High Plains Full Packer Brisket - w/ Pr0n!

[ShadowDriver]

First off, I'm NOT good at cooking brisket. Before today, I've never smoked a whole packer. I've only ever been able to get flats from the DoD Commissary.

I've always pulled them too early.


The inspiration came last weekend when I discovered this sign.

I decided to go with the Bludawg hot & fast method (or as close to it as I could go).

Awoke at 0500, probably wasn't yet legal to drive, but I got the Longhorn running.

Gave the brisket a trim (first time I've ever done that, but what you folks have said sure made a lot of sense), and a rubdown with Adkins West TX rub. Into the sauna she went at 0600.

Fat cap down. Point towards the firebox, with the new baffle plate installed, the temps were much more stable. I ran her with pecan and hickory (and a handful of charcoal when I let the coal base die a bit too much).

This is 4 hours-in... just before I wrapped her with parchment paper (forgot to buy some butcher paper).

Wrapped, I flipped the fat cap on top, and continued to run the smoker at 275-325F. I'd pre-sighted my probing locations, and tore a tiny hole in 2 places, big enough to get a thick skewer into the meat.

It took a while... seriously, Bludawg's timeline just didn't hold water with this hunk of meat. She took a solid 9.5 hours to finally probe tender. Jason TQ's video on meat probing was helpful, as was the whole "avocado" description. Internal temp was 198F.

Brought inside and let rest, cooling to < 150F (took about 2 hours, as Blu says).

A bit dark, but here she is before I separated the flat and point.

Here's the reward:

I've never been able to really do that, especially with slices as thick as a #2 pencil.

Family taste tester could NOT get enough brisket...

This cook was NOT perfect - Frustrated that a good 3-4 inches in from the end of the flat were still not tender. That said, they'll be great in other stuff. Cut them off from the big hunk, and kept on going.

Should I have probed other places, besides just the thickest part of the flat?

Bottom Line - I want this to serve as an opportunity to show all the Pharkers and Pharkettes who are struggling with brisket (as I have, for years) that it CAN be done.

That's it for me... I'll get my butt back to the peanut gallery where I belong.

 

[pjtexas1]

i would be damn proud of that brisket! :thumb: what is missing from the bludawg instructions is trimming a lot of the fat between the point and flat to make the brisket as uniform as possible and to trim the crap out of the fat cap. that will cut your cook time a lot. serious that sliced pick is killer.

edit: your little one is adorable as can be. makes me smile every time you post a pic.

 

[Westx]

Good job there. I have been cooking these things for 42 years and still have some that don't turn out the way I want. Lots of time it is just the meat you are dealing with that causes the problems. One thing I try to do is always buy left hand briskets. They tend to be easier to cook as they are more tender most of the time.

 

[pjtexas1]

Good job there. I have been cooking these things for 42 years and still have some that don't turn out the way I want. Lots of time it is just the meat you are dealing with that causes the problems. One thing I try to do is always buy left hand briskets. They tend to be easier to cook as they are more tender most of the time.

You know the rules. If you're gonna drop the left hand brisket you have to give the details on how to tell the difference. :heh: it saves a lot of time.

 

[Colonel Korn]

You know the rules. If you're gonna drop the left hand brisket you have to give the details on how to tell the difference. :heh: it saves a lot of time.

I'm curious about this as well. I seem to remember hearing a story last week about someone saying that their dog preferred to be right-handed over left-handed :doh:

 

[Titch]

Brisket looks pretty good from here, tester is growing up as well, great smile:thumb:

 

[blazinfire]

That's a damn fine looking brisket! I agree with Paul on trimming the thick hard fat that goes in between the point and flat. I'm sure it makes a pretty big difference in cooking if you trim it or not.

oh yeah...... Holy cow that's cheap brisket! If I could buy it that cheap here I'd buy a few of them at one time. Most briskets here go for 2.59/lb or more. The other day I've seen our walmart carry a full packer choice for the first time ever!! But they wanted $3.56/lb.. No way I was paying that.

 

[Stingerhook]

Looks darn good to me Marc. I like the brisket and cheerio combo.

 

[wtxsmoker]

You the man for sure! That was a left side brisket no doubt. Your did it just right as well. I'll drop by later to pick up some left overs.

 

[16Adams]

I need to cook another brisket. My trimming is quick now.
Straightening 4 sides about 1/2-3/4"
Removing most of hard fat and all non white fat
Diamond scoring the fat side

9.5 hours is one of the reasons I no longer have an offset. My skill level (attention span) starts wondering off to guns-girls-Zombies and crap that most likely will never occur.
I admire peeps that can run an offset all day/night. The sight of an offset burping smoke is a thing of classic beauty.

 

[cheez59]

Great looking brisket Marc. I would be proud to cook one that looked that good. If we had $1.67 brisket around here I would cook them a LOT.

 

[LloydQ]

Great looking grub!

 

[guptaknows]

Nice looking brisket sir! Those slices look great!

 

[Jason TQ]

Looks perfect. At that price they would have had none left at the store.........:-D

 

[PappaOscar]

Looks like you nailed it. Practice makes perfection!

 

[Smoking Piney]

Looks good to me, Marc.......and taste tester approved! :-D

 

[lumpy76]

Looks better then a lot of mine. I'm still learning.

It was nice of them to put them in a cart already. I would have just wheeled the whole thing to the register at that price.

Left hand brisket?????

 

[SDAR]

Great looking brisket. Floppy too.