In Prep for a lunch requested by DW's (da wife) boss next week, I decided to try a brisket. I got a small whole packer, 8.68 pounds, at our local supermarket, Waldbaums.
Coated with a salt, garlic powder, pepper, paprika, rosemary, onion powder, ginger and chili powder rub, it sat overnight.
I started the smoke at 6:00 a.m. Ambient was in the upper 50's, very windy. I was set up in the lee of the garage. I was using cherry/maple with the Traeger set to 225 and saw swings from 210 to 235.
At the 4:00 mark, it hit 144*. Pheww! That was close! We had some errands to run and when we got back at 3:30 (about the 9:30 mark), the IT was almost 170*, so I pulled it to finish covered in the oven at 235*. I put a half cup of some red wine in with it.
At 6:00 pm, the 12:00 mark, it hit 190*. We had plans to go out to dinner with some friends, so I had a dilemma. I didn't think I could let it sit wrapped in the cooler for five hours or so to let the juices redistribute, so it seemed I had only two options: either slice it now and let it sit in its juices in the fridge, or, put it unsliced in the fridge and slice it later, cold. I may have made a mistake, but I decided to slice now. I put on some gloves and was able to separate the point from the flat with my hands. Well, almost completely. I had to cut a bit right at the edge.
The point with some fat trimmed from the flat:
I trimmed the layer of fat off the top of the flat and sliced. Then I put the slices back in the juices and went out to dinner. The smoke ring is only on the side without the fat, which I guess is to be expected. DW and I noshed on the bits that fell to the side in the slicing, even if I had to push some of 'em there! Very tender and tasty. I think the inner slices are going to be a bit dry, which might not have happened if I'd had the time to let it sit.
Anyway, thanks for looking, and for any advice on what I should have done differently at the end.
Coated with a salt, garlic powder, pepper, paprika, rosemary, onion powder, ginger and chili powder rub, it sat overnight.
I started the smoke at 6:00 a.m. Ambient was in the upper 50's, very windy. I was set up in the lee of the garage. I was using cherry/maple with the Traeger set to 225 and saw swings from 210 to 235.
At the 4:00 mark, it hit 144*. Pheww! That was close! We had some errands to run and when we got back at 3:30 (about the 9:30 mark), the IT was almost 170*, so I pulled it to finish covered in the oven at 235*. I put a half cup of some red wine in with it.
At 6:00 pm, the 12:00 mark, it hit 190*. We had plans to go out to dinner with some friends, so I had a dilemma. I didn't think I could let it sit wrapped in the cooler for five hours or so to let the juices redistribute, so it seemed I had only two options: either slice it now and let it sit in its juices in the fridge, or, put it unsliced in the fridge and slice it later, cold. I may have made a mistake, but I decided to slice now. I put on some gloves and was able to separate the point from the flat with my hands. Well, almost completely. I had to cut a bit right at the edge.
The point with some fat trimmed from the flat:
I trimmed the layer of fat off the top of the flat and sliced. Then I put the slices back in the juices and went out to dinner. The smoke ring is only on the side without the fat, which I guess is to be expected. DW and I noshed on the bits that fell to the side in the slicing, even if I had to push some of 'em there! Very tender and tasty. I think the inner slices are going to be a bit dry, which might not have happened if I'd had the time to let it sit.
Anyway, thanks for looking, and for any advice on what I should have done differently at the end.