Picked up a 6.5 lb brisket flat last week to smoke this weekend. I was going to do an overnight smoke but I forgot my wife had social plans Saturday night and by the time we got home I headed straight to bed. Consequently ended up doing a hot n' fast smoke on Sunday instead of the low n' slow smoke I had planned.
I woke up at 6 AM, then realized it was actually 7 AM (daylight savings time change). Loaded the WSM with a layer of KBB, then four nice sized chunks of Hickory, then more KBB on top. Loaded the chimney half full with KBB, put the chimney on the gasser side burner to get it fired up, then went inside to prep the meat. No overnight seasoning. I just cut open the cryovac, washed it, dried it, hit it with Chili infused EVOO, then SPOG (Salt Pepper Onion powder and Garlic powder for the newbies). Put it on my paella/cooling pan drip system, fat side up.
Went out and threaded the probes into the middle section of the WSM, dumped the chimney over top of the loaded WSM briquettes, put the middle section on the WSM then dumped 2 gallons of hot water in the water pan (I usually dry smoke but thought I'd wet smoke this time). Let the temp stabilize at 275F, let most of the white/gray smoke fade, then loaded the brisket in the drip pan system.
I put the meat probe in the brisket sideways into the thickest part of the meat and it was apparent rather quickly I had not positioned it properly In an hour it was up to 130F. I knew that wasn't right. Too quick a climb from 48F. I took it out and put it in at an angle, stopped in the center of the thickest part of the flat. The internal temp dropped to 90F so I knew that was a better reading.
I let it smoke until stalled quite a while at 167F. Total cook time was about 5 hours at that point. Then I put down two layers of HD aluminum foil, turned up the edges, and put the brisket in the center. I poured the drippings out of the paella pan drip system into the foil instead of adding additional juices. I put another double layer of HD aluminum foil over the top and pinched the top and bottom layers together to seal it tightly.
I loaded that back on the smoker, put the probe at an angle into the thickest part of the flat, put the top back on and let the WSM coast up to 295F while it was wrapped. It took about another 60 minutes to get to my target IT of 200F.
Took it off the smoker, left it sealed, and covered it with thick towels on the kitchen island for about 90 minutes. I was going to let it go longer but it was calling my name.
Unsealed, sliced, jus'd, and went to the pearly gates of Yumland as the brisket coated my tastebuds with moist, savory delight. Nice smoke ring, tender meat, soft bark, fantastic flavor.
I typically smoke Chuckies when I'm in the mood for beef but this week a brisket was just calling my name. I went to the store to buy chuckies but they were $5 lb and this choice cut flat was $4 lb. So glad I did. It won't win any contests but it sure is good!
I woke up at 6 AM, then realized it was actually 7 AM (daylight savings time change). Loaded the WSM with a layer of KBB, then four nice sized chunks of Hickory, then more KBB on top. Loaded the chimney half full with KBB, put the chimney on the gasser side burner to get it fired up, then went inside to prep the meat. No overnight seasoning. I just cut open the cryovac, washed it, dried it, hit it with Chili infused EVOO, then SPOG (Salt Pepper Onion powder and Garlic powder for the newbies). Put it on my paella/cooling pan drip system, fat side up.
Went out and threaded the probes into the middle section of the WSM, dumped the chimney over top of the loaded WSM briquettes, put the middle section on the WSM then dumped 2 gallons of hot water in the water pan (I usually dry smoke but thought I'd wet smoke this time). Let the temp stabilize at 275F, let most of the white/gray smoke fade, then loaded the brisket in the drip pan system.
I put the meat probe in the brisket sideways into the thickest part of the meat and it was apparent rather quickly I had not positioned it properly In an hour it was up to 130F. I knew that wasn't right. Too quick a climb from 48F. I took it out and put it in at an angle, stopped in the center of the thickest part of the flat. The internal temp dropped to 90F so I knew that was a better reading.
I let it smoke until stalled quite a while at 167F. Total cook time was about 5 hours at that point. Then I put down two layers of HD aluminum foil, turned up the edges, and put the brisket in the center. I poured the drippings out of the paella pan drip system into the foil instead of adding additional juices. I put another double layer of HD aluminum foil over the top and pinched the top and bottom layers together to seal it tightly.
I loaded that back on the smoker, put the probe at an angle into the thickest part of the flat, put the top back on and let the WSM coast up to 295F while it was wrapped. It took about another 60 minutes to get to my target IT of 200F.
Took it off the smoker, left it sealed, and covered it with thick towels on the kitchen island for about 90 minutes. I was going to let it go longer but it was calling my name.
Unsealed, sliced, jus'd, and went to the pearly gates of Yumland as the brisket coated my tastebuds with moist, savory delight. Nice smoke ring, tender meat, soft bark, fantastic flavor.
I typically smoke Chuckies when I'm in the mood for beef but this week a brisket was just calling my name. I went to the store to buy chuckies but they were $5 lb and this choice cut flat was $4 lb. So glad I did. It won't win any contests but it sure is good!
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