Whole Brisket Recipes

[mmille24]

Costco by me (San Diego) is selling whole (point and flat) PRIME briskets. I have a sous vide circulator, a smoker, and an oven. I don't know what to use.

 

Anyone have a foolproof method nailed down?

 

I was looking at the ChefSteps smokerless recipe:

 

http://www.chefsteps.com/activities/smokerless-smoked-brisket

 

Anyone try it? Looks a bit dry to me.

[rotuts]

you might want to take a peek at this as a reference :

 

http://video.pbs.org/video/2365494916/

 

also this thread has several posts of members doing whole brisket:

 

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/151160-franklin-barbecue/?hl=%20franklin

Edited August 6, 2015 by rotuts (log)

[Norm Matthews]

What kind of smoker do you have? The last brisket I smoked was also prime and it also came from Costco. We still have enough left for 3 or 4 sandwiches.  If you click on the link at the bottom of my post here, it will take you to a log I kept during the last two briskets I smoked in my horizontal-off set smoker using charcoal and wood. One was on May 20, the other on July 31st.

 

Other things you can do with brisket (usually just the flat and with the fat all trimmed off) is to braise it, corn it, and/or make pastrami.  I've braised it with beer in the past.

Edited August 6, 2015 by Norm Matthews (log)

[mmille24]

What kind of smoker do you have? The last brisket I smoked was also prime and it also came from Costco. We still have enough left for 3 or 4 sandwiches.  If you click on the link at the bottom of my post here, it will take you to a log I kept during the last two briskets I smoked in my horizontal-off set smoker using charcoal and wood. One was on May 20, the other on July 31st.

 

Other things you can do with brisket (usually just the flat and with the fat all trimmed off) is to braise it, corn it, and/or make pastrami.  I've braised it with beer in the past.

 

Wow. That looks pretty awesome.  I have a Masterbuilt Electric smoker, so temperature control is very easy. Although obviously I'm sacrificing taste.

 

Did you brine or rub it? Any days in the fridge? How did you like your internal temperatures (meat 204 & 187)? Was 204 the flat and 187 the point/deckle?

Edited August 6, 2015 by mmille24 (log)

[Norm Matthews]

The two I did recently were not refrigerated with a rub or brine.  The only rub I used on both were salt and pepper and I did this within an hour of putting in the smoker.  I liked this "Texas" style (Franklin) so well, i am tempted to never use a Southern style rub or sauce on them ever again.  I find that they are the most tender and juicy at 204 at the point. I think this is a very good target for brisket.  I generally wrap them at 175 or so. I have used foil for wrapping but next time, I am tempted to try parchment instead.  I spritzed the first one with a mix of apple juice and vinegar.  I forgot to spray the second one and I think the first one had a better crust than the second one because of that.

[mmille24]

Realizing now my smoker won't fit that brisket. Going to have to figure out a different way to cook it or break it.

Edited August 6, 2015 by mmille24 (log)

[Dave W]

204F in the point is a good target indeed but the real trick to brisket cookery is to monitor it very closely for softness/wobble/tenderness starting at about 195F (in the flat). Some briskets need even higher than 204 to get tender, somehow. It depends on the cow.

 

Don’t pull it too early, it has to be pretty much totally soft or what is called “probe tender” to be ready.

 

Anyway since your smoker won’t fit it, you could try cutting it in half or you could just wedge it in there, knowing it will shrink as it cooks.

 

Another option is to lop off a few inches from the flat and save that for another purpose: sous vide comes to mind, or burger grind.

[mmille24]

204F in the point is a good target indeed but the real trick to brisket cookery is to monitor it very closely for softness/wobble/tenderness starting at about 195F (in the flat). Some briskets need even higher than 204 to get tender, somehow. It depends on the cow.

 

Don’t pull it too early, it has to be pretty much totally soft or what is called “probe tender” to be ready.

 

Anyway since your smoker won’t fit it, you could try cutting it in half or you could just wedge it in there, knowing it will shrink as it cooks.

 

Another option is to lop off a few inches from the flat and save that for another purpose: sous vide comes to mind, or burger grind.

 

Thanks for advice. I think I'm going to separate the flat and the point. Put them on separate shelves, the point closer to the heating source.

 

It's really a beautiful piece of meat. Lovely marbling. I hope I don't mess this up. I'll be sure to check the meat to make sure it's soft prior to pulling.