Made my first beef brisket today.
 

It turned out very good. :cool:

I started with a 4-5lb brisket (on the small side) and the following seasoning:
2 tablespoons hot chili powder
1.5 teaspoon chipolte powder
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 tablespoons garlic salt
3 minced garlic cloved
juice from half of a lime


I mixed up the seasoning and rubbed the brisket, letting it sit for several hours with the rub on it.

I used a mix of oak and hickory wood, with some apple wood shavings at the outset in a smoker with an offset fire box. I kept the temperature consistently around 250*, and places the brisket fat side up, with the larger side towards the fire box. After about 2 1/2 hours I rotated (not flipped) the brisket. Since this was on the smaller side, it took a little less than five hours total, and it was fantastic. :D


The brisket after having the rub applied.
http://mrpburke.com/fileupload/uploads/brisket1.jpg


Here is a shot of it just as I pulled it off the grill.
http://mrpburke.com/fileupload/uploads/brisket2.jpg



After resting for half an hour.

http://mrpburke.com/fileupload/uploads/brisket3.jpg

After cutting it, complete with a pretty decent smoke ring.

http://mrpburke.com/fileupload/uploads/brisket4.jpg

http://mrpburke.com/fileupload/uploads/brisket6.jpg





I was very happy with how it turned out. It was plenty tender, and the flavor was very good. There was a small section (maybe 1 - 1 1/2") of the small side of the brisket that was a bit dry, but the entire balance of it was pretty moist. I can't wait to experiment further with a bigger brisket some time when I'm having company or something. :cool:

That sounds absolutely heavenly!!

Thanks for sharing the delicious pics with us :)

Nom nom nom!

Looks great. Makes me want to cook up some soon. Thanks for sharing!

the pink ring makes is awesome!

looks like it was tasty.

Every time I've had smoked brisket, it's been more on the dry side. But your pics don't look dry at all - looks fantastic. Maybe they didn't make it right or something. But omg pork butt drool!

yummy, never made that myself but it looks delicious!

Thanks all, it was delicious. And no, it wasn't dry at all. :)

I think most people who end up with a dry brisket probably cook it on too high of a temp. Aside from one flare-up that only lasted a couple of minutes (and only hit about 325*), this brisket was around 230-250* the entire time according to the lid thermometer. And keep in mind that the temp you are reading is probably 5-10% warmer because it's reading the air at the top of the grill, and heat rises. Low and slow is the way to go. :yup:

Your brisket looks very good, looks like you did a good job. I am finally starting to get the hang of using my smoker properly, with keeping the temp consistent. Painful tip I have learned; make sure your wood is seasoned.

A cheater method is to smoke it for a few hours to get the taste in, then wrap it heavily in foil and place in the oven for hours at 180. It can cook for hours that way, and the foil and oven keep the moisture in and the temp consistent. Works great if you can't spend the hours at home maintaining the temp.

Also, I have just started going to a real butcher shop, and they will cut your meat to size, so you can get a more consistent cut for cooking.

damn thats looks dlishs borla!

newman, make sure you invite me over eh? im still waiting for the invite. you can PM the address if you like.

Looks great! I have a Big Green Egg smoker that I use frequently (when the snow isn't flying) I usually try to cook at 200-225F , the real key is slow , slow slow cooking. I don't have much trouble with brisket drying out , but sometimes they are tougher than I would like, usually when the temps get too high. Now I have the Jones to go fire it up! unfortunately it is 6 degrees outside! I'm going to borrow your rub recipe it sounds tasty indeed! With Brisket I have used a wide variety of woods with outstanding results.

......

borla, can you do it with pork too? or is the preparation different?

newman's agreed to smoke pork shoulder for us. HHMMMMmmmm.. poorrrk

We have a few annual parties every year where we smoke sausages, brisket, pork butt, ribs - other various 'test' items, etc. The pork is my favorite out of everything. Then the sausage.

---------- Post added at 05:32 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:30 AM ----------

Not sure about prep. Just know everything's ready to eat all at once. Doesn't mean they put it on all at once.

that looks like a very tasty brisket...very nice. I'd be very happy eating that.

I had purchased a side of beef a while back, so that is the brisket that came with it. But I do frequent a very good local butcher shop. It's definitely the way to go if you really want a great piece of meat.



You could do the same thing with just about any meat. The difference would be in how long you smoke it, more than anything. I've done pork loin, whole chickens, ribs, etc. The rub I suggested would probably work on any of them as well. If you google 'smoker cooking' or the cut of meat you want to cook + 'smoker' or 'bbq', you will find tons of options I'm sure. I'd be more than happy to help with any specific ideas or questions too.

Having a ton of family over tonight. Making another brisket today, as well as three racks of ribs. The brisket has been on since 8 this morning. :cool:

Give me brisket. NOW.

http://cyn.ical.us/media/blogs/mymed...et_lol_cat.jpg

I've smoked two briskets now and both times they were not as tender as I would have liked. I think the problem is I didn't leave them on the grill long enough. Does a brisket take one hour per pound at 220-250F? Also, is it true that it actually gets "done" much sooner but it takes the additional time to make it tender?

Get to the far SW suburbs of Chicago in the next couple hours and I'll hook you up. :p


I would say that an hour per pound at around 250* is close. And it definitely takes the extra time if you want it to be tender. If you take it off too soon it may appear done, but the texture won't be as good. It also makes a slight difference if you carve it correctly, against the grain.

I just put a side firebox on my chargriller duo and I'm looking forward to trying this recipe. So far I've done a chicken and it was probably the best chicken I've ever eaten. I rubbed it down with olive oil and salt, pepper, rosemary and a few other herbs and smoked it at 200-225 for about 6 hours in a foil roasting pan. I didn't want a really heavy smoke flavor so I covered it with foil after about two hours.

Do you cut your own wood or buy it? I need to find someone that sells pecan or hickory around here and stock up.

I use oak from my own yard, so not bought. Next time I'll try leaving it on for longer.

I have a friend that has some land with wood on it. He was generous enough to give me a truckload of hickory that he had cut in exchange for me helping him with a few things.

I have an uncooked corned brisket waiting for the smoker... mmm pastrami... can't buy it in Japan so I make my own...

I have a friend that makes a good brisket, she mixes BBQ sauce with an equal amount of Teriyaki Glaze and bastes the brisket with it about every 30 minutes. It is really good and always tender.