brisket prep

[harley_jeff]

I am going to try my first brisket in my #3 this weekend. I have a rub recipe I will use and I have questions on how you guys prep the actual meat.
Do you trim some of the fat off? If so, how closely do you trim it?  Do you cook the brisket at one piece or do you separate the two pieces and cook each with a temp probe in it?

Thanks everyone. 

 

[smokeasaurus]

Tough one...lots of great ways to do a brisket. I do trim, but only where the fat is too thick. I try to keep it simple. I like to Jaccard the flat and rub at the same time. Wrap her up tight and let her sit at least a day and night in the fridge. I normally do not inject...however the last time I did on a select grade it came out nice.

The Smokin-It will do all the heavy lifting for ya.

Here is a video on brisket cooking from Texas BBQ Bros. They keep it simple and they were winning on the circuit long before anyone heard of that Mixon fellow      https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLwrraNGtrO3e-evPLCMK82QuJm8LP_ZWu&t=10&v=cEZTx4l2czI

 

[gregbooras]

Also I always cook the brisket as one piece, but if you have a really large brisket they can be cut in half.

Here are two other videos worth watching

Trimming a Brisket for Competition BBQ - How To Trim a Beef Brisket
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deIs5HL4OQs

Aaron Franklin describing how he trims a brisket at Brisket Camp 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaMgt1Altys

Greg

 

[elkins20]

Hey Jeff, I normally trim the fat cap down to about a 1/4 of an inch. Also any that is thick on the other side will trim down or just take off. I will also inject using Super Dave's recipe. Then will smear with yellow mustard and add my rub. Wrap in clear plastic and into the fridge for at least 12 hrs. Unless it is a huge brisket it should fit in your #3 without having to cut it. I have been able to get a 14# one in my #3. I normally smoke mine at 235 using 6 oz of wood. Normally a mix of oak and maple but you can use what you have on hand. Good luck and remember the pictures.

 

[va_rider]

On Brisket size.... it varies a lot by shape, but I've done a 16# packer on my #2 without having to fold it or anything crazy. I've got a 20# one in the freezer now though, it won't fit by a long shot, so I'll probably chop off about 10-12" worth of flat for a pastrami, then cook the remaining flat/point as a brisket.

 

[gregbooras]

Aaron,

20 lbs.

Wow that is one big brisket!

Greg

 

[DivotMaker]

Hey Jeff, LOTS of good brisket discussions, right here in the beef section!  All these external vids are great, but if you want to learn how to smoke a brisket in a Smokin-It smoker, look no further!  Put "brisket" in the search box, and check them out!  We brine them, inject them, or just rub & smoke 'em....lots of different techniques!  Here's a couple of mine:

Whole brisket in the #3 - Injected & rubbed

DM's Brisket Injection

Whole brisket, brined and smoked

"Texas-Style" Brisket (Sort of); a brisket cut in half

There are many other great brisket techniques here!  No need to try and "adapt" Franklin, or anyone other method to our smokers....different animal!  These links are just mine; check out the others!

 

[SconnieQ]

I trim less fat than most people. I leave about 1/2 inch. Sometimes I score the areas of thicker fat. My last brisket was 14 pounds, and I ended up trimming 2 pounds of fat.

I have a #1, so I cut whole briskets in half, with a probe in each half. With a #3 you can probably keep it in one piece, but I would probe both the flat and the point.

The mistake I hear of most with first-time briskets is not cooking them long enough. Either because they underestimate the total cooking/resting time and get impatient/hungry, or they panic when the brisket goes into the "stall". Just remember, somewhere between 160 and 180 the temp will just sit there, or even go down, for several hours. First-timers want to open the door to look at it, or remove it thinking it's going to overcook. Avoid opening the door. There is nothing you can tell from looking at it. Trust your probe temp (test your probe in boiling water for a 212 degree reading if you are unsure, for peace of mind). I remove the brisket when the flat is 195, and I like the point to go to 200-205. Surprisingly, both pieces seem to reach their target temps at the same time for me, so I don't have to remove them separately.

Example - my last brisket: 14 pound Prime brisket $3.79/lb from Costco. Trimmed 2 pounds of fat. Since it was Prime, I did not brine or inject. Just rub. SI set to 225. Brisket (flat probe) went to 180 degrees in about 2 hours (this is where a first-timer would panic...don't panic). It then went down to around 168, and sat there for about 6 hours (yikes...long stall). Also, don't underestimate how long it can take for that last 5 degrees. Mine took about 2 hours to go from 190 to 195. Total cook time ended up being 12 hours for the two 6 pound hunks. Both pieces were nice and floppy when I removed them. Rested for 3 hours in a cooler wrapped in foil/towel. Super moist. Best brisket ever.

Allow more time than you think to cook the brisket. You can always wrap in 2 layers of foil and a towel, and put in a cooler for several hours. It will only get better. You want to wrap and rest for 1-2 hours minimum anyway.

You should have a pretty delicious brisket using just about any preparation method if you buy either Prime or Choice brisket, and trust your probe temp. These SI smokers really make it easy. "Select" grade brisket can be a little challenging, and would need more attention to prep such as brining or injecting. I would think you can get some pretty good brisket there in Texas though.

 

[harley_jeff]

Lots of great info.  Thank you all. I'm going to give it hell this weekend. I'll be using my maverick temp probes. I did a chicken last week and it came out awesome. 

Thanks for the input all you veterans offered.

 

[BobM]

I did my first Brisket last weekend and it came out great.  I wish I had about two more hours to get the temp over 190 but we were hungry for dinner so I took it out at about 182.  After cutting enough for dinner, I wrapped it up in foil so it would keep cooking a bit but the dinner was great, not tough but fall apart either.  The next day I sliced it up, vacuum packed and froze for great sandwiches.   

 

[DivotMaker]

Yeah, Bob, that 182 is a bit low.  It was probably just coming out of the stall, at that point.  Another 10° would have made a world of difference, as far as tenderness!  Bet it tasted good, though!

 

[SconnieQ]

I wish I had about two more hours to get the temp over 190 but we were hungry for dinner so I took it out at about 182.

Ye old, "we were hungry". Been there. ;D Always good to estimate your brisket cooking time based on the longest likely time. Resting extra hours (or keeping warm) if it's done early is a good thing. At 182, you probably still had 2-4 hours cook to go, then 1-2 hours rest.