First time smoking Brisket on my Kettle!

[eccj]

I bought my first Brisket yesterday! Please tell me what to do! The Plan is to smoke this joker on the grill. I have mesquite and pecan mini logs that I got from Academy Sports and I have a gang of regular Kingsford charcoal!

It's 12.5lbs. Do I need to make a rub, buy one, put barbecue sauce on it? I do know that I need to use indirect heat. (Coals to one side of the grill, meat on the other.)

Thanks everyone!

[1buckie]

Smokin' a Joker, eh?

If you have a little time to watch fairly short videos, Aaron Franklin has some really good how-to's.....

They are for a stick burner, but the trimming, rub & what to watch for during cooking & the finished piece stuff is all things that are real helpful.............

This is a post answering a bunch of questions & factors about brisket :

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/grilling-bbqing/brisket-on-a-22-5-kettle/msg106493/#msg106493

Several people chime in & I went back & found other threads to reference, along with the link to the Franklin's videos & which ones (about 3/4 of the way down the page)

I use a full around snake setup, fat cap down to protect from the heat, until it's cooked aways....

See the links contained in that one single link above, OK?

If there's more questions, please speak up.....

PS: BBQ sauce is a perference, I just try to save the collected au jus from the cooking & dump that back in.....as a personal preference, I hate cooked tomato anything, incl. BBQ sauce mostly, but that's JUST me.....

[eccj]

Thanks for responding 1buckie! I got discouraged by no one responding and that prodded me into doing a search on here. I found both the thread that you shared, the Aaron Franklin video, and a link to a tutorial on another site.


Aaron's video is great to learn about trimming a brisket correctly. The thread on the other site visually breaks down every part of the brisket so that you can figure out what you're trimming! I did all of this research between naps! *lol* (I hadn't been off work since the weekend before last).

Couple of questions for you gentlemen. I'm going to start my cook tomorrow afternoon. Should I marinate it tonight? If so are there any suggestions on what I should use? Or should I just use salt and pepper it for seasoning and let it sit an hour before placing it on the grill?

Should I foil it, and if so, at what temperature?  I am going to shoot for a temperature of 250 throughout. Also with the pan that I bought for the drippings, should I place water in it or no?

Apprx how long should I expect to be cooking this? I have to go to work Friday and I'll need to wake up early. If the projection is too long I may have to throw this joker in the freezer until I have another day off!


I apologize for having so many questions, but I really am a rookie!

Thanks!

[1buckie]

Perfectly OK to ask all the questions you'd like....only other way to learn is like I did, by screwing up time after time until what was wrong became clear......or maybe learning in real time by working with someone who knows while it's being cooked......

there's a couple good things on Smoke Ring & BBQ Bretheren that are helpful also......

Things I would do considering your questions :

Marinate is a choice, I would not as  brisket has a distinct beef flavor that is nice by itself, still your choice....there was a Dr. Pepper marinade that was all the rage awhile back, but currently people are more likely to maybe inject with beef broth or a phosphate competition injection than actual marinade...........

I use Big Ron's rubs on a lot of this stuff......just salt & pepper (with maybe garlic or garlic & onion powder) are a common rub for a lot of folks.....it doesn't affect much of the inside flavor of the piece, just for what you'd like the outside bark to generally taste like......

As for wrapping, foil or butcher paper, choice again......foiling will group up the juices, paper less so........it will also speed up the cooking just a bit, because the heat is contained closely with the piece........
That said, a good point to wrap if you're going to is at the stall point 155~165f......the int. temp is not going to rise for at least a bit, the outside color is probably pretty nice & not too dark or crispy at that point, so that's the place.....those 1st links I put in the other thread show foil wrap on one & panned up on a cookie rack in the other.....cookie rack is nice as you can add some braising liquids in & the piece doesn't sit right down in & get mushy....just foil works fine tho too ..............
You can add a little water to the pan at the start, that way the drippings don't just burn up & get crispy & go to waste......


Now.....after all of that....here's my buddy BluDawg's brisket trick :

"BluDawgs Brisket
K.I S.S. some of the best brisket you will ever eat! Total cook time including the rest 8 hrs or less. I promise it will be as moist as mornin dew on the lilly, tender as a mothers love, pure beefy smoky goodness.

1 packer 12-15 lb
Trim off the hard fat on each side of the flat thin the fat cap to 1/4"
Mix your Rub
1 part kosher salt 4 parts Med grind Black peppa by volume( this is a true 50/50 BY weight)
apply a coat of rub you need to be able to see the meat through the rub clearly.

Pre heat the pit to 300 deg
place brisket on the pit Fat Cap Down and point to the firebox unless it is a RF cooker then point to away from FB

Maintain pit between 275-325 if cookin on a stick burner
cook Brisket 4 hrs
remove from pit wrap in a single layer of Butcher paper Return to pit Fat cap up.
after 1 hr probe the thicket part of the Flat only! If it isn't *probe tender it should be within 1 hr.
once it is probe tender remove from the pit keep it wrapped in the paper you cooked it in and allow it to rest on your counter until the Internal temp reaches 150 this will take about two hrs.
Don't ever slice more than you can eat big pieces retain moisture and won't dry up on you like slices will.

*PROBE TENDER>This is the feel that is mimicked by cutting room temperature butter with a hot knife, there should be no drag"


He doesn't mind me sharing that, I helped him out a few times on weird little kettle problems & he likes people to know that brisket can be just that easy.....

You will note, he says nothing at all about internal temp until the very end of the resting period....if you ask him about this he will yell at you :"Cook the brisket for 4 hours....don't read what ain't there !!!!".....that's because he's watching what's going on with the piece, not the thermometer.....

His is a hotter method than I'd normally run & might be a little tricky on a kettle at the higher heat (easier to dry out the edges, etc.).......I aim for 260~275f & that seems to move things along without panic setting in with runaway heats & stuff (see that listing of choices in the other thread)


OK.........?

[Idahawk]

Eccj , not many of us have smoked a brisket on a kettle , you've got  the foremost expert in that area helping you , I know I'm watching

[unl1mtd]

IMO brisket is one of the trickiest meats to get right.

I've done a couple on a kettle and its always taken 10 plus hours, granted my temp control wasn't the best and I may have been looking a bit too much. I guess my point is to start as earlier as you can if you are going to base when to rest the brisket off of internal temp.

The plateau on a brisket can last for so long it can make you question everything you are doing on the cook, can be nerve racking.

I also prefer the au jus over the brisket. Great way to amp up the flavor.

[1buckie]

"....it is also will help move the piece thru the "stall" period, where the internal temp stops for a time, as the collagen converts.....this is something to be aware of......no freaking out at this point.......since the advent of temp monitoring, all kinds of craziness has gone on in re: to folks thinking their pit has ceased functioning or their fire has gone out or needs some kind of boost, then ramping up the temp & getting things overly hot too quickly, remember, nice even temps......"


Really, the one single every time rule for all BBQ......

[Metal Mike]

Looking forward to doing a brisket, maybe on my UDS project tho (pulling parts still)

my experience w/ Mini logs you mention has been to split 'em @ least 4x lengthwise by hatchet; otherwise they are just too big for most kettle cooks



You can lay more than one 'split on the snake of coals, but control /squeeze your base damper (May burn too Hot)

[Heyjude]

I've never done a brisket. Its on my bucket list of bbq items.. I have been watching the Franklin videos.
I can see why he does so well. He keeps things simple and consistent..
He doesn't seem to use a thermometer either..

I would cook mine at the lower temp.

My plan at some point..
Easy on the rubs.. No marinade.. Butcher paper.. Let the heat and smoke work the magic..
Finding and choosing the best brisket are my priorities..

[Mark Schnell]

You can't go wrong with listening to Buckie! So you've already got great input from him and others here.

I've done two full packer briskets on my kettle. I used the high heat method talked about here: http://virtualweberbullet.com/brisket4.html

They both turned out great for me, the first one was the best.

Also for more information than you can shake a stick at try this site. It gives you all the details about brisket, diagrams, and helps you understand the terminology, etc.http://amazingribs.com/recipes/beef/texas_brisket.html

Here's the first brisket I did. This pic is before I foiled it. After it got to about 150 I just pulled the aluminum drip pan from underneath, put it in there, added some low sodium beef broth and sealed it with foil, and cooked it till it came up to temp.

[1buckie]

I've never done a brisket. Its on my bucket list of bbq items.. I have been watching the Franklin videos.
I can see why he does so well. He keeps things simple and consistent..
He doesn't seem to use a thermometer either..

I would cook mine at the lower temp.

My plan at some point..
Easy on the rubs.. No marinade.. Butcher paper.. Let the heat and smoke work the magic..
Finding and choosing the best brisket are my priorities..

A J....couple of things....look at this about BluDawg's way of going about it :

"*PROBE TENDER>This is the feel that is mimicked by cutting room temperature butter with a hot knife, there should be no drag""

" You will note, he says nothing at all about internal temp until the very end of the resting period....if you ask him about this he will yell at you :"Cook the brisket for 4 hours....don't read what ain't there !!!!".....that's because he's watching what's going on with the piece, not the thermometer....."

Even at a lower temperature cook, the probe tender is the deal.....that & choosing at the store....marbling, which is sometimes a little hard to see, but a good indicator & pliability.....




If they are real flexible like that it always goes better......it requires playing with your meat in public, but don't be shy when it comes to this.................



PS: The thicker the flat, the better......I try to end up as even a thickness across the whole thing as possible.......


.

[Heyjude]

Thanks Buckie, but just cooking for a fixed amount of time seems a bit of a crap shoot.
No 2 cuts will be the same..
I guess i f you have cooked a few thousand, you can know my touch and feel.. But otherwise gonna have to follow the temps first, touch second.

I agree on finding the right cut.. right now, meat prices being so ridiculously high, all the more important..

Still studying.. Maybe plan to do one before summer is over.. 

[1buckie]

"I guess i f you have cooked a few thousand, you can know my touch and feel.. "


BluDawg, yes.....me, no.......

i tend to pay attention to the Texas folks when it comes to stuff like this......in addition to the temp,when it gets close i start watching that probe tender thing as it really is the best indicator.......each piece you cook will be different as far as end temp.....the probe never lies.............

[Heyjude]

I looked up Bluedawg and this is a response ot a guy who ws cooking a small brisket:

Must have come off a young calf to be that small I suspect is is a portion of a larger one that was cut down. The difference it will cook quicker. That 's it my work is done here. Let me kick the Dead Pony one more Time> "YOU CAN NOT COOK GREAT BBQ ON A CONSISTENT BASIS COOKING TO AN INTERNAL TEMP OR BY TIME(XXX MIN PER LB) YOU MUST COOK BY FEEL!"For a Brisket that is probe tender, Pork Butts when the Bone wiggles lose, Ribs pass the Bend Test. These are the only reliable methods to indicate the proper time to declare the cook completed with success.

Amen to that..

[1buckie]

He's straight up.....very Texas.....was on Smoke Ring for a long time, now Bretheren......I've knocked him silly with kettle cooks a few times so he'll listen if I ask a question........had a hilarious PM back & forth with him about how to clean the face of the oven therms we both use.....

"OR BY TIME(XXX MIN PER LB)"

notice back in that previous diatribe......cook 4 hours, then cook 'till it probes tender......nothing about cook it to I.T. xxx......just 4 hours, then the finish begins.....no finish temp, rest on counter, then use the therm........

The only addition to that piece you posted he will sometimes add is that you need to temp poultry...........I've seen that exact paragraph dozens of times....he's got it on speed dial................