First Brisket...

[M635_Guy]

I've never done a brisket, but saw them at Costco the other day and decided doing one while we're shut in would be a good idea.  I dry-brined it and slated it for cooking today since there's rain in the forecast tomorrow.  I can't recall how big it was - I'm thinking 11#.  I'm not loving the job I did trimming - I think I took too much off the fat cap.



I was a little concerned about the length of the cook.  I'd planned to start around 7AM, but woke up around 2:30 and couldn't get the idea of a 12+ hour cook and a couple hours of cooler-time off my mind.  So a got up around 3, get everything set up and going, applied the rub, etc. and had the brisket on the grill just after 4AM. 

Temps ran a little high - ~260F - and I didn't mind too much if that put the meat on the table closer to 5PM.  But the thermometer had me wrapping around 9 and pulling it just after 11AM @ 203F.  The point felt buttery to the probe.  The flat felt firmer, but fairly soft.

Pic just before the wrap:


It's been in the cooler for an hour,  and still showing 179F, so I'm guessing I'm at least another hour out.

Guess I'm having brisket for lunch...   

(I'm anticipating a dry flat and a pretty good point.  I saved some of the au jus to pour over it - any tips appreciated!)

[bbqking01]

My tip is, send me your address so I can come over and try it out with you! Lol looking good so far.


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[M635_Guy]

My tip is, send me your address so I can come over and try it out with you! Lol looking good so far.

lol - I guess the quick progression from wrap to final temp is freaking me out a bit, and I wasn't thrilled with the relative firmness of the flat.  90 minutes later and that puppy is still just under 174F, so hopefully everything is finishing nicely...

Wondering what the best way to use the au jus is...

[JEBIV]

Looking darn good

[bamakettles]

Nice job!  I've never done a brisket - the price tends to keep me away, but I'd love to try one hopefully this year.  Looks delicious....

[Mr.CPHo]

Lookin' good.  Always a good idea to start experiments and first-cooks early.  My first attempt at brisket resulted in Pizza Hut take out for dinner and brisket for breakfast the next day.   

[sonofabutcher]

My tip is, send me your address so I can come over and try it out with you! Lol looking good so far.

lol - I guess the quick progression from wrap to final temp is freaking me out a bit, and I wasn't thrilled with the relative firmness of the flat.  90 minutes later and that puppy is still just under 174F, so hopefully everything is finishing nicely...

Wondering what the best way to use the au jus is...

good tip is to go by feel and not so much by temp. I always start checking around 195 and pull when it's probing like butter through the thickest part of the flat. Definitely save all the aujus and run it through a fat separator . I lay my slices in the juice to give it extra flavor and keep from drying out the meat.


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[bbqking01]

Every time I've ever done a whole brisket, it's been a fail. The wife has as it down though, so...I did do two flats here a week ago or so on my first ever wsm cook. They turned out alright. I've been told to probe and if it feels soft it's done...also wrapping it in an ice chest for an hour or so works too.


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[M635_Guy]

Sorry for the delayed update.  Results were pretty good - not perfect, but pretty good.  I'm going to call it a B.

Pix:
Not a massive smoke ring, but happy enough with it


Pretty good, but not amazing tenderness on the flat


Sammich - my wife made a BBQ sauce with some of the au jus


The cook was a lot shorter than I expected, but I let it drift down for a few hours wrapped in some towels in a small cooler, which took longer than I expected.  Ultimately it was an early dinner.

Timeline was:
~4AM - on the grill.  Temps were around 260F
~5AM - I fell asleep. 
~6:30AM - Woke up and checked temps - Temps were down around 200F.  Commence vent fiddling
6:30AM - 8:30AM - temps range from 230F to 270F
~9AM - Hit 170F and wrapped
~11:15AM - hit 203F.  Probe was buttery on the point, a bit firmer on the flat, but still soft.  Decided to pull it and put it in the cooler.
4:15PM - Temp in the cooler is @ 140F, and people are hungry.  Sliced and feasted!

The point was really good - a fair bit of wow there.  The flat was good but not amazing.  Overall, both were less juicy and tender than many videos I've seen, but by no means was it dry anywhere and a good meal was had by all.  The leftovers were chopped, mixed with the bbq sauce my wife made with a bit of the au jus, ketchup, brown sugar, mustard powder, onion powder, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce and a bit of water.  The next day it was even better. 

Lessons:
- I wish I'd kept the temps lower and closer to 225.  I feel like this would have yielded a more tender result. 
- I'll trim differently next time.  I was a bit too aggressive on the fat side, which probably contributed to the less-juicy result
- I'll probably approach the prep and rub differently.  I dry-brined the brisket and the Oakridge "Black Ops Brisket Rub" has enough salt that in combination the brisket was a bit on the salty side (though it wasn't as much the next day).  Given how long it cooks and the contributions of the rendered fat, I'm thinking I'll skip the brining next time unless I make a rub from scratch without salt.  FWIW I've been very happy with the Oakridge rubs on my wings, thighs and pork shoulders.
- I'll do a bigger one and start late the night before.  I tend to go to bed close to midnight anyway and wake up around 7 without an alarm.  Since I'm feeling decent about having a consistent low/slow temp on my Slow&Sear these days, I think I'll do a 1AM start with a bigger slab (but not max-size for the 22" kettle) and see how it looks when I wake up.  It seems like the tendency is to drop down to 190F-200F, which probably? wouldn't be a problem for the end result.

But even this learning opportunity turned into some good eating!    I'll definitely do another one at some point!

Hope this helps other first-timers.  I think the net is if you've got the technique down to keep a low/slow cook, you're in pretty good shape.  I also highly recommend a remote thermometer to minimize lid-fiddling, but the window seems big enough that it's less necessary than on shorter cooks.

[JEBIV]

I think you did fine, you will master it with time. You have good notes on what you did this time and what to change next time, that's what it's all about, plus having fun

[Mr.CPHo]

I think you did fine, you will master it with time. You have good notes on what you did this time and what to change next time, that's what it's all about, plus having fun

Agree 100% with these sentiments. 

[M635_Guy]

Thanks gents!

[1spacemanspiff]

Good job, I'm hoping to do a first brisket later this Summer