My 1st Whole Brisket on the Offset — Lessons in Bark, Smoke & Rest

[drucylatrue]

Hey everybody — long time lurker, first time brisket (whole packer) on the big rig. Wanted to share how it went, what I learned, and get your thoughts on what I could tweak for next time.

---

Details of the Cook:​

Smoker / Fuel / Setup:

• Smoker: 30‑inch horizontal offset, single firebox, with plate for heat diffusion
• Fuel: Hardwood lump charcoal + chunks of oak + hickory chunks
• Water pan used under the grate, about halfway back (to catch drips and stabilize heat)

Meat:

• 13 lb whole packer brisket, purchased locally, trimmed down to ~¼‑inch fat cap
• Flat and point intact, some deckle removed to even thickness where possible

Rub / Prep:

• Trimmed and then seasoned about 2 hours before smoke
• Used a binder (light mustard)
• Rub: coarse salt (Kosher), coarse black pepper, little garlic powder, paprika for color

Smoke / Temperature Management:

• Fire started around 10 a.m. — stabilized smoke by noon at ~225‑235 °F (approx. 107‑113 °C)
• Smoke source: oak / hickory — small chunks added every 45‑60 minutes
• Monitored both internal meat temp and chamber temp; adjusted vents when temp drifted low/high

Wrap & Finish:

• Let bark develop until about 160‑165 °F internal (probe slide test)
• Wrapped in butcher paper at that point (to preserve bark but help through stall)
• After wrapping, temp drifted up to ~250‑260 °F toward finish

Internal Target & Rest:

• Pulled when thickest part of flat hit ~203 °F and probe gave little resistance
• Rested in cooler with towels for about 2 hours before slicing

---

What Worked / What Didn’t:​

What Worked:

1. The bark turned out nicely — crispy and with good smoke ring
2. Smell was excellent — the oak/hickory combo gave a nice flavor without getting overpowering
3. Keeping the temp steady was easier than expected, thanks mostly to the water pan

What Needs Improvement:

1. The flat was a little dry — point was juicy, but flat lost some moisture
2. Might have wrapped a bit too late; the stall dragged on and time stretched out more than I thought
3. Rest wasn’t long enough in retrospect — could have let carryover happen more before slicing

 

[Coreymacc]

What temp did you put it in the cooler at? The 203f? If so, i agree with your assessment, you may have had carryover. Usually let mine rest till they loose about 100 deg, that way they are done cooking, then the hold doesn't keep cooking things. Letting the brisket cool too fast also can give dryness, the meat tends to lock up and the juices can't redistribute. I've struggled with rest and hold procedures for a while. Its the most important step imo

Corey

 

[SmokinEdge]

The flat was a little dry — point was juicy, but flat lost some moisture

Just a thought. Maybe it needed 205 or 208 or 210. Just 2 to 3 degrees can make a huge difference. How do you know? Probe only and use IT as a guide but not absolute.

For the most part a dry flat means not all of the collagen had broken down or melted yet. If you cook a brisket too long it won’t slice but pull apart. Lots of folks don’t realize this and under cook the flat.

 

[1MoreFord]

SmokingEdge has you well covered on what to look for concerning undercooked/overcooked.
I'd suggest in the future you consider moving to burning wood if possible. Offsets the size you have like sticks of wood. If you live near a decent wood source it normally winds up being cheaper than charcoal and chunks.

 

[Smoker4x4]

Is it the flat or point that needs to be around 195 degrees internally before pulling it off?

Is it ok to smoke the brisket uncovered/unwrapped for the entire smoke till it reaches an internal temp of 190-195 degrees F and then take it off the smoker and wrap in tin foil and put in a holding oven at 150 degrees overnight ? Or do you need to foil boat or wrap it in butcher paper before the stall?

After taking it off the smoker, I've read that you should let the internal temp of the brisket go down to around 160 to 170 degrees F before putting it into the holding oven. Is this true?

Also, I saw a video on YT of a guy who used a turkey roaster to hold his brisket overnight for 12 hours. He used the Goldees method. It came out good.

 

[912smoker]

I have never done an overnight hold like the YT videos. Most restaurants are doing that due to cook times vs actual serving times.

I usually wrap in BP with tallow or liquid but you can certainly run in nekkid the entire cook, as some here do.

I don't pull by temp but by probe tenderness is all areas of the brisket. The probe slides in like butter AND also comes out with no resistance.
Leave open until the temp starts dropping then re-wrap and place in cooler/oven.
Maybe someone that does an extended hold will help you.

Keith

 

[schlotz]

Temp is ONLY a guide line. Ignore the point, it comes along for the ride. It has higher fat content and will always feel tender to a probe. One determines when a brisket is done (tender) by probing the flat all over. The probe should feel like going into a jar of peanut butter. The temp (when tender) at the thickest part of the flat could be anywhere between 195º and 210º. Every brisket is different regardless of smoking select, choice, prime or wagyu. Once determined it's tender, then let sit open on counter until the IT drops 5º which indicates the cooking has stopped. At this point you can rest it for 2 hours. The collagen & fat will continue to render while the IT remains above 175º'ish, ergo the 2 hour rest wrapped and in a cooler with towels.

 

[banderson7474]

Hey everybody — long time lurker, first time brisket (whole packer) on the big rig. Wanted to share how it went, what I learned, and get your thoughts on what I could tweak for next time.

---

Details of the Cook:​

Smoker / Fuel / Setup:

• Smoker: 30‑inch horizontal offset, single firebox, with plate for heat diffusion
• Fuel: Hardwood lump charcoal + chunks of oak + hickory chunks
• Water pan used under the grate, about halfway back (to catch drips and stabilize heat)

Meat:

• 13 lb whole packer brisket, purchased locally, trimmed down to ~¼‑inch fat cap
• Flat and point intact, some deckle removed to even thickness where possible

Rub / Prep:

• Trimmed and then seasoned about 2 hours before smoke
• Used a binder (light mustard)
• Rub: coarse salt (Kosher), coarse black pepper, little garlic powder, paprika for color

Smoke / Temperature Management:

• Fire started around 10 a.m. — stabilized smoke by noon at ~225‑235 °F (approx. 107‑113 °C)
• Smoke source: oak / hickory — small chunks added every 45‑60 minutes
• Monitored both internal meat temp and chamber temp; adjusted vents when temp drifted low/high

Wrap & Finish:

• Let bark develop until about 160‑165 °F internal (probe slide test)
• Wrapped in butcher paper at that point (to preserve bark but help through stall)
• After wrapping, temp drifted up to ~250‑260 °F toward finish

Internal Target & Rest:

• Pulled when thickest part of flat hit ~203 °F and probe gave little resistance
• Rested in cooler with towels for about 2 hours before slicing

---

What Worked / What Didn’t:​

What Worked:

1. The bark turned out nicely — crispy and with good smoke ring
2. Smell was excellent — the oak/hickory combo gave a nice flavor without getting overpowering
3. Keeping the temp steady was easier than expected, thanks mostly to the water pan

What Needs Improvement:

1. The flat was a little dry — point was juicy, but flat lost some moisture
2. Might have wrapped a bit too late; the stall dragged on and time stretched out more than I thought
3. Rest wasn’t long enough in retrospect — could have let carryover happen more before slicing

I usually use flats for chili or meals I can dice/chop it up. I've found unless you get a brisky with a very thick flat, it's really difficult to get it to come out as good as the point. It's difficult b/c there's less fat in the flat.

Also if I can give you something to think about trying. Assuming you trimmed it, I found it works great to put all the trimmings in a pan and smoke it with the brisky to make tallow. It's great flavor for anything you would want a lil oil for and it's better than throwing it all away.

 

[Smoker4x4]

YouTuber (Smoking Dad BBQ) posted a video about how he went to Texas and visited some of the top BBQ joints (Franklin, Interstellar, Bar-A-BBQ) and all the pitmasters said they pull all their big cuts of meat like brisket and beef ribs off the smoker when they hit an internal temp of 190 to 195 F degrees...

 

[912smoker]

Yep seem them and they all have extended hold times in warmers.
I personally don't need to hold one that long before serving.
Them again I'm not doing 50-75 a day.
Give it a shot and report back with results.
Also love all of the Bar A clips.
Cooper seems like a cool dude.

Keith

 

[schlotz]

Way too much advertisement for me...

 

[Smoker4x4]

So, correct me if I'm wrong, the purpose of wrapping a brisket on the smoker before the stall with butcher paper or foil boat is to prevent the ends/corners from drying out and getting burnt and to properly render down the fat till it gets that yellow color ?

 

[SmokinEdge]

So, correct me if I'm wrong, the purpose of wrapping a brisket on the smoker before the stall with butcher paper or foil boat is to prevent the ends/corners from drying out and getting burnt and to properly render down the fat till it gets that yellow color ?

Nope

 

[schlotz]

Wrapping is done to speed through the stall which usually begins around 160-165º. If you plan on wrapping, I recommend waiting a bit longer until 175º or so before wrapping. Wrapping too soon can sometimes result in the brisket tasting more like pot roast. Many don't wrap at all and are not bothered by the increase in total time until the brisket becomes tender. It's a choice.

 

[912smoker]

YouTuber (Smoking Dad BBQ) posted a video about how he went to Texas and visited some of the top BBQ joints (Franklin, Interstellar, Bar-A-BBQ) and all the pitmasters said they pull all their big cuts of meat like brisket and beef ribs off the smoker when they hit an internal temp of 190 to 195 F degrees...

It's easy to over think and over complicate the process. The Web is flooded with info. Good and bad!
Have you completed your first brisket cook? If so, what method did you follow and were you satisfied with the outcome?

Keith

 

[Smoker4x4]

It's easy to over think and over complicate the process. The Web is flooded with info. Good and bad!
Have you completed your first brisket cook? If so, what method did you follow and were you satisfied with the outcome?

Keith

I've done a brisket on a Weber kettle with Kingsford Original charcoal briquettes and small chunks of hickory wood. It was only the point brisket I got at the supermarket. It was a disaster. I did use a digital temp thermometer for the internal temp of the meat and ambient temp inside the kettle.

I went into it naive and ignorant because this was not an offset smoker and my first time smoking on a Weber. I had difficult time adjusting the temp, huge temp fluctuations. I could not get the temp to stabilize. I smoked it to an internal temp of around 205 degrees and I held it in a cooler wrapped overnight. It was not a proper holding oven, it did not keep it warm, it was cold the next day, dry, a little hard to cut into. It developed a big bark but the bark was beef jerky. The taste was almost like a fake artificial chemical medicine metallic taste. It did have a smokey smell but, again it had a chemical/fake smell and was not good.

Before I do another brisket I will get a real holding oven or turkey roaster.

I did a ribeye steak on the Weber with the same briquettes. It came out juicy but, again the flavor was strange to me, it wasn't the flavor you get from typically grilling on an open flame at 500 degrees to quickly sear it. Again, the flavor was chemically, medicine, metallic, fake and unpleasant. It did not taste like a BBQ grilled steak on an open flame. So, I stayed away from red meat with the Weber.

Then, I tried boneless pork chops with the same briquettes and apple wood chunks. I thought maybe the apple wood chunks would make a difference. Nope. Not good, a weird chemical taste and smell. It had smoke flavor but, an unpleasant taste/flavor.

My instinct was telling me that it has to be the briquettes creating this unpleasant flavor and smell so, I started looking at lump charcoal.

Then, I bought a bag of Fogo Premium lump charcoal. I did chicken thighs with the Fogo lump charcoal with apple wood chunks which came out great. The skin was a little tough but the chicken was great and very juicy. The skin and chicken had a little apple/cinnamon spice smell and flavor to it. No fake chemical unpleasant smell or flavor at all. Just a real juicy chicken and that slight apple/cinnamon spice to compliment it. It came out great and I'll do it again.

I did the red meat and pork with Kingsford Original briquettes and the chicken with Fogo lump charcoal. I do not know if it was the briquettes but I prefer smoked poultry with lump charcoal and fruit wood.

When the weather gets better I will do another brisket and this time I will use the Fogo lump charcoal with hickory chunks. But, I will learn more about keeping the temp under control through out the smoke. I'll also buy a real holding oven.

The Kingsford Original briquettes create a lot more smoke and sometimes gets out of control compared to the Fogo Premium lump charcoal.

 

[Smoker4x4]

I won't be using the Kingsford Original briquettes or any Kingsford briquettes anymore...

For low and slow cooks like brisket and ribs I'll use briquettes but, it will be one of these brands below...

Jealous Devil Maxxx XL Briquets
Cowboy All-Natural Hardwood Briquettes
B&B All-Natural Hardwood Briquettes
with hardwood chunks.

For shorter cooks I'll stick to Fogo lump charcoal.