Brisket?

[RonR]

Just wondering, do most of you guys smoke brisket points for 4-5 hours, pull em and boat em, then finish cooking in foil in the smoker? Do you rotate racks on occasion after they are foiled? Also, do you rub them a night or two in advance and place in fridge? or do you just rub them right before smoking? Planning to do a couple for the Sugar Bowl on Wednesday night, would hate to ruin them. Thanks in advance for the advice.

GO TIGERS!!

[owrstrich]

ron... buy choice if you can find it... the quality between select and choice is noticable...

the very best brisket i have ever had was swimming from the get go... that was a giant texas style smoker on a trailer running at 230deg with all mesquite all the way... sh1t man they had 50 briskets in that thing...

as for the bradely... no boating or foil here... this is what i do...

rubb em down and fridge them for 1 day minimum... 2 days is better... pull out of fridge a few hours before loading... this will allow it to warm up a few degrees...

i have never done 1 single flat by itself... its always a flat or butt on each shelf... they shrink you know... i would consider going 3 flats with the top rack being all bacon or all brisket fat so it will dripp on your flats to keep them moist...

so bottom 3 shelves fat cap up flats... top shelf empty... preheat to 200deg box and load the flats...

will go either 4 or 5 hours of smoke in the begining... 4 hours of smoke on 3 or less flats...  5 hours of smoke on 4 flats... and im talking about flats the size of the shelves... not those little cute ones...

the beast can only absorb so musch smoke... after 4 or 5 hours if can mess up the taste in my opinion... others have scientific explinations... my explination is it can mess up the taste... so dont over smoke...

so when the last puck is wasted it is a good idea to empty the water bowl of the spent pucks and goo and fill it with fresh water... the water bowl will continue to collect goo but all pucks are spent so no ashtray taste...

when you have the door open changing the water bowl you can rotate shelves down up front back then slide the top shelf in with the bacon or fat...

so now the pucks are spent and your water has been changed and your bs is now a low and slow oven with some special features... 1 the vent will allow you to control how much moisture is in the box... 2 the drip pan will collect beast goo and as it atomizes it adds flovour to the beast...

i would maintain 200deg box all the way to 175deg internal and bump it to 210 box to 185deg beast for slicing or 195deg beast for chopping... then i would ftc... now you can ftc flats for 2 to 6 hours without losing much heat so start early and use ftc for a time buffer...

1 10lb flat will take approx 15+ hours at 200deg box... 3 8lb flats may only take 20+ hours at 200deg box... the bottom will always finish 1st aqnd the others will follow... so ftch them when done and wait on the others... so if you are doing 2 8lb flats and knowing it may take 20+ hours and knowing that 6hrs in ftc is ok... start them 23 hours from your planned grubb time... you may need some of that 6 for ftc for buffer...

low and slow... no rush... must wait... it will be worth it...

so the bs is really an oven with a smoke application attachment...  start off with heat and smoke... continue with heat only after smoke ends... the entire cook takes a lot longer than one would think because its low and slow... and ftc is a time buffer so as you are not rushed...

after ftc slice 1/4" at a diagonal accross the grain... the diagional slice is very important...

you cant screw it up... just need lots of time...

here is a link to how

you gotta eat...

owrstrich

[RonR]

Thanks for the advice owrstrich.  Do you rotate your briskets more than once?  I read Olds brisket recipe and am torn between using foil and not using it.  I think I would prefer not to use it, but I know it could dry out very easily.  Also, do you baste your brisket during cooking?  Anyone else have advice for me?  Thanks for the help.  Everything I have cooked using this forum thus far has been excellent.  Oh yeah, got a Guru Raptor in the mail yesterday, can't wait to try it out.

[Habanero Smoker]

Thanks for the advice owrstrich.  Do you rotate your briskets more than once?  I read Olds brisket recipe and am torn between using foil and not using it.  I think I would prefer not to use it, but I know it could dry out very easily.  Also, do you baste your brisket during cooking?  Anyone else have advice for me?  Thanks for the help.  Everything I have cooked using this forum thus far has been excellent.  Oh yeah, got a Guru Raptor in the mail yesterday, can't wait to try it out.

Ron;
Welcome to the forum.

You made a good purchase with the Guru. Hopefully they started sending better instructions on how to hook it up. If you need assistance just post a message. Just remember, if you do not want to use the ramp mode, make sure the meat temperature dial is off when you power on. If you use the ramp mode, it will extend you cooking time many additional hours.

I've done brisket both with and without the foil boat. After doing both a few times I prefer not to use foil. Give both a try, it ends up being a personal preference, I do not see one method better than the other.