Brisket Question...

[outofyourmind]

Yes, there is a point and flat. I'm aware of two types

season and smoke only penetrate so far, if you trim post cook, you're trimming off the flavor you spent all day cooking to develop

Myth: A Melting Fat Cap Penetrates Meat

I mean this guys get people lining up for brisket everyday, I'm assuming he knows what he's talking about



I trim pork shoulder fat cap down too.

There are different methods for cooking brisket. You can cook brisket hot and fast, people win comps doing this method, but you have less margin for error.

Regardless of what I smoke I try to be in 275 range.

All fair points.
There are a million ways to do it.
Plenty of bark on the bottom for most people really.
I'm of the group that doesn't really need/want a rub on mine, the meat will do the talking.

Hot and fast is fine when you are in a cookoff because you get to pick and choose the best parts you want to serve.



My family had a BBQ restaurant that I worked in all thru high school and beyond. It was a little "hole in the wall" place. So, it's a little different when cooking for quantity.

Our pit stood 6 feet tall, 4 feet deep, and 8 feet wide. It was all wood fired, no gas to get it started or keep it going.

We always cooked the brisket fat side up, mainly because these commercial briskets were so big and heavy that dragging them across the grates would destroy the tops. And you had to rotate them so they cooked evenly. Hotter at the top of the pit, cooler at the bottom. Left side was hotter than the right side, etc.

I figure I've smoked about 100,000 lbs of brisket. It's not the only way to do it, but it was our way, and it worked pretty good.

 

[PnkPanther]

All fair points.
There are a million ways to do it.
Plenty of bark on the bottom for most people really.
I'm of the group that doesn't really need/want a rub on mine, the meat will do the talking.

Hot and fast is fine when you are in a cookoff because you get to pick and choose the best parts you want to serve.



My family had a BBQ restaurant that I worked in all thru high school and beyond. It was a little "hole in the wall" place. So, it's a little different when cooking for quantity.

Our pit stood 6 feet tall, 4 feet deep, and 8 feet wide. It was all wood fired, no gas to get it started or keep it going.

We always cooked the brisket fat side up, mainly because these commercial briskets were so big and heavy that dragging them across the grates would destroy the tops. And you had to rotate them so they cooked evenly. Hotter at the top of the pit, cooler at the bottom. Right side was hotter than the left side.

I figure I've smoked about 100,000 lbs of brisket. It's not the only way to do it, but it was our way, and it worked pretty good.

BBQ like other foods comes down to personal preference. I wouldn't turn your brisket down and I doubt you'd spit mine out.

I tend to do more beef ribs than brisket because of quantity and I'm not huge on brisket leftovers.

I'm just a guy cooking in my backyard

 

[SU Nittany Tide]

Yes, there is a point and flat. I'm aware of two types

season and smoke only penetrate so far, if you trim post cook, you're trimming off the flavor you spent all day cooking to develop

Myth: A Melting Fat Cap Penetrates Meat

I mean this guys get people lining up for brisket everyday, I'm assuming he knows what he's talking about



I trim pork shoulder fat cap down too.

There are different methods for cooking brisket. You can cook brisket hot and fast, people win comps doing this method, but you have less margin for error.

Regardless of what I smoke I try to be in 275 range.

Like I said earlier, I put the fat cap on bottom. Any perceived "soaking in" is unnecessary because there is plenty of fat throughout. It will certainly affect the adjacent meat though. The only reason I even questioned the trimming here is because he apparently struggles with getting dry brisket which is I've never witnessed anywhere outside of a Famous Dave's.

I do pulled pork quite a bit differently. I inject a combination of apple juice and homemade Carolina vinegar sauce. I smoke at 160 overnight then go to 225 at 6 in the morning. I do trim pork butt to maximize the bark. I will wrap if need be depending on how quickly it is getting to temp. Usually it is on there for around 18 hours with another hour or more wrapped in the cooler.

I'm surprised to hear you go as high as 275. You'd get more smoke penetration lower.

 

[PnkPanther]

As to Hot and Fast, it works for non comp style as well. I've always done mine hovering around 275.

I'll do baby back ribs at 300+

 

[PnkPanther]

Like I said earlier, I put the fat cap on bottom. Any perceived "soaking in" is unnecessary because there is plenty of fat throughout. It will certainly affect the adjacent meat though. The only reason I even questioned the trimming here is because he apparently struggles with getting dry brisket which is I've never witnessed anywhere outside of a Famous Dave's.

I do pulled pork quite a bit differently. I inject a combination of apple juice and homemade Carolina vinegar sauce. I smoke at 160 overnight then go to 225 at 6 in the morning. I do trim pork butt to maximize the bark. I will wrap if need be depending on how quickly it is getting to temp. Usually it is on there for around 18 hours with another hour or more wrapped in the cooler.

I'm surprised to hear you go as high as 275. You'd get more smoke penetration lower.

275 I get done a lot sooner and haven't noticed drop off in tenderness or flavor.

I usually do smaller pork butts, 5-7lbs and they'll take 6-8 hours to cook and I'll let them rest for 30 minutes to an hour

 

[mcnabb7542]

Maybe I should've put the disclaimer up about how much fat and cooking it fat side up or down...

 

[mcnabb7542]

Either way thanks fella's for the tips!
If it turns out like crap I need I can feed it to my coaching staff, those pricks will eat anything

 

[outofyourmind]

Either way thanks fella's for the tips!
If it turns out like crap I need I can feed it to my coaching staff, those pricks will eat anything

I'd just start with the basics first, do a couple, and go from there.
You start trying to trim, rub, marinate, without getting the cooking part down, it's usually just a dried up piece of shit.

 

[mcnabb7542]

I'd just start with the basics first, do a couple, and go from there.
You start trying to trim, rub, marinate, without getting the cooking part down, it's usually just a dried up piece of shit.

Yeah that's what I going with the basic, you learn by trial and error

 

[IrishBlooded]

I 1000x % agree with the above. With the exception of trimming. I would recommend trimming.

Everything else is learned over time

 

[outofyourmind]

If you only clean it periodically, and get a substantial amount of build up off, it will cook differerent for a while until it gets its mojo back, so power cleaning one is almost out of the question, but if you do, it will cook a little different.

 

[mcnabb7542]

Guys thanks for all the pointers, my first brisket turn out really well!
Great smoke and seasoning and I will most likely never hit again like I did I on this one!

I didn't trim, cooked with fat cap up ( I cook my pork like that as well) , didn't inject it and I had about a 9.5 smoke.

 

[IrishBlooded]

Awesome. Glad it came out well!

Best lesson a guy gave me at a cook off once was. You only learn to make good BBQ. By making bad BBQ.

So now that you have a baseline. Next time if you want to try to experiment. Try changing one thing and see how that changes that cook and product.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Soaking this up...I've got a buddy that had a small BBQ joint for about 5 yr or so and more than anything I've learned here and from him...there's no one way to achieve good results, trim, no trim, fat cap down or up, low 200s to 275+.

I'm going to do one for Memorial weekend...hope to post some pics.

 

[mcnabb7542]

Soaking this up...I've got a buddy that had a small BBQ joint for about 5 yr or so and more than anything I've learned here and from him...there's no one way to achieve good results, trim, no trim, fat cap down or up, low 200s to 275+.

I'm going to do one for Memorial weekend...hope to post some pics.

There really isn't.
I use an offset smoker, and really got lucky with a good slow burn from my wood and the best part was throwing the beers back as watched my temp!

 

[ATL96Steeler]

There really isn't.
I use an offset smoker, and really got lucky with a good slow burn from my wood and the best part was throwing the beers back as watched my temp!

I plan on cheating a little bit...

I'm buying one of these gadgets.



Internal meat and grill temp gauge. I can probably get a few other things done while it's cooking...lol...like slamming a few back too.

 

[SU Nittany Tide]

I plan on cheating a little bit...

I'm buying one of these gadgets.

View attachment 205396


Internal meat and grill temp gauge. I can probably get a few other things done while it's cooking...lol...like slamming a few back too.

How's that cheating? I can actually see my meat and grill temp from anywhere.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

How's that cheating? I can actually see my meat and grill temp from anywhere.

Was kidding...lol, my old school buddy would think it's cheating, but that the whole idea in bold.

When I did a low and slow for Thanksgiving...the Primo did an excellent job of staying in the range for the whole cook, but I never knew the interior temp of the bird...totally reliant on time so I kept peeking in on it near the end.

 

[SU Nittany Tide]

Was kidding...lol, my old school buddy would think it's cheating, but that the whole idea in bold.

When I did a low and slow for Thanksgiving...the Primo did an excellent job of staying in the range for the whole cook, but I never knew the interior temp of the bird...totally reliant on time so I kept peeking in on it near the end.

Yeah it's pretty hilarious to have wifi to adjust the grill or monitor the meat considering what smoking used to be.

 

[Sexual Chocolate]

Inject. Keep rub simple, mainly salt and pepper (I also put in ground coffee). Some will hate this but smoke with the fat down. Don’t open the lid, phuck pictures

Texas crutch helps too