First Post & First Brisket

AustinEgg

Greetings from Austin, Texas!

I'm an 8-day egger and am in love. Tomorrow morning I toss on my first brisket and would love some feedback on my playbook.

3.3 lb brisket
rub of lawry's, adolph meat tenderizer, and garlic salt (already applied and sitting in a glass pyrex in the fridge)

Planning on cooking at 250 for 4-5 hours, fat cap up, plate setter with feet up, until internal temp is 190, then foiling and letting it sit for about an hour.

Any recommendations? I'll be sure and post pictures of the final results. I'm looking forward to my first sunrise with my egg.

Thanks!

Slotmercenary

Welcome,
look a little further down for the post by HOF for briket recommendations. that will get you some pics and info to help. 3/lb anything is a pretty small brisket so watch out for the drying out factor.
good luck

JLOCKHART29

Not sure I have ever heard of someone doing one that small. Must be a small flat. I am by no means a brisket expert but I would start keeping a close watch on it at 185. As Slot said it will try to dry and that small overcooking will be real easy.

AustinEgg

Thanks for the tips. It is indeed a small flat. I've been starting with some smaller cuts to experiment with different marinades and rubs and getting used to maintaining temp, etc. with the egg.

More Soon!

porkbutt

Welcome to the forum! Let us know how it turns out. I'm still working up the courage to try a briskett.

Frank from Houma

I would go with the fat down.

Check out Thirdeye's brisket tips. I follow his process and it works like a charm.

http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/03/brisket.html

Good luck with it.

jeffinsgf

AustinEgg,

This is meant as constructive criticism, not a flame. Have you looked carefully at what you've put on your brisket? Salt, Salt and more Salt. I'm not exactly sure what else is in Adolph's. I quit using it years and years ago. I just looked at their web site, and they don't publish the ingredients list, but I'm pretty sure that in addition to a lot of salt, it has MSG.

I'm sure it will come out fine, if you watch your dome temperature and check the meat temperature carefully as it goes along.

Before your next one, though, investigate some kinder, gentler spice blends.

Here's an example. My wife made a batch of Chex Mix last week using Bad Byron's Butt Rub in place of Lawry's seasoned salt. It was the best I've ever had, and that's saying a lot :P Went to my folks a few days later and my mom was just taking a batch out of the oven. She had used Lawry's as always. It tasted so salty to me that I only had a couple hands full.

Lots of folks here, including myself, are big fans of Dizzy Pig brand spice blends. They've been developed by a member of this forum (NatureBoy) and while most contain salt, they use more varied spices to create flavor other than just salt.

There are also lots of recipes for mixing your own spice blends and rubs found in the cookbook section of the forum.

AustinEgg

jeffinsgf,

Thanks for the constructive criticism. That's what experimentation is all about and why I picked such a small piece of beef to start with as my first brisket. I don't know a thing about rubs or marinades yet, but I thought I'd start with a few basics. But, you make a good point - that is a lot of salt.

The internal temp is at 170 now after 4 hours at 275. As it gets a bit higher I'll wrap it in foil and let it sit for an hour. Pictures are soon to come along with a bite-by-bite commentary.

Thanks again to everyone for the tips, advice, and suggestions!