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First brisket going to be tomorrow...

Picked up a 5 lb flat at Costco today.  Was going to get a packer but not home tonight so could not start until tomorrow morning.  Going to go with S&P rub for my first.  Then plan on going with a 275-300 dome (over a drip pan with Spaten Optimator, Beef Broth, Onions, "what's this here sauce" and garlic and cayenne) until I hit about 165 internal.  At that point I am going to place the flat into the drip pan with only about half exposed (a la Travis method).  When it gets to 195 I will probe until tender.  Then FTC until dinner.  I plan on posting pics of the process and results.  Hope I remember... :-D

Wish me luck!
Long Island, NY

Comments

  • booksw
    booksw Posts: 470
    Sounds great!! Please post pics and review of how it went.  Brisket is my holy grail but the journey to find it is really fun
    Charleston, SC

    L/MiniMax Eggs
  • radamo
    radamo Posts: 373
    Got the egg going a little bit after 7.  Here is the flat.  I had the weight wrong up above (I must have picked up a different one when I was checking them out).  This flat weighed in at 4.6 Lbs.  Here it is pre rub and then after so EVOO and fresh ground black pepper, kosher salt and garlic powder.  

    image

    image

    image

    Now the journey begins with a 250 dome and the oak and hickory smoke tickling the brisket... 
    image
    Long Island, NY
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,168
    Brisket flats are a bit of a challenge.  I hit many more singles than triples or home-runs but the journey is always worth it.  At the risk of covering what you already know, the finish-line is by feel-when a probe slides in and out of the thickest part of the flat with no resistance, you are there.  Start checking around 190*F but don't be surprised if you get to the low 200's.  And only slice against the grain when ready to eat-it dries out very fast. Enjoy the cook.
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
  • radamo
    radamo Posts: 373
    PLEASE... any and all help welcomed! This is my first brisket and due to time constraints had to choose a flat.  I am hoping by dropping into the drip pan for the last half (165 plus) it will stay moist.  Either way I can't wait for dinner!!!! 
    Long Island, NY
  • radamo
    radamo Posts: 373
    4 hours in and the dome is about 275 grid 230 or so.  Brisket is at 138.  Have not opened at all yet.  Getting curious... 
    Long Island, NY
  • booksw
    booksw Posts: 470
    We are on a similar schedule! Odd though that your egg is hotter, meat is smaller, but meat temp is lower than mine. I have had the experience before- I think people call it the stall- where the meat temp sits at 170-180 for HOURS.

    My meat hit 170 after about 3 hours of a dome temp at 210, then dropped when I took it off to foil, and now is back to 170 and total cook time is at about 6 hours. I'm cooking a 12 pound packet from Walmart.
    Charleston, SC

    L/MiniMax Eggs
  • radamo
    radamo Posts: 373
    Just can't wait to taste it!!!  I must be driving my neighbors nuts with the awesome smell wafting around.  I love it!!!
    Long Island, NY
  • Foghorn
    Foghorn Posts: 9,795
    Great beer.

    XXL BGE, Karebecue, Klose BYC, Chargiller Akorn Kamado, Weber Smokey Mountain, Grand Turbo gasser, Weber Smoky Joe, and the wheelbarrow that my grandfather used to cook steaks from his cattle

    San Antonio, TX

  • radamo
    radamo Posts: 373
    Now at 6 hours. Been at 156 internal for about 45 minutes.
    Long Island, NY
  • radamo
    radamo Posts: 373
    Slight change up... took the brisket off of the grid and put into the drip pan at 156.  Now bringing the temp up to 300 dome.  Added some additional broth to the the pan.  Looks excellent so far.

    Long Island, NY
  • booksw
    booksw Posts: 470
    I am at 8 hours and just hit 190 internal, and kept it at about 210 dome temp the whole time (what is your dome temp, assuming the 239 is at the grate?).  It spent probably 4 hours at 170 and had a spell of about an hour in there that it looped around between 167 and 178.  I am guessing that is part of the stall.  Not sure what is going on with yours, radamo.  Hopefully someone else will chime in.  I am going to check mine for doneness but sticking the instaread into the flat and see if it feels like butter :)  Enjoy!!
    Charleston, SC

    L/MiniMax Eggs
  • Pretty new to the whole BGE process as i started in early July but i got into it because i wanted to do brisket.  I have done three so far and all have been pretty freaking good.  I found three things that worked for me. 

    1. Inject it with beef broth before it goes on the cooker..
    2. the longer you can let the meat temp stay at just about 190 the better. (13 hours for 9lbs)
    3. The longer you let that thing rest the better.  Rest it in foil which is then wrapped in towels and in an empty cooler for AT LEAST 2 hours. 
  • radamo
    radamo Posts: 373
    Brought my temp up to 300 grid for the final push. Meat now at 176. Smells amazing.
    Long Island, NY
  • radamo
    radamo Posts: 373
    8 hours in. Internal temp at 192. Probe shows meat is not tender yet.
    Long Island, NY
  • radamo
    radamo Posts: 373
    At 204 it was tender. FTC for about 45 min. Got too hungry and sliced it up. Pics up when I get a chance.
    Long Island, NY
  • Yeah, I've cooked to temp a few times with okay results, but when I cook to temp AND feel it tends to yield the best results. 

    Glad this worked out well for you, would love to see some pics. 

    Cheers -
    B_B
    Finally back in the Badger State!

    Middleton, WI
  • booksw
    booksw Posts: 470
    looking forward to hearing how it was!
    Charleston, SC

    L/MiniMax Eggs
  • radamo
    radamo Posts: 373
    Here are the final pics... All in all the it was a good first attempt. I see why people shy away from flats as there was not much fat marbling at all.  There was one section that remained nice and moist and another was a bit dry.  Very tasty and tender.  The juice from the pan applied to the plated brisket was the ticket and brought it home nicely.  The bark was very tasty and I was happy with the smoke ring.   

    This was right before I took her off the egg:
    image

    This was how it looked sliced:
    image

    Here is a plated shot with some veggies: 
    image
    Long Island, NY
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,168
    Great result!
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
  • radamo
    radamo Posts: 373
    Thanks!  I am amazed by how well the egg maintains temps when you get locked in.  Makes low and slows pretty easy. 
    Rich
    Long Island, NY
  • Looks really great and your smoke ring looks really nice too.  I also made a brisket over the weekend. Just posted a thread with pics of it.  Didn't have as nice a smoke ring on mine.  I also had some issues with the meat being a little drier than I would have liked.  Would you mind describing how you got that smoke ring?  I've read about it, and it seems like it's mostly to do with the first portion of the cook when the smoke is going and the temp inside the cooker is not terribly high.  When did you put the meat in?  I did mine by building the fire, stabilizing the temp, then throwing the wood, platesetter and meat in all pretty much at the same time.  Like I said, didn't end up with the best ring, so I'm wondering whether maybe I ought to have put the meat and wood in earlier, before the temp rose on the cooker.  Or maybe I just didn't use enough wood.  Mine was covered in a paste, so maybe that took away from the ring.  Anyway, this is a very long way of asking, "What'd you do to get that ring?"
    Southern California
  • radamo
    radamo Posts: 373
    @bicktrav,
    My understanding is that the smoke taste and ring are most effective while the meat is at a lower temp (so early in the cook).  Three things I did may have helped..
    1. Did not warm the brisket to room temp, it went from the fridge onto my board to get "rubbed" then onto the egg. 
    2. Used hickory and oak wood chunks as opposed to apple or cherry.  I hear pecan is even better for ring but never tried it. 
    3.  Not sure about this one but logically it makes sense. I did not put a mustard coating before the rub.  I just rubbed the brisket with a little olive oil then kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and garlic powder.  

    Hope this helps.
    Rich
    Long Island, NY
  • Cookinbob
    Cookinbob Posts: 1,691
    I did a 9 lb packer last week, rubbed with pork rub, went 3-1/2 hours at 300 deg grate temp, then foiled for about an hour and a half, pulled at 205 deg, then FTC for 2 hours before serving.  It was moist, really tasty, and had a good smoke ring.  I used hickory chunks for smoke, put the meat on as soon as the grill hit 300, then messed with temp control until I got it stable (maybe 45 minutes in all).  My gut feeling is that if you wait until everything is stable, you have missed a lot of the good smoke.  I don't think the cook suffers from some temp fluctuation at the start if you don't let it get away from you, high or low.
    XLBGE, Small BGE, Homebrew and Guitars
    Rochester, NY
  • radamo
    radamo Posts: 373
    Looks tasty @Cookinbob!  
    Long Island, NY
  • Black_Badger
    Black_Badger Posts: 1,182
    That looks like a really good brisket @radamo. I'm a big fan of the Travis method for the exact reason you mentioned, that great jus. 

    Congrats.
    B_B
    Finally back in the Badger State!

    Middleton, WI