Brisket Rookie

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canuckbbq

Newbie
Original poster
Jul 29, 2010
1
10
After two years of eating off of my brother in law's Traeger Lil Tex I finally pulled the trigger on the Traeger.

Got it all cured and ready to go. Last night I did the first run on a simple ribeye and a couple of burgers to get an idea of cooking times as compared to recipes I've read.

This weekend the folks are coming down from Canada to visit and I am jumping right into a brisket to give them a little taste of the Traeger. I must have read over 2 dozen recipes/blogs trying to figure out the best way to get started. The cooking times range from 6-8 hours to 24 hours. My head is literally spinning with all of the info to process.

At the end of the day I decided on one of the recipes that I found in the Traeger recipe book....Bruce's Brisket. I hope Bruce knows what he is doing! I live in Wisconsin and Saturday's forecast is partly cloudy with highs in the mid 70's and maybe a stray shower.

It's Thursday and I already have the brisket rubbed down and in the fridge just waiting for the weekend.

Here is the plan on Saturday:
  • Up at 4am to put it on the Traeger
  • Medium temperature for 3 hours (300'F)
  • Smoke for 4 hours
  • Medium again for 3 hours (placed in shallow foil pan and wrapped in foil)
  • Smoke for 2 hours with foil opened at top
  • pull off when reaches 185'F
The plan is to mist it every hour for the first 7 hours with 50/50 apple juice and water.

If you have ANY other suggestions to modify my plan I am open to them all.

Thanks for the help!

CanuckBBQ
 
185 might be a bit low on the temp for hot Brisket.  I would shoot for 190 to 195.  Start doing  tenderness tests at 190.  The temp probe should enter the meat like butter.  Let us know how it comes out..  Never seen variations like that in temp.
 
Happy Smoking Friend....Sounds like you've got the plan. 
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The link Piney gave you has some really good info in it.  Basically I think you need a full packer, I trim a thick fat cap down to about 1/2 at other times I don't trim any, it's up to your preference. Rub it down good with your favorite rub and place it on the smoker fat side up, I like my temp to run 225-230 in the smoker. From here you can mop. spritz, leave it alone etc, again all your choice. I use a water pan in my masterbuilt and add my spritz stuff to the pan that way I don't have to open the smoker. Every time you open the smoker you lose temps and extend the cooking time. The temp of you meat will work it's way upward but it will eventually plateau off and appear to be stuck, just leave it alone it will eventually start moving upward again. A good thermometer that can be read from the outside is preferred to monitor your meats progress, I like to pull mine between 190-195. Wrap it up in tinfoil and towl it. Place it in a cooler and let it rest at least an hour to let all the juices redistribute before slicing or chopping. Cooking times usually run 13-17 hours, it varies with the size and composition of the meat.
 
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