Briskets w/ Q View

[smokinjoeb]

Daughters 10th B-day was a beach party at Surfside beach in Orange County, CA and i was in charge of the main dish, Brisket.

I've been experimenting with a minimalist approach to my Briskets the last few smokes.  trim the large areas of fat off and rub with sea salt and pepper.   

smoke it on the UDS at 225-250  till  internal of 190 using natural lump oak/hickory blend charcoal.

i must say, i really love the UDS.  it takes at least 10hrs for a brisket, so, i prep the meat at 10pm, start the fire at 10:30, meat goes on at 11pm and i monitor the temps air flow till about 12 -12:30am and i'm at a constant temp.

Then i go to bed and i don't worry about it at all!!  

get up and check the temps about 7am and typically i'm pulling them off at 10am wrapping and resting in a cooler for slicing and eating.

our party was on the beach and i packed everything i needed in the cooler and we sliced up warm brisket for lunch!!!  

had my homemade habanero bbq sauce for some zing!   nobody believes me that i only used salt and pepper for the rub!  I really like the natural lump blend and i think that's really the secret to good brisket. 

I still do some more exotic rubs when i want some bark, which i like.  But, i gotta admit, the sea salt and pepper method let's the meat and smoke stand on it's own nicely!!

 

[tom37]

I'm cooking brisket next fri night for my step daughters b day, I think I will try the salt and pepper method on at least one of the briskets.

Its good to hear that the party was a total success. Glad everyone enjoyed.

 

[adiochiro3]

I'm with you.  Salt, pepper, & smoke and let the meat speak for itself.  Nice work, & congrats to your daughter on her birthday.

 

[eman]

Rub with worcestershire and then hit it w/ kosher salt and coarse ground pepper

 

[n2smokin]

Definitely like the plain old kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Mesquite wood adds a little extra kick also. Good stuff.  Congrats on your party. Sounds like you had a good one. 

 

[scarbelly]

Congrats on figuring out Brisket that is what you like for you and your family - so many folks never figure out that what may taste good to one of us is not what is good for you and your family

I too like the KISS method with just salt and pepper sometimes - Just did a 20# smoke for the office this weekend and it turned out great. Did a mustard rub for the first time and will do it again

 

[mballi3011]

First off tell your daughter Happy Birthday. Then I'm really glad that your brisket came out good and it was enjoyed by all. Great job.

 

[new2que]

Do you mind if I ask a question about your drum? How tall is it and how much clearance do you have from the basket to the food grate? 

Man that stuff looks awesome!

 

[smokinjoeb]

Standard 55gallon drum.  i just used the rough directions from the UDS forum.  http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/list/199

my basket is about 6" deep and i reset it on some bricks.  

 

[smokinjoeb]

Congrats on figuring out Brisket that is what you like for you and your family - so many folks never figure out that what may taste good to one of us is not what is good for you and your family

I too like the KISS method with just salt and pepper sometimes - Just did a 20# smoke for the office this weekend and it turned out great. Did a mustard rub for the first time and will do it again

I did the mustard rub earlier in the summer and i really liked it on the brisket.  my brother was visiting and thought i was nuts for using mustard on the brisket and pork shoulder.  but, he admitted it turned out great and said he would try it!  

i did a huge smoke earlier this summer and i had to cook in advance and reheat.  i'd really recommend the salt/pepper rub for anyone doing that.  if you have alot of bark on the brisket it tends to not be as good when reheating in vacuum bags.  i ended up cutting off the bark on that meal.   next summer i'll use the salt and pepper for  that big cookout!