Smoking Brisket - need help (1 Viewer)

Anybody here do brisket hot and fast? There are some who swear by it and swear they can get it tender and juicy by doing it that way. I've only ever done it the low and slow way, keeping temps b/w 225-250.

You have to have it at around 160 or 170 (internal) for a certain amount of time to properly render the fat and collagen. If you cook at too high a temp, the outside will burn before that happens.

That said you can smoke at 325 or 350 (if you don't put sugar in the rub) successfully, but you also make your window much smaller for pulling it off at the right time, and you have to adjust for a lot more carry over cooking.
 
The temp and times have been repeated, so I will just emphasize that you do not trim any fat off until after cooking and cook it with the fatty side up. Save the burnt edges of meat for beans. That's the best part about cooking your own brisket.
No no no, you just eat those bad boys as you are trimming them off as you’re getting it ready. Don’t waste them in beans
 
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I’ve had it but it’s not a true smoked brisket, the low and slow to me is the best. Between 225 and 250, pull it at 190, wrap it in butchers paper and let it sit for an hour.

I don’t do the foil, I leave the fat cap and let it keep it moist. The reason for the foil is typically for the “stall”. At between 160 and 170 the Brisket usually stalls and that’s where it breaks down the fat. I let it push through and get to the end temp by itself. It can normally sit at 160 for 3 to 4 hours before it starts to climb and it’s just sucking up the pecan smoke flavor.
 
Personally I would never do fast brisket. It's just too expensive right now to test with. Back when I was cooking them all the time and it was $20 for a packer I would've but not now. I wouldn't worry about smoke...
You can easily get the smoke flavor....it's tenderness I would worry about most. Brisket can be like eating a shoe if you're off and then you end up drying out the flat trying to get it tender. I much prefer to stick with tried and true. 12 hours is my average and I wrap in foil. It just speeds that cook time up and removes alot of error. The people that eat my brisket are not that critical so as long as it's tender and juicy they rave about it.
 
My little brother bought a 4lb brisket. He smoked it at 225. It was done in 4 hours he said. Is this like a brisket flat or top?
 
Also, I would never cook just a flat. It's the worst part of the brisket (unless I was braising it for something else). In fact, a lot of the time, I cut the flat off and grind it for burgers and just cook the point.
 
Also, I would never cook just a flat. It's the worst part of the brisket (unless I was braising it for something else). In fact, a lot of the time, I cut the flat off and grind it for burgers and just cook the point.
Flat isn't my favorite part either but I make it work. I normally will cube it up after cooking and add rub, brown sugar, bbq sauce, and throw it back in the smoke for awhile. Comes out pretty good.

I will also leave it whole, chill it, and thin slice it for sandwiches too. I do my take on a gyro with it that comes out pretty good.
 
Also, I would never cook just a flat. It's the worst part of the brisket (unless I was braising it for something else). In fact, a lot of the time, I cut the flat off and grind it for burgers and just cook the point.
I never cut the flat and mine always comes out pretty tender. But I foil wrap mine as well as rest it in a cooler, so maybe that makes the difference.
 
If anybody cares to see my brisket method on a Weber grill, I can post the details with some pics. It's a slight adaptation to the America's Test Kitchen method.
Post it man. At this point in life flats are quickly becoming the only option lol
 
Post it man. At this point in life flats are quickly becoming the only option lol
Will do. The recipe is for a whole brisket, but the only difference if you're doing just a flat will probably be the time. Time isn't really as important as the temps though.
 
I posted this originally on another forum I frequent. I won't bother with trying to edit except for replacing a couple of the pics with a more recent cook. It's easier to just copy & paste everything else:

***************************************************************

In this day of fancy ceramic smokers & pellet grills, I'm still holding strong with my old-fashioned Weber Kettle charcoal grill. I've had my current one for so long that I can't even remember when I bought it. I want to say that I got it sometime not long after Katrina, but not 100% certain. Anywhere between 10-15 years with grates being the only replacements. Maybe when this thing finally kicks the bucket I'll upgrade, but upgrade for me will probably be a better model Weber. This is a look at my chintzy setup, but I guarantee I've gotten more mileage out of this thing than most get out of their expensive grills. It was raining the day I decided to do a brisket, so I set up a cover. The table to the left of the grill is hinged to the fence, so I have a workspace that folds away when not in use. The scorched-looking bricks and charcoal trays on top of the cinder block are what I use to cook over when doing indirect cooking. They hold the heat in much the same way that a ceramic grill does, but more on that another time.

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One of my favorite things to do on the grill is brisket. I got the method/recipe not long ago from Cooks Country. My wife watches a lot of cooking shows and they did a show on brisket on the Weber. I tried it out and it's one of the best things I've ever done on the grill. Below is the process, with pics. Some of the pics may be from different briskets. I tried picking the best ones to represent what I was trying to show.


You will need:

Recipe calls for 10-12 lb untrimmed brisket, but I've done up to 14 & 16 lbs as well
1/4 kosher salt
1/4 cup pepper
5 - 3" wood chunks (I used mesquite)
13 x 9 disposable aluminum pan
6 cups water (or diluted fruit juice)
Wireless probe thermometer (you can get a cheap one from Walmart for about $20 and works great)
Heavy duty aluminum foil
Plastic wrap
Cooler
Oven or grill mitts


Meat prep:

At least 12 hours before cooking, with a very sharp knife, trim the fat cap to about 1/4" thick, then trim out fat pockets in & around the point. On the flat tip, trim off any meat that's less that an inch thick. Mix salt & pepper well, then rub mixture all over brisket. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Pictured here is a 13lb brisket with the fat trimmed.

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Grill prep:

(I usually do this the night before) How to set up your charcoal snake. Count 58 lumps of regular charcoal and starting at about 4:30 on the grill (location, not time) start lining up the charcoal along the very edge of the grill in two side-by-side rows with each next set leaning on the previous. By the time you place all 58 lumps of charcoal you should be at or around 7:30 on the grill. It's ok not to be exact, just as long as there is about an 8" gap between the ends. Now add another layer of 58 on top of the first layer using the same method. Once your charcoal is set up, space your 3" wood chunks evenly across the top of the charcoal snake starting at about 4" from the end. Place a 13 x 9 inch disposable aluminum pan in the center of the snake. I have to bend it up to get it to fit, but make sure you don't bend holes into it because it'll be filled with water later.

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Time to smoke



Stage 1:

Take your brisket out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter while you finish getting the grill ready. In a chimney starter, pile 10 lumps of charcoal up the side of the chimney and light. After you light the chimney, open both top & bottom grill vents fully, clean and oil your grate and fill your aluminum pan with 6 cups of water. Once the coals are covered in ash, pour them over only one end of the charcoal snake. Any charcoal touching the other end, remove. Replace the grill grate and put your grill cover on while you retrieve the brisket. Lay your brisket directly over the water pan, fat side down and the point end (thickest part) towards the center of the gap in the charcoal snake and insert the grill probe into the thickest part of the point end Replace the grill cover with the vent situated directly over the gap in the charcoal snake and allow to cook undisturbed, without lifting the lid until the meat probe registers 170 degrees. Should take about 4-5 hours.

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Stage 2:

Place two large strips of foil criss-crossed on a large baking sheet. Using grill mitts, remove the probe from the brisket and lay the brisket in the center of the foil, fat side down. Wrap the brisket as tightly as possible to limit and air pockets and add another layer of foil if needed to seal. Remove the cooking grate and add another 3 qts of charcoal to the unlit end of the snake. It's not necessary to stack them at this point, but try to pour them in the same circular pattern. I've done several briskets this way and the snake usually doesn't get that far into the poured coals. Replace the grate and replace the foil-wrapped brisket in the same position as before, fat side down. Insert the probe thermometer through the foil and back into the thickest part of the point end. Replace the lid on the grill and cook undisturbed until the probe registers 205 degrees, usually another 1-2 hours.

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Stage 3:

Remove the temperature probe and put the baby to bed in a cooler, flipping the brisket over so that the fat side is now up. I usually lay a towel under the brisket to protect the cooler from the heat and have a baking tray that fits perfectly under the brisket to catch any liquid that may seep out. Close the cooler & let the brisket rest undisturbed for 2-3 hours.

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Time to eat!

Remove the brisket and place on a large baking sheet. Slowly tear away foil from the top. There will be lots of juice and steam and it's still very hot. Transfer the brisket to a carving board and slice against the grain to desired thickness. Since the flat & point end grains are opposite each other I typically cut at their intersection, turn the point and slice. I also use two plates to serve because some people prefer the leaner flat meat & some prefer the more fatty point end.



I now realize that at this point I haven't really taken any pictures of the finished product. Mostly because I'm too busy carving the meat and it goes too fast.
:lol:
I do have one pic of some of the flat sliced.

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