First brisket is under way

jerryb78

This will be my first brisket ever, not counting a few points that I've brined and simmered for corned beef over the years. It'll also be the first real workout for my AR RB setup. I picked up a 14 lb packer labeled "choice or prime". Attempted to trim the fat back to about 1/4" and injected with beef broth. Hit it with some kosher salt and some rub I mixed up based on a recipe off of amazingribs. I cleaned out the egg and loaded with some bigger hunks of Rockwood with chunks of hickory and pecan mixed in. The AR is set up with the oval stone and a drip pan. I think that I'm going to fire it up around 9 and throw the meat on around 10. I work from home so I will be sitting in my office staring at the maverick receiver all day tomorrow. I'm a little nervous since we're having guests for dinner tomorrow, but hopefully I've done my homework. More to follow. PS: Does this seem like a normal amount of fat to trim off a packer or did I just pick a really fatty one?

Ladeback69

Is most of the fat trimed off of the op and sides? I leave a 1/4" on the bottom only. I usually cut out the hard fat out near the top of the point. Here is the one I trimed yesterday and finished cooking today and made burnt ends.

jerryb78

That helps, thanks. I went back and trimmed some more.

Ladeback69

Your welcome. I wouldn't have known if I hadn't had taken a competition class on briskets and butts. Very informative and a lot of fun.

jerryb78

It seems to be coming along nicely. The maverick got me up twice overnight to do minor temperature adjustments. I'll file that under reasons to buy some sort of controller down the road. It's been sitting around 160 for a few hours now but m hoping that I have plenty of time to hang in there without wrapping.

blind99

looks good!  i liked this video about trimming a brisket:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmTzdMHu5KU

jerryb78

It's at 180 now and parts of it are showing signs of wobble.  Looks really good.  I'm planning on leaving it unwrapped and probing it for doneness at 195.

blind99

Forgive my ignorance - what is that AR thing?

jerryb78

It's an Adjustable Rig, sold by ceramicgrillstore.com.  It's a modular rig for doing different setups on the egg.  It can take the place of your plate setter with the right components, works great for doing raised cooks, and can be set up to do multiple tiers if needed.  I'm a bit of a noob with it yet so there's probably a lot more to it than I'm missing.

http://shop.ceramicgrillstore.com/categories/Large-Big-Green-Egg®-Set%2dUps/Large-Adjustable-Rig/

jerryb78

Well that's a bit of a wrinkle in the plan.  I noticed from my basement office that the temp showing on the maverick started to plunge.  Went upstairs and it's pouring rain suddenly.  I opened the bottom vent more to compensate.  Hopefully that'll take care of it.  I'm at 187 currently and not planning to eat until around 6, so hopefully I'm still on track.

jerryb78

I was having a real hard time getting the egg back up to temp after the rain storm since the fire was running on the low side already.  I decided to pull the AR and stir up / pile up the remaining coals then open up the bottom vent.  It looks like it's improving now, so hopefully it'll hang in there for a couple more hours.

Anything else I can do other than finish it in the oven?  

jerryb78

I would call this one a success. Pulled it around 4pm when the temp read 203. It was on for 18 or 19 hours at about 250. I FTCd it, pulled the AR, and reloaded the fire box with a fresh load of lump so I could grill the corn. (Brushed with EVOO and seasoned with pineapple head) Finished the fruit salad just in time to pull the corn and slice the meat. The brisket turned out awesome. Nice smoke ring and very tender. My only complaint is that it didn't make enough! We had 5 adults and 2 kids eating. By the time we sent home some leftovers with our 3 guests we only had a single quart container of brisket left. I guess I'll have to make another one. .

itsmce

Looks great! I'm still trying to muster the courage to do a brisket.

jerryb78

@itsmce Thanks.  Give it a shot.  Other than the rain screwing with me, it actually wasn't that complicated of a cook.  I have plenty of room for improvement, but it was very passable for a first try.  Easy to learn, difficult to master or something like that.

Desmo888

Excellent post, nice pics!

lousubcap

Home-run!  Most eggcellent and dang the luck just have to go again!

TexasBelliott

Looks fantastic! You've given me inspiration to try my first.

NPHuskerFL

Oooh ahhh! Bring it home man! Eggcellent!!!

cook861

Very nice report on your cook and congrats on your first brisket

jerryb78

Thanks everyone.  I have the next one sitting in the fridge already waiting for a good day to cook it.  Funny story: I was gone for the weekend to a gaming convention (nerd alert!) and got a text from my wife asking me if I realized that there was still a giant slab of meat sitting in the fridge.  I guess I forgot to tell her that I bought it.