New to brisket - Please help!

[katemail13]

I bought a whole Angus brisket at Sam's Club a couple days ago. It's 7 1/2 pounds. I need tips, pointers, and basic instructions. I am very familiar with my smoker (MES30), and have smoked lots of pork, and some chicken and beef...just never a brisket. Should I dry-brine it? How long should I smoke it, and at what temps, etc? I'd like to have it be medium rare, but with lots of good smoke flavor (wood flavor suggestions also a plus).

Thanks for any help, guys. Ideally, I'd like to smoke it tomorrow, but would be open to doing it Tuesday, or Thursday.

 

[Slow42]

Katemail13 there is So much information here on briskets you can get very confused. Just follow Bearcarver step by step and you can’t go wrong. He explains everything from start to finis.

 

[jcam222]

Number one , you do not want it to be medium rare. Wrong cut of beef entirely for that. For your first one I say dry brine overnight with SPOG. Your smoker temp can be anywhere from 225 to 275, I’d personally go with 275 to cut cook time. If you want to further cut time wrap when it stalls at 160ish (bark will be a bit softer). Cool to somewhere between 190 and 205 , pull when a probe slides in like butter. Of wrapped I like to put in a cooler then wrapped in towels for half hour to hour to let juices redistribute. Good wood choices oak, hickory or a combo of those.

 

[texascoast]

Hey there Katemail13, Yep Slow42 said it right, there is plenty of information on this site about briskets.

I used a MES 30 myself until Nov 2019 when it finally broke one last time.

When using my MES30 I learned to also use an, "A-MAZE-N 12inch : Pellet Tube smoker ", this will free you from having to baby sit adding wood chips using the MES method. It will give you between 4-6 hours of smoke. You can get one from most stores that sell BBQ supplies. You use pellets in it and light it like a slow burning fuse, I positioned my Smoken tube on the wire supports for the wood chip tray at the bottom. Just make sure it is smoking well before shutting the MES door. You can also use the pellets in the MES30 wood chip tray.

Here are a few generally good ideas:
- Get smoker up to temp desired or more higher before putting food in smoker
- Let Food come up to ambient temp before putting into smoker
- Use a good remote temp food probe, this keeps up to date on internal food temp
(I use Redi-Check and a Therm-Pro)
- Give yourself plenty of time, Don't Rush the Cook
- You can always finish Cooking by putting food in the Oven if needed

I also added large gravel rocks to the bottom drip pan to help hold and return heat when I had to open the door of my MES30, once up to temp these rocks will radiate the heat back into the unit. You can also use a layer of play sand in the drip tray.

Have fun and Enjoy yourself!

 

[katemail13]

Thanks for the replies, guys! I know there are a LOT of threads here dealing with brisket, which makes it confusing, and hard to find the actual info I am looking for. Thanks, Slow42 , for directing me to Bearcarver 's brisket info. Seems like I will be making it tomorrow, but not eating it until the following day.

 

[thirdeye]

You actually have a pretty small brisket, usually you can find them in the 13# to 16# range. Now this could be a good thing as it will cook faster and you might not have to do a lot of trimming, but take the fat cap down to 1/8 to 1/4", and on the fattier "point" muscle, remove the edge fat and cut some of the fat seam away.... it's just too heavy to ever render out during the cook. If you see any small tags or fingers of meat, cut them off as they will just burn.

When you are through trimming, note the grain direction in the flat muscle. When slicing you need to cut against the grain. I recommend making a thin V notch to identify the grain direction. Once cooked the V notch will have opened and be easily seen. You slice across the V, see photo at the bottom and this will make sense.

Seasoning is a personal taste, but use at least salt and pepper. Adding garlic powder and onion powder works too. I've injected briskets for many years, even a jazzy beef broth or aujus will add some flavor and moistness.

Smoking in the 250° to 275° gives you more control. Many competition cooks use higher pit temps, but you really have to be on the ball.

I use a wrapped step for moistness and tenderness, this is not mandatory but for your first few I would recommend wrapping at 165° internal temp (fat side up) in a double layer of foil, adding a couple of ounces of some beefy broth before sealing the foil. Return to the smoker and check tenderness in an hour. Keep cooking until it probes tender, don't pay attention to internal temp, you want to feel that it's done. An easy method is to use a bamboo skewer, or an ice pick etc. Take a jar of peanut butter and probe it a few times paying attention to the way the probe feels in both directions. This is the "feel" you want on the brisket flat muscle. Don't worry about the point, it will take care of itself.

Now up to this time you can do everything correctly, but if you don't rest in an insulated cooler for at least 2.5 hours (I prefer 3 or even 4 hours) it won't come out right.

EDIT - the photo does not want to load. I'll try again later, but click HERE and is should open up.

 

[katemail13]

thirdeye - Thank you for all of that! I've got the smoker heating now. I am grateful for the tips on which way to slice this thing, too. I'm never sure which way is 'right' for which cut.

 

[katemail13]

Okay, the brisket was finished last night at 11pm, after a 3-hour rest in a cooler. Didn't take any pictures then, just nipped a bit of one end to try it, then went to sleep.

***Today's question: What is the best way to reheat it without over cooking or drying it out?***

 

[ofelles]

I have heard of a med rare brisket but it involved smoking it to about 120 then SV it @ 120F for many hours. Sound like a whole lotta work!

 

[texascoast]

I've done mine in the oven set at about 300deg, brisket is in a pan with foil over top to keep juices from boiling off. I heat the brisket to about 130 - 140deg internal temp.

Now that just my way:)

 

[katemail13]

Thanks, texascoast . I sliced it, and did what you said. It heated perfectly.

Over all, I am really impressed with my brisket. It was worth the time, and received the highest compliments from my husband. Yay!

Thanks, everyone who helped!

 

[texascoast]

Outstanding, Well Done!!

I personally have a smoking note book where I put my notes for each smoke session. It helps when I want to cook something again.
I record cooking times, start to finish, temp start in food and how it rises by time, smoker temps throughout the cook. What smoking wood I used. What rub I used and if I injected anything into the meat.

Have Fun!

Merry Christmas to you and your family.