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First Full Packer Brisket

voidecho

voidecho

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Sounds like I'm not the only one here trying to make a full packer brisket for the first time this weekend. I've made brisket flats several times, but have never had much success with them. They've never had much fat and they've all ended up dry.

Decided to try to whole thing this time. Picked up a Choice 12 pounder from the butcher. Still need to trim it down a bit. Like I said in the other thread I'm still not 100% sure how I'm going to prepare it, but I'm planning to try an injection for the first time.

I'm currently fortifying some beef stock. Bought some canned low sodium beef broth and I'm improving it by simmering some roasted beef bones, onions, carrots, garlic and black peppercorns.

I know the biggest thing is to watch my sodium levels. May add some Accent and worcestershire to the broth. If the injection is salty, I'll cut back on the rub. Probably going to just go simple on the rub with salt, pepper and garlic powder. We'll see, may add some other spices.

Plan to start smoking it late tonight at 225 or so (a mix of charcoal briquettes, mesquite lump charcoal and hickory chunks). I think I'm going to wrap it after a few hours and put some of the broth in the wrap as a braising liquid.

Hoping it'll take about 12 hours, but we'll see. Wish me luck.

More pictures to come as I work on it.
 

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Good luck, bro! However, I'd recommend cooking it at a temp of at least 275F. Seriously, I think you will like the results better. I have it on good authority that even Aaron Franklin cooks his briskets at about 320F and I know that the great places in Lockhart, TX do the same.

Of course, you will not need 12 hours to finish the brisket at those temps, but, IMO, that's a good thing. If you wrap, it could take as much as 5 hours, it not, count on 7 to 8 hours. Either way, go by tenderness rather than by internal temp.
 
The problem I'll have with going to a higher temp is that I can't be up all night tending to the fire and I've got a way to keep my smoker at 225 or so for quite a few hours, but not much higher.

I made a charcoal fuse using mud pans. I can put lit coals in one of the pans that'll get my smoker up to 225 and it'll hold that temp for hours slowly lighting more coals. If I try to go hotter I burn through my coals too quick, so I'd be up all night. I could kick up the temp tomorrow morning.
 
So just stick with your plan and see how it goes. It's your first packer, and you won't nail every aspect of it first time out. Get a baseline, see how you enjoy the process, and then tweak one thing at a time going forward until you're happy with your routine.
But most of all: post pics!
 
Yikes! Good luck. I'm sure other brethren can help with the low & slow brisket cook as I gave up on those years ago. To me, jerky is made at 225F, not BBQ. But, I hear it can be done.
 
Maybe that's been my problem with the flats. I've always cooked them at around 225 or so. Hmmmm....
 
Could be. Listen carefully to what Aaron says at around 2:05.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD247K8KltY"]Aaron Franklin's Pits - YouTube[/ame]
 
voidecho said:
Maybe that's been my problem with the flats. I've always cooked them at around 225 or so. Hmmmm....
Click to expand...

Dry and tough or dry and crumbly? One is under cooked and the other is over cooked. Whatever you do don't pull it until it's probe tender and rest it for 2 hours if you can. You can do briskets any number of ways but those 2 things are pretty much mandatory for a tender juicy brisket.
 
I have cooked a lot of briskets in my time. Have been cooking them for over 45 years, and have had a lot of success, and a few failures/disasters. I have tried all kinds of injections, and marinades, and have never seen the results that justified the bother or time spent in preparing a brisket for smoking it. My best results have come from using a salt product ( plain salt, Lowery's salt, sea salt, kosher salt, etc ) and black pepper using all different grinds. On the salt, I find no difference in the type, other than the Lowery's which gives a darker bark, probably due to the added paprika. Sometimes I will add some garlic powder or some lemon pepper, depending on my whim at the time.

I say all this to relay that the best and easiest method for success in my experience, is to keep it simple and consistent in how you prepare your packers before cooking them. It is not a gourmet meal you are cooking. It is a tough, large, full of fat piece of meat that when cooked properly, will send your taste buds begging for more.

I used to cook them around 225 - 250 for 12 to 16 hours until they were rendered and tender. After joining this forum, and finding out about "Hot and Fast", I have used that method with great success, and would not go back to "Low and Slow". The older I get, the more I enjoy my sleep. I can put a 15 pound packer on my UDS in the morning, and have it on the table ready to eat for supper.

Some of the things that I do that may be away from the norm is that I do not trim away any fat from the flat. I do trim the point a small bit of excess hard fat to allow for more seasoning area. I cook my briskets fat side down, until the stall more or less, and then wrap in heavy duty foil fat side up and continue cooking until the flat probes like butter in the thickest part.

I then pull and let it rest after opening up the foil for about 10 minutes, and then re wrap and put it in an insulated case until ready to serve. Usually about 2 hours or so. I have learned that a brisket is not done, until it is done. You can not rush and have it turn out it's best. Tell your guests it will be worth the wait. You can trim the excess fat before serving as it will come off with a butter knife at that point. Sorry for the long winded post, I just wanted to let you see what works for me. It is really easier than reading this long post! :oops:

Blessings, :pray:

Omar
 
Thanks Omar...and everyone else. This certainly won't be my last packer so I'll look forward to trying to cook it at a higher temp next time. I am going to go simple on the rub, but I recently bought my first injector kit and I've got an itch to try it out. You're probably right that it won't add too much to the final product, but it really wasn't that much trouble to inject it.

On to the pics. Here's the brisket. First two are straight out of the package after rinsing. Second two are after I trimmed it a bit. Basically followed Mister Bob's instructions. This isn't for a competition so I didn't do it perfectly, but who cares.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=121089

Brisket is injected sitting in the fridge. No rub yet. The injection wasn't very salty, so I'll make sure to properly salt the exterior.

meat1_zps12acd588.jpg


meat2_zpse1462139.jpg


meat3_zps4830fc2b.jpg


meat4_zps28581d77.jpg
 
Well, I ran into an issue. I got up around 4:30 to check on the smoker and the temp was down below 200 (not a surprise as I'd overslept a bit). I threw some charcoal in the chimney starter and fired it up. After it was lit I put it in my firebox and I could tell something was wrong right away. The charcoal was smoking waaaaay too much and was hissing and popping like crazy. When I went to move some of the coals around with my tongs, they just disintegrated and turned to charcoal dust that covered the lit coals beneath, suffocating the fire, and causing tons of nasty smoke.

I did my best to make sure this smoke didn't get to the brisket by opening both the firebox and cook box lids. I tried to get as much of the bad charcoal out of the firebox as I could, grabbed my second bag and loaded back up the chimney starter. Same damn thing happened.

Well, lesson learned. If you're going to cook a big expensive hunk of meat, don't use charcoal briquettes, and if you do use them, don't buy the cheapest store brand bag at the store. No idea why I grabbed those bags.

So at this point, I can't run to the store to get more charcoal until later in the morning. The brisket doesn't have the bark or color I was looking for prior to wrapping, but I don't have much of a choice. I got my roasting pan out, poured in my injection mixture, pulled the brisket off and placed it fat side up into the roasting pan. Poured in more injection mixture, covered and put in my oven at 225. I'm going to get a few hours of sleep and then I'll run to the store to get some lump charcoal and probably get the brisket back on the smoker at some point for more color and smoke.

Here's what she looked like.

meat6_zpsd06b6fac.jpg
 
Aron definitely said 220. A cooking temp of 320F would make him a hot-and-fast cook, and he is definitely not that. Anyway, I heard 220 and that is consistent with his low and slow cooking style. :-D
 
Having actually been to Franklin's and having actually been back to see the pits I can tell you the needle resides north of 300. I also have a real good handle on what the magic juice is in the spray bottle too.:icon_shy
 
Bludawg said:
Having actually been to Franklin's and having actually been back to see the pits I can tell you the needle resides north of 300. I also have a real good handle on what the magic juice is in the spray bottle too.:icon_shy
Click to expand...

Over 300? I didn't go back to see the pits when I went, but I wish I had a chance to do so. Now that really surprises me. :confused: I'm starting to doubt my low and slow philosophy!
 
Well, I got up at and checked my brisket. The thermometer probe went in very easy and said right about 200.

I just removed it from the juices, wrapped it and put it in a towel lined cooler for an hour or two.

My question, is that if I want to do burnt ends with the point, should I seperate the point now before the brisket rests or wait and hour or two for the brisket to rest, then seperate the point and flat and make burnt ends from the point? Right now I'm proceeding with the second choice.
 
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