Brisket/Pork Butt cook help

Bordello

O.K.
I have never (due to my fault) had a good brisket cook. I now have a 10 lb. whole brisket with a moderate fat cap.[p]I also have a 6 3/4 lb. pork butt. I plan on putting the butt over the brisket on an extended grid. I have a couple of polders so I will be able to monitor both meat temperatures.[p]If cooking indirect, over plate setter and drip pan, brisket on the lowest grid and butt on top of the extended grid, should the brisket (whole/ with point) be fat side up on down????[p]Here's hoping I made sense. LOL[p]Thanks,
New Bob

YB

New Bob,
I cook mine fat side up.
Larry

Bordello

YB,
WOW, that was quick.[p]Would you still do fat side up with a pork butt cooking over it on an extended grid??? I don't have a clue.[p]Thanks for your input,
New Bob

Chef Wil

New Bob,
try this, may sound strange to most, but I did it and certainly still alive.......take a paring knife and stab your brisket 30 or so times on the fat side,going almost through the meat, season with mustard and choice of rub, in about 10 or 12 of the punctures, add a toe of garlic, and cook fat side up. You can also do it with The Butt. Hope this helps. You could even wrap each toe of garlic with a 1/2 slice of bacon for added flavor, and sink it in the hole about 1 inch deep.

YB

New Bob ,
I would cook it just like you said.....Good luck.
Larry

JSlot

I've been doing briskets a little differently for the past 6 months or so with great results. Everything is basically the same with the exception of starting the brisket with the fat cap DOWN. After 3 hours or so, I flip the brisket to fat side up. I've been extremely happy with the results.[p]Jim

Unknown

New Bob,
My 2 cents worth on the brisket is...I don't think you'll see a big difference either side up and I always take all the fat off the brisket anyway and I like it like that. I think the main thing I would recommend you to do is 1) make dang sure you get the internal on "both" of em up to the 190+ range and 2) put one polder in the meat that is closest to the dome and the other in the dome to allow you to stop running out to the egg everytime you want to view the temp while watching the golf match or whatever.

Painter

New Bob,
Looks like you have a good plan. A lot of the time the failure of a brisket cook is the brisket itself.
I've Done a couple of braggers and a couple of so so's, using the same cooking method. Don't give up on just one try.
Bob
P.S. Check youtr e-mail

Painter

Chef Wil,
Mmmmmmmm Garlic, My kind of Chef.
Bob

wdan

New Bob,
My experience has been that the garlic is absolutely terrific with the pork. The Cuban-style butt (Lechon Asado) I did on New Year's Eve was loaded with it and definitely contributed to the crowd appeal. Doing the Hitchcock thing to the meat with a kitchen knife was an interesting experience too!

wdan

Painter,
I've been reluctant to try brisket because of past threads indicating the same thing you did. It seems that briskets are kind of a hit'n miss situation. I wonder what gives? I've never had a problem braising corned beef when I need to drink green beer.[p]Is the problem lack of juice, tenderness or something else?

Painter

WDAN, Fellow Wisconsonite
Juice, tenderness? Probably both. I think traditionally our St. Pat day corned beef are usually boiled, simmered, or steamed which makes it juicy and tender.But I think the flavor is lost in this method.
Now I've done corned beef brisket low n slow with good results also, which I prefer over the water bath method. Cook your cabbage and potatoes,carrots,and onion in foil on the egg to go along with the corned beef. The flavors don't get washed out like the old stove top method.
Bob

wdan

Painter,
Curious to know: Do you put any liquid in your drip pan when you egg either the regular brisket or a corned beef?

Painter

WDAN,
No I don't. If you are having trouble maintaining your low temps it has been said that water in drip pan will help against the temperature spikes as boiling water doesn't get over 212°. But in saying that, if your temps run away with the water pan full of water, the steam gets hotter than the water itself, and your cooking your meat with steam.
If I'm wrong on this, anyone may correct me, as I'm not a scientist by any stretch of the imagination.
Bob

Better Days

Be careful that you are not buyinga "first cut" brisket as this will be too lean of a piece of meat to do a great low and slow. You should be looking for a "packers cut" which will be three times the size of the first cut - or at least as I understand it. Any differences of understanding on this one?