How I do Brisket.
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Idaho Smokey Nice, I just picked up two briskets but probably won’t smoke until next year.
bocephus What are they going for now in your neck of the woods? Packers I gather.
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I just finished my big brisket smoke for the year. This year getting good briskets in my area was difficult. No prime and the choice were small. I did 4 briskets that equaled 52 pounds. I usually have 3 briskets that go close to 60 pounds before trimming.
I trim my briskets out so that most of the hard fat is removed and the fat cap is trimmed to ¼ to ½ inch. I pay attention to the end of the flat when I buy the brisket and when I trim out the brisket. I will trim a thin end off rather than end up with this part of the brisket getting burnt to the point you can’t use it. This is a good video by Franklin BBQ on trimming brisket: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaMgt1Altys .
I get my briskets rubbed at least 2 days before I put them in the smoker. I have used mustard or Worcestershire sauce to wet the surface of the briskets before I hit them with the dry rub but don’t do it this way any more. I will say that should you use the mustard or Worcestershire sauce use just enough to wet the surface You don’t want to end up with the brisket looking like it had been dunked in a vat of mustard. When I do my dry rub now I start with the fat cap down and hit the surfaces of the brisket that are exposed with a liberal coating of dry rub. I then go do something else for 20 or 30 minutes. This lets the salt in the rub work. The salt brings out the surface moisture in the brisket and this soaks into the rub and holds it in place when I turn the brisket fat cap up. I repeat the dry rub and wait on all of the new exposed surfaces and then put the brisket into large zip lock bags. They have 2 and 2 ½ gallon zip locks now. The bagged briskets now go back into the fridge until I am ready to smoke them.
I make the rub using a recipe from “Smoke and Spice” by Cheryl and Bill Jamison. I highly recommend this book. The rub is called Wild Willy’s Number One-derful Rub. This is good basic rub and can be easily modified to suit your taste. This is the recipe I use including notes and changes I have made over the years.
Wild Willy’s Number One-derful rub
¾ cup smoked paprika
¼ cup freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup course salt, either kosher or sea salt
¼ cup sugar (I use Turbanado, or brown sugar)
2 tbls. chili powder
2 tbls. garlic powder
2 tbls. Onion powder
2 tsp. Cayenne
2 tsp. Ground Rosemary
This is a great dry rub for steaks, ribs, brisket, and pork.
I have a CookShack SM066 smoker. I have been using these smokers for going on 20 years. I say this simply to make the point that the following is what works in my smoker and may not work the same way in whatever smoker you are using. These smokers were designed and built as Brisket ovens. They are wood stingy and cook very moist. I do 4 briskets using 8 to 10 oz. of wood. I use wood chunks and will do a mix of whatever I have on hand. Hickory or Pecan mixed with apple or cherry. I figure on a 24 hour smoke time and several hours extra to let the briskets “rest”. I do not worry about the stall and I do not wrap my briskets to get them over the stall. I start out with cold briskets and a cold smoker I want to get as much smoke on the briskets as I can before they hit 160 degrees internal temp. I do my briskets fat cap up. I use a leave in probe style thermometer and set the alarm temp for 190 degrees. I set the smoker temp at 175 degrees and come in the house. I will check the smoker several times over the next couple of hours and if the smoker is not producing good smoke after a couple of hours and I haven’t hit the 160 degrees internal temp I will add another chunk of wood and turn the smoker temp up to 225 degrees. I like my sleep so just before I go to bed I turn the smoker temp down to 195 degrees and go to bed. The next morning I turn the smoker temp back up to 225 degrees and wait for the thermometer alarm to go off. I do not cook brisket by time or internal temperature but by feel. When the alarm goes off I take a toothpick or skewer out to the smoker and probe the brisket. When the probe goes into the brisket and feels like you were probing a warm stick of butter the brisket is done. I have over the years had briskets that probed done at 190 degrees. Most of them probed done at 205 degrees and some big briskets went to 215 degrees before they were done. Since I am doing several briskets they usually get done at different times. I take them out as they get done and put them into disposable aluminum pans and cover them with foil. They then go into a warmed insulated cooler. I warm the cooler with hot water in a pan when I know the briskets are getting close. I will leave the briskets in the cooler for a minimum of 2 hours and they will stay hot up to 8 hours in the cooler. I can’t prove it by any scientific method but I think the time in the cooler actually makes the briskets better. Better flavor and more tender for sure and may enhance the moistness of the meat.
Idaho Smokey I have to do a brisket and pork butt this weekend for some tamales getting made on New Years. Personal preference I don’t go with that heavy of a bark as you did but I bet it’s still phenomenal. Great job!
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bocephus What are they going for now in your neck of the woods? Packers I gather.
calldoctoday Picked up two on sale for $1.47 a lb. limit two.
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calldoctoday Picked up two on sale for $1.47 a lb. limit two.
bocephus WHAT!!! You have got to be kidding me. That would just about make it worthwhile to pack the truck up & head your way. Need a building inspected up your way. Just kidding, I am swamped right now, but sure would love to. I think the cheapest I have seen here lately & not top notch is nearly $5.00 a pound. That is amazing!
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bocephus WHAT!!! You have got to be kidding me. That would just about make it worthwhile to pack the truck up & head your way. Need a building inspected up your way. Just kidding, I am swamped right now, but sure would love to. I think the cheapest I have seen here lately & not top notch is nearly $5.00 a pound. That is amazing!
calldoctoday Yeah, I was surprised when I saw the ad, got the ad Tuesday in mail, for Wednesday start. I was there when the store opened.
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Agree on the hold. Longer the better, in my opinion (though I’m sure there are limits - I just haven’t found them yet).
Midwest_kc said in How I do Brisket.:
Agree on the hold. Longer the better, in my opinion (though I’m sure there are limits - I just haven’t found them yet).
At a minimum I rest 6 hours and really think 12 hours produces a considerably better product, but that is with a heat source set at 170f.
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bocephus What are they going for now in your neck of the woods? Packers I gather.
calldoctoday $4.49 a pound for choice that was on the ragged edge of being select.
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calldoctoday $4.49 a pound for choice that was on the ragged edge of being select.
Idaho Smokey woof. I was mad at 4.79 for prime at Costco!
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Idaho Smokey woof. I was mad at 4.79 for prime at Costco!
Midwest_kc Costco here in Idaho was #4.99 for choice. They said that they haven’t had prime in months.
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Midwest_kc Costco here in Idaho was #4.99 for choice. They said that they haven’t had prime in months.
Idaho Smokey Midwest_kc i can’t tell the difference between choice and prime but I went to buy one yesterday and it was such a poor piece of meat I bought chuck instead. Their brisket was $4.49
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Idaho Smokey Midwest_kc i can’t tell the difference between choice and prime but I went to buy one yesterday and it was such a poor piece of meat I bought chuck instead. Their brisket was $4.49
twilliams To tell you the truth I have cooked both prime and handpicked choice and I can’t tell the difference in the finished product. I will post a picture of one of this year’s poor choice briskets that we reheated for dinner last night. Darned good eats.
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I am no expert on brisket by a long stretch, but here is my theory on the different grades:
Unlike a steak that is cooked quickly, the conventional cooking of brisket is where you basically have cooked it so long that all the tough connective tissues have disintegrated ( what I like to call “cooking into submission”).
At this point, the significance of grade starts to become a little irrelevant. I would love to hear from someone with more experience if I am off base in my theory.Paul
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twilliams To tell you the truth I have cooked both prime and handpicked choice and I can’t tell the difference in the finished product. I will post a picture of one of this year’s poor choice briskets that we reheated for dinner last night. Darned good eats.
Idaho Smokey couple questions, gonna start my cook right now. What do you feel the mustard does or does not do? Also I don’t have 2 days rest time after rub, what am I going to be lacking with rub and cook today?
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I am no expert on brisket by a long stretch, but here is my theory on the different grades:
Unlike a steak that is cooked quickly, the conventional cooking of brisket is where you basically have cooked it so long that all the tough connective tissues have disintegrated ( what I like to call “cooking into submission”).
At this point, the significance of grade starts to become a little irrelevant. I would love to hear from someone with more experience if I am off base in my theory.processhead The only time grade might come into play with brisket is if you were making a corned beef or pastrami out of it, then the appearance of the fat streaks might come into play. Personally, I feel the fat will find it way through the meat either way. If I can find a select brisket cheap with a decent cap on it, I buy it. I just don’t trim the cap off as much as I would a choice or prime. They all cook the same length of time in my book, low and slow.
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I am no expert on brisket by a long stretch, but here is my theory on the different grades:
Unlike a steak that is cooked quickly, the conventional cooking of brisket is where you basically have cooked it so long that all the tough connective tissues have disintegrated ( what I like to call “cooking into submission”).
At this point, the significance of grade starts to become a little irrelevant. I would love to hear from someone with more experience if I am off base in my theory.processhead I think you are right on with this. I know the competition cooks would tell you different but they would have to prove it to me.
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Idaho Smokey couple questions, gonna start my cook right now. What do you feel the mustard does or does not do? Also I don’t have 2 days rest time after rub, what am I going to be lacking with rub and cook today?
twilliams for me the only thing that the mustard or worchestershire sauce does is wet the surface so that the rub sticks. I really don’t taste it when I use it. I am old and slow now so I have time to let the rubbed meat sit to let the salt do it’s thing and pull moisture to the surface. You won’t miss much by by not letting it sit with the rub on it. This is just something that I have picked up over the years and is called dry brining. I haven’t cooked a dry brined brisket side by side with a fresh rubbed brisket so really don’t know if there is a difference.
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We reheated one of the poor choice briskets last night. Yes it does reheat very well.
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processhead I think you are right on with this. I know the competition cooks would tell you different but they would have to prove it to me.
Idaho Smokey said in How I do Brisket.:
processhead I think you are right on with this. I know the competition cooks would tell you different but they would have to prove it to me.
A competition cook is looking for any edge he/she can get, and cost of the cut pf meat is insignificant in the big picture.
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twilliams for me the only thing that the mustard or worchestershire sauce does is wet the surface so that the rub sticks. I really don’t taste it when I use it. I am old and slow now so I have time to let the rubbed meat sit to let the salt do it’s thing and pull moisture to the surface. You won’t miss much by by not letting it sit with the rub on it. This is just something that I have picked up over the years and is called dry brining. I haven’t cooked a dry brined brisket side by side with a fresh rubbed brisket so really don’t know if there is a difference.
Idaho Smokey I found crushed rosemary no ground
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Idaho Smokey I found crushed rosemary no ground
twilliams I have been using the dry rub recipe for years, I forgot that one of the modifications I made was adding the rosemary. The original recipe didn’t call for it. You can use the crushed rosemary, just sprinkle it on after you hit the brisket with the dry rub or just leave it off.
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