Under the gun

[jha1223]

I've been home with my new OBS for about an hour.  Unboxed, set up and put the cover on her.  Read through the manual as I usually do and my wife says, "Can't wait for the brisket on  Saturday."  I've been waiting to buy this smoker since Christmas and now I'm under the gun! 

I've made all the rookie mistakes making ribs in the past - boiling (don't shoot me!) before putting them on the grill, over cooking them, not using a rub.  You name it, I've done it.  Not having done brisket, I need a little help.  So, my wife gave me a shot at the smoker and I need to turn out one hell of a brisket for her.  At least I'm not having guests for this first smoke :)

I read around the forums and headed over to susanminor.org (for some reason my email address is banned there, contacting admin).  So, I'm kind of stuck.  My wife wants a brisket flat, and flat only.  I know not using the point is probably blasphemy, but the boss gets what she wants. Having been a butcher in the past, I know that I'll end up with about a 4-5 lb. flat when I get it from the meat shop. 

Phew!  All of that out of the way, I'm trying to figure out how to get adjusted cooking times for smaller cuts. I see recipes around that talk about a whole brisket, putting them in a cooler, etc.   I'm planning on, if it's not considered a bad idea, smoking the brisket and serving it very, very shortly after.  We don't really have a need it aside for any length of time.

I have a few days to get things in order, so any advice would be awesome.  Thanks!

[Buck36]

West Texas is your man.

Check this link:

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=7751.0

[Buck36]

This is his other one I always reference when doing my own:

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=7825.0

[Tenpoint5]

Ok TIME OUT!!!! This don't happen very often but I'm confused. You doing RIBS or Brisket?

IE:I see recipes around that talk about a whole brisket, putting them in a cooler, etc.   I'm planning on, if it's not considered a bad idea, smoking the ribs and serving them very, very shortly after.  We don't really have a need it aside for any length of time.

If it's Brisket then Buck has you pointed in the right direction WTS is the man for Brisket. If its Ribs try the 3-2-1 (Spares) or 3-1-1 (Babybacks) method 3 hours of smoke at 220*, 2/1 wrapped in foil with splash of Apple juice, 1 back on rack with sauce to glaze and firm back up. would be my suggestion.

[jha1223]

 ::)  Yeah, I meant brisket.    Ribs are going to be next.

It's looking like the days I have will be needed.  Let me see if I have this straight ...

- WW one derful rub overnight in fridge
- Bring smoker up to 220F (brisket is resting on counter while this is coming to temp)
- Smoke for 6 hours (was a bit confused about "smoke for four hours, but took 6 hours to get to 220F)
- Remove, foil, apple juice and put in oven at 220F

Now, here's where I get confused.  In the oven at that temp overnight?  I believe I read that correctly.  Also, in regards to FTC, I see "seasoned" smokers recommend it.  I believe this has to do with redistributing the juices to make sure it's all evened out.  Several hours is what I think I read. 

So, that means if I want brisket at 5pm on Saturday ... I need to start the actual smoking on like Thursday.  Wow!  WTS says "brisket is not to be rushed" so if that's what it takes, I'm game, but holy cow!

Thanks for the really quick feedback.  I'd love to get a few rounds of good smoke out of this beauty before next month.  It's my mother-in-laws 65th Bday and we are having a surprise bday for her.  The girls are asking me to make up some ribs and brisket for that day so I'm trying to get some stuff under my belt.  Thanks again!

[Gizmo]

You may still want to wait for the feedback from WTS or others as I usually only do whole packer briskets, but the time it takes to do a small flat is much shorter than what is needed for the whole brisket.  If using 220, it will also take less time than 200 deg.  For smoke time, I only use 4 hours maximum.  As for how long, I use internal temperature not time.  Once the IT reaches 180, it is ready for a nice rest period and I use a foil pan with a foil lid.  I also remove the brisket from the smoker after the 4 hours of smoke and place it in the foil pan with a little liquid in the bottom and put the lid on.  In my experience and opinion, this method always keeps the meat moist and tender.  The FTC for me is shutting off the oven and leaving the brisket in the foil pan with lid until I am ready to serve.  It will stay very hot for many hours.

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi jha1223;

Welcome to the forum.

There is nothing wrong with just smoking the flats. Just make sure they are not trimmed too much, and 4 pounds should be the minimum.

About your email being band from the site; Olds will get back to you on that. Though I encourage you to sign up, you don't have to be a member to view the recipes. I do know that with new members emails from hotmail, yahoo etc have been banned in the past.

[Caneyscud]

Welcome jha1223.  Don't look at it as being "under the gun".  Look to it as a challenge on you way through the goalposts of life!  Advice is to follow directions for at least the first time, then make your "improvements".  To me flats can be trickier, but there are ways to assure a great outcome.  West Texas has immense experience with Bradleys, brisket and the "m" wood.  And rest assured, if it doesn't come out "competition worthy" it will still be immensely better than what you can get at most restaurants.  And your wife will be impressed with all the work you had to do to cook her a brisket (hint - don't tell her it was as easy as it was!). 
Took in brisket the other day at a place, sometimes talked about, but always bragging about winning something at the "Jack".  Noticed it was in 1996 or 1998.  I hate to say it, but in those 13 years they forgot everything about brisket since then.  I could probably make better tasting barbecue brisket in a le creuset!  It tasted like roast beef, bark was wimpy, no hint of seasoning, and smoke flavor was almost totally nonexistent.  One the good side had a nice, but shallow ring, was tender, and moist.  Then of course, I'm not in brisket country anymore! 

Shakespeare
The Bard of Hot Aire
Pontificator Extraordinaire'

[westexasmoker]

Welcome to the forum jha1223!

I'm with Giz and go with the whole packer when doing brisket, but I think he's got ya pointed in the right direction for just the flat.  What I meant by 4 hours of smoke but 6 hours to hit 220, is the meat gets 4 hours of pucks and then I leave it in the smoker till the smoker has recovered to the 220 temp mark then it gets pulled and popped into the oven....hope that makes sense!  Depending how much of a fat cap you have left on your meat will also determine how long it takes to hit your IT and breakdown the connective tissue, plus I find it almost impossible to overcook a brisket.  Just guessing with your flat, probably in the area of 1 1/2 to 2 hours per pound (after the smoke) ought to get ya there, and then ready to FTC.  Shooting for 5 pm Saturday, I'd start Friday evening with the smoke, then into the oven overnight @ 200 instead of 220 till around noon or 13:00 (10-12 hours) and then FTC till dinner time!  Hope this helps!  Dang now I'm hungry for brisket!   ;D   Good luck and keep us posted!

C

[jha1223]

Absolutely amazing advice all!  I am feeling much more confident about this now.  And after reading about 14 pages of posts (i was up late last night hehe), it looks like the rookies are really taken care of around here.  I've seen some great recipes and amazing pictures that are absolutely inspiring.  I showed my wife a picture of some wings that were done and it looks like I might be making those Friday night as well!  Hopefully I'll have some good pictures from my first smoke!

WTS - yes that makes sense now with the time.  I actually don't have a cooler (never have time for anything that would use one) so I'm kind of SOL this weekend for the FTC.  I'll make do with what I can for my first foray.  Thanks for the input!

It looks like I have a little bit of shopping to do though : bubba pucks, extra temp guage ( i forget what you guys call it), different wood (only have hickory now), etc.

But, I guess that just means the better I get, the better the food will be. 

[Tenpoint5]

I actually don't have a cooler (never have time for anything that would use one) so I'm kind of SOL this weekend for the FTC. 

Ah but No young GrassHopper you are not SOL Use FTM. Foil Towel Microwave. Don't use the Microwave they don't like foil in them. Just use it to contain the radiant heat that escapes from the towel wrap. Just remember to never let it slip just how easy this whole thing is. It could screw up a lot of Adult Beverage consumption for the rest of us. That have our significant other believing we have to babysit the Bradley while it does its thing.

[jha1223]

I actually don't have a cooler (never have time for anything that would use one) so I'm kind of SOL this weekend for the FTC. 

It could screw up a lot of Adult Beverage consumption for the rest of us. That have our significant other believing we have to babysit the Bradley while it does its thing.

Done and done. :)

Never thought of the microwave.  That is fantastic!

[beefmann]

welcome to the forum Jhal

the others have you set  stright and good luck

[jha1223]

I've probably managed to not get the links right, but I'll work on that. 

Here's the flat out of the fridge and resting.  Checked on it after a few hours and it looked a little charred.  Not a bad look, just not what I was expecting.  The temp of the smoker didn't go over 225, but I think I may need to back off the temp a bit next time.  After I looked back at some of the other pictures, I realized I may have put too much of the rub on it.  Not a whole lot I can do about that right now, but just something to consider I guess.  In a little while in the oven and some FTC and we'll see how she turns out.  One thing I can say for sure - it smells AWESOME!

[Tenpoint5]

JHA
That charred look you are seeing is called the bark. After you do your FTC it should soften up and taste delicious. It is the Sugars in your rub carmelizing and turn dark brown blackish.