the way to go or should I do a lower temp for beef brisket?  I'll probably try to decrease the amount of wood chips this time as I read someone say that a couple of TBSP of chips in the MES every 30min produced about the perfect amount of smoke.  I will likely do this for the first 3hrs or so and then stop the chips and just heat it until cooked.  I may even wrap it in foil after the smoke phase to help keep some of the juice where it belongs.  Then I'll let it rest maybe an hour or so before slicing it up and enjoying.  My flat is pretty small and as a result I'm not sure I want to mess with cutting off the tip and doing burnt ends but I kind of want to since I toyed with the idea of doing burn ends with the pork.  If I decide to do that do I just pull it at around 180deg and cut off the point to dice up into 1" squares toss in rub and then return it all until the flat hits 200deg and the ends are nice and darkened to my liking?  Does that sound about right?

Start with the prep first since I hope to do that right now and then I can make the rest of the decisions over the next 12-24hrs depending on when I decide to start smoking.

Thanks for the help!
 
At only 5lbs I doubt you have a full packer. I would guess it's just a flat. I would cook it at 225-235 to 190 or so, foiling at 165. Test with a toothpick for doneness. It should go in with no effort. Rest in towels for a hour or so and slice.
 
 
Sounds great.  So about what time is the party over at your house? 
Ha, if you leave now you might get here in time!
At only 5lbs I doubt you have a full packer. I would guess it's just a flat. I would cook it at 225-235 to 190 or so, foiling at 165. Test with a toothpick for doneness. It should go in with no effort. Rest in towels for a hour or so and slice.
I suspect you may be right. I was trimming the cap off (I'm going to have to get a better knife and better at carving) and I don't see that large fat vein that would separate them so I'm thinking it's just the flat as well.  I do recall that they had these and then points called something else but they were sold separately.  I guess next time I'll grab some of those and cube 'em up... heck, if I decide to smoke this Wednesday instead of tomorrow I may just go back and grab one anyway to do them both at the same time.
 
I like to buy packers because they are a lot cheaper and I own a good knife so I can do my own trimming. $2/lb for packer and $4/lb for a flat. No brainer for me.
 
A 5Lb Brisket is most likely just the flat with the Point removed. The two together in a whole packer would be in excess of 10Lbs. Mustard and the Pork Rub will be fine. I like the subtle flavor of the Mustard but Oil or even Nothing works too. Many don't like sweet Rubs on Beef and just use SPOG, Salt, Pepper, Onion and Garlic Powder. The choice is yours. 225°F is fine. You can go down to 200 if you wish. Either way if you plan on 2 hours/Lb with 2 hours to CYA, you should be fine. Wrap in foil and towels and rest in a cooler if the meat is done early. It will stay hot about 3-4 hours. The 3 hours of Chips is fine and you can foil then too if you wish. However for a better Bark I would hold off on foiling until it stalls, somewhere around 165-170°F. You might like to try the Recipe below...JJ

Smokey Au Jus

1- Lg Onion,

4-5 Carrots,

3-4 Ribs Celery

3-4 Peeled Cloves of Garlic

Toss them in a pan under the Beef, and let the whole deal Smoke for one hour,

THEN add 4-6 Cups Beef Broth,

2 Tbs Tomato Paste,

1/2tsp Dry Thyme (4-5 sprigs Fresh)

1-2 ea Bayleaf

Finish the Smoking process to the IT you want. 

While the Roast is resting, dump the pan juices veggies and all into a 2-3Qt Sauce pot and add 1Cup Red Wine, something you like to drink, and bring the Jus to a boil, lower the heat and simmer 20-30 minutes. Strain out the veggies and let the Jus rest a minute or so for the Fat to rise. Skim off the bulk of the fat then using strips of paper towel laid on top of the Jus then quickly removed, take off the last little bit of fat.

The purpose of Smoking the Vegetable for 1 hour before adding the Broth and Herbs is...The Smoked vegetables Roast in the Dry heat concentrating their Flavors and Sweetness giving the finished Jus a Richer, Deeper, Full Flavor.

Serve the sliced Beef Au Jus or thicken the Jus to make Gravy.

NOTE: If you are using this recipe with Brisket, additional Water will have to be added periodically to maintain the proper volume. Do not add more Broth as repeated addition and reduction will make the Au Jus too salty..
 
 
A 5Lb Brisket is most likely just the flat with the Point removed. The two together in a whole packer would be in excess of 10Lbs. Mustard and the Pork Rub will be fine. I like the subtle flavor of the Mustard but Oil or even Nothing works too. Many don't like sweet Rubs on Beef and just use SPOG, Salt, Pepper, Onion and Garlic Powder. The choice is yours. 225°F is fine. You can go down to 200 if you wish. Either way if you plan on 2 hours/Lb with 2 hours to CYA, you should be fine. Wrap in foil and towels and rest in a cooler if the meat is done early. It will stay hot about 3-4 hours. The 3 hours of Chips is fine and you can foil then too if you wish. However for a better Bark I would hold off on foiling until it stalls, somewhere around 165-170°F. You might like to try the Recipe below...JJ

Smokey Au Jus

1- Lg Onion,

4-5 Carrots,

3-4 Ribs Celery

3-4 Peeled Cloves of Garlic

Toss them in a pan under the Beef, and let the whole deal Smoke for one hour,

THEN add 4-6 Cups Beef Broth,

2 Tbs Tomato Paste,

1/2tsp Dry Thyme (4-5 sprigs Fresh)

1-2 ea Bayleaf

Finish the Smoking process to the IT you want. 

While the Roast is resting, dump the pan juices veggies and all into a 2-3Qt Sauce pot and add 1Cup Red Wine, something you like to drink, and bring the Jus to a boil, lower the heat and simmer 20-30 minutes. Strain out the veggies and let the Jus rest a minute or so for the Fat to rise. Skim off the bulk of the fat then using strips of paper towel laid on top of the Jus then quickly removed, take off the last little bit of fat.

The purpose of Smoking the Vegetable for 1 hour before adding the Broth and Herbs is...The Smoked vegetables Roast in the Dry heat concentrating their Flavors and Sweetness giving the finished Jus a Richer, Deeper, Full Flavor.

Serve the sliced Beef Au Jus or thicken the Jus to make Gravy.

NOTE: If you are using this recipe with Brisket, additional Water will have to be added periodically to maintain the proper volume. Do not add more Broth as repeated addition and reduction will make the Au Jus too salty..
Wow, that sounds yummy!  I don't have the ingredients or the ability to get to the store to get them before I will smoke this but I will earmark that to try sometime for sure.  I've got some potatoes & I think some carrots and maybe some other basic ingredients.  Is there some basic universal method for such things like throw in a pan under the beef for 'n' hours and add salt pepper & seasoning or ??
 
I have not messed around with smoked potatoes. But I would imagine if you cut the potatoes into 1 inch cubes, toss with Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder and some Thyme or Rosemary, Fresh or Dry. Arrange in a pan in a single layer and smoke them under the meat, stir every hour. You could cut the Carrots in a similar manner and mix them in too. I think at 225°F they would take 3-4 hours. If they are not done you can always go in a 450°F Oven and finish them or reheat and crisp them if they are done early. This recipe from another member sounds good if you have the stuff, of course everything is optional or add what you like...JJ


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  • 3,893 Posts. Joined 6/2009
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If you have time twice-smoked potato's are friggin awesome! 
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I rub em with EVOO, and a little salt, then smoke them for about 3 hrs., cut/scrape out the insides, mash all the insides up with some sour cream, green onions, chedder cheese (or blue cheese), and some crumbled bacon, refill the hallowed out taters with the mashed up filling and back into the smoker for 2 to 3 hrs. Your family will literally be fighting for any left overs for lunch the next day.... lol.

hockeyeurbaston.gif
 
That sounds good but I think my time to attempt anything additional has run out.  It was a long day and I'm about to lay my head down to sleep in order to wake up early to get this flat on.  I'll stick to the basics and next time I'll prep better to try some different things including sides.  Man, I cannot wait to try out some burnt ends...
 
She's done!  Well, resting comfortably in foil inside of a cooler that is. I got it out of the fridge around 5:00am to get closer to room temp for a couple of hours.  At about 6:30ish I set the smoker temp and began pre-heating it.  Once it reached desired temp (225deg) I added about 1/2 cup of wood chips.  As soon as the white smoke turned to thin blue smoke I threw the Brisket on unwrapped and reduced the temp to 205deg.  I got it on at like 7:00am and added about 2tbsp (usually just a few chips) of wood chips every 30min until 11:30 when I had to leave for a dentist appointment.  When I left it was at 151deg and when I returned it hadn't moved.  I planned to wrap it in foil at 160deg but after sitting at 151deg for another hour (over 2hrs total) I decided it was time to wrap it.  I cooked it until 190 (it spiked to 192 before I could get it off) and then pulled it.  It's not wrapped in foil still in a cooler and I'm debating if I want to grease up some towels or not.  I'm thinking it will be fine as is since I'll be slicing it sooner than later.  If I was planning a 3-4hr rest I would do towels.

I plan to let it rest at least an hour, preferably two hours and we'll eat at 7:00 if those coming over for dinner will allow for it.  I have an electric knife (somewhere) and will probably use that for slicing as I don't see this being very easy with a fixed blade knife.  I have a glass cutting board and some plasticy cutting boards and am trying to think which one will play best with the electric knife... I assume the glass one.  The wife threw away my big wooden one years ago (don't ask) so these are what I have to choose from right now.  Glass?  Probably glass.  I should probably invest in a better cutting board too.
 
Sounds like a success, but some Pics would be nice! It's pretty much a Rule around here...
th_nopicsye3.gif
...Anyway the BEST thing you can do for your Knives, if you plan on keeping them around is...Throw Out That Glass Cutting Board! They had to have been invented by Knife Salesmen because nothing will dull and destroy a knife, regular or electric, faster than Glass!...JJ
 
 
Sounds like a success, but some Pics would be nice! It's pretty much a Rule around here...
th_nopicsye3.gif
...Anyway the BEST thing you can do for your Knives, if you plan on keeping them around is...Throw Out That Glass Cutting Board! They had to have been invented by Knife Salesmen because nothing will dull and destroy a knife, regular or electric, faster than Glass!...JJ
Well, it was so so.  My wife and mom liked it but I wasn't impressed.  To me it was too dry/tough.  In hindsight I wish I had left the fat cap on there and I'm not too sure I was crazy about the dry rub I used.  It certainly wasn't the resounding success that my first ever smoke was when I smoked a pork shoulder last week.  That sucker was incredible.  I was afraid I set the bar too high and it appears as I just may have as this was a tad bit disappointing for me.  I know they can't all be winners especially early on so I shouldn't complain too much as I had to start somewhere.  I took TONS of notes and I know I can do better and I'm already planning how I will do things differently next time.  I also see what you're saying about glass cutting boards because I think my knife blades were dulling before I even got through the brisket.  About half way through I noticed that the front edge was more dull than when I started.  I thought it was that the brisket was a little tougher but now that you mention that about glass cutting surfaces I have a feeling this was what I was experiencing already.  I need to get a better cutting board in short order for the next time.  Suggestions?  Prefer something I can buy local or via Amazon to use a Prime account.  I'll do some searching around the forum too as I'm sure there's been plenty of discussion on this topic.

I didn't take pics this time because last time I posted pics of my pork shoulder and I got hand slapped about posting external links of my pictures that were hosted with my Picasa account.  That's what I do for all forums & I'm not really sure what's so wrong with it so that's why I didn't take any pictures this time.  
 
I love the big white plastic boards they sell in the hunting section or at SAMs club in their kitchen area.
Great tip.  We're actually going to be in town later today and will be near Sam's Club so I'll have to stop in and check them out.  Heck, I might even have to pick up some shoulders & brisket while I'm there. ;-)  Thanks for the tip!
 
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