My First Brisket On Saturday. Any tips?

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asmonro

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Never done a brisket before and have read and read about it. Going to be a whole choice packer on the wsm. The plan is a basic salt, pepper, garlic, and maybe paprika for color. Cook around 260-275 using pecan, since that is where the wsm likes to sit. Cookmit until it probes like butter in the thickest part of the flat and rest it. The thing I am not sure of is wrapping or injecting. I don't think I want to because I don't like doing eiter on butts. Plus for a first cook, seems like keep it simple stupid might be the best choice. Am I missing anything?
 
for your first one, i'd not worry about wrapping/injecting or any of the other crazy stuff you can find to do to a brisket. get a baseline on what your cooker churns out unscathed and go from there.

sounds like you have the right idea. let it go until its done.
 
Definitely no injecting on a first brisket. The only reason IMO to inject is to change the flavor profile. First you need to see if you want to change the flavor at all. As for wrapping, I prefer not to but... if you get the color you want and it is getting too firm on the edges or you need to speed up the cook a little then wrapping will do you no harm. If you are going to wrap, butcher paper is the way to go. How are you setting up the WSM, BTW? Water, sand, empty? That will make a little difference in your decision to wrap I think. If running the pan empty, the direct heat can crisp up the bottom pretty good.

P.S. Fat cap down.
 
sliding_billy said:
Definitely no injecting on a first brisket. The only reason IMO to inject is to change the flavor profile. First you need to see if you want to change the flavor at all. As for wrapping, I prefer not to but... if you get the color you want and it is getting too firm on the edges or you need to speed up the cook a little then wrapping will do you no harm. If you are going to wrap, butcher paper is the way to go. How are you setting up the WSM, BTW? Water, sand, empty? That will make a little difference in your decision to wrap I think. If running the pan empty, the direct heat can crisp up the bottom pretty good.

P.S. Fat cap down.
Click to expand...

That will be my 5th cook on the cooker. I've used water in the pan and just double foiled it. In the few cooks I've done, I like no water better. I like bark and don't want to ruin it by wrapping with foil. I'd rather it take longer and have a crisp bark.
 
Sounds like a good solid game plan to me. Probe tender is a subjective test, but you will know it when you feel it so don't be afraid to leave it on for another 30 minutes if you feel any real resistance. I have had briskets hit 205 and not be probe tender, and then an hour later still be at 205 but they were probe tender.
 
asmonro said:
Why fat cap down?
Click to expand...

To protect the meat from the heat and so that it doesn't rinse off your rub. You should always put the fat cap towards the heat source. Don't believe the nonsense about the fat basting the meat if you put the cap up. It just runs off and makes a mess of your rub.

I would start checking tenderness at around 190.
 
First time brisket, keep it simple. Then change one thing at a time. Have fun with it, and make sure it is cooked till probe tender.
 
like a few said, just don't get impatient and pull it too early. it's worth waiting for.
 
Mark the grain before you put it on the cooker (slice off a corner against the grain).

When the brisket comes off, it will have shrunk, changed shape and have a nice bark on it all of which makes it difficult to find which way the grain runs. Marking a corner lets you know which direction to slice it afterwards.
 
sliding_billy said:
To protect the meat from the heat and so that it doesn't rinse off your rub. You should always put the fat cap towards the heat source. Don't believe the nonsense about the fat basting the meat if you put the cap up. It just runs off and makes a mess of your rub.

I would start checking tenderness at around 190.
Click to expand...

+1 on the fat cap down to protect the brisket
 
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