I did my first brisket this weekend and wanted to maximize the size of the brisket based upon reading here that bigger is better for smoking briskets. I ended up with a 14# full packer from Costco that I estimate trimming 1 lb of fat from. I used DM's recipe for pork brine for 13 hours and then coated with mustard and Baldridge seasoning.
I had seen in a post where DM was able to put 14 lbs of brisket in the model 1 and no mention of cutting it half. I was able to put my 13 lbs onto a single shelf and with a little bit of effort I closed the door. I put the temp at 225, but continue to struggle with properly using my Maverick temp gauge. The gauge reading the smoker seemed close enough, but I must have had the probe for the meat too close to the rack as it quickly was 190 after 3 hours and then was 200 to 220 throughout the rest of the smoke. So plan B was to check at 13 hours, 1 hour per pound, and then use the toothpick method and Javelin temperature probe to check internal temp.
I spend quite a bit of time looking back at old posts and during the smoke I found an older post from DM where he cuts his full packer briskets in half when using the model 1 and I started to worry that I had messed up by putting the entire brisket on the single rack and jamming it inside. I had visions of it being raw on the ends where it might be up against the box itself. But I decided the dice were rolled and I was going to see this out.
At 13 hours I pulled the door open and it looked awesome! I used the Javelin probe and the point was 190 and the flat was 200. I was more than thrilled my first go round was not a flop and looked very promising. I double foiled and rested in a cooler for 2 hours. The brisket tasted great and everyone at home was happy with the results.
Bacon wrapped hotdogs with my 8 year old on the menu for next weekend!
