My first brisket- not a bad start

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light-it-up

Fire Starter
Original poster
Jun 19, 2010
43
10
After nearly a year of pork shoulder and ribs on the Smokin' Tex, I decided it was time to play with the big boys and try a brisket.

Started with a 7lb. trimmed flat from Costso (sorry no before pics,but it looked like every other trimmed flat). Gave it a good coat of Jeff's rib rub and let it sit in the fridge for 24 hours. At 6am Saturday it went in at 220* with a combination of hickory and apple.

Here we are 7 hours into the smoke and looking good so far at 140*:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v425/racrx/photo1-3.jpg

Foiled at 165* then back in. 

Now my intention was to pull at 190*, maybe a hair over. But traffic was bad and I made it home nearly an hour later than I wanted to, walked int he door and she had already reached 200*. Pulled it immediately, wrapped in towels, and let sit for an hour. Here it is all sliced up and ready for soem BBQ sauce:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v425/racrx/photo-7.jpg

It was good, but just a *hair* more dry than I would have liked. That last hour did it I think...oh well, next time. 

I also threw a kielbasa in there for an hour while the brisket was sitting and it was outstanding! Had some great Q last night watching the fight, and plenty left over for the neighbors.
 
Always like to hear about someone having a good smoke.  Keep up the good work and next time don't leave it unattended!  You wouldn't leave your 4 year old alone at home would you?
 
Nice work. I take mine to 200-205* and pull them. They are always moist and tender, so I'm not convinced that extra hour is the reason for drying out. Was it foiled tightly, or could the moisture escape easily? are your thermos accurate?

Glad you had a great feast with your friends!

Cheers!
 
Glad to hear all went well!  I remember being scared to death of a packer brisket, after the first one, I was really surprised how easy it truly was. lol  Mix you up so au jus next time and it'll take it to the next level and helps when things are a tad dry.  Great smoke!
 
For a first time you did awesome. Like James said I take mine to 205 every time & they are always moist. I think it may have been that you left it unattended & could have mopped it or spritzed it to keep it moist. When you said " Here we are 7 hours into the smoke and looking good so far at 140*: " This is not good, I hope this was a typo, because if you put a probe in it when you first put it in the smoker then there is little chance that you got to 140 in 4 hours, but I guess all is well since no one got sick.
 
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