4th of July Brisket

Oldman · July 02, 2006, 05:21:22 AM

Well IMO doing a Texas style brisket is about the easiest thing to do. I don't care for the flat. I only smoke the point. Once trimmed, then it is only a quality salt and a blend of fresh ground white and black pepper corns that are added.

The biggest mistakes most new smokers make with a brisket are 1- they peak for no reason. 2 - they smoke/ cook it way to hot.

The two points (brisket ends) I have are both 5 pounds each. Monday night around 9 pm I will preheat my smoker. Target temp of the box is 195F - 205F max. At 10 pm I will place the points in the smoker. Next I will smoke them for four hours using a mixture of Oak and Adler woods. At the four hour mark I remove the points and place them in a foil boat. Add a couple splashes of apple juice. Tent them (closed up the boat) and return to smoker. Somewhere between 12pm and 2 pm Tues. the points will reach a temp of 185F. Remove from smoker and wrap the tented points up in a heavy towel. Place in a preheated cooler close lid and monitor as they will continue to cook. Target temp. for finished product is 190F.

Total time including the FTC (foil towel cooler) will be from 14 to 16 hours. This might sound like a long time to worry over a meal, but once you taste it those hours don't matter. Besides, between the Digital Thermometers and the Electric Smoker there is not really much to do but check the temps. every so often which is not a problem as they are wireless.

One of the tricks I do is one probe goes into the meat. The other I use to monitor the box temp. Once the meat is 180F I take the one I was using to monitor the box and place it into the second point.

Olds

BigSmoker · July 02, 2006, 12:17:05 PM

Those points will be to die for. I can practically taste them already :P :P :P.

Oldman · July 04, 2006, 05:08:41 PM

Well out of the two points I was only able to save myself 3 slices. Eleven adults ate what started out as 10 pounds of brisket! Total time with FTC was 18 hours. I kept the box close to 195 F for the most part and this added to the timeline. While you could slice it with a knife, you could cut it with a fork.

For the first 1- 1/2 to 2 hours I had a pound of bacon spread out on the rack above the meat. I used that smoky bacon in my beans... what a hit that was. Salad was a vegetable salad. The sweet stuff was fresh fruit cover in whipping cream.

Olds

icerat4 · July 05, 2006, 08:16:02 AM

What would your guess be for 1 five pound flat brisket time wise.Also do you guys rub the brisket down with mustard before the rub.

Habanero Smoker · July 05, 2006, 11:51:50 AM

Quote from: icerat4 on July 05, 2006, 08:16:02 AM
What would your guess be for 1 five pound flat brisket time wise.Also do you guys rub the brisket down with mustard before the rub.

I never did one that small. The last one I did was about 7.5 pounds and it took 14 hours. I kept the cabinet temperature under 205ºF, and took it out when the internal temperature reached 180ºF, and foiled it with 1/4 cup of low sodium beef broth.

I don't use mustard on my brisket. The rub I use adheres well without the mustard. I just use salt, pepper, garlic granules and onion powder.

BigSmoker · July 05, 2006, 03:20:06 PM

Sounds like you had a fine meal Olds. glad you at least got a few slices for yourself ;D. ;D ;D

iceman · July 05, 2006, 05:01:25 PM

Old's, the way you can cook you need to always figure extra, THEN DOUBLE THAT AMOUNT :D :D :D.
You've turned me into a brisket monster! I'm going to take one of the mobile kitchens up to a festival at the end of the month and crank out brisket sammiches for a few thousand customers. Last year they stampeded the trailer for pulled pork and chickens. This year it's brisket and turkey legs. This hobby is getting way out of hand thanks to you and the folks here at the forum. Alaska is really warming up to smoke cooking. Yak at you all later.

Habanero Smoker · July 05, 2006, 05:48:37 PM

I've been taking notes on the way Olds does his brisket. I have a couple of family functions coming up, and they always demand that I bring my pulled pork. The next one, I'm going to switch to brisket, and tell everyone I just couldn't find any butts in time for the cookout.

begolf25 · July 06, 2006, 10:38:32 AM

I have been wanting to try brisket for awhile now and all this talk about it finally got me motivated to pick one up. Purchased a whole 12 lb. brisket today. My question is should I separate the point from the flat prior to smoking or after? I noticed the Virtual Weber site says to cut them apart after cooking but some posts here people separate them before smoking. Any preference on this from anyone?

Thanks,
Bryan

ListerD · July 06, 2006, 11:22:40 AM

iceman · July 06, 2006, 02:07:19 PM

Quote from: ListerD on July 06, 2006, 11:22:40 AM

Cute ListerD, and true. Pics are a great referance. Were did you get the signs from?

iceman · July 06, 2006, 02:21:29 PM

Quote from: begolf25 on July 06, 2006, 10:38:32 AM
I have been wanting to try brisket for awhile now and all this talk about it finally got me motivated to pick one up. Purchased a whole 12 lb. brisket today. My question is should I separate the point from the flat prior to smoking or after? I noticed the Virtual Weber site says to cut them apart after cooking but some posts here people separate them before smoking. Any preference on this from anyone?

Thanks,
Bryan

It's up to you Bryan. I've posted before the differances. The point and the flat have different textures and cooking times (not much though). I end up mixing them when I'm done anyhow. The flat grain runs a little off from the point so you have to pay attention when cutting across grain and change direction a bit when you get to the point. You might have to cut the brisket to fit it in the smoker anyhow. If you do I always put the leaner flat under the piece with the point so all the fat drips onto the flat. I think Hab posted a thread about briskets some where you might check out.
WHATEVER YOU DO RELAX AND ENJOY. It takes time but man is it worth it! Good luck. ;D ;D ;D ;) ;) ;)

BigSmoker · July 06, 2006, 02:49:06 PM

here is a pic of a flat I did ;D. Now the thread can be complete 8).

icerat4 · July 06, 2006, 03:24:50 PM

Thats what im talking about ;).WOW NICE JOB....Please share how ya got them so nice.Please ;D

Oldman · July 06, 2006, 03:50:08 PM

QuoteI've been taking notes on the way Olds does his brisket. I have a couple of family functions coming up, and they always demand that I bring my pulled pork. The next one, I'm going to switch to brisket, and tell everyone I just couldn't find any butts in time for the cookout.

You this is kind of funny... it was folks on this board that got me to try a brisket in the first place. That was just last year. Now for me brisket is good, but not as good as it seems for everyone else. Those three slices that were left... well I got one... Mother and Susan *cough* TALKED 'bout who was going to get them LOL~~!

I posted this before. IMO BEEF is like fudge. Once it is set you don't stir it. What I mean by this is beef is an item that I believe does not need any help. Salt and pepper and a very slow mid-mild smoke. Onion power I question as in my mind that is now moving more into a beef stew family. Garlic is nice in a real butter melt that you spoon on the top of grill steaks. Even then the garlic should be very very mellow. Maybe one day I will try a brisket with a very light Worcestershire powder. Don't know yet.

Please do not think I know about briskets. I'm learning. I only know it seems that the person who gets the least of it is me.

I know one thing. Brisket goes faster than my Prime Aged Rib. I never thought anything would go as fast as that. In fact the family is asking me to do it instead of Aged Prime Rib for Christmas. So there you have it. I'm a nOOb in the world of brisket.

Olds.