Bear Country Brisket

[Keith1e]

Living in the mountains in Colorado you have to worry about bears possibly stealing your meat. I'm not sure this has really happened while smoking a brisket, but I don't want to take a chance. So, if smoking for over 12 hours, like a full brisket, then that means starting one day and finishing on day 2. My first attempt last week turned out pretty good, but I'm interested in any other suggestions for a 2 day smoking.

My first crack at this on the pellet grill:
Day 1: 6 hrs @ 165, flipping once, 5 hrs @ 185 (fat side up) when internal meat temp got to 150 and appeared to be stalling, wrap in foil and sit for 1.5 hr and refrigerate overnight.
Day 2: In oven at 200 for 2 hrs to warm back up, put in alum tray with 1 cup beef broth and covered with foil, back in the smoker at 225 for about 5 hrs when internal meat temp was 195, wrapped in foil and towels and put in a cooler for 2 hours.

I am trying to cook Low and Slow, and of course get the brisket as tender as possible. (I used to go to a place in TX to eat hickory smoked brisket that was served with a plastic fork - ummm!) This brisket was fairly tender (by the way, I got it at Sam's and they age for 45 days), but I would like better yet. And, the smoke ring was not very prominent, but maybe that is just an issue with a pellet grill? Anyway, any thoughts or suggestions are welcome.

 

[Shagdog]

As long as you can get it to 165 the first day, theoretically you can split it, BUT....

Why not just turn up your smoker? Cook it at a higher temp. at 300 you can finish a brisket in 6-7 hours. Hot and fast cooking will change the way you think of BBQ forever.. and keep the bears away..

I'm not familiar with Pellet cookers enough to say if that was the full cause of your lack of smoke ring, but it could contribute.. other causes could include what rub you used (nitrate/nitrite levels in your rub play a part in the ring formation) moisture levels in the smoker, pellet brand, etc, etc.. Not that it matters... its just for looks :-D

 

[oldbill]

As long as you can get it to 165 the first day, theoretically you can split it, BUT....

Why not just turn up your smoker? Cook it at a higher temp. at 300 you can finish a brisket in 6-7 hours. Hot and fast cooking will change the way you think of BBQ forever.. and keep the bears away..

I'm not familiar with Pellet cookers enough to say if that was the full cause of your lack of smoke ring, but it could contribute.. other causes could include what rub you used (nitrate/nitrite levels in your rub play a part in the ring formation) moisture levels in the smoker, pellet brand, etc, etc.. Not that it matters... its just for looks :-D

Yep^^^^ turn up the wick Son!:wink:
I generally cook in the 275 to 300 range, wrapping after 4 hours and it's usually done in the 7 to 8 hour time frame depending on the size of the brisket. Here's my brisket method if you'd like to try it sometime, it's primarily the same as Bludawg's and will work on pretty much any cooker.:-D
CENTRAL TEXAS STYLE BRISKET
To make a true central Texas style brisket you'll need four key ingredients, beef, kosher salt, coarse black pepper and smoke! Here's my method.
Start with a whole packer brisket. A whole packer consist of two parts, the point (fattier portion) and the flat (the leaner portion). Be sure and ask your market manager or butcher for that cut.
Once you have found your brisket, trim the fat cap layer down to about 1/4 inch or less. The idea is to have a thin layer of fat that will render down, marry up with your spice rub and become a sticky, crunchy and flavorful part of the bark.
After the fat has been trimmed down, I like to apply some cooking oil which helps the rub to adhere to the meat and activates the natural oils in the spices.
The spice rub will consist of a 50/50 blend of kosher salt and 16 mesh coarse ground black pepper. I like to dust mine with a little garlic powder as well but the important things are the salt and pepper. Coat the meat well with the rub and allow the rub to mix in with the oil for 30 minutes to an hour.
Heat the pit to 275 (different cookers like to run at different temperatures and you may be cooking at higher or lower temps but the method remains the same, only cooking time is effected).Smoke the brisket for 4 hours, after the first 4 hours wrap the brisket in butcher paper or foil and continue cooking at 275, checking the flat for tenderness after 3 more hours of cooking. To do this simply find a sharp pointed object such as a thermometer or skewer and poke the flat in several places, (always determine doneness by probing for tenderness, not IT) when it has the feel of room temperature butter it's time to pull the brisket off of the cooker.
Allow the brisket,... still wrapped in butcher paper... to rest on the kitchen counter for a minimum of 2 hours, at the end of the rest period it's ready for slicing. Slice against the grain and enjoy.:-D
NOTE: If you wrap with foil be sure and vent it after taking the brisket off of the pit and allow the IT to come down to about the 150 range, then reseal the foil for the remainder of the resting period.
Using this method I can usually get a 15 pound whole packer done in 7 to 8 hours (not counting resting time).:wink:

 

[AlwaysSmokey]

I never worried about bears when I lived in Carbondale. Just cook the thing ! Your using a pellet pooper anyway right? Turn your little knob and go to bed. Just my opinion... Happy smokin.

Regards,

Kevin

 

[Bludawg]

Turn it up you're warmin it to death really I make jerky at 175:tsk: Bears aint a problem get out the lawn chair a jug of your favorite sippin whisky and the ole 45-70 if Yogi or BooBoo stop by to steal your picnic basket blast hell out of 'em Bear meat is good eatin.:becky:

 

[brimclau]

Yep, just had the butcher make me some pretty good italian sausage with a black bear and some yummy beef (bear) sticks...