1st brisket questions

Grilltastic

Wrap or naked to the finish. Is a drip pan necessary. How long to rest before slicing. Thanks for any feedback. Finally talk g the brisket plunge

Cornholio

I wrap in paper and let it rest for a few hours before slicing. Here’s a link to a post I made for my first brisket cook. Others may not wrap but it works for me so I stick with that route. 

https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1214096/first-brisket#latest

Matt86m

I wrap - butcher paper or foil - then in a thick towel and into a cooler. No peeking - you'll only be looking at a towel!

Left my last one in there for 4 hours since it finished early. Was still steaming when I unwrapped it to slice.

MasterC

When I  wrap I wait until internal temperature is 170. If I want the crispy black bark I don't wrap. Either way I don't pull and rest until 200- 205 degrees. Rest wrapped at least 30 minutes but can hold it wrapped for hours in a cooler. Hope this is useful.

DoubleEgger

Yes to the drip pan. Put an air gap between it and the platesetter as well. 

MasterC

I cover my  plate setter with heavy duty foil instead of using a drip pan. I don't want added moisture. I get a better smoke penetration this way.

Plutonium

I use a drip pan and wrap at the stall around 165°. Bark sets better the longer you wait. I’ve tried foil and paper, much prefer the paper, but foil allows you to finish in the oven if needed. 

I FTC minimum 2 hours. 

DoubleEgger

MasterC said:

I cover my  plate setter with heavy duty foil instead of using a drip pan. I don't want added moisture. I get a better smoke penetration this way.

You do realize you don’t add water to the drip pan? 

Grilltastic

Thanks everyone. This is a big help

JohnInCarolina

DoubleEgger said:

MasterC said:

I cover my  plate setter with heavy duty foil instead of using a drip pan. I don't want added moisture. I get a better smoke penetration this way.

You do realize you don’t add water to the drip pan? 

You mean it’s just there to... catch the drips?

Photo Egg

MasterC said:

I cover my  plate setter with heavy duty foil instead of using a drip pan. I don't want added moisture. I get a better smoke penetration this way.

Drip pan is not there to add moisture. A good brisket will render a lot of fat. It will burn on the plate setter and burn as it drips into the hot lump.
A drip pan, with no liquid added, raised off  the plate setter with Trivet or foil balls will save a big mess in the Egg and stop the bad smoke from burning grease. Will not affect smoke penetration at all. But if you are only cooking a well trimmed flat it doesn’t matter as much

DoubleEgger

JohnInCarolina said:

DoubleEgger said:

MasterC said:

I cover my  plate setter with heavy duty foil instead of using a drip pan. I don't want added moisture. I get a better smoke penetration this way.

You do realize you don’t add water to the drip pan? 

You mean it’s just there to... catch the drips?

It’s all in the name my friend. 

lousubcap

Below is a bit of excitement that was caused by rendered fat from a brisket:
"The adventure I had with my first SRF Gold:  Overnight cook and around 7 AM I'm up. Cruising around 270*F, cow at about 170 and smelling good.  BGE dome thermo easily visible from my desk.  Around 7:30 AM or so the BGE temp starts to take off-WTF?  Clearing 300*F and not slowing down.  Time to sort this out.  Now passing 310*F and no end-point in sight.
Run with a PSWOO-2.  Pull everything out and have a nice grease fire going at about the 2 O'clock position.  Grab around a dozen ice cubes and toss on the fire.  Get it throttled.  Reload the BGE and continue on-all's well that end's well. What a treat after the near heart attack.

Upon instant assessment, turns out I had lined my air-gapped 14" drip pan with HDAF and created a channel where the excessive fat renderings flowed down into the lump.  Once the fire got there-away it went.  Never had that happen before or since.  I pay more attention to the foil folding now."
FWIW-

MasterC

DoubleEgger said:

MasterC said:

I cover my  plate setter with heavy duty foil instead of using a drip pan. I don't want added moisture. I get a better smoke penetration this way.

You do realize you don’t add water to the drip pan? 

Foil takes care of any mess if that is what you use a drip pan for. Alot of people add water or other liquids to drip pans along with aromatics. I just prefer not using one when cooking my brisket just my input. Not trying to dis you.

JohnInCarolina

MasterC said:

DoubleEgger said:

MasterC said:

I cover my  plate setter with heavy duty foil instead of using a drip pan. I don't want added moisture. I get a better smoke penetration this way.

You do realize you don’t add water to the drip pan? 

Foil takes care of any mess if that is what you use a drip pan for. Alot of people add water or other liquids to drip pans along with aromatics. I just prefer not using one when cooking my brisket just my input. Not trying to dis you.

On the contrary I think Michael is trying to educate you.

Here's the thing - the plate setter gets damn hot, and the foil doesn't help that.  Drips hit the foil and burn almost right away, giving you bad smoke.

A drip pan that is offset with spacers is designed to try and mitigate that.  People don't use them for the mess.  They use them to prevent the bad smoke.

DoubleEgger

Thanks @JohnInCarolina

MasterC

JohnInCarolina said:

MasterC said:

DoubleEgger said:

MasterC said:

I cover my  plate setter with heavy duty foil instead of using a drip pan. I don't want added moisture. I get a better smoke penetration this way.

You do realize you don’t add water to the drip pan? 

Foil takes care of any mess if that is what you use a drip pan for. Alot of people add water or other liquids to drip pans along with aromatics. I just prefer not using one when cooking my brisket just my input. Not trying to dis you.

On the contrary I think Michael is trying to educate you.

Here's the thing - the plate setter gets damn hot, and the foil doesn't help that.  Drips hit the foil and burn almost right away, giving you bad smoke.

A drip pan that is offset with spacers is designed to try and mitigate that.  People don't use them for the mess.  They use them to prevent the bad smoke.

Ok, yes the drips incinerate when hitting the foil covered plate setter. Its not a grease fire. It does not taint your product with bad smoke that comes with crappy fuel and to much smoke. 
  I am still learning and hope to never stop, one of the reasons I follow this forum. One of my lessons learned today is a drip pan is just a drip pan. 
  

JohnInCarolina

The Cen-Tex Smoker

MasterC said:

I cover my  plate setter with heavy duty foil instead of using a drip pan. I don't want added moisture. I get a better smoke penetration this way.

Interesting take. Why do you think that you get better smoke penetration without a drip pan? I think the science would point to better smoke flavor (smoke does not penetrate meat) when moisture is involved. 

MasterC

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

MasterC said:

I cover my  plate setter with heavy duty foil instead of using a drip pan. I don't want added moisture. I get a better smoke penetration this way.

Interesting take. Why do you think that you get better smoke penetration without a drip pan? I think the science would point to better smoke flavor (smoke does not penetrate meat) when moisture is involved. 

 I don't use a drip pan when I do brisket, it gives me no more benefit than foil. The pan it self has nothing to do with smoking of the meat, but if you add liquid it will. Steam cooks faster than dry air. Once your protein hits temp roughly 165 the smoking of the interior is  finished, now your working on the bark and tenderness.

Smoke is not what penetrates the meat it's the oils and tars that the smoke delivers to it which then absorbs like a marinade. Once the meat starts shrinking within itself they only adhere to the surface.

Drip pans are good I even use them, just not when I do a brisket on my egg. 
.

DoubleEgger

MasterC said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

MasterC said:

I cover my  plate setter with heavy duty foil instead of using a drip pan. I don't want added moisture. I get a better smoke penetration this way.

Interesting take. Why do you think that you get better smoke penetration without a drip pan? I think the science would point to better smoke flavor (smoke does not penetrate meat) when moisture is involved. 

 I don't use a drip pan when I do brisket, it gives me no more benefit than foil. The pan it self has nothing to do with smoking of the meat, but if you add liquid it will. Steam cooks faster than dry air. Once your protein hits temp roughly 165 the smoking of the interior is  finished, now your working on the bark and tenderness.

Smoke is not what penetrates the meat it's the oils and tars that the smoke delivers to it which then absorbs like a marinade. Once the meat starts shrinking within itself they only adhere to the surface.

Drip pans are good I even use them, just not when I do a brisket on my egg. 
.

MasterC

DoubleEgger said:

MasterC said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

MasterC said:

I cover my  plate setter with heavy duty foil instead of using a drip pan. I don't want added moisture. I get a better smoke penetration this way.

Interesting take. Why do you think that you get better smoke penetration without a drip pan? I think the science would point to better smoke flavor (smoke does not penetrate meat) when moisture is involved. 

 I don't use a drip pan when I do brisket, it gives me no more benefit than foil. The pan it self has nothing to do with smoking of the meat, but if you add liquid it will. Steam cooks faster than dry air. Once your protein hits temp roughly 165 the smoking of the interior is  finished, now your working on the bark and tenderness.

Smoke is not what penetrates the meat it's the oils and tars that the smoke delivers to it which then absorbs like a marinade. Once the meat starts shrinking within itself they only adhere to the surface.

Drip pans are good I even use them, just not when I do a brisket on my egg. 
.

That's a good point, I never look at it that way.

billt01

It’s all personal preference..

to drip or not, it matters not.. great results can be achieved either way..

all that being said, ain’t nobody ever won a world championship on a egg.

and the guy who has won 5 (I believe that’s the number now) uses a water cooker..which is a big effing drip pan..

The Cen-Tex Smoker

MasterC said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

MasterC said:

I cover my  plate setter with heavy duty foil instead of using a drip pan. I don't want added moisture. I get a better smoke penetration this way.

Interesting take. Why do you think that you get better smoke penetration without a drip pan? I think the science would point to better smoke flavor (smoke does not penetrate meat) when moisture is involved. 

 I don't use a drip pan when I do brisket, it gives me no more benefit than foil. The pan it self has nothing to do with smoking of the meat, but if you add liquid it will. Steam cooks faster than dry air. Once your protein hits temp roughly 165 the smoking of the interior is  finished, now your working on the bark and tenderness.

Smoke is not what penetrates the meat it's the oils and tars that the smoke delivers to it which then absorbs like a marinade. Once the meat starts shrinking within itself they only adhere to the surface.

Drip pans are good I even use them, just not when I do a brisket on my egg. 
.

Well...you seem to want to understand how this all works and I appreciate that. I’ve put a fair amount of time and effort into this subject. I’ll be glad to discuss my thoughts if you are interested. 

MasterC

The Cen-Tex Smoker, I would be happy to here your thoughts. Best way to learn is to share and discuss ideas.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

MasterC said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker, I would be happy to here your thoughts. Best way to learn is to share and discuss ideas.

The “to use” or “not use” a drip pan discussion is really more about not making a mess than anything else. A large brisket or butt can release a gallon of liquid and fat. My biggest problem with that is anything that gets in the lump makes for some nasty smoke until it burned off. I find it more annoying for the next cook since it can take a long time to burn off. In the end, it’s just a personal choice and really no big deal if you don’t want to use one. If you are choosing not to because you don’t want any moisture in there, i think You should reconsider. 

Now, as far as moisture and smoke goes, that is been proven out. Smoke is attracted to moisture and moisture allows the smoke to “stick” to the meat better than running dry. 

I think the best example I have seen of this was in an Amazing Ribs article on smoke. They took a few beer cans and set them in a smoker. One was dry, they other was cold and wet. The dry can came out looking just like it did before they put it in the smoker. The wet can was covered in smoke. 

When people say that brisket or butts don’t take anymore smoke after x-time or x-temp, that is erroneous. What really happens is as the bark dries out and firms up, very little smoke can actually stick to the surface. It just kind of bounces off.  If you keep it moist, smoke will continue to stick to it. 

I don’t add any water to my drip pans but I usually do spritz with 50/50 acv/water once the bark gets really crusty until I wrap it (assuming I do). 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Here is the article I was referring too.  Lots of good info in this one. I reference it often. 

https://amazingribs.com/more-technique-and-science/grill-and-smoker-setup-and-firing/what-you-need-know-about-wood-smoke-and

MasterC

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

Here is the article I was referring too.  Lots of good info in this one. I reference it often. 

https://amazingribs.com/more-technique-and-science/grill-and-smoker-setup-and-firing/what-you-need-know-about-wood-smoke-and

Thanks for the link, great food for thought. 

The can example is interesting. One filled with ice water was far darker than the empty one. Is it the condensation from the can going from cold to hot attracting the smoke attributes vs the air filled can? Could that process happen naturally from your proteins temperature at the start of the cook and  continue as it cooks and expels it's on moisture? Interesting.

Mark_B_Good

lousubcap said:

Below is a bit of excitement that was caused by rendered fat from a brisket:
"The adventure I had with my first SRF Gold:  Overnight cook and around 7 AM I'm up. Cruising around 270*F, cow at about 170 and smelling good.  BGE dome thermo easily visible from my desk.  Around 7:30 AM or so the BGE temp starts to take off-WTF?  Clearing 300*F and not slowing down.  Time to sort this out.  Now passing 310*F and no end-point in sight.
Run with a PSWOO-2.  Pull everything out and have a nice grease fire going at about the 2 O'clock position.  Grab around a dozen ice cubes and toss on the fire.  Get it throttled.  Reload the BGE and continue on-all's well that end's well. What a treat after the near heart attack.

Upon instant assessment, turns out I had lined my air-gapped 14" drip pan with HDAF and created a channel where the excessive fat renderings flowed down into the lump.  Once the fire got there-away it went.  Never had that happen before or since.  I pay more attention to the foil folding now."
FWIW-

Woah, so you use ice cubes to reign in the temperature?? Cool!! Yesterday when cooking my robs, I got the dome at 275F perfect. Open the lid to place the racks and poof, a fire broke out. Shot to 400F, but when I closed the dome, it came down and settled at 330F. I had to take off the racks and let it cool naturally. Lost an hour getting it back to 275F.

So can a just throw in some ice cubes and get her cooled down more quickly like that??

Mark_B_Good

I'd say use the drip pan, and as others stated, raise off the conveggtor about 1/2" using foil balls or something else (i use stainless cable mounts). I don't like putting water in the drip pan in case I have to pull the conveggtor to fix something in the fire (which is a pain of the drip pan is full of water). For that reason, I put a small foil pan beside my brisket on the grid and fill that with water. Normally lasts 7h to 8h smoke no problem, so you don't have to open the dome during the smoke, unless something goes wearing with fire.

When it hits 160F (takes about 7h to 8h), I take off and double wrap it up in foil. I then wait for 190F. Takes about 2h to get to 190F.

I take her off, wrap in towel and then put in cooler. I've done an overnight cool about 10h, was still warm and very juicy in morning. But I think a 3h to 6h cool is the best window.

So all in all, its a 12h to 16h process.

I haven't figured out yet how to do this and have it ready for lunch or dinner without working at some ridiculous time in the morning, unless you do an overnight and take your chances with temperature. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Mark_B_Good said:

lousubcap said:

Below is a bit of excitement that was caused by rendered fat from a brisket:
"The adventure I had with my first SRF Gold:  Overnight cook and around 7 AM I'm up. Cruising around 270*F, cow at about 170 and smelling good.  BGE dome thermo easily visible from my desk.  Around 7:30 AM or so the BGE temp starts to take off-WTF?  Clearing 300*F and not slowing down.  Time to sort this out.  Now passing 310*F and no end-point in sight.
Run with a PSWOO-2.  Pull everything out and have a nice grease fire going at about the 2 O'clock position.  Grab around a dozen ice cubes and toss on the fire.  Get it throttled.  Reload the BGE and continue on-all's well that end's well. What a treat after the near heart attack.

Upon instant assessment, turns out I had lined my air-gapped 14" drip pan with HDAF and created a channel where the excessive fat renderings flowed down into the lump.  Once the fire got there-away it went.  Never had that happen before or since.  I pay more attention to the foil folding now."
FWIW-

Woah, so you use ice cubes to reign in the temperature?? Cool!! Yesterday when cooking my robs, I got the dome at 275F perfect. Open the lid to place the racks and poof, a fire broke out. Shot to 400F, but when I closed the dome, it came down and settled at 330F. I had to take off the racks and let it cool naturally. Lost an hour getting it back to 275F.

So can a just throw in some ice cubes and get her cooled down more quickly like that??

You can also use a few tablespoons of water on hot spots. It’s faster