My 1st Brisket Cook

[Jason]

I decided that today was the day to fire up my, new-to-me, WSM for the first time.

Thanks to all of the great advice in this thread…

Brisket Choices

…I settled on this 6.38lb Choice Flat from Costco.





I trimmed about 3/4lb of fat off and applied the rub. The rub consisted of equal parts Kosher salt, coarse ground black pepper and very lightly dusted with garlic powder.

Rubbed and ready for the WSM…



I loaded the ring with Stubb’s briquettes, a few hickory chunks and 20 lit briquettes.



I let the cooker get primed up, for about an hour, and loaded the brisket on at 10:00am.

Here we go!



This is right at the 2-hour mark, with the cooker averaging 250.



6 hours in and 158 internal temp



I wrapped the brisket in foil when it hit 165 internal, which was 7.5 hours after I started. This pic is right before I foiled it. Other than internal temp, no external difference that I can see.



After a total of 9 hours, I pulled it off at 205 internal temp and let it rest 30 minutes, still wrapped in foil.

And finally, ready to eat!



I am very pleased with how this turned out! The brisket was super tender, moist and held together very well, when I picked up a slice. Starting a couple hours earlier and altering the rub a bit, are the only things I will tweak for the next brisket. Having never done this before, I was completely relying on what others have shared, thanks!  I now have a good idea of what to expect for the next cook.

[austin87]

Great looking brisket! One of my favorites and my kettle hasn't done one yet, she is jealous

[mirkwood]

Nice looking slab o' brisket Jason, I really like that basic salt and pepper rub.
It's an impressively large cut of dead cow, what more does it really need to shine..
Pretty sweet smoke ring too..

[jamesnomore]

Great looking brisket Jason, looks perfect.

[Johnpv]

Looks pretty damn tasty.

[blieb]

Nice job!

[MrHoss]

Good looking hunk of beef. I had thought you guys in the States were paying less for brisket....I don't feel so bad now. Last one I got was 8 bucks a pound...but our dollar is almost 25% lower than yours.

[SixZeroFour]

Nice job Jason - looks delicious!

[WNC]

Looks like you and the new wsm really handled that one, brisket looks great!

[BBcue-Z]

Perfectly cooked brisket Jason!!
And congrats on the new WSM

[jcnaz]

Nice job! I have been wanting to smoke a brisket on my WSM, just waiting for a decent price.

[5280Jeff]

Great job! A 1st brisket is on my list for this summer.

[Jason]

Thanks for the nice comments guys!

We only had a small bit of it the day I smoked it, as I had planned to have some friends and family over the next night. I saved all of the liquid that was left in the foil, after resting, and mixed it 50/50 with some bbq sauce. I sliced up the brisket, put it in a casserole dish, poured the sauce mixture over it and covered with foil and into the oven to warm it up. Served it with homemade mac salad, coleslaw and some canned beans. There were NO leftovers!

[Tommy B]

Jason great 1st brisket. I know a lot of folks who have been at it for years that would be happy with your result! I am in 100% agreement with the basic salt and pepper rub. Less is more!

[1buckie]

Yeah, that look like you got it cooked right to the sweet spot....Good Show!!!!!