2nd Brisket Ever, 1st On MES 30", With QView

[ryanhoelzer]

So I stopped at WalMart on my way home tonight after being out of town all week. I decided to try another brisket. My first and only one before was on the ECB. I didn't trim it at all and broke it up to fit the ECB. I trimmed this one alot. It was 11.92lbs before trimming at $1.86/lb so it was $22.17.

I was planning on putting it on tomorrow night for Sunday until I sat down and started watching last night's BBQ Pitmasters. 15 minutes into the show I paused and started the brisket..

I'm being very experimental. I injected it with beef broth with a little bit of rub mixed in to play with keeping moisture. I used a McCormick Steak Rub mixed with a little bit of their Sweet & Spicy Rub on the outside.

I'm going to cook at 220 and spritz with apple juice every couple hours. The first one I did I mopped with a butter/water/rub mixture every 1.5 hrs.

Oh, and smoking this one with apple, did the last one with mesquite.

Pictures coming..

 

[ryanhoelzer]

 

[ryanhoelzer]

1st flip and spritz at 2 hrs. Looks like the steak rub is going to make an interesting crust.

 

[scpatterson]

Looks Good so far..keep us posted...What temp you taking it to??

 

[mballi3011]

Everything looks good except some of your qview but you can tell what it is and what going on. I'm guessing a camera phone??? So don't forget the finishing qview. Personally I don't fli[ my brisket I always keep the fat cap up and let the fat melt and moisten the rest of the meat.

 

[ryanhoelzer]

I haven't decided if I'm going to pull and wrap at 180 or take it closer to 200. I'm thinking with the injection I might be able to take it fairly high without drying out too much.

 

[ryanhoelzer]

At 12 hrs. The built in probe seems to have a problem. It shows 235 degrees..

 

[ryanhoelzer]

I had my thermometer in the point and at 13.5 hrs it was at about 185. I decided to check the flat and it was at 204. I'm one of those people that prefers the flat pretty well done and falling apart and I'm not a big fan of the point in general. I decided to cut the flat off and put the point back on the smoker.

I am extremely happy with the flat. It's incredibly tender, has pretty good moisture still after that much time and at that temp, and has great flavor from the injection. I think if I had paid more attention and pulled it at 195 or a little higher it would be even better.

I think next time I'll separate the point and flat and cook them as separate pieces..

 

[fire it up]

Have you tried making burnt ends out of your point?

 

[ryanhoelzer]

No I haven't and I don't know much about burnt ends.

It's just over 190 right now so I think I might try it.

 

[ryanhoelzer]

OK, So I might have to take back saying I'm not a fan of the point.. I pulled it off at 192 and started cutting it up and it's awesome. I think I've undercooked the point in the past and the fat hadn't rendered down enough and I also trimmed this one ALOT. I'm still going to cube some of it and put back on.

 

[fire it up]

You sure won't regret it.
I like to cube them and coat in a little rub, smoke about an hour or two then toss in sauce and finish for another hour or two (usually do an extra 3 hours total cook time for my burnt ends)

 

[disbe81]

Looks good! One suggestion i would make is to cut against the grain of the meat instead of with it.

 

[ryanhoelzer]

And some burnt ends. Cubed, sauced and about 2.5 more hrs in the smoker. One word, Delicious..

On the cutting, I tend to cut depending on how I'm eating it. This is so tender it's pretty much caveman style eating.

Pictures do look better cutting against though..

 

[deltadude]

Great job on the brisket and the MES.

I need to get down to Sams and see what they have in brisket, I haven't done one in a long time.

 

[fire it up]

Looks great Ryan! Definitely point worthy.
Try tossing some of those burnt ends on a few slices of buttered white bread, doesn't seem like much but it makes a great burnt ends sandwich!
Man you got me hungry for burnt ends now!

 

[scubadoo97]

Good looking brisket ryanhoelzer. Burnt ends look really good.

I noticed your 30" racks look different than mine. Is that standard issue? Mine look more flimsy and have thin bars that run perpendicular to one another. I've been looking for studier racks for the MES like the ones for a Cookshack but they don't fit.

 

[ryanhoelzer]

It is the new 30", is yours the old one? They measure 14 1/2 x 11 5/8 and have a curve up at the back. They are pretty solid. If they're they same size maybe you can get them from MB?

 

[ugaboz]

good job looks good

 

[brandonc]

Looks great Ryan.
We did a pork butt today on our Bullet.