Smoking Brisket: The Topic

[ronnie_suburban]

I'm certainly no expert but I agree with Mike. I'd go for overnight and if that's not possible, then start as early as possible the day before. Briskets take a while. Last time I smoked 2 whole briskets, it took them nearly 18 hours to reach temperature and while I wasn't using a Weber, I was using a smoker on which the temperature was fairly easy to maintain.

=R=

[lancastermike]

I am in possession of a beautiful 13 pound brisket (whole and untrimmed, with a nice fat cap).  It's for a party on Friday evening, food to start about 7:00 pm.

Smoke on Thursday or do I shag my sorry butt out of bed really early on Friday and get the beast on the grill?

It's of a size that I'm thinking that a small butt would also fit...

What say the experts?

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No brisket expert here. But I think I would go with day before or an overnight smoke. Dinner at 7 means it has to be done and holding by 6. I'd want more than 12 hours of time just to be sure. Of course, we all know you can make magic with that kettle.

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Overnight smoke and a Weber Kettle is a no go. I'm smoke on Thursday. That's probably better anyway so I can get the last minute stuff done on Friday! Brisket. Yummm. Mike, find a whole untrimmed brisket or at least the point and do one!

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I have done brisket on the WSM, but only once. I guess I just have a thing for butt.

[snowangel]

I have done brisket on the WSM, but only once. I guess I just have a thing for butt.

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I, too, have a really soft spot for butts, and it looks to me like once the brisket has smoked for a while and done some shrinking, I'll be able to get a butt on, too. So, when I was at the market today, I got a nice 7 pound bone-in/skin-on butt. I'm having a big party on Friday (brisket) and another gathering the week following, so time to do some serious smoking!

[snowangel]

The brisket is done, and resting comfortably in foil. 12 pounds, just over 12 hours to reach 198, at which point, a few little bits "fell" off. Amazing how that happens.

I've learned one thing. The Kettle (the 21 incher) would not accommodate both the brisket and the butt, so as soon as I got the brisket off, I put on the butt.

Oh, I learned another thing. If you are going to be up as late as I am, switch from beer to iced coffee earlier.

So, I will reheat the brisket tomorrow for the party. Any idea how long this will take in a low and slow oven?

[qrn]

I do brisket by smoking at 250º in the Kamado for a couple, three hours, then wrap in foil and either put it in the Kamado or the oven at 200º for another 6 or 7 hours....

makes a tender moist well flavored chunk of meat...

Bud

[Luckylies]

I do brisket by smoking at 250º in the Kamado for a couple, three  hours, then wrap in foil and either put it in the Kamado or the oven at 200º for another 6 or 7 hours....

makes a tender moist well flavored  chunk of meat...

Bud

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ten hours? thats it? how big are your briskets? hmmm....

[snowangel]

I have no pictures of the brisket. In a nutshell, the almost 13 pounder was on for almost 14 hours, at which point I put the butt on (let me tell you, by the time the butt was done, there was foiling it, taking a shower and sticking in the freezer; I can reheat and pull, which I know is not preferred, but after almost 20 hours, of fairly contant attending, I was one tired lady).

But, outside of Paul and I, none of the folks who came tonight had ever had smoked brisket. It was more than well received, to the point that the only little bit I had was what Paul fed me as he sliced it up. As we served the brisket, Paul commented ont he fat "You could discard it, but it like butter, only better. I'd advice that you either eat it or slather it on the sweet corn." Good advice, me thinks.

I attended to guests, and by the time I was ready to load up a plate, it was all GONE. Almost 13 pounds raw feeds 30, but barely.

Oh, Mike. I was reminded my the mere tasting that I had that butt is good, but brisket is easily as worthy.

[lancastermike]

I have no pictures of the brisket.  In a nutshell, the almost 13 pounder was on for almost 14 hours, at which point I put the butt on (let me tell you, by the time the butt was done, there was foiling it, taking a shower and sticking in the freezer; I can reheat and pull, which I know is not preferred, but after almost 20 hours, of fairly contant attending, I was one tired lady).

But, outside of Paul and I, none of the folks who came tonight had ever had smoked brisket.  It was more than well received, to the point that the only little bit I had was what Paul fed me as he sliced it up.  As we served the brisket, Paul commented ont he fat "You could discard it, but it like butter, only better.  I'd advice that you either eat it or slather it on the sweet corn."  Good advice, me thinks.

I attended to guests, and by the time I was ready to load up a plate, it was all GONE.  Almost 13 pounds raw feeds 30, but barely.

Oh, Mike.  I was reminded my the mere tasting that I had that butt is good, but brisket is easily as worthy.

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Maybe for Labor Day I'll do brisket. The thing is I have to remember to order one. I can get all the butt I want around here just by walking up to the meat counter.

I'm sorry they scarfed it all up before you got to eat. I hope they saved you some sweet corn! If not, I would fear for their saftey

[snowangel]

Mike, do brisket. I did have a taste in the kitchen as Paul was cutting it up, and I'd forgotten just how damned good brisket is. It vies for attention with butt and how that I had that taste, I think I'll be calling and ordering another whole, untrimmed brisket. I can get them easily at our local meat market in the spring (must be a St. Patrick's Day thing), but otherwise, I have to order one, and it is usually there in just a couple of days.

Funny although I prefer my butts naked, I do prefer a rub on brisket -- I've been really happy with Klink's Dry Rub.

And, they did scarf up all of the corn, too, except for the three ears I didn't cook, which I shucked and boiled at midnight and snarfed down after everyone had left. Made for a great mid-night snack.

[ianeccleston]

Labor day weekend coming up, and that means brisket. I've smoked 5-6 briskets by now, but have a few things that keep coming up.

First, the rub. The end product tends to vary for me. Sometimes it's a great, sweet crust, sometimes it's mostly just char. I use Col Klink's rub... the best ever was using that recipe, but omitting the sumac and accidentally omitting the pepper. People hugged me, it was so good. I thought, that can't be right though, I'll add the pepper back in and it will be even better. But I haven't been able to get back to that perfect crust. The last couple of times it's mostly had a mostly charred taste.

So, the three variables that I can think of: sugar content/ ratios, amount of rub, and temperature of the grill. If the temperature spikes, does that ruin the sugar in the rub? How much rub does one rub in? How does the sugar ratio affect the final product?

Second, the kettle. Snowangel, be my BBQ angel and spill your secrets on your tips to smoke for this thing. How many briqquettes do you start with? Do you put unlit charcoal on top of that? How often, with how much charcoal do you replace it with? Do you leave the top open? How open do you leave the vents?

Thanks,

Ian

[snowangel]

Ian about the rub (first). I realized after I'd rubbed the last brisket I did that most of the sugar was at the bottom of the jar, which meant not much got onto the meat, which seemed to work well. Cut down on the sugar would be my first piece of advice.

About the Kettle. Remember that the Grand Weber Goddess of Minnesota is some 25 years old. Nothing fits tight, except that tri-sweeper thing that I had to replace earlier this summer. The handles are sort of loose, as is that vent thing on the top. The top is heavy from all of gunk that is on the top, and the thing emits wisps of smoke when the lid is full-on.

But, let me run through what I do:

Charcoal. I am using the new Kingsford, which I quite like. Whe, after grilling, we shut the grill down, there is still some stuff left that isn't burnt enough that is falls through the grate with a bit of prodding. I just leave that, and push it to the side.

Next, to the chimney. I fill it about half full. When it is ready, I do the juggling act. With an empty drip pan, and a bucket of water, I lift the chimeny (with one hand) and add the drip pan, which I fill with water. I use the drip pan as a "charcoal rail." Add charcoal. Then add a couple of briquettes and some wood. Place on top grate. Pay attention to where you place the top grate in relation to the hinged thingies. I always leave one of the hinged thingies up so I can add wood and charcoal.

Oh, and orient the grill and where you want to add the wood and have the lid with the wind.

Add regular oven thermometer. When you have a good idea of whether you're running hot or cool, add the meat (which I always stick in the freezer on a sheet pan as I get the grill ready). An assistant is handy for this part to keep things clean and raw-meat-junk free.

When I need to adjust temp, on my trusty old Weber, I cock the lid, and make sure the smoke is running from the wood OVER the meat. Sometimes I have to adjust the position of the grill, and the lid, but it works very well.

Add wood and occasional briquettes as necessary, and if the face of the oven thermometer gets gunked up, you'll need an extra set of tongs. One set with which to hold the thermometer, one with which to scrape the gunk off.

The big thing to remember about the Kettle is that it is easier to goose up a too-slow fire than to slow it down. So, the meat takes 14 hours instead of 12. Who cares? More time to drink beer and absorb that alluring scent.

But, should you need to goose it up and get more heat, open up those bottom vents and cock the lid for a few minutes, but close them back up before you reach the "oven" temp you are looking for. I'm a bigger fan of cocking the lid than opening the bottom vents.

[ianeccleston]

Thanks Susan!

The rub: but the best rub I ever had, it had a disproportionately large amount of sugar. It had a great texture, and didn't taste too charred, although it was too sweet. I'm going to assume that temperature spikes killed the rub in the other instances.

How large is your chimney? It seems as if there is a standard size, and a fatter, larger size.

Do you place all the coals on one side?

How often do you replace the coals, and with how many? Do you pre-light your coals?

Thanks,

Ian

[snowangel]

I have the standard Weber chimney. Yes, coals all to one side, not banked on either side. I just keep periodically adding a few coals (my tongs are my best friend!) directly from the bag of Kingsford (not pre-lit). I just kind of eyeball it as to when I add more coals. Come to think of it, I usually add four of five briquettes when I dump the chimney out onto the grate.

[ianeccleston]

I have the standard Weber chimney.  Yes, coals all to one side, not banked on either side.  I just keep periodically adding a few coals (my tongs are my best friend!) directly from the bag of Kingsford (not pre-lit).  I just kind of eyeball it as to when I add more coals.  Come to think of it, I usually add four of five briquettes when I dump the chimney out onto the grate.

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The brisket turned out nicely, thank you. I cooked it, separated into the point and two flats, for about 10 hours. Probably could have cooked a little longer, but my thermometer was acting up on me, and so decided to pull it.

I opted for a simpler rub -- Klinks rub, but only the salt, pepper and sugar, plus 7 cloves of garlic put through the press. I put about a quarter or third of that recipe all over a whole brisket, but it was a bit too peppery and salty. Next time I may up the sugar or put less rub on.

I stuck to using the vent instead of cocking the lid, but your recommendation for half a chimney helped a lot. I still had to jigger with the temperature for a good hour and a half, but after that it was smooth sailing.... one more half-chimney after 4 hours, and then a finish in the oven at 275 F.

No photos, but I can attest the weather in Chi-town was pretty crappy -- it rained all day. And sadly I had to replace my Old Styles with some Leinies. All in all, a good day. I dressed up the brisket with a puree of corn soup with a crab/cherry tomato/scallion garnish for a starter, and served with a salad of arugula and asian pear from the farmer's market...

Thanks for your help!

[Kent D]

I really should have gone looking for this info before I smoked my first brisket this last weekend. Amazingly, despite myself, I came out with something both edible and flavorful.

I threw together my standard secret rub:salt,pepper,garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, ground coriander, allspice and thyme. Rubbed it into my brisket the night before.

I have a standard cylinder smoker/grill that I've always used for grilling, so had to go find the center section where the water pan goes. I do keep a couple types of wood chips on hand for when I throw them on the coals for some flavor, so I used apple with just a hint of mesquite, soaked and drained beforehand.

Without knowing it, I even put the brisket into the smoker cold, and keep feeding chips to the coals for a couple hours. Then, because it was raining intermittently, I brought the brisket in and finished it wrapped in foil in a 200-degree oven. Then I pulled it out of the oven and let it rest before slicing. I nearly cried when I opened the foil and started slicing. There was a beautiful and distinct smoke ring in the meat, and it was still juicy but done through. It really didn't need sauce, but I served it with sauce anyway.

Now I'm just kicking myself for not doing this earlier. Of course, before last year, I only had a gas grill, which was totally inadequate for producing useable barbecue, but now I'm inspired to try some more things - chicken, pork, turkey, etc.

[Daddy-A]

Canadian Thanksgiving is today, so I did what every good Canuck does ... smoked a brisket.

Last time I smoked brisket I had some unusual results. This time, better informed and armed with some kick-ass lump charcoal that colds 225 like nobody's business, I ventured forth.

I've recently discovered a great braised cabbage recipe, so I decided a pastrami-like approach to the brisket would work well. However, a week in the brine was not possible, nore desireable. 24 hours of brining was all I could fit in, which turned out to be perfect.

Out of the brine, the brisket (small ... about 5lbs) received a rub of 1/3 cracked black pepper and 2/3 cracked coriander.

9 hours in the bullet, and we ended up with this:

The ring was about 4mm deep. Smoking wood was cherry, which added a nice richness to the smoke. 24 hours was perfect for the pastrami "effect" without making it too "cured."

A>

[Daddy-A]

So am I the only one smoking brisket these days? I was actually wondering if I should put this in Chef Fowke's "Great Pastrami Experiment" thread, but as it wasn't really an experiment ...

'Twas a snowy Satyrday in Vancouver. About 10 cm (4 inches) fell over the weekend, but the tough part was the freezing temperatures we experienced on Saturday. -6C (21F) for the better part of the day made holding the 110C (225F) really tough .... and yes Susan, I know you do it all the time.

Still, we (13 y.o. son and I) forged on with 2 x 7lb briskets that had been brining for 6 days. Brine was standard salt/sugar with pickling spices. No saltpeter as I'm not so concerned about the colour, but am concerned about nitrates. Out of the brine they were dried and covered with a rub of 2/3 Coriander - 1/3 Black Pepper that a rough ground in the spice mill (formerly known as the coffee grinder). As with my last brisket, smoking wood of choice was cherry.

This picture is for any of you who have a family member who saves EVERYTHING, "just in case." This is a meat slicer my father has been saving for 30 years. It has been used exactly once during that time, but now that I've found it, it will be getting a regular work-out. Of course, my father has taken this incident as reason to hold onto various items that include snowshoes, Tupperware containers without matching lids, and no fewer than 5 paper towel holders ... "just in case."

Finished product which was steamed, and served with Winnipeg rye bread and a nice grainy mustard to 25 or so ravenous partiers at our annual Cookie Exhange. An excellent pastrami all round, with a terrific texture and wonderful smoke. The smoke-ring at the thin end of the brisket actually penetrated all the way through!

Leftovers were started on today as my dad & I lunched on a couple sandwiches and tried to figure out who to give the snowshoes to.

A.

[Pam R]

Finished product which was steamed, and served with Winnipeg rye bread

No doubt the bread put it over the top! Looks fantastic, Arne.

Personally, the last time I tried to smoke something in cold weather (I mean cold weather - like -20 C) I couldn't control the heat at all. Any tricks you can share? My smoker looks so lonely in the corner of the garage . . .

[Daddy-A]

Personally, the last time I tried to smoke something in cold weather (I mean cold weather - like -20 C) I couldn't control the heat at all. Any tricks you can share? My smoker looks so lonely in the corner of the garage . . .

I didn't really have any trouble controlling the heat ... merely getting it up to 225F. Basically, in the Weber Bullet, it means preventing the cold outside from reducing the temperature inside.

I simply added more fuel to the fire, and opened the vents up 100%. Next time I'm considering using a hot water heater insulating blanket (like THIS). I don't know if it would melt or anything, but we're only talking about 225F so I'm hoping it won't be a problem. I'm smoking a turkey for Christmas so I may get a chance to try it out then.

A.

[lancastermike]

Personally, the last time I tried to smoke something in cold weather (I mean cold weather - like -20 C) I couldn't control the heat at all. Any tricks you can share? My smoker looks so lonely in the corner of the garage . . .

I didn't really have any trouble controlling the heat ... merely getting it up to 225F. Basically, in the Weber Bullet, it means preventing the cold outside from reducing the temperature inside.

I simply added more fuel to the fire, and opened the vents up 100%. Next time I'm considering using a hot water heater insulating blanket (like THIS). I don't know if it would melt or anything, but we're only talking about 225F so I'm hoping it won't be a problem. I'm smoking a turkey for Christmas so I may get a chance to try it out then.

A.

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I love cold weather smoking and have no trouble with the heat as long as it is not windy. Never used the water heater blanket, Arne, but I know guys who do. From what I understand the trick is not to cut off any air to the vents. That is a lovely brisket.

[snowangel]

I'm going to smoke a brisket tomorrow or Saturday for an event on Sunday (on the Trusty Old Weber). What wood would you use?

Edited to add: sauce? sides? Suggestions appreciated.

Edited September 10, 2009 by snowangel (log)

[Florida]

I'm going to smoke a brisket tomorrow or Saturday for an event on Sunday (on the Trusty Old Weber). What wood would you use?

Edited to add: sauce? sides? Suggestions appreciated.

Wood: Hickory, Oak, or Pecan

Sauce: Texas-style (lees sweet, less vinegary and heavy on the spices)

[snowangel]

I have opted for a mix of apple and hickory. It is what I have on hand, that is already split. Since Pipes (aka Diana) is now at college, I don't have my trusty wood splitter on hand.

As my brisket smokes, I'm reminded that the best part of all are the crispy bits that "fall off."

[Prawncrackers]

I smoked my first brisket last weekend. It was very small, 1.5kg just over 3lbs. The flavour was wonderful but i overcooked it a little. All the recipes i'd read suggested cooking for 8+ hrs and pulling off when the internal temp reached approx 75C but like a shmuck i didn't check the temp till about 5 hrs in. By then it had reached 85C already, so i pulled it off and rested it for 2hrs before slicing. It's a shame because it was a lovely piece of Dexter beef. I feel i've let you all down but I promise to do better next time! Here is in all it's slightly dry glory

[scubadoo97]

Pawncrackers, your brisket looks wonderful and I could dive into those potatoes.

Smoked brisket is a wonderful thing. I've made a couple whole briskets on my electric smoker. No smoke ring due to the smokers effecient use of wood but tasty just the same. Here the flat is slice and the point is ready to be pulled