Memorial Day Brisket

[IRGoode]

A friend of mine called me today to ask what he needed to do to get a brisket taste as good as the one I brought to our last party because he needs to smoke one for Memorial Day. I told him to buy a smokin it smoker! 
He is going to stay up all night Saturday to maintain the correct temperature with a grill he needs to feed wood chips and charcoal.
I felt kinda guilty telling him I was smoking one as well for Memorial Day and planned to put it in my #3 with 6 oz of hickory and go to bed. Lol
After trimming off the excess fat my brisket weighs 11.5 lbs. Planning on about a 13 hour smoke. I already dry rubbed it with equal parts kosher salt, black pepper, onion and garlic powder,  and paprika. I used my newly purchased Jaccard on this one. This is a first. Hope it turns out good.
Planning on 235 from start to finish again. Always seems to work for me. If it isn't broke, why fix it! Plan to pull at 195, wrap in foil and a towel, then set in the yeti tell ready to slice n serve. I'll let y'all know how it works out. Hope everyone has a good and safe holiday weekend.

 

[SuperDave]

I've been wanting to try a pin cushion brisket too.  I will be VERY interested in your results comparison. 

 

[Perkolater]

He is going to stay up all night Saturday to maintain the correct temperature with a grill he needs to feed wood chips and charcoal.

Man do I not miss those days!
Easy Q beats those all nighters everytime for me Bob 8) Your brisket looks great and let us know how it turns out

 

[IRGoode]

Pulled it at 9 am, wrapped in foil and a towel, then into the Yeti. Sliced and ate in around 1. It was very good. It will never see Memorial Day. It's all gone!
I seasoned it before I used the Jaccard on it thinking it would infuse the seasoning deep into the meat but to be honest, I couldn't tell the difference between this brisket and the others I've smoked. Doesn't take long but still not sure it's worth the time.
Took about 12.5 hours to get to 195 with the temp setting at 235.
Hope everyone has a great and safe holiday weekend!

 

[Greenenvey]

Wow that looks delicious

 

[old sarge]

Good looking brisket Bob.

 

[Texan in Tulsa]

I must be doing something wrong because I can't cook a brisket any longer than about 5 hours. Last month, I started with a 15 lb brisket, trimmed down to about 13 lbs. Set the cooker at 225 degrees. This thing hit 160 in less than 3 hrs. I wrapped it in foil to help push through the stall and it reached 203 right at 5 hrs and I pulled it.

This past weekend, I started with a smaller, 12 lb brisket, trimmed it down and it went on the smoker at 225. After about 2 hours it hit 160 and I wrapped it in foil, dropped the smoker temp to 200 in an attempt to slow it down. I pulled this one also at 203. Total smoke time was only 4 hr 15 minutes.

The briskets were both "prime" packers from Costco and were trimmed in a similar fashion. I didn't brine either of them, but did inject both with Meat Church Holy Cow injection the night before and left in the fridge. Then applied Holy Cow rub before placing in the smoker.

The first brisket was super moist, tender and better than most briskets I've had in restaurants or even at many of the BBQ contests I've been too. This one melted like butter.

The second brisket just sucked. The flat on this one was dry and pretty tough.

Do I have some kind of miracle 3D that cooks in 1/3rd the time of everyone else? What the hell is going on here?

 

[LarryD]

I must be doing something wrong because I can't cook a brisket any longer than about 5 hours. Last month, I started with a 15 lb brisket, trimmed down to about 13 lbs. Set the cooker at 225 degrees. This thing hit 160 in less than 3 hrs. I wrapped it in foil to help push through the stall and it reached 203 right at 5 hrs and I pulled it.
...
Do I have some kind of miracle 3D that cooks in 1/3rd the time of everyone else? What the hell is going on here?

Nope...  you're just losing faith and having an unnecessary panic.  It's normal for them to hit a stall at some point between 160 and 180 and that's where they'll sit for the next 6 hours.  The next time you do one just let it be until it hits an IT of 190-200.  Until then, don't open the door or mess with it in any way.

 

[SconnieQ]

You don't want to "push" through the stall. As many on this forum say, the stall is where the "magic" happens. Learn to embrace the stall. Allow it to take as much time as it wants, and you will be rewarded. Just leave the door closed and don't wrap it in foil. I like to take my briskets to 195 in the flat, and 200-205 in the point, or somewhere close to that. They should feel soft and jiggly when done. Your flat that seemed dry could have been either over- OR under-cooked. Or you just got an inferior piece of meat. Sometimes that happens. Cattle are made by nature after all.