1st time brisket - Help!

HurricaneEddie1

Hello All.. I'm a relative newbie with the BGE.  I have had a large for about a year and I have only smoke ribs and grilled various steaks.  I have been hesitant, maybe scared to tackle a brisket.  I have a few questions:

1)  I have Meat Church Holy Cow rub, which I have used on steaks. I have found it to be very hot (pepper) when I added a lot the 1st time.  When applying to a brisket, should I apply liberally?  How much is enough?  Does the long cook enhance the flavor of the rub?

2)  What is the best wood to use for the brisket?  I have hickory handy.  How much?  Placement?

3)  Any other tips?

Thanks!

Hans61

I'd say you are good with the rub and wood you have. That being said, theres a lot of buzz about salt and pepper, with oak wood (Franklins bbq) recipe. The common theme of charcoal placement seems to be layering it in your chunks as the fire burns south, not horizontal. I'd place the chunks on the edge of the lump you see lit with some layered underneath. Another adage I've read many times is to wait for the smoke to thin out, don't put the meat in when/if its chugging like a freight train.

Also, cooking it till its around 200 degrees internal is recommended. Personally, I've had bad luck drying out choice brisket flats, have had better results doing whole packers. Good luck, and have fun!

bhedges1987

Any wood works well. If you have hickory use it. The above advice is good. As he said there is a lot of buzz around Franklin,  but just cause Franklin does something and it's the hype doesn't mean it's the only way to do it. 

Use your our hickory wood and holy cow rub and cook it low and slow until it probes with little resistance. About 200 internal temp as the above poster said! Dont rush it. Let it do its thing. 

Edit- I use about 3 chunks and two handfuls of chips 

shucker

to add on to what the others said, the pepper in your rub (or any rub) will mellow out during a long cook much more so than a quick steak cook.  Dont be afraid to apply the rub liberally.  You dont want to be able to see much, if any, meat through the rub. If its your first brisket, consider wrapping in foil after it gets the bark you want, usually in the 160 degree range.  Add some liquid like beef stock to the foil and it will reduce the chances of it drying out.  It will also make it a little more pot-roasty tasting so that may not be what youre going for.   dont expect to knock it out of the park the first try.  Brisket isnt hard to cook but you do have to cook a few to get it exactly right consistently. 

frognot

I like to cook at 300 degrees until the IT hits 160, then wrap in butcher paper or foil and cook until it probes like peanut butter (IT will probably be 200-210, but go by feel, not temp). Let it rest about an hour or so before slicing and only slice what you're gonna eat immediately.

blasting

HurricaneEddie1 said:

Hello All.. I'm a relative newbie with the BGE.  I have had a large for about a year and I have only smoke ribs and grilled various steaks.  I have been hesitant, maybe scared to tackle a brisket.  I have a few questions:

1)  I have Meat Church Holy Cow rub, which I have used on steaks. I have found it to be very hot (pepper) when I added a lot the 1st time.  When applying to a brisket, should I apply liberally?  How much is enough?  Does the long cook enhance the flavor of the rub?

2)  What is the best wood to use for the brisket?  I have hickory handy.  How much?  Placement?

3)  Any other tips?

Thanks!

1/ Rub ... Salt Pepper Garlic, and I add in a measure of Montreal Steak.  Mix in big spice shaker and apply liberally - that's what I do - lots of ways to go though

2/ Best wood... most use oak or hickory

3/ Tips...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmTzdMHu5KU&list=PLJXFUkVvL7g4-ic-vMvL0VYovXzAQ3EUu

Best of luck.  Btw, if you mess it up, brisket chili fixes everything and is terrific.