First brisket cook for the game coming up... input needed!

Luvnlife · January 2017

Decided to finally do a brisket and have a Costco prime 15# packer in the freezer I just pulled out so it would be thawed and ready for the super bowl on Sunday. Pretty comfortable with the egg, but been reading off the forum over the last year all the different ideas, tips, tricks for brisket and am feeling like its worth a try now. With all the differing options and opinions though.... temps, wrap/not wrap, how much to trim, fat cap up/down, how long to rest, etc. Wondering what your top three or four recommendations would be for a successful first brisket cook? Not sure why it's so intimidating, but I'm sure I'm making it worse than need be. Would love to hear your thoughts? Thanks!

lousubcap · January 2017

This exceeds your "top 3 or 4 recommendations" but condenses the cook for me:The true keys to success are:

1. A good trim of the hard fat ala Franklin.

2. Rub of your choice.

3. Air gapped drip pan.

4. Stable fire at your desired cook temp with plenty of lump.

5. Waiting for the "feel" in the thickest part of the flat to declare victory. And not worrying if some of the flat doesn't probe as it should.

6. Paying no attention to the point.

7. Giving the cow around a 20-25 min rest if you FTC (stop the carryover cook).

8. Give it a couple hour (min) FTC if you can.

9. Recognizing that the cow drives the cook.

10. Enjoying and adapting to the cook as it evolves.

BTW-someone made a good point about "the feel". Since the point is just along for the ride, has a much higher fat content and its temperature doesn't matter, when you probe the point and get that "smooth as buttah" feel then you will know what to look for with the flat.

Above FWIW-

bgebrent · January 2017

Good advice right there. One simple point, orient the point to the rear of your egg.

SirSquatch · January 2017

What I've learned is there is no formula for how long it will take, just let it cook until it's nice and tender. Give yourself plenty of time in case it takes hours longer than you expect, with the understanding that if takes less time it will stay plenty hot wrapped and in a cooler.

Don't sweat it, have fun and BE PATIENT.

NPHuskerFL · January 2017

Ambitious in spite of a lack of experience with brisket. I like it.
I'm not sure why brisket is such a pink unicorn to so many people. For me it's one of the easiest Cooks to do. Trim the brisket to 1/4 inch or so, carefully remove the deckle and shape the irregular spots so an even cook is more achievable. Rub with S&P or other desired rub. Have a somewhat clean egg (airflow wise). Lump loaded with choice of smoking wood. Light fire and get setup ready. Clear bad creosote and maintain desired temp. Place brisket onto the grid with brisket point positioned toward the egg's hinge. Enjoy beverage of choice. Periodically check pit temp and make miniscule adjustments as necessary to hold desired temperature. Leave the lid closed as much as humanly possible. Figure an hour to an hour and a half per pound. With a thermapen or other type of instant read thermometer probe in several spots of the point and more importantly the flat. Once it probes like buttuh you're good to go. If you need to keep it warm until serving time wrap in butcher paper and place into a cooler or into your oven set for warm. Slice against the grain at approximately a pencil width thickness or slightly less. Enjoy.

pgprescott · January 2017

Fat down. Point to the back as mentioned. Easy peasy. If you run out of time, foil it and bump temps to 300. It'll be great.

Luvnlife · January 2017

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate all the suggestions and great advice. Looking forward to the cook and will definitely post the progress as it goes. Thanks again!

westernbbq · January 2017

definitely go by feel, and dont start probing for that feel until you are 85% there timewise

I smoked two 19 lb prime costco packers last thursday and normally i do em at 1.5 hr per lb at 210 ala the smoke and spice cookbook guide (their temp range is 180-220) but i cranked up the guru dome temp to 230 for this cook. The briskys were dome at about 1.25 hr per lb as opposed to 1.5 hr per lb and they were awesome. Huge hit with everyone who got them.

I agree with everything on above list. The best part is to just relax and have fun with the process. I would also recommend not timimg the end game with serving time but rather habe it done way ahead of time, juat in case

Guru is your friend here too

Good luck and keep us posted

TideEggHead · January 2017

Some great advice here! All this advice has definitely helped me out on my brisket cooks, still nowhere close to being a pro! Only minor suggestion would be DON'T slice it all at once, only slice what you plan to put on your plate. You will literally watch it dry out before your eyes. Have fun!

Luvnlife · January 2017

Thanks, will do that and most, importantly I'll make sure to enjoy the cook!

Eggaroo · January 2017

All of the above tips are great, and what I generally follow. If you have 2-3 pounds of leftovers, make some chili. The @EggObsessed Award Winning Smoked Brisket Chili is highly recommended but I'm sure other recipes are great too.

minniemoh · January 2017

Lots of good advice here. One other thing - there was a link posted somewhere around here regarding temp of the brisket at slicing. That article said something to the effect of 140-150 degrees would provide the best served product. I have done this on my last 3 briskets and they do seem to have better distribution of moisture and it seemed to me that the slices didn't dry out quite as fast on the plate.

Luvnlife · January 2017

That's a great tip @minniemoh I checked out the chili recipe @eggaroo and will do that if we have enough leftovers. Great advice, thanks all!

Ladeback69 · January 2017

Good advice above. To add the stall can take a few hours and by removing the hard fat will help a lot. You will probably remove anywhere from 2 to 3 pounds of fat in trimming. I try to start out at 225 for a over night cook. If I want it for lunch I am starting putting it on no later then 7 pm. When I get up the next day the brisket is usually in the stall at around 160 or so. At this point you can either let it ride or wrap it. By wrapping it the cooking process will speed up and you can raise the temp up as well. I usually let it ride and bring the temp up to 250 to 275. You don't have to, but it seems to help get it done faster and I want to get it off to FTC it for a few ours. After FTC I unwrap it and let it rest for at least 20 minutes then slice. Remember to slice against the grain. Before you rub it make a little cut on the corner of the flat so you now where to slice.

Here is Arron Franklin slicing a brisket.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36-BOxajwyQ

cbmontgo · January 2017

What does FTC stand for?

Ladeback69 · January 2017

Foil, Towel Cooler. Wrap the brisket in foil, then a towel then place in a cooler. I have held briskets and other meats this way for up to 6 hours.
Helps if you warm up the cooler with hot water for about 20 minutes and warm up the towels.

Ladeback69 · January 2017

I also double wrap my briskets in foil.

bhedges1987 · January 2017

Brisket!

bhedges1987 · January 2017

The holy grail of American barbecue!

Luvnlife · February 2017

Good news, the brisket thawed. As mentioned pulled it from deep freeze late Sunday night into fridge. Maybe bad news? checked on Tuesday and was thawing nicely, but noticed a small leak in the cryo. Put a few paper towels down checked yesterday, had to change the paper towels as it was soaked through and fully thawed. Checked today as well and they're soaked through again. There are air gaps in the cryo over half the brisket. Was planning to put it on Sat night for the game on Sunday. I do have another one in the freezer and am worried about whether this one is going to be ok or not to eat. Leaning towards a practice brisket (first attempt anyways) with this one and pulling the other for the game, just to be safe. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance for any tips.

Foghorn · February 2017

If it was frozen and doesn't look to have freezer burn, I'd be good with it.

Of course, cooking two briskets in a week is never a bad plan.

Luvnlife · February 2017

Yeah it was frozen @foghorn was only in freezer for a couple months and cryovac didn't get a hole until I moved it into the fridge. So it's only been a couple days and no freezer burn. I pulled it out to look closer and couldn't see the leak, but the point side of the brisket is still pretty frozen. So it's back in the fridge for now.

xfire_ATX · February 2017

Brisket today with (2) games in mind. Soccer Showcase tomorrow- we all have to contribute to help feed the college coaches and Super Bowl. Cook in progress.

Seasoned

On Egg

Dropped temp after putting that hunk of meat on

First brisket cook for the game coming up... input needed!

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