smoked Brisket

[bergie]

Does anybody have any good recipes for making Brisket in a smoker HELP HELP!!!!

[Al Dente]

Brisket comes in a few ways.  First, is the whole, entire brisket, this is called a packer.  It consists of two separate pieces of meat, the point or deckle, and the flat.  The flat has less fat than the point does.  A whole brisket can weigh from 12-18 pounds and can take upwards of 24 hours to smoke until it is tender.

I would suggest you start with a flat or point, around 7-10 pounds.  

Starting 1 day prior to cooking.

Trim away fat until you have around 1/4".  Make an injection of 1/2 beef broth and 1/2 apple juice and inject all over the meat.  You will see it swell.  Then make a slather of 1/2 dijon mustard and 1/2 worcestershire sauce, and paint on coating on it. Put it in a large ZipLock and place in the fridge for several hours.   Take it out and rub it with your favorite rub, a good one to try is Billy Bones' Beef Master, or you can make your own.  Return it to the ZipLock and fridge until tomorrow.

1 Hour prior to cooking, remove from the fridge.

Get your smoker ready, and have your probe thermometer on hand as well.  You may put another coating of rub on it if you wish at this point.

When your smoker reaches 225-250, Get two large aluminum catering pans and set them inside each other to make a very sturdy one.  Place a rack over it, set your probe into the meat, put it on the rack.  Add beef broth and stick of butter to the pan.  This will be a base for the dripping to catch in.  Place it in the smoker.  Equal parts beef broth and apple juice into a spray bottle to keep the meat moist every few hours.  When the temp hit 165 on the probe, take it out and double wrap in heavy duty foil and place back in the smoker.  When it hits 190, it is ready for slicing, let it go til 195 if you want to pull it.  Take it out and wrap it in a towel and place in a dry cooler for an hour or so to let it rest.  Serve with the drippings, your favorite sauce and enjoy.  It will look like a meteorite, don't worry, it is supposed to look this way.  Remember to slice across the grain for tender slices.

It may take some time to cook, but figure around 45 minutes per pound.  And the temp might climb quickly, then stop alltogether for a few hours, then it will resume.  This is normal, don't sweat it.

Burnt ends are made from the point.  After the brisket is cooked, pieces are cut into 1" chunks, tossed with drippings and sauce, set in a pan, and placed back into the smoker for a few more hours.

[Mint]

That sounds like a good one Al. I'm going to give it a try later this month for my first brisket.

[Al Dente]

Go for it Jeff.  Any questions, drop me a line or give me a call (516-997-7348, 646-294 4062)BTW, you don't need to purchase an Angus brisket, the cost does not reflect in the taste, as the meat is going for a long time and developing on its' own.

[Bobby Urban]

x2 on anything Al Dente suggests for sure.  Making your own rub is not too tough and can get you a unique flavor that incorporates what you like.  Also, there are many great places online to find brisket and rub recipes.  If you want to go with something a little different but very, very good and pre-made check out "Red Monkey" rubs and get some Mango Habanero.  It is great on a brisket.  Rub and let it set in the frig overnight and rub some more before you put it on the cooker.  Slow and low with a temp probe to track temps without having to open the rig.  

I suggest checking out "smokering.com" for some good information.

Bob Urban

[xchadx]

http://www.thesmokerking.com/page1a.html
here is a good link it give you step by step and is fairly simple made plenty of briskets with this recipe and always turns out well

[Bill Kissner]

We periodically do custom BBQing for large private parties. I have tried several commercial rubs plus my own rub that I use for other meats. About 2 years ago I started using Lawrys seasoning salt and cracked pepper. Put it on the meat pretty heavy and refrigerate over night. It was far better than anything I had ever used and is all I use today. Brisket really only needs salt and pepper and a quarter inch smoke layer in the meat to taste best. Let my know how you like it!

[Dave Bulla]

Bill, I agree with you.  Brisket is best kept simple and can be excellent with just salt and pepper.  I usually just use some onion and garlic powder (sparingly), some crushed black pepper, well actually quite a bit of pepper and maybe some crushed coriander and salt.  I prefer mesquite for brisket since I've spent time in Texas.  Might have to try the Lawry's.

Funny you mention the Lawry's season salt.  I used to work in the factory here in Missouri where it was made doing machine maintenance.  Unilever (the parent company) sold Lawry's to McCormic in '09 though and I was out of a job.  McCormic wasn't really that interested in the season salt or our other spices as much as they wanted the Lawry's marinades and the Adolph's tenderizer lines.  They still make Lawry's but somewhere else.  I've got one of the bottles from the very last case ever run in our factory dated and signed by all the operators and mechanics on shift at the time.  I used to know the recipe but not any more.  It had something like 14 or 17 ingredients.  But we made it in 2,400lb batches...

I really love that stuff on home made french fries!

[Bill Kissner]

You are certainly right about the mesquite Dave. I have a very large wood pellet smoker. I was at a food grade pellet maker a year or so ago and picked up 400 pounds of the mesquite. I really like them on any cut of beef. I am down to my last bag and will have to get more. I do mostly pork and use hickory pellets for it.

[Flt Rck Shtr]

Get online and find some Gold Buckle Brisket sauce. Marinate for 4-5 days and cook in a roaster at 225 degrees for about 5 hrs. and You'll be surprised at how good it is. I ate this for the first time at an Air Force base in Abilene Texas. They have an appreciation day there for the base and people bring in brisket cooked 50-60 different ways !! This one stood out as one of my favorites. Takes about 3 bottles to marinate a 15 lb. brisket. Then there is a dipping sauce recipe on the bottle also. MMMMM Goood !!

[limbow]

I think Bergie got it figured out!!! He sent me these photo's to post. I can tell you first hand he does an amazing job on Blacktail jerky    Thanks Bergie!

 
 
 
 

[CoyoteBryceBowyer]

I normally take 3 days to make a brisket. I start off my marinating the meat over night smothered in italian dressing, and/or balsamic vinegar. after it has been in the fridge for 24 hours, I take it out and wipe off all the marinade. I mix mayonaise, honey and mustard into a small bowl and rub the mix all over pretty thick on the meat. I then add a rub made by the smokehouse in Elgin, Texas. I slap that sucker on the smoker that has been burning down into nice hot coals for a couple of hours, but do not put directly over coals. I then add a couple small pieces of semi damp wood to the coals to begin the smoking process and to keep the fire going. I add a piece or two every hour or so as needed. when I go to bed, I add my flavored soaked chips to smolder over night and lay just a piece of tin foil over the meat just to help trap in moister. the next morning if the skin has developed nice and crisp, I will wrap in tin foil completely covered with a little honey and water inside and bring the heat up about 50 degrees and continue that temp til the next day. at which you should have some melt in your mouth brisket....
sorry for going on and on, i love cooking, grilling, bbqing and smoking, so i get a little passionate about it.. hahaha