Smoking a brisket Friday

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frosty53

Newbie
Original poster
Jan 16, 2013
23
10
Grain Valley,Missouri
Hello All,

    I seasoned my 40" MES last Sunday.After I had seasoned it,I just had to stick something in it to smoke.I ended up doing burgers in it,and will probably not try that again.Smoke flavor was great,I used  the AMNPS but they were messy and I didn't like losing heat when I would open door to turn them.

    Thanks for the advice on the seasoning,I had additional temp probe and fired it up with smoke from the get go.The factory probe has some variance,but not a great deal.I had calibrated additional probe by the boil method so I had about a 5 degree difference.All in all there was only about 10 degree difference between factory probe and my additional.I used large corks with a hole in them to get probe off the grates.I had not read about the potato trick till afterward.  

    Anyway,I have the 6 pound brisket in the fridge sitting with rub on it,I had used olive oil to get rub to stick to meat.Has a good fat cap on it.I had picked up a book by the manufacturer with recipe's for the MES.Their brisket recipe says to smoke the meat at 225 degrees for 6 hours (1 hour per pound).Should I turn the brisket over,or leave it alone with fat on top?I am thinking I will foil it to preserve moisture to keep the meat juicy.I planned to freeze some of it,so should I freeze it uncut,or would it be okay to slice it for sandwiches and then freeze it?Your input please,thanks! 
 
Frosty.. evening...   burgers need to hit the skillet or grill after an hour or so of smoke.... that will improve them quite a bit...

The brisket will take longer than 1 hour per pound.... probably closer to 2 with the rest after cooking and all....   Internal temp should be about 195 and a toothpick should slide in easily to the meat to check tenderness.....   

It is a trial and error thing....   Dave
 
Dave,

      Thanks.for the insight,I'm learning slow but sure.I'm taking off half a day from work Friday so I can get a earlier start on the brisket.
 
Frosty,

Good luck with the first brisket!  I usually foil at about 155-160 degrees with some foiling juice of your choice, tenderness is amazing!! Post some pics!
 


Here are a couple of in process views,am using the AMNPS so have the chip loader pulled out a bit so it can breathe.Sorry didn't get a pic of the brisket by itself but I'm sure you have seen briskets with rub on them before :).I got this started about 12:15 PM CST so have a ways to go.Am using Todd's Pitmaster pellet blend in the AMNPS.Temp is holding at 225 degrees on smoker,meat temp is 94 degrees currently.
 
Tried to post in process pics but I guess since I am new the forum would not let me.Will keep you updated as the brisket smoke progresses.
 


      These are from today when pulled brisket out of fridge to slice.Didn't get a real crispy bark,but will work on that next time.My thanks to this site and all who have and continue to offer advice in this great hobby!One thing that seemed to make a big difference on holding temp in the MES was putting a layer of sand just enough to cover the bottom of the water pan.When I had to open door a time or two it was no great heat loss,a big difference in not using the sand.My next project will be chicken or turkey I think.
 
Hi Frosty,

Listen to Kat...your pics will show up after a few minutes unless you gave up on them.  Since I don' t see them yet I'm guessing you cancelled your request and might want to try and post your Q-View again.

I'm looking forward to seeing that first brisket!

Bill
 
Hi Bill,

  For some reason it just takes awhile for them to show up I guess.The two I put on yesterday didn't show up till today,or at least I didn't get on computer to see till this afternoon.I have posted 2 more of finished product,can see them on my profile till they show up in this thread.Thanks for the moral support!

Forrest
 
Hi Bill,

  For some reason it just takes awhile for them to show up I guess.The two I put on yesterday didn't show up till today,or at least I didn't get on computer to see till this afternoon.I have posted 2 more of finished product,can see them on my profile till they show up in this thread.Thanks for the moral support!

Forrest
You bet!  We'll keep checking...

Did you post to a different thread?

Bill
 
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