Brisket Rub?

[Griffy]

Hey guys,

I haven't posted here in a while. I've been busy making BBQ!  :) I think I've got a pork butt down pretty damn good, so feeling foolish going into a holiday weekend, I bought a full packer brisket. Its a small cut, so it will fit in the DBS 4 rack without separating the point. On my first real smoke of a butt, SKSmoker took me by the little hand (read nOOb) and told me exactly what to do.

Does anybody feel like doing the same for a nOOb with a full packer brisket?

What rub?
Trim or not?
Injection or not?
Fat up or down?

Thanks again all!

Here's my latest work...

http://web.mac.com/griffitm/iWeb/Site/BBQ%20Blog/BBQ%20Blog.html

Cheers!

Griffy...

[Gizmo]

Does anybody feel like doing the same for a nOOb with a full packer brisket?

What rub? What every suits your taste.  Start with the rub you used on the pulled pork.
Trim or not? definitely - only leave a 1/8 to 1/4 inch of fat.  Remove the hard fat areas as well.
Injection or not?  I have never injected brisket so can't help you there.  Mine come out very juicy so never felt the need
Fat up or down? UP, you want the fat to render down through the meat and flavor and moisten it on the way.

See your quote above for the answers to the questions.

For simplicity sake, I use the same basic technique for smoking Ribs, butts, and briskets.  Total time, final internal temperature, and serving are the biggest changes for me.  I smoke for 4 hours, foil boat and cook to the internal temperature, then hold or "FTC" for 1.5 hours or more to tenderize.  For the boat, I usually put about 1/4 inch of liquid (apple juice, Jack Daniels, etc.).  I do separate the fat cap and place it on the rack above the flat but then my briskets (including the one in the fridge for this weekend) run around 12 - 14 LBS.

Don't know if that helps.  If you need more details, give a shout.

[SKSmoker]

Griffy.. I hope my post on the brisket I did helps: http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=5180.0
Also read the replies. They are very helpful! Do not put any of the fat from the brisket above it to drip down. It made the outside taste awful!
Here are my contributions for different brisket rubs along with all the other great suggestions: http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=5161.0

You really cannot go wrong with any of those rubs. Personally, I wouldn't inject mine, but that is just my preference. I would separate the point from the flat as others suggested in that thread and put the point on top of the flat when cooking in the smoker. I cooked mine fat cap up. I made burnt ends out of my point, and holy god was it great! I separated my point after I cooked the brisket, so the next day I cubed it up, threw it in the BBQ sauce that I made for my pulled pork, and put it in a tin foil pan back in the smoker at 225 for 5 hours to get all the fat out of the point. It was like burnt end heaven. Put the concoction into a bun and viola, burnt ends! So the point really cooked for almost 26 hours in total.

I personally found the flat much better to eat. Much less fat to deal with. Also, I would take my internal temperature up to 195 for sure. The brisket was a tad dry, but I think I didn't bring it up to temp enough. I also started to cook my foods at a higher temp in the DBS as well. I did 2 pork butts in one smoke, and 3 racks of baby backs in another smoke all at 250 and I was able to achieve the desired temp in my meat in a more reasonable amount of time, with no difference in the food. If anything, the food was at a higher IT and made all the difference. Hope this helps. Tons of great info here for brisket from all the guru's!

[Griffy]

Again thanks for all your help guys!

[Wildcat]

I separate the point myself and use Iceman's rub.  I also trim fat to 1/8 and smoke with fat up.