Brisket help

[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!

[MarkCO]

Awesome. Be there at 5?

[vossman]

Just in time for chips and queso appetizers.