WTS Brisket question

[chooch]

Was gonna do a brisket with this recipe, but at one point after the 6 hrs in the BS he says to put it in the oven, then doesn't say for how long. Anyone know how long is good in the oven with the apple juice?


Hmmmm...also re-reading and he mentions "best of the brisket" flat, which is what I have from Costco I think. Says no, but is that only because he considers it expensive or because there's not enough fat on it to work in this recipe?

[FLBentRider]

I would leave it in the oven until the IT is 185-190F

[Wildcat]

I would leave it in the oven until the IT is 185-190F

Ditto

[DTAggie]

Yep you still have to go by IT* even in the oven.

[BuyLowSellHigh]

How long in the oven will depend on a number of variables, a big one of which is the brisket itself . Use IT to give you an idea of when it's done -- 190 is a good starting point.

As far as the "Best of ..." that was a packaging term for a highly trimmed portion of a flat. The general preference is a whole packer, followed by a packer flat, followed by a whole market trimmed, followed by a market trimmed flat. "Best of..." was a portion of a market trimmed flat  -- just say No.

[chooch]

This might be naive, but why not just put it back in the BS sans smoke until the IT is up there?

BTW just rubbed it down, bagged it and it's in the fridge now until tomorrow. If I calculate correctly I should prolly start this at around 6:00 am ifn I wanna get this done by 5:00 pm tomorrow night.

[BuyLowSellHigh]

It is a very viable alternative and preferred by many.  In the same section of the recipe site see Brisket Pachanga for an excellent version.  I would also encourage you to read Pachanga's superb treatise, "I Prefer to Smoke Totally Naked... ".

The WTS approach uses a braise finish, which will usually be faster than continuing naked in your Bradley and tends to preserve moisture in the end product.  A very personal thing, I do not like the effects that of braising has on meat texture or flavor for either smoked beef or pork. That's just me. So i tend to avoid it for briskets, butts and ribs. That said, there are a lot of BBQ completions won using that approach, and many prefer the result over the naked results.

Try one way this time, then next time try the other way and decide for yourself which you prefer.  Both can turn out excellent results.

My own preference is somewhat in between and adds a day.  I first smoke and roast a brisket to an IT of 165-170 °F, then remove it, cool it, wrap it and store it in a refrigerator overnight.  Then next day I put it in a disposable aluminum roasting pan, fat side down, dry - no added liquid, cover it with foil and seal the edges, then put about 5-6 small holes with a temp probe in the foil to act as steam vents.  I then finish it to my desired tenderness in a 240-250 °F oven.

[chooch]

Ok wait a second, I thought I saw something about this elsewhere but now that I've seasoned the brisket and have it waiting to smoke I see pachanga's recipe notes a fully carved up brisket, which is what I have from Costco, will not survive the smoking because there isn't enough fat on it. Great.... so what route should I go from here? Put bowl of AJ in the bottom of the smoker?

I figured the AJ tent for a couple hours and the FTC would take care of the lack of fat..... is this destined for shoe leather now?

[BuyLowSellHigh]

So you have a market trimmed brisket?  In that case go with the WTS method.  As noted in that recipe, market trimmed will work well, it's just not preferred.  Just do the smoke then into the braise and you'll be fine.  A lot of good brisket is done that way.  Just don't let it continue roasting after the smoke.  And I would not add a liquid pan during the smoking - it will play havoc with your heat and probably won't help in the end for a braise finish.  Keep it simple.  BTW, a great braising liquid is a simple mix of 1:1 regular (NOT DIET) Coke and good water.

For Pachanga's totally naked, you really want the fat cap.

[chooch]

hmmm..... so what's the timing then? WTS is kinda vague here but he says 4 hours smoke, then once it comes back up to 220 pull it for the braise. Should I pull and braise after the 4 hr smoke or let it come back up to 220 then braise?

Also, I was gonna do the apple juice braise.... no?

[BuyLowSellHigh]

I'd put the smoke on it with the smoker set for 220, then after the smoke go for the braise and oven.  As far as liquid, I've never tried AJ on beef, but apple and beef wouldn't be a combination I would tend towards.  Others may have some suggestions or ideas about the AJ or other braising liquids.

One suggestion - relax and it will turn out great. Enjoy the journey and don't sweat the small stuff.

[chooch]

thought I'd post the results:   came it tender after the braise. This is only the second smoke I've done but I have to say, it seems like the smoke is killing off any other flavors in the rub. When I tasted the run the day I made it I had a picture in my mind how this would taste, then I smoke it and it's all wiped away. Barely 0 of any of the pepper flavors are there anymore.

I'm thinking I should be cutting the smoke time in half for every recipe around here until I get numb to the taste, otherwise all I'm tasting is smoke. There are very subtle hints of the rub, but nowhere near what I expected and I put a ton of run on this brisket. Should have a fuller pepper flavor than it seems to have.

Otherwise, came out just shy of falling apart.  Thanks guys.

[FLBentRider]

it seems like the smoke is killing off any other flavors in the rub. When I tasted the run the day I made it I had a picture in my mind how this would taste, then I smoke it and it's all wiped away. Barely 0 of any of the pepper flavors are there anymore.

What flavor and how much smoke are you applying?

[chooch]

went straight with the recipe from WTS, rub is exactly the same, put a ton on, and used mesquite for 4 hrs. I woulda thought the rub would have stood out at least a little in this recipe. It was so comingled with the smoke that the smoke just dominated.

[FLBentRider]

... and used mesquite for 4 hrs.

The  Bradley Mesquite, IMHO, is the strongest smoke you can use in a Bradley Smoker. I would switch to, say, Oak and cut the smoke to two hours and see what you think.