Need some tips on Smoked Brisket

Murphjd25

Murphjd25

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I’m going to smoke my first brisket tomorrow, I was wondering if anyone has any experience smoking briskets? Any tips would be much appreciated.
 
First, get a whole brisket not a pretrimmed flat.
Trim the brisket fat down to about 1/4"-1/2" and score the fat thoroughly.
Optional- if you want to inject a brisket Stubbs marinade is my go to if and when I do inject one. It's a soy base with enough ginger and pepper to add some pop.
Half an hour before I want to cook t take out the brisket and put enough fine sea salt to scare most grown men out of the room.
Let it sit as is for 20 minutes at room temp then hit it with enough fresh cracked black pepper to cover all of the salt you used earlier. Let it sit for the remaining 10 minutes.
Throw it on the smoker over pecan wood at 250* for 8 hours. At this time I will separate the point from the flat and season the separations. Put the point back on for at least 4 more hours.
Optional at this time you can wrap the flat in heavy foil and go back on the smoker for at least 4 hours. If you do choose to wrap it after 4 hours place it on a sheet tray when you unwrap it to save the juice that has accumulated and reduce it until it just begins to thicken. Place the flat back on the smoker unwrapped for at least 30 minutes.
Let all the meat rest for 10 minutes minimum. Slice the flat 1/4" thick, slice the point into 1-1/2" cubes. Pour juice over the top that you saved from earlier.
 
I got a whole brisket from my butcher and got it trimmed down tonight. It weighs just over 10 lbs now. I will be cooking it on my GMG Daniel Boon with some BBQers Delite Mesquite pellets.

As far as questions, you answered a lot of them 3fifty7, thank you. I know this is only my first brisket, and I feel fairly confident with being able to pull it off, I have smoked ALOT of meats just never a brisket yet.

I’m mainly curious about the pros and cons of wrapping it after the stall? Does it absolutely need to be wrapped or can I let it ride? Personal opinion to each his own? And I want to pull it at 203 IT and wrap it and let it rest for at least an hour after correct? Is 1 hour 15 minutes a good start for cook time per lb? And I’m throwing it on fat side up, that is correct right? I heard about flipping it every three hours, or should I not touch it?

Thanks guys!
 
Cvrobinson said:
Morning, nice early start
I always wrapped mine after the stall, never flipped brisket, always fat side up
We ran a BBQ shop and wanted a consistent product day to day:D
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Morning, That is my dream someday to open a bbq shop..:D

Sounds like everyone wraps after the stall, glad I got enough butcher paper from my butcher. I will pull it off and wrap after the stall.
 
Murphjd25 said:
Morning, That is my dream someday to open a bbq shop..:D

Sounds like everyone wraps after the stall, glad I got enough butcher paper from my butcher. I will pull it off and wrap after the stall.
Click to expand...

Here's a pic from the "shack"
IMG_3454.PNG
 
Just made it out of the stall, took a lot longer then I expected. Bark is looking fantastic just wrapped it in some butcher paper and opened a Shiner Bock. I thought some Shiner would be appropriate for today since I’m aiming for a Central Texas style brisket! I will post pictures of the final product whenever it’s done! A46B1E91-D912-49FD-BD02-A2E4D604B301.jpegE669D054-CA1B-42D7-A7E0-F5BF8D262B18.jpeg
 
You guys covered it, but I wanted to stress how critical the fat cap is. If the butcher trims too much off, there’s about nothing you can do to get it right. Only one I ruined was trimmed to thin.

Other than that...enjoy!

05n0ltOl.jpg
 
Murphjd25 said:
Just made it out of the stall, took a lot longer then I expected. Bark is looking fantastic just wrapped it in some butcher paper and opened a Shiner Bock. I thought some Shiner would be appropriate for today since I’m aiming for a Central Texas style brisket! I will post pictures of the final product whenever it’s done! View attachment 931312View attachment 931313
Click to expand...

Don't forget to save some tips for burnt ends:cool:
 
Couldn’t of been happier for my first brisket. Very juicy and tender. I may do a couple things differently next time. Smoked it at 275* for 4 hours heavy smoke, 2 hours light smoke, wrapped for 6 more hours. Exactly 12 hours in total to an IT of 203*.
4A5231A5-5F9E-4E9A-96D5-16BB6DA5D5CB.jpeg 78BE5EF5-5D6B-438D-A8E6-F910F3E32CB1.jpeg
 
Nice!!!...

I’ve smoked a dozen or so briskets and never got one that was “just right” so I have given up...the last one I threw the whole thing out...briskets are tooooo expensive for that so will stick with pulled pork which are infinitely more forgiving...

Cheers/bg
 
Good job. Now here's an old fart's modified version --

For over 30 years, I used to do the 10 to 12 hours (or longer) out on the pit method, but then I had an epiphany. AFTER you wrap it up, no time out on the pit is going to change the end result, re: flavor. All the flavor that will be part of the chunk of meat is there and the flavor will NOT increase, nor will the smoke ring grow. The additional time on the pit is for tenderizing the beef. So...

When you wrap the brisket, quit fiddling with the pit, adding more wood, adjusting dampers, etc to it trying to maintain whatever temp you are trying to maintain, be it 200ºF, 225ºF, 250ºF etc.

Just set your oven temperature to your desired temperature, put the WRAPPED brisket in the oven, set the timer and go do whatever you want/need to do for the next 5 or 6 hours. Drink beer, throw horse shoes, pull weeds, scrape paint, take a nap. No more trying to decide "Do I put 1 chunk or 2 in the firebox?" "Should I open the damper another 1/2"?" "Do I need to shovel some of the ash out of the firebox?"

I smoke briskets a whole lot more now that I no longer waste that extra 5 or 6 hours babying the pit. I used to do a brisket every 6 to 8 weeks because I would need the whole day to babysit the pit. Now I do one 1x or 2x per month.
 
Ive switched to the high heat method up around 350-450 recommended by AmazingRibs.com works great and tastes the same in half the time. Just keep sugar out of your rub or it will burn.
 
Hi fellas. New here at the forum, so wanted to say hello to everyone. Knives and bbq my 2 favorite things. I normally cook a brisket on my weber wsm, much easier and needs less attention on longer cooks than my offset. Everyone here pretty much summed it up so I cant add much. Marinades, injections, rubs are all a matter of preference but I prefer either plain old salt and pepper or weber brisket rub, no injection or marinade. Just make sure when you slice it, slice side to side on the flat until you hit the point then slice end to end. Best results for me at least
 
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