Brisket..... How I do it.

travisstrick · March 2012

First, I buy a 10-13lb packer brisket. I choose the most flexible one available and choice or prime is best.

Trim fat off of meat to an even thickness. About 1/4 inch is fine.

Cut up a large onion in chunks. Add onion, One 12oz beer, and one bottle of Hot and Spicy Allegro. Dump all three into a large alum pan. I prefer Shiner Bock and the Allegro can be found at HEB in Texas. I'm not sure about other states.

While sitting on a cutting board, cover all exposed surface of meat with yellow mustard and then your rub of choice. I normally use a rub made of equal parts garlic powder, sea salt, and fresh ground black pepper. My last brisket, I used a rub called Grand Champion. The Grand Champion was superb and I will use it from now on. Place the seasoned meat in the pan with the stuff listed above.

The meat goes directly into the pan resting in the liquid and onion. Use a platesetter, legs down and the factory grate. Place pan with brisket on top of the grate.

Stabilize egg at 300 dome temp. Add 6-8 fist size chunks of hickory or mesquite or both. Let the egg sit for 20-30 min to burn off any nastys in the wood and lump.

Once the brisket reaches 205, check for tenderness and remove from egg. (I've never had one not be tender at 205 but, I've heard it happens) Save the liquid in the pan for sauce.

BGElovr · March 2012

Bookmarked. Thanks Travis.

boatbum · March 2012

Interesting - almost like braising. Looks like good bark on the topside.

Village Idiot · March 2012

Interesting, Travis.

Was it juicy? Did you have a smoke ring? How long a cook was it? Do you have a picture of it sliced? Did you foil it during the cook or FTC afterwards?

BGElovr · March 2012

Use a platesetter, legs down and the factory grate. Place pan with brisket on top of the grate.

Is this correct Travis? Legs down? @-)

travisstrick · March 2012

Gary, it is always juicy when I do it that way. It has an OK smoke ring. Nothing to write home about but, it's there. It usually takes about 8-10 hrs. No foil at all. If I want to keep it hot till serving time, I will foil and cooler but, its only to retain heat. Oh yea, no sliced pics.

BGElovr, It's wrong. I meant to say legs up with the grate on top of them.

I will try to document better next time.

Lowflyer · March 2012

How many ppl can you feed w/ a 10-13lb packer? May try this for Easter. Bookmarked as well. Thanks!

travisstrick · March 2012

With potato salad and beans as sides, I guess about .5 lb per person. You can also throw in a hunk of rosemary and garlic bread.

Gato · March 2012

May have to give this a try too. I've only cooked one brisket on the egg and it was average. I've done better pre egg. Got to find the ticket.

SandBilly · March 2012

I'm assuming by the pics you have fat up? Have you tried fat down with rub on top? Just curious, let me know if I'm wrong.

travisstrick · March 2012

Fat side up is what I do. I've never tried fat down. Mostly becouse fat up has done so well. I've noticed that the fat renders and kinda pools on the thin part of the flat. I think it may help keep everything moist.

SandBilly · March 2012

Thanks. I'm a fan of Allegro and Texas BBQ rubs, gonna give it a shot.

Eggbertsdad · March 2012

Looks great. You said you use the platesetter with the feet down? Is that correct?

Ottawa_Eggman · March 2012

Bookmarked thanks Travis

Village Idiot · March 2012

Fat side up is what I do. I've never tried fat down. Mostly becouse fat up has done so well. I've noticed that the fat renders and kinda pools on the thin part of the flat. I think it may help keep everything moist.

Fat side up / fat side down argument started with the offset smokers. The fat side down folks thought the fat protected the good meat from the flames near the firebox. The fat side up people thought the fat would baste the brisket as it cooked.

I have never heard anyone say that they can tell the difference between the two.

Summary: It don't matter. There are too many other variables that will make or break the brisket a lot more than up/down. (but, for the record, I do fat side up )

)

demo · April 2012

Ditto, bookmarked here too. Looks great.

The Cen-Tex Smoker · April 2012

Fat side up is what I do. I've never tried fat down. Mostly becouse fat up has done so well. I've noticed that the fat renders and kinda pools on the thin part of the flat. I think it may help keep everything moist.
Fat side up / fat side down argument started with the offset smokers. The fat side down folks thought the fat protected the good meat from the flames near the firebox. The fat side up people thought the fat would baste the brisket as it cooked.

I have never heard anyone say that they can tell the difference between the two.

Summary: It don't matter. There are too many other variables that will make or break the brisket a lot more than up/down. (but, for the record, I do fat side up )
)

I have to agree- I've never sent a brisket back because somebody cooked it fat side up or down. Bet you $50 you couldn't tell. I always do mine fat side up cuz that's how I learned. Think I'll do one fat side down this week just to be ornery about it.

The Cen-Tex Smoker · April 2012

One more thought on the fat side up/down for this recipe. For those who trim or scrape your fat cap off before eating (shame on you if you do), I would do this one fat side down. That way the bark and smoke will not be lost in the braising liquid or to scraping it off with the fat cap before eating. If you trim it to 1/4 inch like Travis says, leave it on there after cooking and don't worry too much about fat up/down. It's going to be very juicy and tender doing it this way no matter where you put your fat cap.

OLD NORTH STATE BBQ CO. · April 2012

Gary, it is always juicy when I do it that way. It has an OK smoke ring. Nothing to write home about but, it's there. It usually takes about 8-10 hrs. No foil at all. If I want to keep it hot till serving time, I will foil and cooler but, its only to retain heat. Oh yea, no sliced pics.

BGElovr, It's wrong. I meant to say legs up with the grate on top of them.

I will try to document better next time.

Any thoughts to cooking it out of the pan for the first three or four hours to allow it to develope a smoke ring?

travisstrick · April 2012

I've tried it out of the pan for a few hours but doing it in the pan the whole time gives it a better taste and texture. I prefer it and it's easier.

lilwooty · April 2012

Hey Travis have you ever used that method for a pork shoulder? I bet it would be really moist and you could skip the barbecue sauce and use your pan juices instead.

travisstrick · April 2012

Hey Travis have you ever used that method for a pork shoulder? I bet it would be really moist and you could skip the barbecue sauce and use your pan juices instead.

That's a great idea. I'll try it and get back to the group.

acrash · April 2012

Great photos and descriptions! Thank you for posting that. I have a question for all of you experts on this thread.... It is basically a process question. It is:

How do you get smoke chips/chunks on the fire with the plate setter and grate on the egg with the meat on?

I can't figure out how to elegantly do that. I have tried waiting until the fire is good and hot, then putting on the chips, then the plate setter & grate, but that brings down the temp of the egg. Then I got the lump going with the plate setter and grate, but then I used pliers and gloves to lift it all up, but it felt like I was about to seriously burn myself while handling a super-hot plate setter. Any input on that? Thank you.

OLD NORTH STATE BBQ CO. · April 2012

Great photos and descriptions! Thank you for posting that. I have a question for all of you experts on this thread.... It is basically a process question. It is:
How do you get smoke chips/chunks on the fire with the plate setter and grate on the egg with the meat on?
I can't figure out how to elegantly do that. I have tried waiting until the fire is good and hot, then putting on the chips, then the plate setter & grate, but that brings down the temp of the egg. Then I got the lump going with the plate setter and grate, but then I used pliers and gloves to lift it all up, but it felt like I was about to seriously burn myself while handling a super-hot plate setter. Any input on that? Thank you.

You need to build your lump with smoking chunk/chips mixed in. Use larger pieces of lump on the bottom, throw in some smoking wood, add some medium lump, add more smoking wood, and finish with small pieces of lump on top (see pic). The BGE is nothing like a conventional smoker. There will be no need to add smoking wood throughout the cook. Apply this technique, and life will get a little easier for you.

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r626/jpeterman1979/12a8016f.jpg

travisstrick · April 2012

I do it a little different. I dump my lump straight from the bag into the egg. Then I light and allow time to catch and get to the size fire I want. Once the fire is good, I add 8 or 10 chunks of wood then put in plate setter and close the lid. When the egg gets up to desired temp I let stabilize for about 20 min and then start cooking.

My smoke tastes good and there is plenty of it and I dont have to take out the plate setter.

The Cen-Tex Smoker · April 2012

Great photos and descriptions! Thank you for posting that. I have a question for all of you experts on this thread.... It is basically a process question. It is:
How do you get smoke chips/chunks on the fire with the plate setter and grate on the egg with the meat on?
I can't figure out how to elegantly do that. I have tried waiting until the fire is good and hot, then putting on the chips, then the plate setter & grate, but that brings down the temp of the egg. Then I got the lump going with the plate setter and grate, but then I used pliers and gloves to lift it all up, but it felt like I was about to seriously burn myself while handling a super-hot plate setter. Any input on that? Thank you.

I agree- No need to add as you cook if you build your fire right. use chunks (not chips) and they will burn plenty long for you to get your where you want it and choked down. I let my fire get going for 20-30 min with the dome open and then drop in the chunks and plate setter when it's ready. I never have to mess with the fire or wood chunks during a smoke (even 20+ hours)

acrash · April 2012

Thanks guys, I think my problem has been using just chips. The smoke seems to burn off too quickly after the fire gets going. Going to look for chunks instead. Thanks for the photo as well, that was great to see... the chips seem to burn off way too quickly, even soaked in water for an hour. Any recommendations on where to buy quality chunks? Lots of good input on the lump, need a bit more guidance on the chunks.

Soak the chunks as well?

OLD NORTH STATE BBQ CO. · April 2012

Your food will continue to absorbe the smoke long after the appearence of the smoke has vanished. There is no need to soak chips or chunks. I get my chunks at a local hardware store here in Virginia Beach. I've been using pecan pretty much exclusively for the last few months. If you want more of a smoky flavor, try hickory or oak.

Village Idiot · April 2012

I saw a video once on soaking wood chunks. After 48 hours of soaking, the water hadn't penetrated the wood even 1/64 of an inch.

If soaking penetrated wood, all of our trees would be spongy after a rain. N'est-ce pas?

The Cen-Tex Smoker · April 2012

Thanks guys, I think my problem has been using just chips. The smoke seems to burn off too quickly after the fire gets going. Going to look for chunks instead. Thanks for the photo as well, that was great to see... the chips seem to burn off way too quickly, even soaked in water for an hour. Any recommendations on where to buy quality chunks? Lots of good input on the lump, need a bit more guidance on the chunks.
Soak the chunks as well?

You can get chunks anywhere. Lowe's, home depot, your egg shop....

No soaking, just throw several on your fire before you put your plate setter on any you'll have tons of good smoke for hours.

acrash · April 2012

Right on, thanks guys for the great feedback. I thought soaking was de rigueur for any smoke flavor, thanks for correcting that. Off like a wedding dress - to the store to buy some chunks!

Travis - I am also very interested to hear how your technique works for pork shoulder. That sounds great!

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