First Brisket

mollyshark

I'm am doing, believe it or not, my first brisket for Sunday afternoon. I am a little nervous. Best advice needed. Let's say a 8-12 lb brisket.[p]Best Rub?
Mop?
Rub and sit in the refrig for how long before cooking?
Does a flat brisket really taste better?[p]Ok...taking notes.

Porkchop

MollyShark,
i've only done whole brisket, but have done many. if you have a rub you normally use, use it pretty liberally. you can mustard it or not, i don't generally. best fire prep method i've seen for the egg is elder ward's technique (check his pulled pork recipe in BGE's recipe section, the fire prep is there). set up for an indirect cook at 250, and plan on 14 or so hours for whole brisket. get cooker to temp and throw the brisket on there. i have only done fat side up, but have heard others do it down, and that's what i'm gonna try next, cause the bottom can get hard-ish with fat side up. no mop, but you can rub and let sit overnite, tho not necessary.[p]when done, if you got heat proof gloves, you should try and separate the tip from the flat by sliding your gloved hand under the tip thru that nasty fat layer, then clean the veins and nasty fat off the top side of the flat and the bottom side of the tip. also, there's a big vein that runs about down the center of the flat. you wanna cut that out b4 you start to slice up the flat. for extra credit, put the tip back on the egg for a few more hours, then take it off when it hits 210 and roll it up like a burrito and chop it up for chopped beef sammiches (that is my favorite of the brisket). e-mail me if you need clarification. good luck.

mollyshark

Porkchop,[p]No favorite rub and I'm out of dizzy dust. Is JJ's good on this? Any other favorites you can point me to?

KennyG

<p />MollyShark,[p]C'mon now, a Texas gal and long time Egger just now doing her first brisket?[p]I've had good luck with this one in the past:[p]4 Tbs. Kosher salt
4 Tbs. raw hawaii sugar (turbinado or demurrara)
2 Tbs. cumin seeds
4 Tbs. McCormick chili powder
2 Tbs. black pepper corns
1 Tbs. cayenne pepper powder
4 Tbs. good Hungarian paprika
2 Tbs. thyme[p]Grind it all together in a blender.
Should be plenty for an 11-12 pounder [p]K~G
P.S. I still put beans in my chili hehehe

Porkchop

that sounds good for a rub. sorry. i guess i kinda assume that everybody just has a recipe for rub they regularly use. i mess with mine once in awhile, but i basically just keep it simple, kinda like kenny-g.[p]'course, only HEATHENS put beans IN their chili!! :OP

KennyG

Porkchop,[p]It's not an obsession, just a preference hehehe[p]K~G

ColoradoCook

MollyShark,[p]Here's a great website on Brisket, prep and all.[p]http://www.barbecuen.com/champ-brisket.htm[p]Definitely follow Elder Ward's fire prep.[p]CC

DavidR

MollyShark,[p]You'll read many opinions about how to do a brisket. I've done about 20 of them. The first 10 . . . turned out tough and dry . . . almost gave up on it. . . [p]. . . until I learned one very important thing. Do NOT use dome temp on the brisket. Use GRATE or GRID temp! Get yourself an extra Polder, stick it through a potato, and lay it on the grid beside the brisket, but OVER the drip pan. [p]Cook at between 200* and 210* grid temp, at about 1.5 hours per pound until the internal temp in the flat reaches about 185*. Then give it the fork test. It should slide in and out like butter. If you have to push it to go in, or if it grabs when pulling it out, it needs to cook longer.[p]Good Luck! If you're successful, you will have passed the final exam.:)[p]