LET'S TALK BRISKET!!

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Ok so im in the process of cooking my first brisket. It was 10.5 pounds. I put it in last night around 7pm at 225 thinking it would be done by 10am. It is now 2:45 and has only reached 150 IT. I turned the temp to 240 about an hour ago but hasnt changed anything. I didnt want to foil because I like the bark but now im thinking I should. I wanted to eat it for dinner tonight.

Thoughts?
 
Hello.  And I would just let it ride.  And so here we go.  Neither is right or wrong.  Use your judgement and do what you feel is right.  Next time do the other.  See which you think is better.  As an friend here often says: "patience grasshopper".  
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  Both ways SHOULD get that brisket done by dinner tonight.  Keep Smokin!

Danny
 
I am thinking you have a temp gauge problem, sounds like you have been cooking at a lower temp than you thought 

Gary
 
And another piece of good advice.  Increase the heat and foil to break the stall.  Should work GREAT!  But then I would have been smoking that brisket in the 300-325 range from the start.  And not foiling.  Again.  One is not right and one is not wrong.  At this point I would say if you are worried, raised the temp and foil.  Try it the other way next time.  Keep Smokin!

Danny
 
 
And another piece of good advice.  Increase the heat and foil to break the stall.  Should work GREAT!  But then I would have been smoking that brisket in the 300-325 range from the start.  And not foiling.  Again.  One is not right and one is not wrong.  At this point I would say if you are worried, raised the temp and foil.  Try it the other way next time.  Keep Smokin!

Danny
Yep yep.  There's a big difference between giving advice for an entire cook versus that which is given in response to "help, I'm at stage XYZ and I want to eat in 2 hours."    The latter is "scramble mode" where you pull out all the tricks to try and get things done. 

Was watching some BBQ show the other night where Big Mo was smoking brisket or ribs or something.  At the outset, he said he was going to cook at X temp and wasn't going to foil because that was his preference.     As turn in time slowly approached, he realized that he wasn't going to make it so what did he do ?  Yep, he changed directions and wrapped the meat in foil and cranked up the heat.
 
ABSOLUTELY!  How many times have we all had to change tactics?  I have had to put a fan in front of the fire box on the offset because there was no breeze.  Not a leaf wiggling.  Even finished some in the oven.  Raise the temp, foil; there is no "right" way.  Adapt to smoking conditions and that silly brisket.  Each can be different.  LEARN your smoker.  I think that is an important point.  IF A+B are not equalling C then plan B needs to be put in to action.  Read all the different methods.  Adapt them to what is happening during your cook at that time.  Well, that is my opinion. Keep Smokin!

Danny
 
I thought I was going to have to finish in the oven, but the rain held off, everything is good

Gary
 
That's it. Turns out perfect every time. My last packer was 15# untrimmed. It took 7 hrs. Moist and tender.

I just wanted to let you know, this worked out well. I've had trouble with brisket in the past and your instructions were fool proof. Everyone loved it. I didn't have my phone with me to take pics, or I'd post, but much appreciated. I had a 16# brisket that I squared up and cut fat from. It was probably 12#s when I was done. I put it on my Traeger Jr, with an AMNTS, for one hour at 180 and then cranked it up to 300. Including the hour at 180, the brisket was cooked in just under 6 hours.
 
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Hello all, new member here.

I've been smoking brisket since I was about 12 years old. The only time I have a problem (other than one really bad choice for wood) is when I don't leave it to cook long enough. 

I grew up using the cheap Brinkman vertical water smokers. Now I have a cheap Char-Griller offset direct flow smoker.

Here's my method:

I buy the cheapest brisket I can find (and dang they are getting expensive these days--I remember when brisket used to be a $1.29/lb.) Usually I buy in the 13-14 lb. range just because of the number of people that I need to feed, though I do think that smaller briskets are inherently more tender. I usually end up trimming a couple of pounds of fat. 

I use lump charcoal and hickory and apple wood. 

I trim some of the fat, but leave a layer maybe an 1/8" thick. I don't use any rubs as I like to taste the meat and hickory smoke. I also put a couple of foil pans on the tray under the brisket  with about a half gallon of water total. This is a hold over from my younger years growing up using those cheap water smokers. But I think it helps to control the temps inside the smoker and to keep the brisket moist as it cooks. I always cook with the fat up, and the start with the point facing the fire box, though I do turn it around a couple of times so that it cooks evenly. 

I smoke at about 220-230 degrees under heavy smoke for at least 5 hours, sometimes 6 if it is a large brisket. I liberally mop a concentrated apple juice on the brisket about every hour. Then after 5 or 6 hours I will wrap it in foil, with a liberal application of my apple juice mop and then leave it to finish cooking. The brisket is usually in about the 160 degree range when I wrap it. Then I cook for another 4 or 5 hours just keeping the heat as steady as possible. I like my brisket to be above 190 degrees for at least an hour before I pull it off. It's usually a solid 200 degrees when I pull it off the smoker. 

I don't usually let it "rest", but it usually sits for about an hour before cutting for the rest of the meal to be ready.

My briskets need a solid 10 hours of cooking, and more if they are larger. If I try to cook them faster, like to make a mid afternoon meal time, they are always tough and not as moist. As long as I cook them long enough, they are always moist and tender and fill your mouth with an explosion of smoke flavor when you bite into it. 

And yeah, people in my family fight over the burnt ends  
drool.gif


Here's a pic of one of my recent briskets. 

 
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Nice Looking Brisket   That just goes to show there are different methods that work great. I started on an ECB   still get it out every once in a while.  Great Job !!   

Gary
 
That is a good looking brisket!!!

The biggest problem for me with Brisket has been taking it off too soon. Every time I let it get to 195-200 its perfect.

Once it was due to the Chicago winter, smoker wouldnt get hot enough and I had to serve dinner.

2nd time I had the smoker filled to the brim and it just needed another hour of so but had to serve the food.

Anytime I see im strapped for time I will wrap it up thanks to this thread.
 
 
That is a good looking brisket!!!

The biggest problem for me with Brisket has been taking it off too soon. Every time I let it get to 195-200 its perfect.

Once it was due to the Chicago winter, smoker wouldnt get hot enough and I had to serve dinner.

2nd time I had the smoker filled to the brim and it just needed another hour of so but had to serve the food.

Anytime I see im strapped for time I will wrap it up thanks to this thread.
Just Remember, if the weather starts messing with you or you know you are running out of time and the smoker is struggling, you can always finish it in the oven. No shame in that, I've done it as a lot of others. If you have 5 - 6 hours of smoke it's going to be good.Don't stress, Put it in a roasting pan, wrap in foil crank up the temp and it will finish faster. When it gets close, unwrap put it on a rack (I use a cooling rack) with a pan underneath for about 30 min. It will firm up the bark.

Gary
 
 
Hello all, new member here.

I've been smoking brisket since I was about 12 years old. The only time I have a problem (other than one really bad choice for wood) is when I don't leave it to cook long enough. 

I grew up using the cheap Brinkman vertical water smokers. Now I have a cheap Char-Griller offset direct flow smoker.

Here's my method:

I buy the cheapest brisket I can find (and dang they are getting expensive these days--I remember when brisket used to be a $1.29/lb.) Usually I buy in the 13-14 lb. range just because of the number of people that I need to feed, though I do think that smaller briskets are inherently more tender. I usually end up trimming a couple of pounds of fat. 

I use lump charcoal and hickory and apple wood. 

I trim some of the fat, but leave a layer maybe an 1/8" thick. I don't use any rubs as I like to taste the meat and hickory smoke. I also put a couple of foil pans on the tray under the brisket  with about a half gallon of water total. This is a hold over from my younger years growing up using those cheap water smokers. But I think it helps to control the temps inside the smoker and to keep the brisket moist as it cooks. I always cook with the fat up, and the start with the point facing the fire box, though I do turn it around a couple of times so that it cooks evenly. 

I smoke at about 220-230 degrees under heavy smoke for at least 5 hours, sometimes 6 if it is a large brisket. I liberally mop a concentrated apple juice on the brisket about every hour. Then after 5 or 6 hours I will wrap it in foil, with a liberal application of my apple juice mop and then leave it to finish cooking. The brisket is usually in about the 160 degree range when I wrap it. Then I cook for another 4 or 5 hours just keeping the heat as steady as possible. I like my brisket to be above 190 degrees for at least an hour before I pull it off. It's usually a solid 200 degrees when I pull it off the smoker. 

I don't usually let it "rest", but it usually sits for about an hour before cutting for the rest of the meal to be ready.

My briskets need a solid 10 hours of cooking, and more if they are larger. If I try to cook them faster, like to make a mid afternoon meal time, they are always tough and not as moist. As long as I cook them long enough, they are always moist and tender and fill your mouth with an explosion of smoke flavor when you bite into it. 

And yeah, people in my family fight over the burnt ends  
drool.gif


Here's a pic of one of my recent briskets. 

yeahthat.gif


Joe
 
O.K. , I've read all the post and totally agree with Danny , Scott , Maddox and the others comments .

We each have minor differences in our style and procedure , but we get the same results . That tells me these guys have one more secret they don't usually

think about , but do without thinking . . .   "Patience" .

Rushing a cook turns out screwed-up and you get Jaded and no longer want to try Brisket again .

There are two things precious to a Cook ; Time an Patience .  Know how long a piece of meat will "Generaly" takes to cook and

work around that time rame. Adding a coupleof hours will almost guarantee you'll have it done and waiting . Remember , you

can hold your Brisky in a cooler for up to 6hrs.   , giving you plenty of room to play . . .

Patients comes in when you hit that "Stall" . You  get worried about  how it's doing , it's doing fine , just (IMHO) do not open

the lid , this (IMHO) lets out all the(constant) heat and , even though you  recover quickly , there is an effect on your

Smoke .   I preach , "No peeking" and refrain from spritzing or doing anything to the meat and just tend the smoke production.

Once you reach you cooking temp. , just work at holding it there (yes, a lot of babysitting) ,  The Thin Blue Smoke is your

offering to the "Smoke gods" , and they return the Love you worked to achieve .

Not there are some that swear by Spritzing or Basting , fine , that's your choice , but the hints and tricks outlined here will 

help you much .

 Have fun and . . . 
 
I am using the same smoker, MES, and basically the same methods. My brisket comes out tender and juicy everytime but taste and looks like it has benn steamed not smoked. No bark, no smokering, no smoky flavor, just a very tender very bland roast. I wonder if it is the smoker.
 
I am using the same smoker, MES, and basically the same methods. My brisket comes out tender and juicy everytime but taste and looks like it has benn steamed not smoked. No bark, no smokering, no smoky flavor, just a very tender very bland roast. I wonder if it is the smoker.

Do you wrap part way into the smoke?

That may be the culprit. I have an MES and smoked about a dozen briskets this year. I don't claim to be an "expert" but I know my MES pretty well. I set the smoker to 235F use fruit wood of some sort (cherry (favorite), orange, apple etc) and don't open the smoker until it reaches about 195F. Then I start probing using a toothpick to test for doneness

Here is a point I just took off about 20 min ago

 
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