# Brisket with Wet-to-Dry Smoke Chamber: Q-View & Method



## forluvofsmoke (May 24, 2013)

This is an excerpt from another thread where I had multiple meats using the wet-to-dry smoke chamber method and I finally got the chance to put this into a thread of it's own so others can find it easier.

*Note*: I rebuilt this post 05-25-13 @ 10:35 am from the ground up, as I had duplicate photos and text for some strange reason...should cause less confusion now...also had some portions I missed adding...sorry about that! LOL!!!

For those of you who were following my smoke for my Daughter's upcoming June wedding, this was the second round, then the first round of briskets I smoked, just so you know, if any of this looks familiar, after the description of the method I used.
Explanation of the Wet-to-Dry Smoke Chamber Method:

I have had very good success with moisture retention in all meats finished at higher I/T using this method for the past year. Wet (high humidity) up front to allow for the best smoke reaction with the meat. After you're happy with the amount of smoke time and the meat is progressing with cooking (approx 140-150* I/T or go by time of 4-6 hours for say a lean trimmed flat), you want to reduce the humidity as much as possible, and as this happens, smoke reaction will become reduced. Two things will help you on this: opening your smoke chamber intake vents and removal or evaporated/spent water in the pan or foil drip-catch in/on the pan.

The dry smoke chamber allows the meat's surface fibers to tighten up and seal in the natural moisture in the meat which results in less evaporation of moisture from the meat. It will develop a bark on the meat, which can get quite hard and crispy, but will soften somewhat while foiled and resting. If you want to further soften the bark, you could foil the brisket @ 5-10* below your desired finished temp. This will loosen the meats surface fibers somewhat, so you don't want to do it for too long before resting or it will reverse what you accomplished with the dry smoke chamber

The drier environment will do just the opposite of what you would think it does, and so does a wet cooking environment. Dry seals the surface fibers to retain moisture...the drawback to using a dry smoke chamber for the entire smoke is that you will loose smoke reaction time, as you need humidity for good smoke reaction...tighten the meat fibers too early and you get very little smoke flavor.

The flip-side is that when using a wet smoke chamber for the entire cooking process with high finished internal temps, you allow the meat's surface to remain loose, and this allows moisture evaporation to run unchecked. Something else to consider is that with the fat-cap attached, you have a moist surface on the meat throughout the entire cooking process, so this could cause a drier interior as well. I know this goes against what many old-schoolers would believe, but things do change a lot when you go from a horizontal pit to a vertical smoke chamber with a water pan...on a pit you can mop to simultaneously increase surface moisture and smoke chamber humidity for better smoke reaction, but here again, if done for too long into the cooking, it can stab you in the back by keeping the meat's surface moist for too long and increasing moisture evaporation from the meat by preventing the surface from tightening-up.

That's the jist of what I've been experiencing, and why I developed this method for my hot smoking.

OK, all that said, here's what I would suggest to get your vertical smokers set-up for the wet-to-dry smoke chamber method with little tending after you get a smoke underway (horizontal smokers may need a little thought to apply this method, but is do-able with them as well):

1: You'll need a thermal mass in the water pan other than the water to avoid warping the pan while continuing to use it as a baffle. Add a foil liner to the pan with enough capacity to add about 2/3qt or so of water (I can go up to 1.5qts if I use higher sides in my SV-24). What seems to work best for my propane Smoke Vault and my Brinkmann Gourmet charcoal is washed pea-gravel. Pea-gravel is less dense than sand by volume, and has small gaps between the media to allow some hot air to pass through and heat up the water in the foil drippings catch. This gives me a bit less humidity on start-up than sand will, but it allows the water to evaporate a little more slowly, and I leave my intake side vents closed for hot smokes to hold onto a bit more of this initial humidity by not letting fresh air into the smoke chamber. With less than 1 qt of water I still have enough water to last for several hours with most smokes and not refill water.

2: drippings catch: should cover the lip of your water pan and have slightly elevated edges to allow a bit more capacity for water, if desired, and if head-space is adequate under the lowest grate position. If you wish to harvest the drippings for an Au Jus, this will add these flavorful drippings back to your sliced or pulled brisket.

Tip on using sand or gravel: fill to no more than 2/3 the level capacity of the water pan...gives slightly less thermal mass, but allows more capacity for water without extending the edges of the foil too high. Change-out the foil after every smoke and be sure to use double foil layers if you suspect you might puncture the foil when installing into the pan. If drippings get into your sand or gravel, it's easiest just to toss it in the trash and start with fresh. Any drippings in the media will cause a scorched odor and flavor to accumulate on your meats, so you want to avoid that, as the bottom of the water pan will get quite hot without water to boil and cool it down. Just look your media over a bit for signs of drippings before you use for the next smoke.

OK, with the wet-to-dry smoke chamber pretty much covered, what about dry rub? With the stronger flavor of the brisket, there are a few things you can do to the spice blend to smooth it over and tame it down a bit, but I used to do a lot of different blends for brisket and lately I've gone back to the basics...just meat and smoke, with a little enhancement from the a rub, being SPOG. I've being leaning towards 1-part of minced garlic, 1 part of course ground onion (from chopped/dried) and 1/2 part each of fresh ground black pepper and kosher salt. Works great for lean trimmed cuts of brisket and chuck. Also, I give it a pretty good dose of rub being it is such a large cut...oftentimes, I'll scatter a heavy coat one side at a time and pat it on for a bit, then turn and repeat until everything's coated well...rest for 5-10 minutes and repeat...pretty good hit of rub anyway, then, straight to the smoker, no fridge resting.

Someone asked me about using previously frozen briskets and wondering if that may cause a drier brisket. I have smoked only a handful of fresh brisket and mostly frozen/thawed...I don't seem to notice much difference between them. You will see some purge when any flesh-food thaws, but I think overall that there won't be much difference, as part of the natural cooking process involves a lot of moisture evaporation...less water tied-up in the meat may translate to faster cooking, btw. Part of the purpose of the wet-to-dry smoke chamber method is to reduce the natural moisture evaporation. Think of it as cheating mother nature...and getting away with it. With the early bark formation you can generate using the wet/dry chamber humidity, this may help to reduce the overall moisture loss when using frozen/thawed meats...it sure can't hurt it, that much I do know.

For the meat prep, I find lean trimmed gives the best results using a wet/dry smoke chamber. Any fats on the surface tend to impede smoke, but also keep the surface of the meat moist when you want to transition to a dry smoke chamber to seal it all up for moisture retention. Small bits of remaining fat after trimming won't matter, but larger parts of the fat-cap will provide a noticeable difference in smoke reaction and moisture loss in underlying meat.
The best, IMHO, of two of my first opportunities ti use the wet-to-dry smoke chamber method with brisket...

I opted for full separation of these two packers, as I had enough grate space to lay out the full flats and both points, using the forth (jerky) grate for a point. So, this is my ultimate method for prep for a brisket smoke, as it allows the most smoke reaction due to having the most surface area, and with a relatively lean trim, there is little fat to interfere with smoke contacting the meat. That said, I'm off for another great smoke. I didn't take pics of the trim and separation, as that's been covered heavily in previous posts, and several of my own...look in my sig line if you need info on that.

Four grates for a nearly prefect fit in the Smoke Vault 24...top to bottom are 2 points and 2 flats from the whole briskets...total weight was approx 29lbs pre-trimmed:













1.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 14, 2013






A good amount of head-space for shrinkage now with single grate-spacing after being separated and the cap trimmed off nicely:













2.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 14, 2013






The thickest point would normally go below the thinner one...tonight I'm expecting the temps will be slightly higher on the 5th (top) grate position than the forth, and this should allow for more even cooking of the two pieces. If it looks like baffling changed the heat flow through the smoke chamber differently than I remember seeing in the past, I can always change grate positions based on shrinkage and color of the meat:













3.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 14, 2013






I placed the heaviest flat cut on bottom to catch a bit more heat and baffle the lower cross-sections of meat above it. Also, both of the widest portions of the flat cuts are on one side, which is below the thinnest and widest sections of the points...this allows for more baffling of the thinnest portion of points so that area will cook more slowly, and hopefully not be overcooked when the heaviest portion reaches my desired finished temp:













4.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 14, 2013






...just a little bit about what's going on here tonight so others can consider this as options for their vertical smokers...bear in mind that this is a 24" wide cabinet, so it can handle up to 18lb whole briskets (two at a time), untrimmed if I choose, but I prefer a better smoke reaction with the extra work right up front before the smoke starts.

The current set-up is as close as I can come to getting even cooking and have all four pieces done at approximately the same time without overcooking much of it, knowing it rarely comes out very close having me scramble to foil and towel wrap them all at the same time. I know there will usually be a fair amount of time cushion, but I don't want them to be spread out for several hours between the first one out and the last. A grate rotation or two along the way may be in order based on shrinkage after they are partially cooked, just to even out the cooking closer for finished times...gotta play with those warmer/cooler spots that most vertical smokers seem to have, and make the best of it...we'll see.

Target smoke chamber temp of 225*, water in foil drippings catch (should run dry in about 5-6 hours), with hickory, mesquite and apple chips for smoke on this round. Start time 10:00 PM MT.
I opted to slice the points after their 14.75hr ride (I wouldn't have thought they would take that long, considering I had a few temp spikes). 180*+I/T when I decided to get busy with foil and towel-wrap, and they seemed to have rendered out quite a bit of inter-muscular fat, so I thought it would add another dimension to the sliced brisket...and being we have mostly pulled meats as well as a larger portion of the briskets pulled due to the way I prepared them before smoking, I felt some extra sliced brisket would be in order.

The flats were lagging behind the points all along by an average of 10* or so since I first stuck 'em for I/Ts @ 6:30 this morning. I did have some temp spikes late last night and early this morning (250-270*), but I did catch a nap from about 3:00 am - 6:00 am, so I'm not completely exhausted. The weather was playing a big role in temp control with this smoke...snow off and on, changing winds...just not ideal conditions, but better than I expected after seeing the forecast. I had my plan, the meat was thawed, so I had to roll with it and deal with whatever came along the way...not too bad, though.

I foiled the two points in the same package, overlapping the thinnest portions with the heavy ends riding solo, towel-wrapped and rested for 2 hours. Sliced with the same carving knife I like so much, and here's the result of their long night in the smoke...note: this is with a wet-to-dry smoke chamber with relatively lean point and flat cuts of brisket...

Points are just waking up from their 2-hr nap...1st to go under the knife on the right...the other went back to wraps until the 1st was sliced. I didn't get pics straight out of the smoker with the points, but it looks pretty much unchanged. Notice the signs of a slow weeping of meat juices on the top side...red to pink in color...this is only my second smoked brisket using a wet-to-dry smoke chamber, and I wasn't looking for signs of positive reactions from the brisket for this smoke, but I'm seeing a lot of it with these separated points and flats thus far...I would not have even took notice if it hadn't been so prominent, as this thread is not intended to be about smoke chamber humidity and it's effects on the meat at all:













5.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 14, 2013


















7.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 14, 2013


















P1010541.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 14, 2013






Check out the zoom-able pics (if you right-click and open to a new tab you get a quick zoom) for smoke ring, moisture, thickness of bark...I give you sliced brisket point:













9.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 14, 2013


















10.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 14, 2013






Oh, and did I mention these points had a bark so hard I could not slice the heal? On the left, the heal was approx 2/3 or more of the overall thickness of the piece of meat, and so hard I thought I would slip and cut myself because I was forcing the blade down with both hands trying to break through it...very hard bark...LOVE IT!!!













12.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 14, 2013


















13.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 14, 2013


















14.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 14, 2013


















15.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 14, 2013


















16.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 14, 2013






Flats are about to come out for a breather after their 18-hr ride through the smoke @ ~180*:













17.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 14, 2013


















18.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 14, 2013






Upper flat just out...this is 3.25 hours after removing all of the meat (points) above it, so these juices are from this cut, not drippings, and it's still weeping after being just over 180*...can't wait to see how these slices look...I'm wishing this wasn't for a reheat right now, as this will make for very moist sliced brisket flat...mmm-mmm-mmm!!! However, I do feel I have the skills to repeat this smoke, so I'll just have to wait until I can do a personal smoke and find out for myself:













19.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 14, 2013






Lower flat just out...some of this may be drippings from the above flat, but I didn't see signs of streaming liquid coming down over the edges/sides of the first one to come out, so little if any is drippings from above...this one almost appears to bursting at the seams form excessive moisture which it can no longer contain:













20.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 14, 2013






Here's a better color representation of the juices (and bark, btw):













21.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 14, 2013






It is possible that the interior moisture was being held in place for so long from the dry smoke chamber and heavy bark it created that it was just now beginning to release meat juices through the path of least resistance, but at this high of a temperature??? Doesn't seem normal to me, but then using a dry smoke chamber has produced a lot of unexpected results in the past:













22.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 14, 2013


















23.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 14, 2013






First flat foiled, upper flat in the smoker:













24.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 14, 2013






I really like how these sliced up...a bit too tender for a reheat as I had to slice quite a bit thicker to prevent them from falling apart under the blade, but the bark was slightly softer than the points, tons of moisture for a flat-cut no-foil smoke, and pretty nice smoke ring to boot:













25.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 14, 2013


















26.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 14, 2013


















27.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 14, 2013


















28.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 14, 2013






Last one out...the larger flat cut from the bottom grate:













29.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 14, 2013


















30.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 14, 2013


















31.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 14, 2013


















32.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 14, 2013


















33.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 14, 2013


















34.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 14, 2013






These flats came out in excellent shape, other than a tad too tender for a reheat, but would be nearly prefect for eating straight out of the smoker.

DaveOmak had the opportunity to try this method for a brisket after I smoked these up. You can read about his experience and what his Bride and himself thought of the results HERE.
The second best of my first 2 brisket smokes using the wet-to-dry method...pulled point and sliced flat...well, that depends on how much you like pulled brisket point, though, as that portion of this smoke worked out just fine...the flats suffered a little from having some fat-cap after trimming...could have been much worse, but I know it could have been better, also...

Rubbed and ready...the first point, with a light fat-cap...should get some nice crispy bark on this fella:













1.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 1, 2013






The first flat...pretty lean for deeper, more uniform smoke penetration and less to trim off for packaging to freeze it all up...should have a nice bark as well, especially with a dry smoke chamber and no-foil cooking to finish it all up...can't wait to see the smoke ring on these sliced flats...the fat-cap generally reduces smoke reaction quite a bit...we'll see later:













2.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 1, 2013






Here's what my cut-up briskets look like loaded into the Vault...didn't really want to go that route, but I needed a way to fit it all in at one time. The presentation won't change, as it will all be in pans when served, so nothing is lost to looks when it's all ready to eat:













3.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 1, 2013


















4.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 1, 2013


















5.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 1, 2013






Should be a pretty easy smoke today for the briskets...the prep wasn't bad, either. I would have liked to do a full point/flat separation vs cutting through the slab in half...it would have yielded slightly more sliced flat, but fitting on the grates was the issue here, and this should provided a bit more even cooking than a full separation can give, short of playing with hot/cold spots on the different grate positions in the smoker...been there, done that, too.

I did a grate rotation on everything, except the 2 flats on the upper grate, to even out cooking a bit. The first flat to go in on the upper left is sitting in the lower 140* range @ 9.75 hours in...slow going...I did let the foil drippings catch run dry after about 7 hours (only had to add to it once) when the smoke was starting to thin out a bit, so with a humid smoke chamber for smoke reaction, then dry for moisture retention in the meat and development of bark, this should be one of my best brisket smokes for a very long time (I just learned about changing the smoke chamber humidity last spring). Lookin' tasty already, and we're a LONG way from finished..still red juices on the top of the points, so they'll be riding it out for many hours...sometime in the early AM, I suspect:













6.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 1, 2013






I had one of the upper grate flats (right side) come out @ 170* with 12 hours into the smoke...probed semi-tender, just like I wanted for the reheat, so it came out for foiled.towel-wrapped resting.

Nap-time, little friend...this one had the least amount of the point muscle still attached from when I cut the whole packer in two...pretty uniform in thickness:













7-11hrs.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013


















8-11hrs.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013


















9-11hrs.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013






The 14-hour mark rolled around to greet me with the second and  third slicing subjects both at/near 170*, probing felt like where I wanted as well, so they into the foil for their nap.

I moved the upper-left flat towards the right, as it seemed to be a bit warmer on that side...remember, the upper right was the first to go in and one of the last flats to come out:













10-12hrs.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013






Second slicing subject:













11-12hrs.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013






A look at part of the point muscle here @ 4-5 0'clock:













12-12hrs.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013






...and again, @ 6 0'clock...the fat layer between top and bottom is the give-away:













13-12hrs.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013






And, the third and final slicing subject...a little less point muscle still attached, but relatively uniform in thickness as well:













14-12hrs.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013


















15-12hrs.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013






Overall, I feel all three cooked very evenly throughout, so the slices should be very uniform after reheating, and should get slightly more tender, given a couple hours reheating time...couldn't have came out much better for I was shooting for on the flats. As long as I do the reheat as planned, this should be as good of texture for serving as I can get the sliced flat from this brisket for this reception dinner. I'll have to remember this method for smoking (cutting the whole packer in half), because it looks like it worked perfectly for what I wanted. If the fat layer between the point/flat rendered out a lot, I may not even trim any fat away...we'll see.

The moment of truth...watch for the smoke ring (or minimization under any fat...another reason to trim lean) and glistening juices when you open pics to a new tab to zoom-in.

Nap-time's over (2 hours resting)...meet my favorite carving knife...orientation of the flat is the point-end, or where I cut the point/flat apart, being on the right...to find the muscle grain, knowing that the flat grain runs lengthwise the whole packer brisket (point runs across), was simple...start slicing where I cut the point/flat apart by cutting that heal off first and following the same line of cut to the opposite end for a cross-cut giving the most tender bite and chew...when in doubt, just look for the small fat layering which separates the two muscles where you cut the packer apart (it may not be easy to find the cut after smoking/shrinkage from cooking)...how much easier could it be though, right?:













16.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013






The heal (top slice) shows the fat layer separating the point and flat muscles down lower in the slice...flat muscle grain running with the slice...think I'll just leave it as is, and the next couple slices had even less fat, of course...happy with this, so far:













17.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013






View from heal-end (where the point was cut off) towards the flat...second and third slice showing their slight fat layering:













18.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013






Opposite heal-end...lighting/color showed up better to see the smoke ring here...happy with this as well:













20.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013






Well, my carving knife and skills have served me well, yet again...nice, even slices @ 3/8-1/2" thickness...again, just the way I wanted for reheating and serving purposes...:













21.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013






Did I mention JUICY? (just in case you forgot to zoom-in...LOL!!!) I found very little, if any, juices on the board, so the resting time and rate of temperature drop was adequate in all respects...not super-hot for handling, but pretty warm still. I found a small amount of rendered fat on the board when I cleaned it up to wait for the second flat for slicing. I did take a part of the left heal that fell off when I was bagging to weigh and freeze...the thicker portion of it...smoke is dead-on...great match for the simple rub and the stronger flavors of the brisket...not overpowering, so those newer to Q won't be shocked and want to never eat Q again (I like to go easy on the newbies if I think there will be any dining on my eats). GREAT bark, and moderately tender chew beyond the bark. The rub has a nice little kick from the extra dose of garlic, while the pepper is right there behind it, then, the subtle and slightly sweet flavor of the onion bringing in it's share of the profile, and just a slight hint of salt...with a AU Jus drenched reheat, the overall flavor profile will be slightly saltier...dare I say this rub is perfect at this point in time for my overall plan to serve it?...I think everyone who has had brisket, and most new to it as well, will enjoy it! Another big hit is near completion, and my smoking list is shrinking.
Let's see if any fat cap reduced the smoke reaction on the second or third flat, shall we?...not that it matter a whole lot, as there will be plenty of flavor to go around after the reheat mingles things up a little bit more...just for curiosity's sake so others can see what the fat cap can do to smoke reaction.

Second flat to go under the knife...approx 2.5 hours resting..OK, this one I had to inspect for a bit to find the fat layer indicating my cut for slicing...irregular shape and shrinkage had me guessing...where is that fat layer? Ah, there we are:













22.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013






Oh, before I forget, I decided to get a shot of the foil right after dropping the flat onto the board...notice it's mostly rendered fat and coloring from smoke and rub, with a few small droplets of water (quite possibly only condensed water vapor during resting/cooling), if you look closely...no added liquids for this resting:













23.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013






Hah!!! I nailed it! Grain is as I expected it would be after searching for the fat layer, so I just got after it...btw, orientation on the board is the same as the first so you can follow along, however, this flat was positioned in the smoker upside-down, as in the point flap is on top instead of bottom as was the case with the first sliced flat...should easier to find that flat-cap I'm looking for on this one, I think:













24.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013






The irregular shape made for some interesting slicing through the heavy bark when I got to the far left end, as indicated by the crumbs you see there...not over-tender, but the transition into the heal-end at an angle was quite challenging to break through the bottom bark...the smaller crumbs at the top are from heavy bark as well...not perfect, but, not being eaten right now, either...and so it goes:













25.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013


















26.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013






OK, looking for those thin fat-cap section and lack of smoke ring..there's some visible here, but let's move to the rest, where it really shows up...look at the top of each slice in the pics below ...you'll find several (if not many) light layers of fat, just in a short space...look under that for a smoke ring...none...period...at least I couldn't see it in my pic-viewer on my PC...open to a new tab and zoom-in on those spots...that will tell you the rest of the story...and THAT is why I recommend lean-trimmed meats for the best smoke reaction and moisture retention using a wet-to-dry smoke chamber:













27.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013


















28.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013


















29.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013






The points (pulling subjects) appeared to be in med-low temp stalls with the mid-right being @ 151* and the two on bottom both in a holding pattern @ 155* @ 12 hours into the smoke (14-hr check is 165/165/163* and a 16.5hr check of 165/171/166*..another high-temp stall...nice!!!), so pulled point may be mid-late morning after a decent rest for them (creeping up on 2:30 AM now). That translates to a long night for me, but I'll live through it...not my first rodeo (and won't be my last), as many of you long-time members here already know.

I gotta slice, bag and get final weights on the third flat and get ready to yank one of the points foiled resting, as it probed pretty darn tender at 171*, but will it pull at that temp if rested adequately? Dunno...thinking another ~5*, though, before I go for it. Here;s the possible stumbling block with points: they have a lot of inter-muscular fat, which when still cooking, or relatively hot, will show little to no resistance to a probe when poking around for tenderness...the muscles could still have a lot of connective tissues that have not yet melted away quite as much as I want them too...could make for a somewhat tougher pull than I'd like to try my hands at, especially when it's going to be fairly hot even after several hours of resting. The side benefit of not having them all that tender is a more forgiving reheat the day of the wedding for serving...it would require a bit longer heating at a higher temp to finish cooking them, is all. Take them to 180* or so instead of the standard minimum of 165* for reheated PHF (potentially hazardous foods). Or, I could hold them at higher temps (slowly cooking the pulled point even further) when getting final preps done for serving the meal. So, as you can now see, there are several ways I could get around them being not quite as tender as I would like them to be, based on how tough the pulling is. Ah, what to do, what to do...OK, play it safe, go with the original plan of ~185*, but I may drop that to 180* and have a somewhat happy medium, without dropping off of the original target temp too much. My first gut instincts are usually correct with these types of things, so I don't want to start second-guessing this late in the game, and then later on wish I had left it alone...so leave it alone is what I'll do (almost...heh-heh).
OK, on to the final sliced flat...and why I took these pics...wasn't going to, but, thought I'd share a couple more things...

Can you tell which way the grain runs on this flat?













30.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013






Are you sure?













31.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013






Here's the point's muscle grain, running against the back of the blade of my carving knife:













32.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013






Here ya go...a little better view...I had to lift up the point-grain to determine it's direct, just to figure out which side to start slicing from...I'll show you why in the next sets:













33.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013






This was the point which I trimmed the least...so the fat layering over the point was still there, and that caused me to look at two fat layers on intersecting sides...(which is which here, really???):













34.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013






And, here's another thing I hadn't thought about doing, but because things happened this way with this flat having some additional fat, it may be just what some folks like on their sliced brisket, so I figure I'll leave this as it is, and with a little more variety, I can't go wrong with this smoked brisket portion of the buffet.

Just a couple of them have a heavy layer, but if anyone asks me for it, I'll have some for them:













35.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013


















36.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013


















37.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013





One last peek before they go into foil and towels for rest:













38.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013


















39.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013






The remains of the first pulled point...a couple small pieces meat still in there that I missed, but it's a clean pull to dine on for everyone:













40.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013


















41.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013






When I weighed this first pull, I knew I fell WAY short on my target weight for the finished brisket...this was 2lbs-5oz, or something like that (didn't bother to write this first weight down, knowing I had more smoking ahead of me yet). All I need to do is duplicate this smoke one more time with 2 more packers, which will be easy after doing 3, and I'll be ready with the brisket end of this project:













42.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013


















43.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013


















44.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013






All three points are pulled and ready for final weights after bagging...I think you can notice the finer strands of meat on top here as well...from the tougher pulling subject, which was the largest with a lower finished temp...it worked out, but did require extra time and effort:













45.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013


















46.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013


















47.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013


















48.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013


















49.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013


















50.JPG



__ forluvofsmoke
__ Apr 2, 2013






That was all hand-pulled, no tolls used, except for nitrile-gloved fingers.

So, around 180* seemed to be the magic number for a decent pull...at least it's close to the minimum finished temp I feel I could get away with and still have reasonably tender, yet firm pulled point for reheating. Whether or not the smoke chamber temp drop I had early this morning had anything to do with this or not is unknown to me. It could have caused enough internal temp drop which may have allowed a bit more melting of collagen for an easier pull vs just getting straight to 180* without temp issues...dunno...you decide. I am almost convinced that it would be detrimental, if it had any effect on the outcome. The only thing I have from this which makes me think otherwise is the ease of pulling with two finished @ ~180* vs the largest one @ around 172*...doesn't really say a lot to back anything, though.

I did sample a few small, but long pieces with some bark at the very end...firm, but tender with a nice, strong, but smooth beef flavor as expected, nice smoke as well, and the rub was simple enough to go nicely with the point, as well as the flat. Some may think that the point and flat taste a bit differently and I would have to agree. When you eat enough brisket you will notice the subtle differences, and I believe it has to do with the high amount of inter-muscular fat in the point vs the leaner muscle of the point (flat, man I'm tired)...fat adds flavor...so it would stand to reason that the point should taste better. I have been doing burnt ends for so long now, and little else with the point, so I may have forgotten that flavor, but it's definitely worth not making BE's now and then to get the full experience of a packer brisket....this should make for some great eating for any brisket enthusiasts at the reception dinner.
That's most of what I have on the Wet-to-Dry Smoke Chamber Method for Brisket at this point in time. As I gather more info, possibly from another smoke in the near future, I'll put it all together and toss up a Wiki Article.

EDIT: Wedding thread link (multiple meats, all wet-to-dry smoke chamber)...just in case you're curious:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...or-planning-smoking-q-view-meats-are-finished

Any questions, please, don't hesitate to ask. I'll add points made in discussion to the Wiki article as well, so discussions are welcome.

Eric

EDIT: if anyone uses this method, I encourage you to post a thread explaining your thoughts and results...always look forward to additional info so we can all gain a better understanding of how it works and that, yes it does in fact work. Please, PM with a link to your thread in case I miss it, so I you can share the experience with me as I have for you. If you like, PM me any questions or comments, or post them here.

EDIT: Wki Article: http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/wet-to-dry-no-foil-smoke-chamber-method-for-smoking-meats


----------



## s2k9k (May 24, 2013)

Thanks for breaking this down for us Eric!!!
I was looking for one of your threads about brisket in a wet/dry chamber for another member tonight but couldn't really find one so I linked your Daughters wedding thread and some pork butt threads. I will bookmark this one for sure!!!!
Thanks again, Dave


----------



## jaybone (May 24, 2013)

S2K9K said:


> Thanks for breaking this down for us Eric!!!
> I was looking for one of your threads about brisket in a wet/dry chamber for another member tonight but couldn't really find one so I linked your Daughters wedding thread and some pork butt threads. I will bookmark this one for sure!!!!
> Thanks again, Dave


Can you please explain how to bookmark a post?  I tried using the search function but am having trouble finding what I'm looking for.  I really want to be able to set Eric's thread up so that I can easily find it in the future.  Thanks.


----------



## forluvofsmoke (May 24, 2013)

S2K9K said:


> Thanks for breaking this down for us Eric!!!
> I was looking for one of your threads about brisket in a wet/dry chamber for another member tonight but couldn't really find one so I linked your Daughters wedding thread and some pork butt threads. I will bookmark this one for sure!!!!
> Thanks again, Dave


You're welcome, Dave. Yeah, I've been meaning to do this for a while now, but have still been playing catchup after that marathon 1-month smoke I had going for the wedding. I figured it was long overdue...

As for other threads on wet-to-dry smoke chamber with brisket, there were none...the wedding was my first shot at brisket with it, so that was it...you did all you could with what you knew was out there, so, well done, brother!

Eric

EDIT: this thread now shows up if in the search I linked in my signature line for Wet/Dry Smoke Method, so if you're on one of my posts or my profile page, you're just a click away from the info.


----------



## jaybone (May 24, 2013)

Thanks Eric!  There's so much great information in your post and your photos are awesome.  I definitely want to give your ideas a shot.


----------



## forluvofsmoke (May 24, 2013)

JayBone said:


> S2K9K said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks for breaking this down for us Eric!!!
> ...


Just mouse to an area towards the top of the page that has no embedded links, photos, etc, right click and select "book mark this page" then select what portion of your bookmarks you want to save it in your browser and type in the name you want to appear on the bookmark for easier identification, if needed. When you have a long list of bookmarks, you can organize them by setting up different folders for different websites (or by type such as cooking, etc) and move it to which ever folder you like. Keeping them organized is important if you bookmark like I do...I have several hundred book-marked web pages.

Eric

EDIT: Also, to find threads you [posted in more easily, go to the upper portion of any page here on SMF and mouse over the "Forums" link on the header...You'll see in th uppermost part of the drop-down a line of forums titled" Forums, New Posts, Hot, Unanswered, I've Posted. The one titled "I've Posted" is a recap of every thread you posted in, including your own. It will bring up the most recently active threads in chronological order so you can follow what's going on in threads that have been inactive for long periods of time, but have new posts in them that you may have missed on the "New Posts" page...very helpful when you get more active on the forums to keep up with everything that's going on.

Amy threads you posted in will show up in your Profile page as well, but you'll have to click the "more" button on bottom center of the list to view threads you haven't posted in as recently, even if they went active again after being inactive.


----------



## s2k9k (May 25, 2013)

JayBone said:


> Can you please explain how to bookmark a post?  I tried using the search function but am having trouble finding what I'm looking for.  I really want to be able to set Eric's thread up so that I can easily find it in the future.  Thanks.



Another way is to "Subscribe" to it. At the top just below the title of the thread and at the very bottom of the thread you will see "Subscribe", click that and a pop-up will appear giving you choices of being notified by email when someone posts to the thread, if you don't want to be notified just select "Site Only" then "Save". At the top right corner of any page just below the "Chat" button you will see "Subscriptions", click that and it will take you to a list of all threads you are subscribed to. That's how I do it.


----------



## jaybone (May 25, 2013)

Eric and Dave thanks for the feedback!  I'll try these techniques out today.


----------



## woodcutter (May 25, 2013)

Eric, I was so impressed with this thread that I just put a brisket and water pan in my smoker (a first for both in my smoker) This method makes sense to me and I'll let you know how the brisket turns out tomorrow. Thanks for thinking this out and putting it on the forum.


----------



## forluvofsmoke (May 25, 2013)

Woodcutter said:


> Eric, I was so impressed with this thread that I just put a brisket and water pan in my smoker (a first for both in my smoker) This method makes sense to me and I'll let you know how the brisket turns out tomorrow. Thanks for thinking this out and putting it on the forum.


You're most welcome. Thank You for having the faith and trust in me to try it. And yes, I'm definitely interested in knowing how it works out for you, as I'm sure others will be as well!

Let me know if you run into anything that brings up a question...I'd be happy to help...I'll be up fairly late tonight with a picnic smoke going, so, I'll be a while before eyelid inspections are due.

Have a GREAT smoke!

Eric


----------

