It was time for my first brisket!

[johnnytahoe]

And I must say, not too shabby...

So I purchased a 4lb brisket from my butcher and had him leave a nice fat layer on the top.

I rubbed it well with Dizzy's Dust and let it sit and room temperature for about 1 1/2 hours. I fired up the B.S. to about 220F and put in the brisket fat side up on the second rack from the top. I was using alder and special blend smoke. About once and hour I mopped it with a combination of cider vinegar, beer, oil, garlic and onion (maybe a couple other things, too)

After about 5 hours, I pulled it out at about 160F meat temp.

I sliced it thin and served it with Rudy's bar-b-q sause (another memebrs recommendation) and it was FANTASTIC.

The only thing I might have changed was to pull it out a little sooner. Well-done is a little more than my taste and 150F would have been perfect.

I big thanks to the forum for the rub and sauce recommendations! Another happy smoker here.

[JJC]

WTG, JT!  [:D][8D]

John
Newton MA

[bsolomon]

I guess everyone has their own tastes, but it is strange to hear that you want your brisket on the rare side.  This should result in a very tough piece of meat.  In general, steaks can be kept rare because they are relatively tender to start off with and they lack a lot of collagen and connective tissue that you typically find in tougher cuts.  Cook steaks too long and they get tougher.

The reason brisket it usually cooked for a long time at a low temperature is to allow it time for the collagen to break down and the cut to become tender.  Brisket starts off tough and gets more tender as it cooks.

Typically you will see brisket cooked into the 185-195 range, depending on if you want it for slicing or for shredding/chopping.  I like my steaks blood rare, but I always cook brisket into this range and I am quite happy with the results, which are fork-tender.

[Habanero Smoker]

When I make pastrami, I use brisket and cook it to 160 - 165. By slicing it thin and across the grain, you will get tender meat.

[psdubl07]

I always take my briskets to 190 also.  Very tender but not falling apart.  From what I've seen on the competition shows, this is what most teams strive for.  A slice pulled from opposite ends should give you a little resistance, but come apart fairly easily.

[Phone Guy]

At 190 its fork tender and perfect with a good sauce.

[BigSmoker]

I go to 185f then FTC for a minimum of 1hr.  Works 90% of the time with excellent results.  Sometimes old bessie was really old I guess and it just dosen't turn out like I expected.

Jeff



Some say BBQ is in your blood, if thats true my blood must be BBQ sauce.

[MallardWacker]

I'm with the 185 folks, BigSmoke has it correct(like just about everything-man I wish I was his next door neighbor).  You don't know what you are missing.


SmokeOn,

mski
Perryville, Arkansas
Wooo-Pig-Soooie

If a man says he knows anything at all, he knows nothing what he aught to know.  But...