Brisket

plumbfir01

Form all that I gathered, I am doing the following 1. S/P and paprika for the seasoning, inject with beef broth 2. Get egg to 225 at grate 3. Place 8lber on grate and cook until 195?! This is where I need direction.. Do I foil at 160-170 and cook until 195? Or what Also what about mopping and what do I put in drip pan for moisture Thanks

robnybbq

I do not foil my briskets.  I put them on and dont look at them until the thermometer reaches 197.  Then I do a poke test every 1/2 hour until the probes goes in and out like butta.

RandallB

Get egg cruzing at 250.  Scared I will drop temp long term if at 225.   I foil at 160 and start probing with fork at 195+, usually take off between 195-205.  Length of cook doesn't matter.  Its ready when it wants to be ready...if you need buffer time before serving,  start early to finish early and put in cooler for 1-5 hours.

 

henapple

Take off when it's tender..

tomballegg

I used to foil mine all the time on my offset smoker.  I've had my egg now for 4-5 weeks and already done 2 briskets.  Didn't foil either and they turned out great.  Don't think there is a need to foil on the egg.

bicktrav

As I understand it, foiling helps press you through the stall because it minimizes the cooling inherent in evaporation, which typically occurs after 150 degrees.  My guess is there is less evaporation in an egg than there might be in other cookers.  Nonetheless, I do foil my briskets, and I've not encountered any serious stalls.  Avoiding massive stalls seems wise because it helps you avoid drying the meat out.  Anyway, I'm by no means a brisket expert.  Have only made a couple (there are photos of my most recent attempt up right now on another thread), but I do think wrapping is helpful.  In each instance, I've wrapped at 165, but I think i'm going to start wrapping a little earlier actually, maybe around 155 or so.  I also include a wrapping mixture of honey, butter and brown sugar (per Adam Perry Lang's recipe), but you can get similar results using broth or beer or whatever suits you.  If you do decide to wrap, be sure to throw it on the grill with higher heat at the end for a little while.  That will firm up the bark, which will have softened some during the wrapping process.

plumbfir01

awesome, thanks all!

plumbfir01

so i cooked the brisket last night about 7pm s/p/paprika and some applewood rub. Injected 24hrs prior with beef broth. I put in on at 225 grate temp and fat down to protect the meat (by suggestion from others) I threw chips in to smoke it (apple and cherry) and i let it go... got up around 3am and fire was at 160. I took meat off and rebuilt a fire ( I rushed last night to get it on and didnt build a good lump fire so its all my fault for rushing) let the lump burn clean and put meat back on. It settled at 225 around 330am. I had to leave for the fire house at 7am and it was just at 170 IT so i foiled it and turned temp to 275 and left for work. The wife called at 9 saying it was at 205 IT in several spots so she wrapped more and toweled and coolered it for me. I got it around 1130 and let rest until 1230 (about 3.5hrs) so i cut it and it seemed a bit dry to me but its cooked. Just not sure where i went wrong. So many variables and things that went awry here, not sure where to start. 

bicktrav

Were you using the point, flat or whole packer brisket?

plumbfir01

hmm, i now feel a bit silly. It said whole brisket (8.5lbs) not sure the difference

bicktrav

A whole brisket has two portions: the flat and the point.  The flat is the long piece of meat at the bottom of the brisket.  The point sits on top of it and is only about half as big.  I ask because the flat tends to be far tougher to execute properly.  It has less fat than the point, so it dries out.  If your brisket was 8 pounds, I'm thinking you got the flat.  You didn't mention throwing any liquid in when you foiled it.  That could have contributed too.  A lot of people throw beer or beef broth into the foil, which adds some moisture.  You can also do a wrapping mixture like brown sugar, butter and honey when you foil (that's per Adam Perry Lang's recipe; it's a fantastic way to go).  Either way, the moisture would have helped you.  I also think you wrapped a touch late, but that wouldn't have had nearly as much of an impact as the meat itself or the liquid being thrown in with the foil.  The temp fluctuations probably didn't help your cause, but I don't think they mattered as much as the other factors. 

plumbfir01

good deal, thanks. I now know what needs to change. I will use all of the above and try harder next time.. the only thing that keeps me from sugar butter and honey is that i eat strict with no sugars added so as good as it sounds, i try to eat cleaner :(   

bicktrav

plumbfir01 said:

good deal, thanks. I now know what needs to change. I will use all of the above and try harder next time.. the only thing that keeps me from sugar butter and honey is that i eat strict with no sugars added so as good as it sounds, i try to eat cleaner :(   

I actually eat Paleo pretty much all the time.  I hardly ever eat sugar or carbs.  But when I smoke a brisket, I give myself a cheat.  Not often, but worth it.  Good luck with it and let us know how it goes!