more brisket advice???

[slater]

Have a question for those that have experimented placing a brisket on the upper rack vs directly on the grate.
Pitboss pro 1100 pellet smoker has a large wide upper shelf with plenty of clearance for a brisket & I personally never utilized this shelf , not sure if it will be beneficial at all smoking a brisket.
This will be about my 4th brisket cook so ide say still an amateur when it comes to the brisket cooks...
I just purchased an 18 pound choice full packer from smart & final.

If you had the option of placing the brisket on the upper shelf would you take advantage of that?
Also ive always done fat cap down to protect meat from heat source & easier to render fat. will that change using upper rack?
thoughts?
Bought sunday, will leave in fridge & trim & season on Wednesday after work & start smoke Friday evening.....
insight please & thanks!

 

[TNJAKE]

I have a pitboss Austin xl. I've only used the shelf for wings or abt's and such. But if you've got the clearance I say go for it. Put a pan underneath for the drippings. When I cook on the bottom grate I go fat down. In my stick burner I got fat up so I'd say you can do the same if on the shelf. Make sure you have plenty of clearance though as we have pretty similar smokers and I dont think I could fit a packer up there

 

[SmokinEdge]

On my Yoder 640, I cook brisket on the shelf always. When doing a large cook, I rotate bottom to top throughout the cook. But basically, always the butt or brisket ride on the top shelf. The temp is cooler up there but is more consistent on the meat. It just cooks better up top.

 

[slater]

On my Yoder 640, I cook brisket on the shelf always. When doing a large cook, I rotate bottom to top throughout the cook. But basically, always the butt or brisket ride on the top shelf. The temp is cooler up there but is more consistent on the meat. It just cooks better up top.

I like the idea of flipping occasionally that way you can somewhat take advantage of fatcap up if there is any advantage...
I have no idea & seems like theres sooooo many different mindsets on this...

 

[912smoker]

I would use shelf with a pan on bottom to catch drippings. Little to no extra cleanup needed and use a remote thermo up there to monitor cook temps

 

[SmokinEdge]

On a pellet grill, with fire directly under the meat ( it is a grill after all and not a smoker) use that upper rack for smoking. The heat is tempered and just works better.

 

[texomakid]

Yeah I've cooked brisket on my Yoder top shelve as well but I tend to cook most briskets right on the grate just because it's a big piece of meat. Does seem to take a bit more time on the top shelf.

 

[sandyut]

I do all mine on the grate. I have an upper shelf but only use it for wings and jerky when I max out the space. I run all my briskets at 275, if the upper shelf would add time, I will pass.

 

[ohiobenz]

I have Mastercraft propane smoker and have been smoking whole briskets for several years now. About a year ago I started experimenting with Sous Vide prior to smoking. It has resulted in the most tender Pastrami I've ever had.
I do the cure in vacuum sealed bags after cutting the brisket into chunks I can slice cross grain in my slicer.
Post cure I rinse the chunks and reseal the bags and Sous Vide. Post Sous Vide I dry the chunks, allow to cool enough to handle them and apply the rub, then smoke them with a Fireboard probe in each piece. Once each piece reaches temp I pull it and cool it in the fridge - the meat needs to be totally cooled in order to slice, otherwise it just falls apart....
If you monitor each chunk's internal temperature I found no difference in which shelf I placed it. Of course there is some tenderness difference between the tip and the flat, but it's barely noticeable.

 

[912smoker]

The middle shelf on my 1050 runs around 50 ° cooler so I adjust my temps accordingly

 

[slater]

from the search ive done here a few have asked the question but answers never go very far....
Seems like mad scientist bbq is using some beef tallow in his wrap during the crutch & then after the cook re-wrapping in fresh paper with another shot of tallow.
Anyone try this & results?
He seems to think its Aaron Franklins secret.....

 

[texomakid]

Everything I've ever watched or read from or about Aaron Franklin leaves me with the understanding his secret is salt & pepper - no injection. just trim, Salt & pepper, 12 hours with post oak. He's got some great videos out on brisket but I haven't seen all of his videos so I could be wrong.

I've injected on more than one occasion but only on chicken or turkey - I've never injected a brisket. I have been know to wrap a brisket (when I need to get it done quicker) but I prefer it to have at least 6 hours of smoke prior to wrapping.

I tried one hot & fast brisket back some time ago (I think several of us here on SMF did about the same time) and although it turned out really good it didn't have any bark but it was done in about 4 to 5 hours. To me, it's all about the bark on a smoked brisket.

That being said, I'm fixing to produce my first batch of tallow from the fat of the last brisket we smoked a few weeks back. Not quite sure what I will use it for but always up to trying something new and challenging. I bet there are several here that have injected tallow in a brisket so maybe they will chime in?

 

[ohiobenz]

I use my tallow for breakfast eggs and lean grassfed burgers...

 

[slater]

Yes I know I could have just rendered my trimmings....
Went all in! Used the tallow as the binder for the s&p.
Now she sits in fridge till friday...
Will add the tallow to the butcher paper during the wrap.

 

[Schwarzwald Metzger]

On my Yoder 640, I cook brisket on the shelf always. When doing a large cook, I rotate bottom to top throughout the cook. But basically, always the butt or brisket ride on the top shelf. The temp is cooler up there but is more consistent on the meat. It just cooks better up top.

I find that to be true on my 640 also. FWIW

 

[Schwarzwald Metzger]

I have Mastercraft propane smoker and have been smoking whole briskets for several years now. About a year ago I started experimenting with Sous Vide prior to smoking. It has resulted in the most tender Pastrami I've ever had.
I do the cure in vacuum sealed bags after cutting the brisket into chunks I can slice cross grain in my slicer.
Post cure I rinse the chunks and reseal the bags and Sous Vide. Post Sous Vide I dry the chunks, allow to cool enough to handle them and apply the rub, then smoke them with a Fireboard probe in each piece. Once each piece reaches temp I pull it and cool it in the fridge - the meat needs to be totally cooled in order to slice, otherwise it just falls apart....
If you monitor each chunk's internal temperature I found no difference in which shelf I placed it. Of course there is some tenderness difference between the tip and the flat, but it's barely noticeable.

That is really interesting. Do you have any pics? I'd love to see it.

What size brisket do you start with usually?

 

[bigboy]

Has anyone tried seasoning the tallow before injecting? I was debating on tossing in some garlic and onion powder along with maybe some Worcester and soy sauce, mixing it all up and injecting it into the brisket.

 

[slater]

Has anyone tried seasoning the tallow before injecting? I was debating on tossing in some garlic and onion powder along with maybe some Worcester and soy sauce, mixing it all up and injecting it into the brisket.

i have not but have seen that somewhere guy comments great results doing just that but dont remember where, either within a thread within this forum or utube....

 

[slater]

going to be a long night....

 

[912smoker]

Off to a good start !