Brisket help

[vossman]

I got two flats ready to go on the smoker tomorrow AM. I have done 2 briskets so far and both came out OK good flavor. We ate them a while after cooking so they dried out a bit.
I have never wrapped them in foil for the last half of the cook but I hear its a good thing to do. Does it come out moister if they are wrapped and then let to sit in the foil for a while? I was thinking beer or beef broth in the foil.
Any input would be appreciated.

[MarkCO]

I am anti-foil myself. Patience during the stall and some moisture above the smoke, depending on the smoker, seems to be a better solution. I am relatively new to smoking, but the people who have eaten my smoked meats tell me I should open a restaurant. I read a lot, for almost 4 months, before I got a smoker and I like the Bark, so I have found the right temps to keep the meat moist and tender while keeping the Bark.

Here is an article: http://www.amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/texas_crutch.html The guy knows his smoking and I have found better advice from him that worked, especially at altitude, than others. He does suggest the foil for Brisket.

Good luck.

[SuperiorDG]

I can not figure out how to keep my briskets moist and tinder. I've almost given up at this point.

[MarkCO]

I think it is all about the stall and altitude I have been using a higher than recommended temp for the first 2 hours, trying to build a good bark. Then, when I get close to the stall, I drop the temp and keep the meat at the low end of the stall range, but for a longer time. I split a brisket and wrapped half in plastic after the stall and held at 150 for about an hour. That softened the bark back up if you don't like bark.

[Lurch]

I have marinated with good results, also the thicker the fat cap the better. I use a Traeger grill and I think I could smoke one for 2 days and it will still be moist. What type of smoker are you using.

[BPTactical]

3-2-1
3 hours on the smoker, 2 in foil in the smoker and the last one out of the foil on as low of a heat as you can. Make sure your temp stays around 225-250 max, too much heat will dry it out. I prep with a salt water soak overnight, rinse and slather a little mustard on it then put your rub on, the mustard helps hold in moisture and keep the rub on. Moisture in the smoker is critical, I have a Pyrex pan that I keep full of water in the smoker.
I get a nice 3/8-1/2" smoke ring and it falls apart but isn't dry.

[rondog]

I think it is all about the stall and altitude I have been using a higher than recommended temp for the first 2 hours, trying to build a good bark. Then, when I get close to the stall, I drop the temp and keep the meat at the low end of the stall range, but for a longer time. I split a brisket and wrapped half in plastic after the stall and held at 150 for about an hour. That softened the bark back up if you don't like bark.

"Stall"? What's "stall" mean? Never heard that before.

[vossman]

Traeger Lil Texas smoker. I am gonna try it without foil at about 225 as I like the bark, leave a pan of water (I have heard coke works too) in there for moisture and spray with apple juice or an au jus/broth blend every now and then. I am gonna wrap it in foil when its done and let it sit in the warmer for a while. Last time I just let sit out and cool, maybe that was my big mistake.

[vossman]

"Stall"? What's "stall" mean? Never heard that before.

Stall is when the meat gets to about 150 and kinda of holds there for a while before getting hotter. Not sure why it happens but it does.

[BPTactical]

Yup, forgot to mention apple juice/ water spritz. Just don't use straight AJ, way too sweet.

[MarkCO]

Stall. If you track your temperatures, there is a period of time where the meat temperature rise rate plateaus, or slows down, somewhere in the 150 to 170F range. Some people freak and turn up the temp. That drys out the meat. So too, we have less grains of water per pound of air at altitude, even with the same RH, so that has an effect. Getting some moisture in the smoker during the stall, especially with beef, does help. Once I hit the stall temp, I might even drop the smoker temp some to try to keep the stall temp held with no more than a 5 degree rise over 2 or 3 hours. The foil lets you "power" through the stall without drying out the meat and reduce the total cook time. But I think the tenderness and flavor suffer.

[vossman]

Thanks for that tip, I was gonna use straight AJ. I cant drink straight juices anymore without adding water to it as it is already too sweet so this is good to know.

[rondog]

Ok, stall - gotcha. My smoker has a wood pan over the propane burner, and a water pan over that. I can put only water in it, or a mix of water and fruit juices.

Haven't tried a brisket in this smoker, need to do that!

[theGinsue]

I smoke my briskets low (around 200*) @ slow (14 - 15 hours). A good spritz or mopping regularly and water and AJ above the heat (or just inside the grill area for side-box smokers) will help tremendously with moistness. You'll get a good bark (perfect for "burnt ends" sandwiches), but the inside will be nice and juicy and tender.

The 3-2-1 method is excellent for ribs but it's too short of cooking time for the brisket I make. I only ever wrap in foil when using this method, and only for ribs, not brisket or pork butt. Wrapping in anything may keep the fluids in, but it also keeps the smoke from reaching the meat which is the whole point of having the meat on the smoker.

Be sure to use some fruit wood like apple, cherry or peach in addition to your hickory or mesquite (I use 2/3 hickory & 1/3 fruit) because if you don't it will impart a bitterness to the meat.

Good luck.

[TAR31]

I got two flats ready to go on the smoker tomorrow AM. I have done 2 briskets so far and both came out OK good flavor. We ate them a while after cooking so they dried out a bit.
I have never wrapped them in foil for the last half of the cook but I hear its a good thing to do. Does it come out moister if they are wrapped and then let to sit in the foil for a while? I was thinking beer or beef broth in the foil.
Any input would be appreciated.
If you're doing 2 why not foil one and leave the other and see which way you prefer?

[Colorado_Outback]

Tag so I can find this later.
Going to do a brisket for xmas.

[Bailey Guns]

This is really a good thread because I just bought a Bradley digital smoker yesterday. I'm gonna try a turkey first (because it was on sale for .57 cents a pound and I won't feel too bad if I screw it up). But I can't wait to figure the thing out and try a small brisket.

[Great-Kazoo]

Traeger Lil Texas smoker. I am gonna try it without foil at about 225 as I like the bark, leave a pan of water (I have heard coke works too) in there for moisture and spray with apple juice or an au jus/broth blend every now and then. I am gonna wrap it in foil when its done and let it sit in the warmer for a while. Last time I just let sit out and cool, maybe that was my big mistake.

I marinade mine in coke (not diet, coke ZERO etc) just coke for 2-4 hrs, along with some lemon juice. Then use a dry rub before cooking.

[Dave]

Many different ways to get good Q. For briskets I go 10 hours minimum and really try for 12, though I'm not always up early enough to go a full 12. I don't marinade personally, just a dry rub. I go about 6ish hours on the rack with beef broth in my water pan and 225-235 with mesquite and apple wood. Then wrapped in foil with some of the drippings that fell into the water pan for the rest of the time and I adjust the temp depending on when I want to serve it and what target I'm after. I prefer chopped to sliced so I take my final temp a few degrees higher than you would for slicing. Also, I leave most of the fat cap on and only trim it to bring it even all the way across for even cooking.

[Lurch]

230's is too high imho for the whole cook. I usually go 230's for 3 hours then about 180 for 9hours. Also on the traegers if you line the bottom with bricks it will keep a more constant temp and save on pellets. Use clay bricks as concrete ones will crack. If you can't find clay bricks lava rock will work but not as well and ash cleanup is a lot harder.

[TAR31]

230's is too high imho for the whole cook. I usually go 230's for 3 hours then about 180 for 9hours. Also on the traegers if you line the bottom with bricks it will keep a more constant temp and save on pellets. Use clay bricks as concrete ones will crack. If you can't find clay bricks lava rock will work but not as well and ash cleanup is a lot harder.
What internal temp do you cook yours to? Hard to get it to 200-205ish if your grate temp is 180.

[Lurch]

What internal temp do you cook yours to? Hard to get it to 200-205ish if your grate temp is 180.

Never really worry about internal temp on beef. Pork and poultry is a different story.

[BPTactical]

What weight of brisket are you guys going with for 10 hours? I smoke smaller cuts 2-3# and at the most I have gone 5 hours or so.

[Dave]

What weight of brisket are you guys going with for 10 hours? I smoke smaller cuts 2-3# and at the most I have gone 5 hours or so.

8 lbs usually

[Gman]

I usually do the whole brisket on the Traeger. I trim it myself to get just the right amount of fat on top and remove the dense internal pockets of fat on the end away from the flat. Most of the smoke is absorbed early in the cooking process. I cover mine part way through to get the meat temperature high enough to make the brisket tender. Cooking open never seems to get you there until it's dried out.

Last time I didn't want to have to run the Traeger overnight, because I was also doing a turkey the next day. I had about 4-5 hours of smoke on it, brought it inside and covered with foil and finished in the oven. It was incredible...as usual. ;-)

For beef I like to use a 50/50 mix of hickory and oak.

[Monky]

You bastards are making me hungry.. stop it .. stop it right now!

[vossman]

This is really a good thread because I just bought a Bradley digital smoker yesterday. I'm gonna try a turkey first (because it was on sale for .57 cents a pound and I won't feel too bad if I screw it up). But I can't wait to figure the thing out and try a small brisket.

All my turkey and chicken has come out phenomenal. Applewood at 350 till 165 at the thickest part, 375 if you want a little crunch to the skin. I rubbed them down in melted butter then season. I had to put little foil socks on the leg and wing tips halfway through to keep them from burning too much.

[vossman]

http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o759/vossman23/DSCF00951_zps2c4878fb.jpg (http://s1341.photobucket.com/user/vossman23/media/DSCF00951_zps2c4878fb.jpg.html)

Here they are after 6 hours. Currently holding about 165 degrees. Another couple of hours.

[MarkCO]

Awesome. Be there at 5? :)

[vossman]

Just in time for chips and queso appetizers.

[Gman]

Close that lid, vossman! [panic]

...just kidding. Looks good!

I've never used Coke with brisket, but I have used Dr. Pepper with baby backs. It worked quite well.

[kawiracer14]

Sub'ed. I'm buying a smoker this week. Will need all this advice.

[TFOGGER]

Rumor has it I'm getting a Pit Barrel Cooker for Christmas...[Lick]

everything I've read says they are ALMOST idiot proof, so I'll probably only screw it up a few times before I start to figure it out...

http://amazingribs.com/bbq_equipment_reviews_ratings/smoker-pizza-oven/pit-barrel-cooker

pitbarrelcooker.com (http://pitbarrelcooker.com/)

[Whistler]

To wrap or not is sort of a personal choice, I do it occasionally to preserve the color but typically use unbleached butcher paper as opposed to foil. I find the foil impacts the texture somewhat, more like a pot roast than a brisket. Your times, temps and if you decide to wrap are also influenced by the type of smoker and to a lesser degree the fuel used (mesquite and oak burn hotter than apple or pecan). You can never determine if a particular brisket is done by time or temperature due to significant differences between individual cuts - thickness, moisture content, fat content and distribution, etc. Briskets are done when the thickest part of the flat probes tender - period. It's helpful to rest the brisket (wrapped) for a bit after you pull it from the smoker also, times will vary depending on the size but around 45min-2hrs or until the internal temp drops to around 150-160 then slice. My .02 cents

[vossman]

http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o759/vossman23/DSCF00971_zpsdf050899.jpg (http://s1341.photobucket.com/user/vossman23/media/DSCF00971_zpsdf050899.jpg.html)

Well here is the second brisket after we finished the first one. Took about 10 hours then I let it sit in the oven wrapped on 160 in foil to let it settle. Came out pretty good, some parts were a bit dry again but better than last time. I need to put more seasoning on it next time too, I used Rudy's Rub sparingly, definitely needed more. I have plenty of leftovers for lunch this week.

[kawiracer14]

I did a turkey on Tuesday - did a 12ish hour brine in buttermilk and then put it in the smoker for 4 hours with applewood. Finished in the roaster for ~1 hour to get it up to 165. Everyone liked it!

[Gman]

I've used buttermilk for chicken before frying it. Would make sense that it should also work for turkey, but I guess the sheer volume kept me from going there.