So my brand new smoker was just delivered last night (Kat 24x48 reverse flow as noted in the title... see new smoker thread in the wood smoker section, link below). I seasoned it first thing this morning and did a packer brisket for my first cook! I was at Costco on Wednesday and they had a nice 10 lb prime packer for $34 and I just couldn't pass it up for that price. It's a little smaller than what I usually go with, but I knew the smoker was coming this weekend and that it would be my first time firing it up, or any stick burner for that matter, and that it might take a little bit of time to figure out how to maintain a steady temp etc. So based on that I thought going with a smaller packer for the first cook might be a good idea anyways as I didn't want to be eating dinner at midnight lol.
I trimmed it up last night and got up at 5AM this morning to start the seasoning process on the pit. Meanwhile, I injected the brisket with beef broth mixed with just a little bit of Minor's beef base, then seasoned with hickory smoked sea salt, course ground black pepper, and granulated garlic. I usually cook fat cap down in my 22.5 WSM, but I decided to go Aaron Franklin style this time and did fat cap up. I ran the pit at about 275 (+/- 10 degrees or so, sometimes a little outside that range but mostly +/- 10). Also, I went Friday afternoon and picked up a 1/4 cord of seasoned white oak and that is what I used for the cook.
I put the brisket on the top shelf and placed a large foil pan directly under it with beef broth to mix with the drippings and make a nice au jus. I was planning to wrap in pink butcher paper at the stall, but honestly, It cooked faster than I expected. When I was checking to see if it was ready to wrap, I was surprised to find that it was already at about 207 in the point and the thickest part of the flat, and the whole thing probed like warm butter so I pulled it off. I let it sit on the counter for about 15 minutes before wrapping in pink butcher paper and sticking it in a cooler to rest. I put the brisket on at 10:00AM after letting the pit season for several hours, and the brisket was done by 4:15PM for a total cook time of 6 hours and 15 minutes. I let it rest for about 3 hours in the cooler and sliced into it a little after 7:00.
So the results.... OMG this was BY FAR the best brisket I have ever made. WAY more moist in the flat than anything I cooked in the WSM. I just could not get a moist flat on the WSM. This one was ridiculously moist in the flat, it was super tender, and had an AMAZING flavor. Even my girlfriend who is borderline vegetation (she's not, but might as well be... just not much of a meat person) said it was the best brisket she's ever tasted and she couldn't get enough, kept going back for seconds, and thirds lol. From now on I will be doing all of my briskets exactly the way I did this one.
Pics below!
Link to new smoker thread:
www.smokingmeatforums.com
I trimmed it up last night and got up at 5AM this morning to start the seasoning process on the pit. Meanwhile, I injected the brisket with beef broth mixed with just a little bit of Minor's beef base, then seasoned with hickory smoked sea salt, course ground black pepper, and granulated garlic. I usually cook fat cap down in my 22.5 WSM, but I decided to go Aaron Franklin style this time and did fat cap up. I ran the pit at about 275 (+/- 10 degrees or so, sometimes a little outside that range but mostly +/- 10). Also, I went Friday afternoon and picked up a 1/4 cord of seasoned white oak and that is what I used for the cook.
I put the brisket on the top shelf and placed a large foil pan directly under it with beef broth to mix with the drippings and make a nice au jus. I was planning to wrap in pink butcher paper at the stall, but honestly, It cooked faster than I expected. When I was checking to see if it was ready to wrap, I was surprised to find that it was already at about 207 in the point and the thickest part of the flat, and the whole thing probed like warm butter so I pulled it off. I let it sit on the counter for about 15 minutes before wrapping in pink butcher paper and sticking it in a cooler to rest. I put the brisket on at 10:00AM after letting the pit season for several hours, and the brisket was done by 4:15PM for a total cook time of 6 hours and 15 minutes. I let it rest for about 3 hours in the cooler and sliced into it a little after 7:00.
So the results.... OMG this was BY FAR the best brisket I have ever made. WAY more moist in the flat than anything I cooked in the WSM. I just could not get a moist flat on the WSM. This one was ridiculously moist in the flat, it was super tender, and had an AMAZING flavor. Even my girlfriend who is borderline vegetation (she's not, but might as well be... just not much of a meat person) said it was the best brisket she's ever tasted and she couldn't get enough, kept going back for seconds, and thirds lol. From now on I will be doing all of my briskets exactly the way I did this one.
Pics below!
Link to new smoker thread:
It's finally here!!! New Kat BBQ Smokers 24 x 48 Reverse Flow
The new pit is finally here! It was a looooong wait... but so worth it! I was talking to Ken at Kat very early this year and put the order in back in late February. Ken is an absolute class act and was great to work with. Not sure if the delays were Covid related or why it took so long, but...
www.smokingmeatforums.com
