this weekend's brisket

[netspyder]

calling all brisket gurus --

so, i'm doing 2 briskets this weekend - they're thawing in the fridge as i type this. thinking about dry brining them before the cook. have questions, though... like... do i dry brine with just salt then add my rub spices (maybe with a binder) just before putting them on... or do i add the salt to the rub and just do it all at once? do i add a light dusting just before putting it on the pit?

anyone tried this? last time i did brisket my guests said that it's maybe the best they've ever had... but then... i live near st louis, so that's setting the bar pretty low as far as bbq goes...

and now, for the gratuitous picture of the meat ... because ... you know ... pictures or it didn't happen, right?

 

[JIMSMOKES]

I trim then salt with lawry's plus whatever flavor season I want the day before. Next day I hit with my rub grab then coat it with my bark maker.
Rub grab is all black. Worcester, balsamic, molasses
Bark maker is course salt, pepper, garlic,and onion powder.
Then low and slow 250-275. Spritz is beef bullion and bourbon.

 

[SmokingUPnorth]

Are you planning on injecting it or no?

 

[netspyder]

Are you planning on injecting it or no?

no plans for injecting. haven't yet - and they've all turned out great. well... except for that one that was overcooked and falling apart. still tasty though!

 

[Marknmd]

You didn't mention the grade. I would not inject unless it was Select.

If your rub has salt in it, I would dry brine with half the amount of recommended salt 1-3 days in advance. Then apply rub 30 mins before cooking as you normally would. Binder? Up to you.

This is just my opinion which is worth about a dime.

Good luck

 

[Danblacksher]

I have always had the best results with trimming and seasoning and let sit an hour or 2 before I put it on the grill. I did not see a benefit with dry brining with I have done multiple times. I did both dry brine and putting the seasoning on an hour of 2 before smoking, and maybe it was the briskets, but the dry brine briskets did not do as well. They both tasted the same. When dry brining chicken it pulls the moister out of the skin as it absorbs, and I dont like the idea of pulling any moister out of the fat or meat on the point on top of the brisket, but thats just my own personal experience. I have never tried a wet brine.

 

[Marknmd]

There's a technique to the dry brine procedure. If one simply applies salt to a hunk of meat and lets it sit out, there's a chance it will do more harm than good because the moisture in the meat will be pulled out and then it can evaporate. So you're left with a hunk of meat that's less moist than before - with very little salt penetration. Not good!

If one simply applies salt to a wet piece of meat right out of the package, the salt will dissolve from the wet on the meat rather than from the wet being pulled from the meat. Not good!

One must dry the meat off with a paper towel or cloth rag. One must then apply the salt - preferably salt with large crystals so that it doesn't dissolve quickly - onto the dry surface of the meat. One must then cover the hunk of meat. A zip lock bag works nicely if you have one big enough. Don't vacuum seal it. The salt will pull moisture from the meat. The moisture that gets pulled out of the meat sits on the surface of the meat and makes the outside of the meat wet. But the moisture can't evaporate because it's covered! The air under the cover or in the bag is saturated with 100% humidity. So the moisture sits on top of the meat for the first hour. The salt dissolves. The hunk of meat becomes a bit dehydrated as moisture is pulled from it. Finally, the salt crystals are dissolved into the liquid on top of the meat. The dehydrated meat then naturally reabsorbs the moisture on the surface of the meat back into the depths of the meat, bringing the dissolved salt with it. The surface of the meat is no longer wet. The salt is no longer on the surface. Hence, the meat has become dry brined. The longer the meat sits with the dry brine, the deeper the salt penetration can get. The meat has the same moisture as before, but it now is infused with salt. And that's a good thing.

The meat is now more tender, more flavorful, and likely to retain more juices during cooking.

Chef Judy Rodgers is credited with popularizing the dry brine technique and it's now used all over the world. Here is Judy Rodgers' Zuni Cafe Roast Chicken recipe adapted from her 2002 cookbook.

Zuni Cafe roast chicken with bread salad

The flavor of this chicken is full and deep. It's not salty at all, but has a profound chicken taste. The meat is moist and tender; the texture buttery.

www.latimes.com

 

[netspyder]

ok, so, i decided i'm going to try it. see how it turns out. like, worst case scenario i'll have 25 lbs of meat for chili and nachos, right? i was much more aggressive removing the deckle fat than in the past... that just seems to get trimmed by guests anyway - plus i plan to smoke that then render it down into tallow for general use anyway. light-medium coating of (non-iodized) sea salt and into the fridge it goes on wire racks. so here we are... will start the cook at ... maybe 6pm... that'll give me 20 hours before guests show up. should be plenty of cook time and a nice long rest in the cooler before the reveal.

 

[thirdeye]

last time i did brisket my guests said that it's maybe the best they've ever had... but then... i live near st louis, so that's setting the bar pretty low as far as bbq goes...

For starters, I've never dry brined a brisket, but about 25 years ago I started injecting them, so I always recommend that.

Mrs ~t~ is from South County, and from my recollection her kinfolk grilled a lot of pork steaks, chicken, along with German and Italian sausages. Brisket was a BBQ joint thing, but spare ribs and pork shoulder were the backyard lo-n-slo meat of choice. I'm not a sauce guy, but Maull's was the go-to... and the grocery stores had a lot of regional choices, most of which brought 'sweet' to the party.

With all due respect, people are generally very polite and complimentary. It's human nature. But... if you got rave reviews on your past briskets... you you cant go wrong if you stick with that same game plan. Maybe a tweak or two.

 

[eaglewing]

With all due respect, people are generally very polite and complimentary. It's human nature. But... if you got rave reviews on your past briskets... you you cant go wrong if you stick with that same game plan. Maybe a tweak or two.

I was thinking the same thing here... but I hope since you started this it turns out for the good.
I'll be waiting:

 

[schlotz]

I'm in for the finish...

 

[netspyder]

For starters, I've never dry brined a brisket, but about 25 years ago I started injecting them, so I always recommend that.

i might try this next time around. sam's club around here always has prime brisket for not too much more than choice, so i get that. what do you inject with? anything exciting? i bought an injector and used it on some pastrami to speed up the curing process, and it seemed to work as expected.

 

[Coreymacc]

I injected a flat a few weeks ago, didn't notice any difference, did the spritz as well. No real difference. Not saying it doesn't work but im a kiss princple person myself. But watching this thread for sure.

Corey

 

[smokin peachey]

Can’t wait to see the finished pics

 

[thirdeye]

i might try this next time around. sam's club around here always has prime brisket for not too much more than choice, so i get that. what do you inject with? anything exciting? i bought an injector and used it on some pastrami to speed up the curing process, and it seemed to work as expected.

I use two commercial injection products, sometimes mixing them together. Both are in powder form so it's easy to change the ratio. The first is Kosmo's Reserve Blend Brisket Injection. The second is Big Poppa Smokers Cattle Prod. These products come with recommended amounts for 'competition' barbecue and I use less than that. My preferred mixing ratio is 1 to 1-1/4 Tablespoons of product per 8 ounces of water (or slightly diluted Minor's Beef Base). And I'll shoot at least 1/2 ounce of liquid per pound of meat. If you like the idea of the late injection I explain below, you can make a low salt au jus and inject some of that before wrapping.

Before commercial injections came on the scene I used a jazzed-up beefy broth. And my procedure called for a 2-step prep, making some of the broth lower in salt because it's used as a "late injection" and/or some foil liquid if you opt to wrap. By late injection I'm talking injecting around the time the brisket stalls, or when you wrap. This injection should be warm. Anyways, here is the full method.

~thirdeye's~ Brisket Injection #2

1 14 oz can Beef Consume
1/3 Packet Lipton Beefy Onion Soup, dry mix. (More will be added in step 2)
1-1/2 of the soup can cold water
5 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 splashes of Soy Sauce (Don't add the soy sauce until step 2)
1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt (More will be added in step 2)
2 teaspoon Herb-OX beef bullion
2 teaspoons Montreal Steak rub
1 teaspoon Smokin’ Guns Rub (or any rub you like)
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
MSG (optional)

Bring all ingredients (except soy sauce) to a low simmer in a saucepan, and cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Try to avoid having the liquid come to a boil. Additional water can be added if flavors (or the salt) are too strong, or if liquid gets too thick. You want the injection to be thin.

STEP 1: Pour off about 8 or 10 ounces from the first saucepan into a second sauce pan - this will be used for the late injection as well as for liquid to add to the foil. Let this cool and strain. Any late injection should be lower in salt because there is not much time for the salt to cook into the meat. Warm up the late injection before shooting your brisket.

STEP 2: Now we are going to make the "early injection" - To the first sauce pan add more of the dry soup mix, the soy and more garlic salt, and simmer another 10 minutes or so - this will be used for the early injection. These additional ingredients have increased the amount of salt. Let this cool and strain. I reserve 8 or 10 ounces for the early injection. This injection will be room temperature when injecting. Any leftover liquid can be frozen in ice cube trays to use as single serving aujus.

 

[TexasMuskrat]

I personally add my salt to my rub, blend it up, hit the brisket with light layer of mustard or oil, rub down, wrap in plastic wrap, and let it sit overnight. Pull next morning while I'm getting smoker prepped and going and then putting on the smoker. I tend to get good results

 

[netspyder]

well ... here's the results. i will not do this again. POG rub after the dry brine. binder was frank's red hot. rub wouldn't stick to it without it. now -- they weren't terrible, but not what i would call a success. had some issues with my probes -- 1 was 10 deg low, the other was 20 degrees high. checked against my instant read. no complaints from guests -- but again, bbq around her is pulled meat, not real bbq. rub was 2 parts pepper, one part each granulated onion and garlic. pulled when the point was ~195 and the flat was ~185, rested for an hour or so. fat was rendered, but didn't produce as much as i had hoped - only 2 quarts of tallow.

 

[schlotz]

Hey, when it doesn't meet your expectations, time to make smoked brisket chili !!! Briskets get done when they want to, they don't get there by time or temp. Only way to know is to probe the flat (ignore the point) for tenderness. The feel you are looking for is like going in/out of peanut butter. I wait until the thickest part of the flat reaches 195º to start probing. If not tender all around, wait for a 2-3º rise and repeat.

Some people use binders but they really aren't needed. Flavor profile is strictly up to the individual. I usually go the Texan approach to smoking brisket, i.e. using only 50/50 kosher salt & ground peppers judiciously applied.

 

[netspyder]

Some people use binders but they really aren't needed. Flavor profile is strictly up to the individual. I usually go the Texan approach to smoking brisket, i.e. using only 50/50 kosher salt & ground peppers judiciously applied.

snp is my usual go to for brisket, but i wanted to try something different. had to use the binder -- rub wouldn't stick without it after the dry brine. i did notice that the franks did add just a hint of zip to it - just a lil' more than pepper by itself.

 

[gmc2003]

They may not have lived up to your expectations Nate, but they look good to me. Brisket hash is another option for the leftovers.

Point for sure
Chris