ISO: Brisket advice from the experts

[AllenOK]

I normally smoke pork butt, with ocassional forays into turkey legs. I've been wanting to try a brisket for months, and I believe NOW is the time to buy, as I've seen some briskets that are cheaper per pound than pork butt.

Question #1 - How long do you normally smoke brisket for?

Question #2 - Aren't there two different muscles in a brisket? Do you separate them? Trim the fat, or leave it on?

 

[ncage1974]

I normally smoke pork butt, with ocassional forays into turkey legs. I've been wanting to try a brisket for months, and I believe NOW is the time to buy, as I've seen some briskets that are cheaper per pound than pork butt.

Question #1 - How long do you normally smoke brisket for?

Question #2 - Aren't there two different muscles in a brisket? Do you separate them? Trim the fat, or leave it on?

I can say this is one of my favorite things to fix. Its just awesome but takes some time. I smoke my briskets usually 12-13 hours in my weber bullet smoker (which is awesome). I usually start it at midnight and the next day its ready between Noon and 2pm.. It really depends on how big your brisket is to how you will smoke it. A lot of people buy those brisket flats which won't take nearly as long. I buy the whole brisket which is huge and usually weighs anywhere from 10-14 pounds i believe. I don't do anything to my brisket but put a good dry rub on it and smoke it until its done. With any meet that has a fat cap i usually start the smoking process with the fat cap up thinking the rendering juices will drip down in the meat to keep it from drying out.

Ncage

 

[ncage1974]

Oh one more thing. One of the best sites to learn to cook a brisket on the smoker is
The Virtual Weber Bullet - For the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker enthusiast. That is where i learned.

Ncage

 

[eatsOats]

I agree with ncage. I will normally trim the fat cap down to 1/8"-1/4". The last one I cooked I tried a little higher temperature (270F) and it came out dry. I think I'm going back to 225-250.

 

[sirsmokesalot]

Normally 10 hours at 225-250, then covered for 2-3 hours at 275. Then leave alone for 1 hour. Smoking untrimmed, fat side up, is great and will keep it from drying out. When the fat renders, it will give the meat a very rich flavor. Some people prefer fat side down, which I'm sure works too.

I also recommend smoking in an aluminum pan so that you can catch all the juice.

I prefer a smoking temp closer to 250 because it seems to give a good crust, while the middle remains pink and juicy. 225 is good, but it will take longer for the fat to render.

However long it takes, I recommend shooting for an internal temp of 195-200.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Allen..

Yes a whole 'packer style" brisket is two muscles. Often sold separately as a Flat cut the other..Point cut. Leave them together unless you want two pieces for two different times. They are somewhat different in texture and taste..the point cut containing more fat than the flat cut...And as is often said, slice across the grain..watch closely as the "grain" changes direction when going from one muscle to the other.

Enjoy!

 

[nannabear459]

Brisket injecting

Hi all, just wondering if any of you inject your brisket and if so what, I have seen food network cookoffs where some of the people inject apple juice, it sounds good to me but Ive never done it. whats your take.

 

[AllenOK]

I don't inject my meats. I just spritz the meat with apple juice from a spray mister.

 

[jminion]

I have and know of many that do inject. It can be a marinade recipe that gets injected or in a lot of cases it is a product called Fab B. It contains sodium phosphates that are lost when the animal went into rigor. This increases moisture and yield on a brisket. The ingredients also add beef flavor.

Jim

 

[sirsmokesalot]

I've never tried this. I normally smoke mine in aluminum pans with the fat cap, so there's plenty of juice when it's done. Obviously, the are some great BBQers who inject, so this might be worth a try.