How to smoke an 8-lb Brisket?

[MoHuka]

I received a new Bradley Digital 6-rack smoker for Christmas.  I want to cook/smoke an 8-lb Brisket for the family and was wondering if anyone has smoke/cooking times.  I plan to use a dry rub

thanks for any help

[beefmann]

welcome aboard

as for smoking a brisket , preheat your smoker to 225 for at least 30 minutes, add smoke  2 to 3  hours of hickory or misquette, cook to an internal temperature of 195 to 200 F, it  could take 5 to 10 hours, the Internal temperature is more important if you want it to almost fall apart. 

[MoHuka]

Thanks Beefmann, I am looking forward to giving it a go

[KyNola]

Welcome aboard Greg. Make sure the vent is open and water bowl has plenty of water in it.  Don't fret if the internal temp of the brisket stalls out for a while.  That's not unusual.  Don't worry when it takes a while for the temp inside the tower to come back up to your setpoint when you first put that cold piece of meat into it.  Opening the door allows all of the heat to escape and the large piece of cold meat acts as a heat sink and hinders the temp in the tower from recovering.  I have recently begun wrapping my briskets in foil once the internal temp reaches 140 and the smoking session has ended.  I find that the foiling seems to aid in the cooking time and the steam action seems to help to make the meat more moist and tender.  The manual says to not use foil in the smoker.  What it means is don't completely cover any trays or v-tray with foil as it will hinder the heat rising.  Wrapped food is fine as long as there is an area around it where the heat can continue to rise.  Lastly, make certain that your brisket does not touch the side or back walls of the tower.  The fat can run down the walls and cause a grease fire and no one wants that.

[MoHuka]

Thank You KYNola,

I really appreciate the help I have received and anxious to get started tomorrow morning...I will post results

Greg