Texas-Style Smoked Brisket...

[Jerz]

Ok... so I got my meat rubbed,  put it in the fridge,  and will be throwing it in just as soon as possible...  So...  Emeril says (sorry,  I like to follow directions until I  develop a comfort level and then tweek from there)  to refrigerate for AT LEAST six hours SO I'll decide when I'm throwing it on later on tonight....  I've done this recipe in my Weber Smokey Mountain about three times (I think... (the all day smokes can make you go through a weeks worth of beer))...  but it was tough or tender and dry but good and the flavor from the rub suits my taste buds perfectly.  I think my problem might have been my inability to keep the temp to about 180 SO I get to try with the Model 3... :-D


Wood...  good point...  Emeril calls for Mesquite so that is what I'm  going to use but how much?  I'm open for suggestions but I'm thinking 4oz of wood chunks which is probably about two golf ball sizes of wood but I'll double check before I throw it on.

 

[Jerz]

Here's the rub I used for the 8lb (untrimmed) brisket:

4 tablespoons dark brown sugar
4 tablespoons chili powder
4 tablespoons paprika
4 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon garlic powder
6 minced garlic cloves (ran out of garlic powder so I had to substitute)
2 tablespoon onion powder
2 tablespoon black pepper
2 tablespoon cayenne
4 teaspoons dry mustard
4 teaspoons ground cumin

 

[UWFSAE]

The rub looks solid.  A couple of observations ...

You may want to leave a little more fat during your trimming process.  With the fat cap up it will still render plenty on a very slow smoke and do a little external and internal self-basting.

Have you considered injecting your brisket?  I swear by it and it provides a very moist, tender product.  A simple injection could be beef stock, melted butter, and a little Worcestershire.  It will kick up the flavor a notch (BAM!) and remedy that drying out issue.

Finally, I usually hold my briskets overnight after the rub, not only to pull the temp down prior to smoking but to let the salt and sugar work their magic and lend flavor and tenderizing to the meat.

Everything looks sound ... no matter what, I think you're going to be pleased with the results the Smokin-It will provide. 

 

[Jerz]

hmmm... how far in advance should the brisket be injected prior to be thrown into the smokin-it?  I have everything of which you speak...   I'm down with the basic beef stock, melted butter and whirs-dis-here-sauce...
Any certain ratios?

 

[DivotMaker]

Looks purdy, Jerz!  Just curious...are you slow smoking it for pulling or slicing?  Smokeasaurus trims his like that for pulling, and Joe is certainly right about the fat cap rendering for a slicer.  Looks like a great rub and plan!  Can't wait to see how it turns out! ;D

 

[UWFSAE]

I usually inject 12-18 hours prior to smoking.  Any salt or sugar in the injection will boost tenderizing and help the flavors distribute a bit through the muscle.  I also am pretty dedicated to throwing on the rub at that time and wrapping in plastic wrap for an overnight hold in the fridge.

It goes in the smoker cold, picks up a good amount of smoke and smokes long and slooooooow. 

My simple injection is 3:1:1 ... good beef stock (Kitchen Basics), melted salted butter, and Worcestershire.  If I'm feeling especially frisky I'll add a tablespoon or two of either hot sauce or molasses.

 

[Jerz]

Interesting UWFSAE... I think I'll try that next time and go with base recipe for now and see how it goes.. I'm really curious how much different a sealed electric smoker will treat the brisket as compared to the Weber Bullet... if it's too dry I'll simply put it in a crockpot with some bbq sauce....

DM - My preference is a very tender smokeasaurus-like brisket BUT I'll take whatever the brisket gods bring me...

It's been in the fridge rubbed for 6.5 hours now so I figure I'll throw it on no earlier than 6am giving it a full 12 hours so the rub can do it's thing.  I'll set the dial to 175-180 and let it ride....

 

[UWFSAE]

Hmmm ... I just reread your original post based on your last comment.

175-180 will keep you out of the bacteria danger zone but that's a very low temperature to smoke a brisket.  Even at 225, brisket will take a bit 90+/- minutes per pound on average ... and the stall can be hellaciously unpredictable.

180-185 is a good final temperature for thinly sliced brisket (perhaps 190-195 for thicker slices or chunks) so I'd caution you that you may not be eating that briskie any time soon ...

If you're only cooking to 180 as such a low temperature then that may account for both the dryness and the toughness in one fell swoop. 

 

[Jerz]

If you're only cooking to 180 as such a low temperature then that may account for both the dryness and the toughness in one fell swoop.

Actually in the past I've cooked to internal temp of 195-200 and with the weber I could never keep ambient temp at 180 it would go 225 to 250.... hmmmm.... but what you say makes sense... and I really do appreciate the different thoughts... the recipe I'm looking at says this here: 

"Prepare a smoker with charcoal and the wood chips according to the manufacturer's instructions to 180 to 200 degrees F. Place the water pan in the smoker and add water to the fill line, about 2/3 full. Place the unwrapped brisket on the lower rack off the direct heat, close the lid, and cook, regularly stoking the fire and adding additional chips, until an instant-read thermometer registers an internal temperature of 185 to 195 degrees F., or until the meat is tender, about 4 to 5 hours. Remove the meat from the grill and let rest for 20 minutes before carving the meat against the grain."

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/emerils-texas-style-smoked-brisket-recipe/index.html?oc=linkback

 

[Jerz]

With all that said I'm going to set the dial to 190 to check the recipe... since this is my first real smoke(except for the fattie the other night which I still need to post) I'm going to stick with that recipe and vary from there.

Here goes nothin'....  Oh and I put an octoberfest in with the brisket; figured if I were in a sauna a beer would taste a whole lot better than a water....

 

[UWFSAE]

I've always been a fan of Emeril Lagasse's recipes ... he was the top "recipe" chef they've ever had and his Creole White Beans are out of this world.  But ...

A couple of things about his recipe:
1.  He's using a 4lb brisket; size and cut (packer, flat, deckle) have tremendous impact on final product.
2.  His cooking time will be much, much shorter than yours; it's not just an arithmetic progression with weight to temp.
3.  He's pulling the brisket up to room temp before smoking; this will seriously reduce smoke absorption.

Your plan to use a beer a water pan is applauded ... a lot more flavor in that steam. 

Let us know how this turns out.  Be prepared for a stall between 160-170 ... ride it out, it's just the rendering process doing its thing.

 

[Jerz]

After 12 hours it is 158 degrees internal temp...

 

[UWFSAE]

Are you in a stall or just getting to that point using the 190 degree chamber temp?

 

[Jerz]

I'm not sure if its stalled...  I went to the lake with the kid and it was 156 when we got home and it's 159 now. .. the dial is set to one line umder 200.

 

[Jerz]

ok...  it's still at 159... I'm thinking we've stalled.

 

[Jerz]

I could't take it anymore....  after 17.5 hrs the internal temp was only 165.... so at 12:30am I  bumped to 225.

 

[UWFSAE]

The Food Network sometimes has mistakes in their recipes ... that temp was extraordinarily low.  At 225 you'd likely have had a 12-14 hour smoke.  Now you may find that this method produces ridiculously tender brisket but I can't say I'd have shown the dedication to a plan ... anticipation of smoked meat can drive a man insane after 15 hours.  ;D

 

[Jerz]

Ha...  I would say this is definitely a mistake and after sleeping on the sofa since my bluetooth igrill probe only works about 25ft from the smoker I need to find something that'll reach my bedroom and wake me up when temp is reached...  How's that Maverick 732?

It's 630am and I'm at 185... I even changed that batterries in the probe just to be sure I was getting a good read.  We are at 185  ...  Ridiculously tender would be awesome; I'm just hoping it doesn't taste like an old shoe at this point.

 

[Jerz]

Finally at 195 at 10:45 this morning...  I wrapped it at 12:30am in foil and wrapped it again just now and put it in a cooler for an hour or two... 

Question though...  since I wrapped it at 12:30am I noticed it was sitting in all kinda juices so I left the juice and just wrapped again thinking the meat would reabsorb the juice so it wouldn't dry...  Is that the right thing to do?

Nothing like a 28 hour smoke on an 8lb piece of brisket... That was one stubborn piece of meat.

 

[UWFSAE]

The Maverick is like a Ford F150 ... it's popular for a reason.  While others like the iGrill or bluetooth units may have more bells and whistles, the Maverick has everything you reasonably need in a reliable, durable system.

As far as the brisket, I can't even venture a guess as to the final product after more than a day in the smoker.  Letting it rest in those juices is fine, but you won't really have a bark on the exterior.  You'll see some textural changes (think braising vs. grilling) but the flavor shouldn't be compromised.  Texture?  Well, that's the $64,000 question.

I'm curious to see pics of the slices once you've let it rest ...