Prime CenTex Brisket

[MaxBobcat]

Well, since the weather was so beautiful down here for the three-day weekend, me and the GF decided on Saturday to do a little hiking on some trails a few hours from our house.  On our way to the state park, we drove through a town that I had heard rumors of having USDA Prime brisket on the regular at a local grocery store.  I have never even seen prime in the case at any of the grocery stores around my house, so curiosity got the better of me.  On the way back from a great hike, I just HAD to stop and check it out for myself and lo and behold, picked me up a nice, floppy, USDA Prime briskey!   

It wasn't too big, just over 8 lbs.




Side shot to show the marbling in the flat...


My standard brisket rub of GOSP+cayenne.  I have recently picked up some Tone's "Restaurant Style" Black pepper that I really like.  I recommend it.


The brisket was put on the smoker at 8:52AM.  Used several chunks of Pecan wood.

After a few hours it was starting to get a nice color.




Since I was doing this Central Texas style...into the butcher paper it goes!


I took the time while the brisket was on the smoker to clean up the garage...here's a shot I figured you guys might like...


Finally it was ready...pulled off the smoker 7PM and let rest for an hour inside a cooler.  Internal was around 195-200.   Average cook temp throughout was 235.  I would have liked to let it rest for at least 4 or 5 hours, but me and the woman were hungry. 

Looks like a Black meteor.  Perfect! 


It sliced perfectly.  Wish I could get them to slice this good at bbq comps. 


The slices were very moist, even in the flat.  Lots of beefy flavor.



My plate was an homage to the German Meat Market style BBQ joints in central Texas.  Just some sliced smoked meat with some pickles and onions, white bread and a slice of cheddar.  No sauce needed.  Fantastic.

[SlickedBack]

Wow. That looked perfect. Thanks for the motivational post, I'm gonna try butcher paper next time.


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[Jeff]

Wow, you didn't waste any time cooking that one up!  Looked really good.  Great job cutting it!  Nice family photo of the kettles too!  That yellow looks nice! 

[jcnaz]

Yes please...

[salad]

Whoa, that's some serious brisket.

[Prof.]

Compliments the result is amazing .. I'm speechless! in which internal T you've put the brisket in butcher paper? What changes with respect to the foil? I will save this recipe among my favorites...👏

[MaxBobcat]

Compliments the result is amazing .. I'm speechless! in which internal T you've put the brisket in butcher paper? What changes with respect to the foil? I will save this recipe among my favorites...

You want to wrap in BP somewhere between 165-175F.  I think I wrapped this one at 172.

What changes in regards to the standard foil wrap is that the butcher paper allows the brisket to "breathe" better and develop a better bark or crust on the outside of the brisket.  When you wrap in aluminum foil and you take it off the smoker, you have a big foil pouch full of grease drippings and au jus.  The brisket is being steamed and the bark on the bottom is sitting in liquid.  I have found that once the paper becomes saturated (look at pic above where I am unwrapping it to see how soaked the paper gets), the paper stays in contact with the meat the whole time and it helps seal in some of the juices.  Yes, some do drip out of the butcher paper wrap onto the foiled water pan, but I have found more seem to come out of the meat when it is in the foil.  So basically, we are trying to keep as much moisture inside the brisket while maintaining a barky crust on the exterior.

Hope that helps!

[jimmy_dong]

SSSSHHHHHHH

you are letting all the secrets out. there is a reason brisket everywhere else sucks. lol.



No chips this time?

and also. no invite, i r sad panda.

[Prof.]

Thank you for having revealed the secret .. in fact for many, and especially for us Italians who do not have the appropriate cuts of meat is just a challenge but many have lost it! If I had to do a brisket for sure I will adopt this your secret .. thanks a lot!

[TexasOnion]

here everything is better (H-E-B}

[5280Jeff]

That looks amazing! Does the butcher paper instead of foil work with a pork shoulder also?

[MrHoss]

Great looking brisket.  I have had good luck with both foil, paper and going naked.  The most consistent results are with the paper though.  Finding untreated butchers paper where I live is impossible so I use brown grocery bags with the glue seams cut out.

[MaxBobcat]

That looks amazing! Does the butcher paper instead of foil work with a pork shoulder also?

Yep, it works great with pork butt as well.

It's not quite as necessary to do it because a butt has a lot more marbling than a typical brisket so you don't have to worry about the drying out, but the bark does turns out more crunchy and firm so if you like that than it is really good.

[Johnpv]

That's interesting about the BP, I may have to get some and try it.