1st time smoking a brisket

  • Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
SMF is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

smokeclem

Newbie
Original poster
Nov 29, 2014
11
10
I am new to smoking and I am wanting to do a brisket for the first time. I have seen on here that searing is a new wave of doing it. What recommendations does anyone have for me? Do you rub before or after searing? I was also thinking about doing it all night.  I have a programmable MES smoker with a amazen smoke tube. I have pure hickory pellets for the tube. What is protocol for a night smoke with the supplies that i will have on hand? 
 
If it is a full packer brisket plan on 2 hours per pound. Forget about the sear and put sand or gravel in the water pan and cover with foil. If you have time give it a rub down the day before and wrap overnight. Smoke to IT not by time and remember it is done when it is done not when you want it to be done. Keep the door closed and post a Qview for all to see. Remember the search bar at the top of any page is your friend.

Happy smoken.

David
 
 
If it is a full packer brisket plan on 2 hours per pound. Forget about the sear and put sand or gravel in the water pan and cover with foil. If you have time give it a rub down the day before and wrap overnight. Smoke to IT not by time and remember it is done when it is done not when you want it to be done. Keep the door closed and post a Qview for all to see. Remember the search bar at the top of any page is your friend.

Happy smoken.

David
Sand or gravel in the water pan and cover with foil??  What does THAT do???
Never heard of that...

2 hours per lb on a packer brisket?  Does that mean my 16 lb brisket is gonna take 32 hours?

Scared...
 
 
Sand or gravel in the water pan and cover with foil??  What does THAT do???
Never heard of that...

2 hours per lb on a packer brisket?  Does that mean my 16 lb brisket is gonna take 32 hours?

Scared...
The water pan in your smoker when filled with water acts as a heat sink to soak up fluctuations in heat and help in recovery after you open and close the door. It takes a lot of energy to heat water and then once it boils it takes even more energy to release the steam. Water in a smoker does nothing but eat fuel. You can use just about anything for a heat sink like bricks wrapped in foil or whatever. Hope this answers your question. You could be looking at 20-30 hours for a brisket that large. You could cut it in half and cut the time in half. Smoking meat is all about low and slow. If you are in a hurry stick to the grill.
 
Water pans are an old myth exactly like soaking your wood that is just plain wrong. Introducing steam to the cooking chamber does absolutely nothing to make the meat moister. What it does do is inhibit Bark formation and decrease your top high temperature. Water boils at 212 degrees so once the smoker is at that temp and the water boils it takes a heck of a lot of energy to go much higher. I cook at 225 as do many of us. I like lots of smoke and low and slow. Soaking wood chips does nothing but delay the chips from burning while releasing even more steam into the cooking chamber. You may see something that looks like smoke coming out of the exhaust but it is steam. Eventually they will dry out, catch fire and burn up. Searing and reverse searing are for meats that you would eat at med rare or rare like a tri tip or a top round or flank steak or something. Searing a brisket is not what you want to do. Brisket has a lot of built in moisture in the manner of gristle, fat and connective tissue. It takes a long time to fully break down these substances to make the meat tender. There are faster ways to cook brisket but you will not end up with the quality you get from traditional low and slow. Now......flame on!
 
I like to use a 350*F pit temp and wrap the brisket in foil at 170*F until fork/probe tender. My last 14 pound packer took 7 hrs. Here's the flat after I separated the point.
 
Last edited:
 
I am new to smoking and I am wanting to do a brisket for the first time. I have seen on here that searing is a new wave of doing it. What recommendations does anyone have for me? Do you rub before or after searing? I was also thinking about doing it all night.  I have a programmable MES smoker with a amazen smoke tube. I have pure hickory pellets for the tube. What is protocol for a night smoke with the supplies that i will have on hand? 
Not sure where you are seeing that searing is a new way of doing brisket on a smoker. I used to sear briskets I was going to cook/braise in the oven at 350F in a pan covered with HD aluminum foil and filled with veggies and liquid.  No way would I sear a brisket to put in the smoker.   

Just rub the brisket either the night before or just before you load it in the smoker.  Smoking temp is your choice.  Anything between 225F to 275F will work with your equipment.  The hotter you smoke it the less time it will take.   That 50F difference at 275F can cut hours off a smoke and you'll never taste a difference.  Learn the toothpick test to tell when it is done.    
 
Thank you all for the reply. I think I will not try the searing method this time. No water pan. I will fill it with sand and cover it with foil. Unfortunately my smoker only goes to 275. If there is truly no difference with 50 degrees of temp I might just bump it up all the way. Another question I have is do I need to set it straight on the rack or do I need to put it in a pan? I would like to save the drippings for beans. The only thing I am worried about on a full packer is if it will fit in my smoker. If I have to cut it do I separate the point and the flat or just cut it straight in half?

Bama that brisket looks awesome. I hope I can get close to that. I have read with MES smokers it is hard to get that nice smoke ring around it.
 
 
Thank you all for the reply. I think I will not try the searing method this time. No water pan. I will fill it with sand and cover it with foil. Unfortunately my smoker only goes to 275. If there is truly no difference with 50 degrees of temp I might just bump it up all the way. Another question I have is do I need to set it straight on the rack or do I need to put it in a pan? I would like to save the drippings for beans. The only thing I am worried about on a full packer is if it will fit in my smoker. If I have to cut it do I separate the point and the flat or just cut it straight in half?

Bama that brisket looks awesome. I hope I can get close to that. I have read with MES smokers it is hard to get that nice smoke ring around it.
Put the meat directly on the rack then put a drip pan on the rack under that. When finished put the juice in the fridge for a while then remove the fat from the top. I save what I don't use now by putting in ice trays and freeze then put in bags in the freezer. I can take out and use as many cubes as needed.

Not sure if it will fit or not. I am thinking you have the MES 30 not the MES 40. It will fit in the MES 40. If you have to cut you can remove the point from the flat or just give it a mad whack down the middle no 
Rules.gif
. Don't expect a smoke ring but then you can't taste a smoke ring so no worries.

This is a MES 40 at 225° for 24.5 hours






Happy smoken.

David
 
 
Thank you all for the reply. I think I will not try the searing method this time. No water pan. I will fill it with sand and cover it with foil. Unfortunately my smoker only goes to 275. If there is truly no difference with 50 degrees of temp I might just bump it up all the way. Another question I have is do I need to set it straight on the rack or do I need to put it in a pan? I would like to save the drippings for beans. The only thing I am worried about on a full packer is if it will fit in my smoker. If I have to cut it do I separate the point and the flat or just cut it straight in half?

Bama that brisket looks awesome. I hope I can get close to that. I have read with MES smokers it is hard to get that nice smoke ring around it.
This is a real good article on what you are about to attempt. http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...r-the-misconception-of-the-1-to-1-5-hour-rule
 
 
Put the meat directly on the rack then put a drip pan on the rack under that. When finished put the juice in the fridge for a while then remove the fat from the top. I save what I don't use now by putting in ice trays and freeze then put in bags in the freezer. I can take out and use as many cubes as needed.

Not sure if it will fit or not. I am thinking you have the MES 30 not the MES 40. It will fit in the MES 40. If you have to cut you can remove the point from the flat or just give it a mad whack down the middle no 
Rules.gif
. Don't expect a smoke ring but then you can't taste a smoke ring so no worries.

This is a MES 40 at 225° for 24.5 hours






Happy smoken.

David
Man that just looks awesome. Low and slow baby!
 
I'm also doing a brisket tomorrow and already feel awful before it even hits the smoker.  When I unwrapped the packer, it was a terrible piece of meat.  By the time I did some minimal trimming it was an abortion.  Since this is your first brisket, give yourself a pass if it doesn't turnout perfect.  Sometimes it's us and sometimes it's the meat. 
 
Wow.  The "Saturday Brisket and other stuff" post is, like, ...food porno.
And that's one hot orgy you got going!
 
Well the brisket has been on since 5 this morning. It has been on for about 10 hrs now. The temp hit 165 at hour 5 and I foiled it now at hr 10 it is at 185. The corner cut I did (so I can remember which way the grain runs) I put it in with the brisket and checked it at 5 hr mark. The temp was 205 awesome bark and very tender. I am going to shoot for that temp. but i am going to check it around 195 with the tooth pick / probe test. I was wondering when should I pull it and put it in a cooler to let it rest?

P.S. My wife wanted my to do pulled pork for next friday. I bought a 22lb pork butt and seasoned it up and it is resting in the fridge now. I was going to put it on after the brisket is done. I split it into 3 sections so it will fit on me 40in MES. Also hoping it might cook faster. I was going to let it go all night. What do you guys think?
 
Pictures !!!  we need some pictures.  That's a big butt I usually stay in the 8 -10 lb range

Gary
 
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

Latest posts

Hot Threads

Clicky