I picked up a few briskets the other day and took a few photos to go along with a recipe Habanero Smoker kindly edited from pieced together previous posts of mine. It is located on the excellent site
Recipes from the Bradley Smoker Forum (
http://www.susanminor.org/). The specific recipe is
Brisket Pachanga (
http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?t=532). Included are detailed instructions on picking briskets, trimming, rub, slather, wood type, smoke duration, freezing, reheating and other tips. I have smoked well over 150 briskets in my Bradley. Being from West Texas and only smoking in large offsets with mesquite gathered by the trailer load, I was a little embarrassed to use the Bradley which was given to me as a gift. I am over that. I can turn out great tasting, moist, bark laden authentic Texas Brisket with less effort than ever before.
The following pictorial shows a four brisket smoke, however, one, two or three can be done the same way. Less poundage will mean a shorter smoke time.
Packer cut brisket before trimming, lean side up. Wet aged for four weeks. For more on wet aging go to;
http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?p=138#post138 I normally process my briskets in a very clean sink that is foil lined making clean up a snap and to catch rub and slather which are used on the last brisket. In later photos, I removed the foil for better photo clarity.
Discolored meat trimmed and fat between muscles removed and folded back. It is removed after photo.
Close up of trimmed deckle.
Brisket flipped. A little trimming of the fat cap where it was overly thick. Save these trimmings and place on the top shelf for self basting and a treat for your hounds.
Rubbed and patted in.
Mustard Slather on lean side.
We have a problem with the brisket being too long to fit in the Bradley. But this problem can easily be solved -
Fitting an over-sized brisket: this brisket fits after lifting in the middle and wrinkling the brisket, forming an inverted U. The brisket will shrink during the smoking stage and flatten out. Here, we have the fat side up which is the way it will go into the Bradley. Underneath the brisket basket is a flipped Bradley basket - this keeps surface contact to a minimum, protecting the rub and slather.
Four briskets loaded with fat side up, deckle ends alternating. The largest brisket is on bottom, smallest on top. The baskets are flipped as needed to get at least one inch between briskets. Trimmings on top.
Can the Bradley handle almost 50 pounds of beef? 
The water bowl has been replaced with a half size steam table aluminum pan. A double layer of foil loosely covers the back half of the v heat deflector to force more even heat in the Bradley. This is probably not recommended by Bradley. Do so at your own risk.
Pour boiling water laced with beer, apple juice, onions, etc. into water pan. This may need to be refilled once during the night depending on heat level and vent opening. These briskets were started about 9:30 PM.
Open the door the next morning to check if anything crazy is happening.
Empty grease and used pucks and refill with boiling water. Incomplete burning of pucks means it is time to wire brush the smoke generator heater element.
Bottom brisket is monitored with probe and checked for fork tender at 185 degrees F. and then checked every five degrees thereafter. Most briskets come out around 190 to 195 degrees. I have never taken a brisket beyond 195. When the door is open for this check is the time to baste or spritz. Move all briskets down as you take each brisket out. The last brisket will come off between 18 and 22 hours if you maintained heat at 220 to 225 degrees F.
Smoke and moisture are the keys to great brisket. Two probes in the flat of the bottom brisket (I like confirmed temperature readings) and a chamber temperature monitor on the front of the bottom shelf (the six rack digital has a rear mounted chamber temperature gauge also). Check all probes for accuracy by inserting tips in boiling water before each smoke. Do not totally immerse the entire probe.
Finished fat side of brisket.
Finished lean side. This brisket is so tender, it is trying to crack open under its own weight before FTC.
Another finished brisket and the way the bark should look. This is not burned, it is pure layer of flavored bark. This is the
hallmark of Authentic Texas Brisket. I will be posting soon on my reasons for not foiling in the Bradley.
Foil, towel, cooler. This is the first time this brisket has touched foil. No wrapping or boating during the smoking process which retards bark formation. As each brisket comes out, it is now foil wrapped, stacked on top of the previous brisket and wrapped in the towel (after I taste test a little of the bark off the deckle end).
Sliced and ready for the table.
No knives needed here. This brisket cuts with a fork.
Don't forget the hounds.
Other Threads:
Brisket Pachanga
http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?t=532Mustard Slather on Brisket and other Meats
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=12112.0I Prefer to Smoke Totally Naked - A Brisket and Ribs Manifesto
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=12455.0So your brisket doesn't fit - solution here
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=13080.0How do you make burnt ends?
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=14065.0To Mop or Not to Mop – That is the Question
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=14240.0Calling All Mop Recipes
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=14446.0Good luck and slow smoking.
Pachanga
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