TEXAS BRISKET

[texomakid]

Ok guys in honor of this thread I've got one in the smoker now going all in Texas style. It's my first "Prime" brisket. Everything I've ever cooked up to this point has been Choice or Select. I only used a light dusting of Kosher salt and a generous dose of black pepper. I figured with all the buzz it was time to man up and do one of these briskets Texas style all the way since I've never just done one using only Salt & Pepper. Loaded the Yoder 640 with Cooking Pellets 100% Hickory and filled the AMPS 12" tube with AMPS Mesquite pellets. Put the brisket on last night around 8 pm, I'm 14 hours into this cook and looking good. I just pushed past the stall and headed to the 200 deg mark in the next few hours. No wrapping, I'm just going to cook unwrapped until I pull it then I plan to wrap it in foil and bury it in an ice chest wrapped with several towels to let it "rest" for about 4 hours. I'm also trying to catch some drippings from this brisket in attempt to make a sauce like the famous Po Sam's brown gravy.

 

[gary s]

Looking Good

Gary

 

[gary s]

Al, did you smoke mainly over charcoal ?

Gary

 

[gary s]

Al, I'll use a little charcoal just to get things going then it's splits all the way

Gary

 

[tallbm]

Well the neighbors always show up when they start smelling smoke & I think I really nailed this one. It's the best brisket that I have ever made & my one neighbor said it was the best brisket he has ever eaten.
Course he hasn't been to Meullers!
Al




I will definitely give the mesquite pellets a try next time. Or I will just use mesquite chunks in the charcoal. That to me was the only disappointment in this brisket, it could have had a more pronounced smoke flavor & I think mesquite would give me that!!
Thanks for the help!
Al

It should come out super awesome next time!
I have yet to have anything come close to being overpowering with LumberJack 100% Mesquite pellets. I also noticed that they produce the lightest/thinnest blue smoke of any pellet to date. I think this may be because mesquite is a much hotter burning wood than other woods. We all know the higher the heat the less the smoke.
The AMNPS produces perfect smoke and combined with these pellets you get perfecter smoke :D

Al, did you wrap the the brisket at all or did you let it ride the entire cook?
I have found that I get MUCH greater flavor going unwrapped the entire time.
I'm also venturing into newer territory where I buy really big briskets and then trim the flat down in size to fit my MES40 so that slices that are uniformly big throughout the entire flat of the brisket rather than tapering down. I think I am also seeing that this helps with reducing super bark from forming since there is more juice in the thicker meat than in the thinner briskets I am buying.
I had been buying about 14-15 pound packers because they were closer in size to what my MES40 can handle but now I am buying like 18-20+ pound briskets and trimming to fit while saving the good brisket flat trimmed meat for other dishes :)

BTW, SPx2OG on a brisket is also to die for. You can go Px2 or Px4 or PxWhatever to keep that heavy black pepper level you want with no issue. This would be another way to kick up some flavor if you are still lacking :)

I look forward to seeing how you continue on your TX brisket journey :)

 

[Bearcarver]

Looks Great, Kid!!
Like.

Bear

 

[noboundaries]

The biggest lesson for the new guys just trying brisket is use your instincts and all the techniques available to tell when something is done. I can imagine Al right now when that alarm went off: "WHAT! 7 hours on a packer? No way!"

Al's example below is a PERFECT example of great instincts! Technology will often get you where you want to be, but not always.

I put it on at 5:00 PM yesterday & at midnight the alarm went off that it was at 195. I went out to have a look & it was not probe tender anywhere so I re-positioned the probe & it stayed between 190-195 until 11:00 AM this AM. That is basically an 11 hour stall. At that point I foiled it & it took about 1/2 hour to hit 203, and was probe tender throughout.

 

[tallbm]

The biggest lesson for the new guys just trying brisket is use your instincts and all the techniques available to tell when something is done. I can imagine Al right now when that alarm went off: "WHAT! 7 hours on a packer? No way!"

Al's example below is a PERFECT example of great instincts! Technology will often get you where you want to be, but not always.

Yep and I think Al will be learning the mystery and magic of temp probing a brisket. I always use 3 probes in the flat and usually only 1 of the 3 gets positioned correctly to give me the correct temp reading hahaha :)

 

[SmokinAl]

Well fellas, I usually go to great lengths to try & make my brisket the best I can. This time was a completely different approach. First of all I didn't take any photo's cause I was just doing another brisket, I mean how many brisket threads can you have!
Second, no injection & it was trimmed down to almost no fat cap. For the rub, I used 2 parts very coarse ground black pepper to 1 part Kosher salt. I used my WSM/Guru setup with a mix of briquettes, lump, and hickory chunks. I filled the ring as full as it would go & put about 10-12 lit briquettes on the top of the pile. I smoked it fat side down. BTW, this was just an 8 lb. Choice Angus flat, so I smoked it in a pan sitting on a bunch of veggies with a grate on top of the veggies & with a can of French onion soup. I set the Guru at 210 degrees, and when the alarm went off at 11:00. The pit temp was sitting right at 210. Even after re-positioning the probe it was still reading 192. But it was no where near done. So when it finally got light in the morning, I checked it in several places with my Thermapen & it was reading anywhere from 188-190. And no where near probe tender. And it stayed there all day, even though I increased the pit temp to 230 for the rest of the day. I did baste it several times during the day with the pan juices, which could have slowed down the cooking time. next time I will use mesquite chunks & may even put a tube in there with mesquite pellets in it. We are going to Sam's next Wed., so I may have to pick up one there, and give it a go again. Also Publix has them on sale this week, that is where I got this one at.
The good thing about this whole ordeal is I now know what flavor I'm striving to achieve, I don't think I will ever get one as good as Mueller's, but I will have some fun trying!!
Al

 

[johnh12]

Be sure to take along a very large cooler if you go to Texas. Their brisket is usually less that $2 a pound instead of the $3+ we have to pay here in NE Florida. Our local walmart just went down to $2.99 from $3.50 a pound.

 

[johnh12]

I'

Not been to TX yet or ever had brisket that was wow (I always try it whenever I see it tho). I knew IT existed with all the rage about it and this pretty much confirms it.

You can actually order food from Mueller via Goldbelly...

If you want to talk brisket tech let me know. I have been seriously researching. IE Mueller's rub is 9:1 black pepper to salt.

I'm still not sure if that ratio is weight or volume.

 

[banderson7474]

Well fellas, I usually go to great lengths to try & make my brisket the best I can. This time was a completely different approach. First of all I didn't take any photo's cause I was just doing another brisket, I mean how many brisket threads can you have!
Second, no injection & it was trimmed down to almost no fat cap. For the rub, I used 2 parts very coarse ground black pepper to 1 part Kosher salt. I used my WSM/Guru setup with a mix of briquettes, lump, and hickory chunks. I filled the ring as full as it would go & put about 10-12 lit briquettes on the top of the pile. I smoked it fat side down. BTW, this was just an 8 lb. Choice Angus flat, so I smoked it in a pan sitting on a bunch of veggies with a grate on top of the veggies & with a can of French onion soup. I set the Guru at 210 degrees, and when the alarm went off at 11:00. The pit temp was sitting right at 210. Even after re-positioning the probe it was still reading 192. But it was no where near done. So when it finally got light in the morning, I checked it in several places with my Thermapen & it was reading anywhere from 188-190. And no where near probe tender. And it stayed there all day, even though I increased the pit temp to 230 for the rest of the day. I did baste it several times during the day with the pan juices, which could have slowed down the cooking time. next time I will use mesquite chunks & may even put a tube in there with mesquite pellets in it. We are going to Sam's next Wed., so I may have to pick up one there, and give it a go again. Also Publix has them on sale this week, that is where I got this one at.
The good thing about this whole ordeal is I now know what flavor I'm striving to achieve, I don't think I will ever get one as good as Mueller's, but I will have some fun trying!!
Al

Would u inject it next time? If i remember u are all about injecting with beef broth

 

[zwiller]

I'm still not sure if that ratio is weight or volume.

Volume. If you have never done it, you must. Weigh 1tsp salt and 1tsp pepper on a gram scale.
https://www.dallasobserver.com/restaurants/how-louie-mueller-barbecue-smokes-its-brisket-7022001

 

[SmokinAl]

Would u inject it next time? If i remember u are all about injecting with beef broth

No I don't think I would inject next time. Reason 1 is it was sooo tender & juicy & reason 2 is because I ran the smoker at 210 for the first 10 hours I didn't want to have to worry about the 40-140 rule.
Al

 

[Bearcarver]

Well fellas, I usually go to great lengths to try & make my brisket the best I can. This time was a completely different approach. First of all I didn't take any photo's cause I was just doing another brisket, I mean how many brisket threads can you have!
Second, no injection & it was trimmed down to almost no fat cap. For the rub, I used 2 parts very coarse ground black pepper to 1 part Kosher salt. I used my WSM/Guru setup with a mix of briquettes, lump, and hickory chunks. I filled the ring as full as it would go & put about 10-12 lit briquettes on the top of the pile. I smoked it fat side down. BTW, this was just an 8 lb. Choice Angus flat, so I smoked it in a pan sitting on a bunch of veggies with a grate on top of the veggies & with a can of French onion soup. I set the Guru at 210 degrees, and when the alarm went off at 11:00. The pit temp was sitting right at 210. Even after re-positioning the probe it was still reading 192. But it was no where near done. So when it finally got light in the morning, I checked it in several places with my Thermapen & it was reading anywhere from 188-190. And no where near probe tender. And it stayed there all day, even though I increased the pit temp to 230 for the rest of the day. I did baste it several times during the day with the pan juices, which could have slowed down the cooking time. next time I will use mesquite chunks & may even put a tube in there with mesquite pellets in it. We are going to Sam's next Wed., so I may have to pick up one there, and give it a go again. Also Publix has them on sale this week, that is where I got this one at.
The good thing about this whole ordeal is I now know what flavor I'm striving to achieve, I don't think I will ever get one as good as Mueller's, but I will have some fun trying!!
Al

Sounds Really Great, Al !!
Great Review!
However, no matter how many Briskets, or whatever you smoke, I'd love to see them.
They all look Great !!
Like.

Bear

 

[gary s]

Al, next time Fire up that Lang, get some oak, pecan or hickory splits, let it smoke for 6 - 7 hours wrap in butcher paper till done Give it a try I promise you want be disappointed No need to baste leave your fat cap about a quarter if an inch.

Gary

 

[texomakid]

It's good to know I'm not the only one who runs into "situations" while cooking. When I cooked mine I set the Yoder on 220 as I have in the past on other briskets but to my surprise the temp when I checked it the next morning was lower than previous briskets. It was then I realized I had placed the pan to catch the drippings on the lower rack just below the brisket. This was working as an unwanted heat shield. I finally pulled the drippings pan, had to increase the temp and finished the brisket. Took me 18 hours to get it cooked to 203 deg. I started with fat cap down but I flipped it up when I pulled the pan out and then rotated for the last hour so the flat was to the hotter end since it was a few deg lower than the point. Both flat & point reached 203 at the same time. That was a first for me (see, I'm learning every time I cook!) The Brisket was/is awesome but my hopes to make sauce from drippings failed. drippings were burnt. I can honestly say there is a definite difference in the Prime vs Choice but there's nothing wrong with any choice brisket I've ever cooked or will cook. Sorry guys my photo skills are lacking. I may never make the carousal but we're eating good around here. Much thanks to this forum. I think I'm proudest that this was a 100% salt & pepper, no wrap brisket.