I have been meaning to post this for about 6 months but kept forgetting, something would get in the way, blah blah blah, etc. With the impending end of the world on Dec. 21st 2012 (and I am bored watching servers reboot at work) I figured I would throw it out there. My secret to great brisket is to not trim any fat off at all. There it is in all of its simplistic glory.
I have had some back channel discussions with some other members who also believe they make a great brisket and we have all arrived at the same conclusion separately. Trimming the fat is a pointless exercise that will actually diminish the final product. I would like to challenge those of you who are struggling with brisket to give this a try.
But what about all that fat you ask. What about it? I assume that you have a knife since you are trimming brisket to begin with. Rather than using it before you smoke the brisket, use it after the fact when you are serving the brisket. Unless you are turning your briskets into charcoal, if you don't trim the fat you will have a very moist brisket.
For those interested in how I make brisket, here you go.
My rub is very simple and consists of the following:
1/3 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup coarse ground black pepper
1 TBS onion powder
1 TBS granulated garlic
1 TBS paprika
1 1/2 TSP chipotle powder
My process is as follows:
While the smoker is coming up to temp I will apply rub to all surfaces of the brisket. Depending on the size of the brisket, you may need more or less rub than what I have posted above. The objective is not to use all the rub. A little bit goes a long way.
Once the smoker has hit my desired temperature (usually 235*), I put the brisket on. I will then wait about 6 hours before putting a temp probe in the thickest part of the meat. And then I wait. When the IT hits 175* I will then check it hourly with a round toothpick. If the round toothpick slides in and out easily it is done (by easily I mean with virtually no effort). Sometimes that is 180* and other times it can be 195*. My point is that there is no perfect temperature to signal that it is done. Every brisket is different and understanding that is a crucial point.
Once the brisket is done I will double wrap it in heavy duty foil, cooler it, and let it rest for two hours. After that I will open it up and slice it.
I do not foil prior to completion or inject my briskets. At one time I had used both of these practices.
I have had some back channel discussions with some other members who also believe they make a great brisket and we have all arrived at the same conclusion separately. Trimming the fat is a pointless exercise that will actually diminish the final product. I would like to challenge those of you who are struggling with brisket to give this a try.
But what about all that fat you ask. What about it? I assume that you have a knife since you are trimming brisket to begin with. Rather than using it before you smoke the brisket, use it after the fact when you are serving the brisket. Unless you are turning your briskets into charcoal, if you don't trim the fat you will have a very moist brisket.
For those interested in how I make brisket, here you go.
My rub is very simple and consists of the following:
1/3 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup coarse ground black pepper
1 TBS onion powder
1 TBS granulated garlic
1 TBS paprika
1 1/2 TSP chipotle powder
My process is as follows:
While the smoker is coming up to temp I will apply rub to all surfaces of the brisket. Depending on the size of the brisket, you may need more or less rub than what I have posted above. The objective is not to use all the rub. A little bit goes a long way.
Once the smoker has hit my desired temperature (usually 235*), I put the brisket on. I will then wait about 6 hours before putting a temp probe in the thickest part of the meat. And then I wait. When the IT hits 175* I will then check it hourly with a round toothpick. If the round toothpick slides in and out easily it is done (by easily I mean with virtually no effort). Sometimes that is 180* and other times it can be 195*. My point is that there is no perfect temperature to signal that it is done. Every brisket is different and understanding that is a crucial point.
Once the brisket is done I will double wrap it in heavy duty foil, cooler it, and let it rest for two hours. After that I will open it up and slice it.
I do not foil prior to completion or inject my briskets. At one time I had used both of these practices.
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