Brisket on the 26er!

[AZ_MIKEY]

So I went to another WKC members cookout on Saturday and man did he have the spread of food. A while pig and brisket were the meats to be had. Well I am a pork guy myself when it comes to low and slow. Not really ever having brisket I have liked, made by me or anyone else I had pretty much given up on it every meshing with my palate. So I tried so of this members qued brisket and liked it enough to think I should give it a go again, well that was seconded by the girlfriend(who isn't really a pork person) she said you need to do a brisket and start practicing. So that leads me to here. I picked one up done a lot of reading and talked to my brother and a couple of his friends who always seem between them they do one every weekend. Got all my advice and this written down then came the decision on a my somewhat okay (crappy) pro q BBQ excel smoker or on a kettle? Well the excel smoker is only 19.75" on the grate and uses charcoal like I have three tons sitting there just to be used. Ruled the smoker out! Now which kettle to use hmmm? Need it to go a long time with out refueling and a lot of grate space so without question it is the.....

THE 26ER!!!!!


So on to the other main player in this game. A 15.28lbs brisket!

Trimmed and rubbed down.

Wrapped and ready for a little rest in the fridge yesterday while we went to go watch the football games.



Got home from watching my team pull out a BIG "W" and then it was time to set the 26er up with my first ever snake. Used a mix of Kingsford blue and comp with a little mesquite lump mixed in. Topped with apple and oak chips.


Lit the end with some coals out of the chimney also added some foil to the center to catch the drippings(something special will replace the foil in the center later, something I have picked up as an idea from a member here).


Brisket on and ready for its long smoke bath.


More to come as it progresses and I get time to post! Stay tuned!


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[AZ_MIKEY]

So some more pics. I put the brisket on at about 7:45pm last night and stayed up till about 9 to make sure the temp was stable. It stayed right at about 240°F. Got up to check it at about 11:45pm and the temp was at 245°F at the lid therm and 255°F at the vent therm. I lifted the lid to check the progress of the snake and the grate temp on the oven therm I place on the grate, that temp at 225°F.  Didn't rake pics at this point:(

So I set an alarm to wake me again at 4am as that is where I though it would need some attention on the snake and I was correct.


temps were holding steady at this point. So I pulled the grate and brisket and built the snake going back the other direction. Pulled the foil in the center that was catching the drippings in prep for the special guest to this cook.


Thanks Buckie for the idea on the drippings beans. I have seen these in a lot of your post and decided to give them a try.

Put the brisket and grate back on.
At this point the brisket had an internal temp of 150°F. So away we go again.



Later I will throw on some of my special red potatoes.

Woke up at 7am had a cup of coffee and seen the girlfriend off to work and went out to check on the progress. Holding temp at 240° at both the lid therm and vent therm and at the grate 228°. Here are some action shots with the first light of the day.








It is coming along nicely. Internal temp at this point was at 176°F end of the flat and 164°F in the thickest part of the point.

More to come!!!!!!


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[AZ_MIKEY]

So brisket and beans have been pulled off now I am prepping my potatoes. Pictures of those alittle later. But now pics of the brisket coming off.







Now time to put some blankets(towels) around him and wrap him up and tuck him into bed(cooler) for a nice nap time(early dinner and when potatoes are done)!




Pics of the finished beans!


The beans are amazing I had about a 1/4 of a bowl and wanted more but I gotta save them for dinner.

Still more to come in awhile.


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[AZ_MIKEY]

Some pics of the potatoes! I didn't take any of me prepping them but here they are on the coals.

After flipping.

Off the coals and wait till they are tender.

next up cutting the brisket.

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[Duke]

Excellent work Mikey! I can't wait to see the sliced and plated pics. Hurry, I'm getting hungry!

[kendoll]

It is 8am here and I want that now! May have to avoid looking at the plated pics until lunch time!

Great work! Man I love me some brisket!

What temp was each part when you took it off?

Ken

[AZ_MIKEY]

Sliced and plated pics! The flat came out just a little dry but the taste is there, so that is something I will need to work on next time. The point is fantastic!!!!!!!! Can't say enough about it!. The beans match it really good and the potatoes are that little bit of different.







Hope everyone enjoyed watching this take its course as much as I did making it happen. There are a few things I will tweak next time, like I said I am a pork guy when it comes to low and slow but this will definitely be put into the rotation now. And for it being my first brisket on a kettle and the first time doing the snake and also first low and slow on the 26er I think it will only get better from here on out.

Thanks everyone for looking and have a great day.

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[AZ_MIKEY]

What temp was each part when you took it off?

Ken

Hey Kendoll, I just probed till everything was tender didn't pay attention to the temp when pulling it. I will say I probably could have separated the flat and the point and finished the point off by it self.

[MacEggs]

Outstanding cook-up!  I like your style ... 2 plates of food, and a beer. 

[Craig]

Mmmmm Mmmmm good!! Nice job, Mikey! I've been wanting to do a brisket, soon I'll have the equipment.. 

[1buckie]

"Thanks Buckie for the idea on the drippings beans. I have seen these in a lot of your post and decided to give them a try. "

  You betcha........well worth it, it seems......a nice lookin' batch & a great all round cookup there Mikey !!!!!


plenty of room to strech out on that 26.......Good Show !!!!!!

[MINIgrillin]

Inspiring! I have never cooked a brisket. I need to get at it. I'm in Texas after all. Awesome cook!

[Chasing_smoke]

Great looking brisket! Looks delicious!

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[Aawa]

Great looking cook!

From the pictures and the desciption it looks like the brisket was a little undercooked.  If the flat of the brisket was a little dry, but did not crumble when slicing it, it was undercooked.

Your version of probe tender might not be to where the flat is actually done.  Next time you do another brisket, do your version of probe tender then add another 30mins worth of cook time and then reprobe it (each time the brisket is undercooked when you slice it, extend the probe tender feel you had by another 15-30mins).  It took me 3 attempts to finally understand what probe tender felt like in a brisket flat.  After I got it right, I have been able to consistently put out properly cooked brisket that my friends rant and rave about.

[HankB]

From the pictures and the desciption it looks like the brisket was a little undercooked.  If the flat of the brisket was a little dry, but did not crumble when slicing it, it was undercooked.

I was thinking the same thing but Aawa described it much better than I would have.

It seems counterintuitive, but the meat will actually release more moisture when it is done. Even if it seems dry when it is not quite done does not mean it will be too dry if cooked longer.

Fortunately it still tastes great, but if you cook it just a little longer it will be even better.