Tips for brisket on a smoker

[TwistedSage]

If you're lookin you ain't cooking, every time you open the lid your adding to your cook time. Doesnt have to be fancy but I'd get a probed thermometer that you put in the meat as soon as you put it on and it will give you a picture of where your meat is at the whole time. I generally only open the lid if/when I wrap and when I take it off.

I do smoke a little higher, my temp is usually somewhere closer to 275. Every smoker has it's own nuances. I think the biggest flavoring aspect for brisket is the wood more than the rubs ir seasoning. Oak and hickory smoke taste very different from each other. Salt pepper beef and smoke are the main flavors I want to get.

@Gr8bawana go for it you really have nothing to lose, if the sliced brisket didn't turn out the best chop it sauce it and put it on sandwiches or make chilli. When I make a brisket I am just as excited for the eventual brisket chilli from the leftovers. You learn from every brisket you smoke.

 

[JLS]

I smoke deer shoulders like a brisket, and I can attest to the bad things that happen when you rush the process.

 

[TwistedSage]

I'll be following this thread as I have not been brave enough to smoke a brisket yet. I'd really hate to ruin such a great piece of beef.
I take it that it's more of reaching a temp and not a time period of smoking?

Exactly go for temp not time, every brisket is different.

Try to keep your smoker temp as consistent as possible, dont raise the temp to try and speed up the cook doesnt take long at high temps to dry out and toughen up the meat you just slow smoked for 10 hours.

 

[1_pointer]

I've had good luck with: cooking at 225º ish, going to internal temp of 205º, I wrap in foil at 175º, and rest it in a cooler for at least an hour before slicing. Have had not complaints and very few leftovers.

 

[kansasdad]

......taking notes

 

[LaSportsman]

I use thermopen's smoker probes. One for air and another for meat. Has a remote fob so I can monitor temps from inside the house. Great for most anything you smoke and greatly reduces the urge to open the door and check on the meat.

 

[geetar]

I’m no expert but this is the first one I ever did on my Traeger. 230 for 6 hours or so.

 

[3855WIN]

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[Vanishe187]

Ive done roughly about 4 briskets now. I find that they always take longer than you think. I run a pellet grill at 250 with fat down. When i get a reading around 160 i pull it. Wrap in butcher paper or foil if you dont have butcher paper. Butcher paper really keeps the bark better than foil. I will pull my brisket around 200. I rest it for at least 1.5 hrs. Seems to work for me. Ive tried different rubs and injected the last one. Texas style probably still my favorite, simple and delicious.

 

[Trial153]

Smoke 225 to 250 until internal temp hits 200, after that the most important step is to wrap in butchers paper and place in a cooler with towels. Wrapping it and letting rest several hours (I’d do at least 3) is probably the most crucial step other than hitting your temp to getting a tender brisket. I’ve let them rest in a cooler for up to 10 hours. Still hot when pulled out and slices like butter.

this guy knows^^^

 

[Khunter]

Smoke lots pf whole briskets, never just the flat. at hour 14 on this whole packer brisket today, should be done in an hour or two. Look up Franklin brisket on youtube. great instruction from a world renowned Texas pit master who specializes in brisket.

50/50 salt pepper rub is all that is needed. I never wrap nor spritz and always tender and juicy .

In my traeger I add use of a smoke tube to increase smoke.

pic at the 12 hour mark when I checked it this morning.

I cook overnight at 180-190 then turn up to 225 when internal temp hits 165 or so.

pull at 199-205 internal temp, just depending on how it looks/feels.

wrap in pink butcher paper and watp in towels and seal up in a cooler for a few hours before eating. perfection.

 

[wyoboypt]

I smoke deer shoulders like a brisket, and I can attest to the bad things that happen when you rush the process.

You’re wrapping the wild game after just 1 or 2 hours of smoke, yes? And you keep the temp down for the entire cook??

 

[JLS]

You’re wrapping the wild game after just 1 or 2 hours of smoke, yes? And you keep the temp down for the entire cook??

Depends on the size of the shoulder. On a mule deer buck, I'll run the smoke for 6-7 hours and then wrap. A smaller shoulder maybe 4 hours and then wrap.

And yes, I keep it at 225 the entire time. The last one I did was a pretty big shoulder and I cut my time on the smoker to only three hours, and hadn't let the shoulder come to room temp. I wasn't all that happy with the results.

 

[Woodrow F Call]

There are world champion Brisket cookers that do the hot and fast method at like 350F or something..... The problem is your window to pull it off the heat gets small. Low and slow makes the results easier. For my basic Brisket (I use a Masterbuilt as well), I do the following:

Rub with Montreal Steak Seasoning (It's basically Coarse Salt, Coarse Black Pepper, Garlic and other peppers)
Let sit out while heating up the smoker.... longer won't hurt either
250F (230F is fine too)
Smoke for about 5 hours constantly adding chips as needed (dumping the hopper every few)
Wrap in three sheets of wide heavy duty foil (think about how to keep all that juice in the foil when wrapping (I've done foil, no foil, red butcher paper.... I find foil to be fine)
Stick in dual probe thermometer.
Let it ride till about 195-198F. Some go 200F, but I find it falls apart.
Stick in a cooler for two hours for the rest.

I'm generally cooking a 18lb brisket in sometimes 16 hours. When you hit that stall, it takes what it takes to break down the tissues.

Oh, one more word on the thermometers. If that probe is in fat, it'll read higher. You want the probe in the meat, not the fat. Put it in the thickest part of the tip. Use the two probes to check each other. I've had a big fat line in the middle of the tip and it tricked me into pulling way to early. This equals tough brisket. Go with the lowest reading and move the one that is way higher to somewhere else in the brisket. A couple of degrees is no big deal, but 10 or 15, stop and think.



Anyways, if you really want to know how to cook, check out this Malcom Reed, his website, and his youtube channel.

HowToBBQRight-Barbecue Recipes

Meet Malcom I'm Malcom Reed and these are my recipes. I spend my life cooking – mostly slow-smoked barbecue. Every week I share a new recipe on my HowToBBQRight YouTube Channel. And I travel the country cooking in over 20 competition barbecue and World Steak Cookoff contests each year as Killer...

howtobbqright.com

HowToBBQRight

HowToBBQRight with Malcom Reed Welcome to HowToBBQRight -- a channel dedicated to all things barbecue, slow-smoked and grilled. Each week I share a new recip...

www.youtube.com

Good luck!

 

[Kaitum]

Thanks for all the input!

I put the brisket on the smoker at 10 PM last night and pulled it off at 2 PM today. Then rested 3 hrs in a preheated cooler. Didn't quite get the smoke ring I was hoping for but everything else is fantastic. By far the most tender and flavorful brisket I've made. Pork shoulder goes on tonight.

P.S. that HowToBBQRight Youtube channel is awesome.

 

[BearFoot]

I use the MasterBuilt and smoked a few briskets recently. Aaron Franklin on youtube keeps it simple.
I like to salt and pepper the night before, then cover with saran wrap.
Put some water in the pan. Set temp at 250. Brisket goes in on upper racks, not to close to heat. Fat cap up. Its said cook time could be hour to hour & quarter per pound. I find it takes much less for me. I use apple wood chips added every 45 min to hour. Vent is opened about 1/4" for smoke flow. I monitor by temp using two wireless probes. The door stays closed 5-6 hours or when temp gets around 165. Then I wrap in heavy foil, double wrap, seal it up. Into the smoker, probes pushed back in through foil. I'm done when temp hits 203-205. Tooth pick or probes feel like in soft butter. It will rest wrapped until ready to slice.
Last one was 17 lbs, trimmed up 13 lbs smoked the day before. Reheat to 160 and ready to slice.

 

[Woodrow F Call]

Thanks for all the input!

I put the brisket on the smoker at 10 PM last night and pulled it off at 2 PM today. Then rested 3 hrs in a preheated cooler. Didn't quite get the smoke ring I was hoping for but everything else is fantastic. By far the most tender and flavorful brisket I've made. Pork shoulder goes on tonight.

P.S. that HowToBBQRight Youtube channel is awesome.

Personally, I find the smoke ring to be overrated, but if you want one, you gotta watch the smoke coming out of the vent and constantly add chips too keep the smoke up until you wrap..... you gotta dump the ashes out of the hopper on occasion. I keep a pair of channellocks handy for that.

 

[Woodrow F Call]

I use the MasterBuilt and smoked a few briskets recently. Aaron Franklin on youtube keeps it simple.
I like to salt and pepper the night before, then cover with saran wrap.
Put some water in the pan. Set temp at 250. Brisket goes in on upper racks, not to close to heat. Fat cap up. Its said cook time could be hour to hour & quarter per pound. I find it takes much less for me. I use apple wood chips added every 45 min to hour. Vent is opened about 1/4" for smoke flow. I monitor by temp using two wireless probes. The door stays closed 5-6 hours or when temp gets around 165. Then I wrap in heavy foil, double wrap, seal it up. Into the smoker, probes pushed back in through foil. I'm done when temp hits 203-205. Tooth pick or probes feel like in soft butter. It will rest wrapped until ready to slice.
Last one was 17 lbs, trimmed up 13 lbs smoked the day before. Reheat to 160 and ready to slice.View attachment 144001

It's probably just my probes, but if I go to 203, the brisket just falls apart.... I mean you can't even slice it. I started pulling around 195-198 because of it.

Point is you do have to figure out your equipment and meat.

 

[HiMtnHntr]

Wrap at 160 or so as others have mentioned. Make sure you rest it at least an hour. I like to rest up to 4.

 

[Robertsj22]

best advice i ever recieved when doing brisket is once it gets around 195 put the thermometer away. judge it then oh how easy a butter knife or even the probe on your thermometer goes in it. when it slides like butter then its done. you can't judge that by temperature