Whole Brisket - Did I do it wrong?

fiver29

Put it on last night about 1 AM.  Came off at 7.5 hours at 250.  It's a 13 lb Prime from Costco.  Is that right?  

I've seen others get good bark.  Is there a reason I don't get good bark?  I used a no salt rub (for my father who has CHF).  So I'm wondering if the no salt rub I made is the culprit.  I went fat side down.

pgprescott

Likely just light on smoke. Should taste great though. What kind of wood did you use and how much?

fiver29

I used 2-3 large chunks of mesquite.  Smoke was billowing out pretty good when it went on.

sumoconnell

Agree with @pgprescott . What was the internal temp when pulled? The time might have been short?? Hard to believe with that much rendering... Most importantly, was it good?

Bshults1

When loading lump for a brisket, I like to mix the wood throughout so you're getting a constant source of smoke.  As said above, you were probably just light on the smoke.  That said, I'm sure it's still going to be delicious!

fiver29

I had about 200-205 temps depending on where I probed.  It's definitely done.  Next time I'll mix wood in with the lump.

Foghorn

I'd hit that. And that timing is almost exactly how one of mine went - when I had planned on it going much longer of course. 

I've got nothing to add to the bark discussion. 

SoCalTim

The water pan just might be your culprit. You want a dry heat to help form the crust/bark. With the water pan you get steam which is not what you want. The stream is not a friend to your brisket. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

You don't need much salt to create a nice bark but you do need a lot of pepper. Almost looks like a rib rub or something with that reddish hue. Of course that could be from the photo and I'm not seeing it right. A water pan is ok. I've done plenty with them and gotten good bark. I think this is a rub issue. 

And be you don't need a lot of smoke for bark either. You can get good bark in an oven

fiver29

The water pan was dry.  It's just a drip pan.   The rub is:

1/4 cup garlic powder
3 TB cracker meal
2 TB ground black pepper
1 TS ground white pepper
1/2 TS dried thyme

I'm not sure where the red hue comes from either.  That's the color.  Maybe smoke ring?

The Cen-Tex Smoker

fiver29 said:

The water pan was dry.  It's just a drip pan.   The rub is:

1/4 cup garlic powder
3 TB cracker meal
2 TB ground black pepper
1 TS ground white pepper
1/2 TS dried thyme

I'm not sure where the red hue comes from either.  That's the color.  Maybe smoke ring?

That's why you didn't get any bark. That is a lot of garlic! 

A a traditional rub for bark if you can't have much salt would be 90/10 course black pepper to kosher salt. I'm more like 60/40 with some garlic. Lose the thyme if you want a traditional barky brisket. You really only need a little salt and a lot of pepper. 

lousubcap

Looking at your rub mix I would offer that it looks light in terms of quantity for a 13 lb or so brisket.  Definitely a quick cook but if you pulled by the feel then you are home-free.  Let it FTC for a couple of hours then slice on demand and enjoy.  FWIW-

The Cen-Tex Smoker

This is a quote from an interview of Wayne Mueller of Louie Mueller BBQ in Taylor TX. They are one of the original BBQ gods down here.

Q: What's in your rub?

A: get a pencil and a comfortable chair -- this could take awhile. Our beef rub consists of: nine (9) parts course black pepper and one (1) part salt (by volume). Now let's discuss Plato's Forms and why they ultimately fall short.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

This is the bark he gets with that rub. 

SGH

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

This is a quote from an interview of Wayne Mueller of Louie Mueller BBQ in Taylor TX. 

How is their Q? I have heard mixed reviews. Some say it's the best that they have had, others say it's average. I have always wanted to try it for myself. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

SGH said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

This is a quote from an interview of Wayne Mueller of Louie Mueller BBQ in Taylor TX. 

How is their Q? I have heard mixed reviews. Some say it's the best that they have had, others say it's average. I have always wanted to try it for myself. 

I don't love it. Had some good and some pretty bad there. 

Skiddymarker

@The Cen-Tex Smoker, resident brisket Guru, has spoken.....it is wise to pay heed. 
Not a big brisket guy, but using the 9:1 ratio of pepper to salt provides for a meteorite bark, thanks Cen-Tex. 

SciAggie

@SGH My MIL lives just down the road from Taylor and we have eaten at Mueller's several times. I have always enjoyed it and thought the food excellent. I am no expert in judging bbq however. I will say I ate at Rendezvous in Memphis that is cited as a "bucket list" BBQ place - Mueller's kicked their a$$ in my opinion. 

lousubcap

And as above, pepper is the dark bark driver.  I go way light with salt with any rub concoction.  Never have kept measurements.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Skiddymarker said:

@The Cen-Tex Smoker, resident brisket Guru, has spoken.....it is wise to pay heed. 
Not a big brisket guy, but using the 9:1 ratio of pepper to salt provides for a meteorite bark, thanks Cen-Tex. 

The 60/40 and 50/50 does too. I like it way more but I thought of Louie's rub when he said it had to be low/no salt. The bark there is incredible as you can see in the pics. 

fiver29

Got it.  Next time I'll use more pepper and mix in more wood.

With that much pepper does it get really spicy?

SGH

fiver29 said:

With that much pepper does it get really spicy?

No, it does not. You can really put it to it. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

fiver29 said:

Got it.  Next time I'll use more pepper and mix in more wood.

With that much pepper does it get really spicy?

Not to me but I eat this kind of food a lot. 

SGH

SciAggie said:

@SGH My MIL lives just down the road from Taylor and we have eaten at Mueller's several times. I have always enjoyed it and thought the food excellent. I am no expert in judging bbq however. I will say I ate at Rendezvous in Memphis that is cited as a "bucket list" BBQ place - Mueller's kicked their a$$ in my opinion. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

I don't love it. Had some good and some pretty bad there. 

The above responses reflect what I have heard. Some seem to love it, others don't care for it. Kind of puzzling. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

SGH said:

SciAggie said:

@SGH My MIL lives just down the road from Taylor and we have eaten at Mueller's several times. I have always enjoyed it and thought the food excellent. I am no expert in judging bbq however. I will say I ate at Rendezvous in Memphis that is cited as a "bucket list" BBQ place - Mueller's kicked their a$$ in my opinion. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

I don't love it. Had some good and some pretty bad there. 

The above responses reflect what I have heard. Some seem to love it, others don't care for it. Kind of puzzling. 

Last 2 times I ate there it was not good. Once was at like 4 in the afternoon though and we were the only people there. Kind of tough to hold stuff for service like that. It sucked though. They should close between lunch and dinner if they are going to serve up that mess. 

SciAggie

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

SGH said:

SciAggie said:

@SGH My MIL lives just down the road from Taylor and we have eaten at Mueller's several times. I have always enjoyed it and thought the food excellent. I am no expert in judging bbq however. I will say I ate at Rendezvous in Memphis that is cited as a "bucket list" BBQ place - Mueller's kicked their a$$ in my opinion. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

I don't love it. Had some good and some pretty bad there. 

The above responses reflect what I have heard. Some seem to love it, others don't care for it. Kind of puzzling. 

Last 2 times I ate there it was not good. Once was at like 4 in the afternoon though and we were the only people there. Kind of tough to hold stuff for service like that. It sucked though. They should close between lunch and dinner if they are going to serve up that mess. 

I think that's the truth of it. To be fair when I ate at Rendezvous it was late - I could tell the ribs and brisket we received had been held a while. So WHEN one hits these joints may be important. 

cazzy

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

SGH said:

SciAggie said:

@SGH My MIL lives just down the road from Taylor and we have eaten at Mueller's several times. I have always enjoyed it and thought the food excellent. I am no expert in judging bbq however. I will say I ate at Rendezvous in Memphis that is cited as a "bucket list" BBQ place - Mueller's kicked their a$$ in my opinion. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

I don't love it. Had some good and some pretty bad there. 

The above responses reflect what I have heard. Some seem to love it, others don't care for it. Kind of puzzling. 

Last 2 times I ate there it was not good. Once was at like 4 in the afternoon though and we were the only people there. Kind of tough to hold stuff for service like that. It sucked though. They should close between lunch and dinner if they are going to serve up that mess. 

I had a place in Htown called Roegels.  He said he uses Louie Mueller's seasoning concept (9:1) and I didn't care for it at all.  I was craving salt the entire time, which I guess wouldn't be hard to correct at the table.  

Foghorn

SciAggie said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

SGH said:

SciAggie said:

@SGH My MIL lives just down the road from Taylor and we have eaten at Mueller's several times. I have always enjoyed it and thought the food excellent. I am no expert in judging bbq however. I will say I ate at Rendezvous in Memphis that is cited as a "bucket list" BBQ place - Mueller's kicked their a$$ in my opinion. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

I don't love it. Had some good and some pretty bad there. 

The above responses reflect what I have heard. Some seem to love it, others don't care for it. Kind of puzzling. 

Last 2 times I ate there it was not good. Once was at like 4 in the afternoon though and we were the only people there. Kind of tough to hold stuff for service like that. It sucked though. They should close between lunch and dinner if they are going to serve up that mess. 

I think that's the truth of it. To be fair when I ate at Rendezvous it was late - I could tell the ribs and brisket we received had been held a while. So WHEN one hits these joints may be important. 

@SciAggie, I lived in Memphis for 6 years.  Ate at the Rendezvous at least once a year when we had visitors.  I never enjoyed it.  I kept thinking that either I was missing something - or I just happened to catch them on bad days. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

cazzy said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

SGH said:

SciAggie said:

@SGH My MIL lives just down the road from Taylor and we have eaten at Mueller's several times. I have always enjoyed it and thought the food excellent. I am no expert in judging bbq however. I will say I ate at Rendezvous in Memphis that is cited as a "bucket list" BBQ place - Mueller's kicked their a$$ in my opinion. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

I don't love it. Had some good and some pretty bad there. 

The above responses reflect what I have heard. Some seem to love it, others don't care for it. Kind of puzzling. 

Last 2 times I ate there it was not good. Once was at like 4 in the afternoon though and we were the only people there. Kind of tough to hold stuff for service like that. It sucked though. They should close between lunch and dinner if they are going to serve up that mess. 

I had a place in Htown called Roegels.  He said he uses Louie Mueller's seasoning concept (9:1) and I didn't care for it at all.  I was craving salt the entire time, which I guess wouldn't be hard to correct at the table.  

I felt the same way. And there was no smoke on it. Like a peppery pot roast. And their sauce...well it's horrible. 

fiver29

This was interesting.  It darkened up a bit after a few hours FTC.  Tasted great.  Was moist.  I've got a couple things to try differently next time.  This wasn't a huge fail by any means.  Just another learning along the journey.  Thanks for all the responses and Happy Fourth of July!!

Foghorn

Looks pretty darned good to me. I'd hit that.