Possible first brisket this weekend.

[Clarkgriswald]

The stall is crazy! Went up to 162 then back down slowly to 154! Been sitting at 154 for at least an hour now. Serenity now!

[fzxdoc]

It might be there a while longer, Clarkgriswald . That's why a lot of folks wrap at the stall, to get it through and to shorten the overall cook time. I've never done that; I've read here that some folks say that the meat has more of a "pot roast" flavor when done that way. At the same time, plenty of folks here who wrap at 150-160 love the end result. It's your call.

Just be patient; it will come through the stall (and hopefully not go into a second stall, which can happen ) just fine and have a nice bark as well.

Hang in there...

K.

[Clarkgriswald]

Well I put half a chimney of coals on and pit temp is 257 and the meat is 160. I didn't think it would have stalled this long, it will be worth the wait even if we eat at 10 tonight. 😅

[Clarkgriswald]

Just wrapped it now at 6:45. I put a little apple juice with it. We'll see.

[Clarkgriswald]

I just took it off the cooker at 8:30. 13 hours. Had a hard time with the temp, the only thing I can think of was I had to add charcoal three times. Just wasn't hot enough. Anyone else have any idea or have run into the same thing?

[Clarkgriswald]

The verdict: Love the BBBR rub. Brisket is dry, hardly any juice. The fat side actually stuck to the foil.

[supergas6]

Clark, dive in! The Pit Barrel makes an awesome brisket. I can't get prime meats at my Costco in Florida, but was in San Diego last summer and made one on my brother's PBC and it was absolutely off the hook (not literally!). However, every other brisket I've made on the PBC has not been prime, and they have all been good. I know you have fear about ruining a $60 piece of meat, but a) you have to try sometime, and b) the PBC is basically idiot proof.

My method: buy a packer. I inject (Butcher BBQ Prime Injection) the flat. I use either of Noah's rubs (Beef and Game or All Purpose). Let sit overnight (in fridge). Hang for 5-6 hours--temp will be 140-160. Remove from hooks, put on grade until about 180F (rotate sides once to get good bark). Wrap at this point in two layers of foil (I don't put any liquid in with it--doesn't need it). Put back in PBC until at 203F in thickest part of flat. Remove. Put in Cambro until serving time--I hope to get at least 2 hours in the Cambro but longer works great, too. Enjoy!

Jerod (from this forum) advocates hanging no longer than 5-6 hours to prevent drying out of the brisket. Noah advises wrapping at 140F--this speeds things up, but you get better bark by waiting (though it adds time).

I plan 12 hours from start time to serving time using this method for a full packer.

[Jerod Broussard]

Clarkgriswald

I don't like hanging more than 5-6 hours. Prefer 5.5 at the most. Especially if I have 3 or more in the Pit Barrel because they cook so efficiently [while hanging] they might be to (or too) probe tender before I get ample bark. There is that much humidity in that thing. I had some ribs today hanging, put them on the grate so they would be ready for the sauce, and they immediately got moist all over.

I tried hanging two briskets for 8 hours. Bark on the flat was really sub-par and the ends of the flats were ruined they were so dry. I tried hanging upside down (point facing down) and that was not to my liking one bit.

I like to try and hang so the fat cap is facing the hot coals near the vent. You can insert the hook at an angle so that it turns the brisket to your liking.

Most of mine will have a dark enough fat cap by 5 hours, then I go to the grate fat cap up, bark up the top of the flat, then wrap. Little water in the foil to prevent sticking, especially if you turn the heat up while it is in the foil.

Shoot back with any questions.

[Clarkgriswald]

Guest

I don't like hanging more than 5-6 hours. Prefer 5.5 at the most. Especially if I have 3 or more in the Pit Barrel because they cook so efficiently [while hanging] they might be to (or too) probe tender before I get ample bark. There is that much humidity in that thing. I had some ribs today hanging, put them on the grate so they would be ready for the sauce, and they immediately got moist all over.

I tried hanging two briskets for 8 hours. Bark on the flat was really sub-par and the ends of the flats were ruined they were so dry. I tried hanging upside down (point facing down) and that was not to my liking one bit.

I like to try and hang so the fat cap is facing the hot coals near the vent. You can insert the hook at an angle so that it turns the brisket to your liking.

Most of mine will have a dark enough fat cap by 5 hours, then I go to the grate fat cap up, bark up the top of the flat, then wrap. Little water in the foil to prevent sticking, especially if you turn the heat up while it is in the foil.

Shoot back with any questions.

Hi Jerod. I was disappointed with how dry it was. The whole brisket was right around 202 and probe tender when I pulled it off. Could my problem have been a not hot enough temperature more consistently? When you cut your brisket is there juice coming out of every slice?

[Clarkgriswald]

Clark, dive in! The Pit Barrel makes an awesome brisket. I can't get prime meats at my Costco in Florida, but was in San Diego last summer and made one on my brother's PBC and it was absolutely off the hook (not literally!). However, every other brisket I've made on the PBC has not been prime, and they have all been good. I know you have fear about ruining a $60 piece of meat, but a) you have to try sometime, and b) the PBC is basically idiot proof.

My method: buy a packer. I inject (Butcher BBQ Prime Injection) the flat. I use either of Noah's rubs (Beef and Game or All Purpose). Let sit overnight (in fridge). Hang for 5-6 hours--temp will be 140-160. Remove from hooks, put on grade until about 180F (rotate sides once to get good bark). Wrap at this point in two layers of foil (I don't put any liquid in with it--doesn't need it). Put back in PBC until at 203F in thickest part of flat. Remove. Put in Cambro until serving time--I hope to get at least 2 hours in the Cambro but longer works great, too. Enjoy!

Jerod (from this forum) advocates hanging no longer than 5-6 hours to prevent drying out of the brisket. Noah advises wrapping at 140F--this speeds things up, but you get better bark by waiting (though it adds time).

I plan 12 hours from start time to serving time using this method for a full packer.

I hung mine for too long. Bark was awesome but very dry.

[fzxdoc]

Oh Clarkgriswald , I'm sorry it turned out too dry. Chop it up with some sauce and enjoy the sammies.

On the positive side, if you've made notes on how you cooked it this time, you'll know the one or two things you'll want to change next time for a better cook. Try not to change too much or you won't know what works.

When my PBC starts to cool down after 8 or 9 hours (sometimes I get 10-12 hours, depending), and I've already wrapped the meat, I finish it in a 225 degree oven. The meat doesn't know whether it's still in the PBC or an oven; at that point, heat is heat. That way you don't have to add more coals.

One thing I know about BBQing, there's a lot of science to it, but there's some art to it as well. As you get more experience, you'll develop a better feel for it: you'll know what to look for, and you'll make adjustments that can lead to a better result.

Most importantly, don't be discouraged. You learned an awful lot from this cook, and with each cook you'll learn a bit more. That's the fun of BBQing, it's always a moving target (but you can get a pretty good bead on it), and you get to eat some great food along the way.

Kathryn

[Clarkgriswald]

Oh Guest , I'm sorry it turned out too dry. Chop it up with some sauce and enjoy the sammies.

On the positive side, if you've made notes on how you cooked it this time, you'll know the one or two things you'll want to change next time for a better cook. Try not to change too much or you won't know what works.

When my PBC starts to cool down after 8 or 9 hours (sometimes I get 10-12 hours, depending), and I've already wrapped the meat, I finish it in a 225 degree oven. The meat doesn't know whether it's still in the PBC or an oven; at that point, heat is heat. That way you don't have to add more coals.

One thing I know about BBQing, there's a lot of science to it, but there's some art to it as well. As you get more experience, you'll develop a better feel for it: you'll know what to look for, and you'll make adjustments that can lead to a better result.

Most importantly, don't be discouraged. You learned an awful lot from this cook, and with each cook you'll learn a bit more. That's the fun of BBQing, it's always a moving target (but you can get a pretty good bead on it), and you get to eat some great food along the way.

Kathryn

Thanks for the encouragement Kathryn. I honestly didn't have high hopes for the first time because I know it's not an easy cook. I do want to try another one soon. Do you cook yours in the 275 range?

[Jerod Broussard]

Clarkgriswald

The two very best briskets I ever cooked that had the ultimate "moist" slices were Choice wet-aged about 42 days. Smoked on an offset with temp's ranging from 185-330. They got wrapped in the lower 190's internal, cooled, chilled, and reheated. Moist is not always about water, that is what is getting kicked out by the boat loads during the stall. It is more about melted collagen and fats.

I like how people will slice a super hot brisket on video and talk about how moist it is due to all the "juices" running down. The meat is dry, you can see it, they are slicing hot fat and making it run. Not saying the slices are like leather.

I rarely have super moist flats, especially with all these Selects. I'll have some good slices but it works out much better to just chop it all together, especially when feeding kids and non-brisket aficionados.

People love tender brisket, being a little dry has never been a concern.

[Clarkgriswald]

Guest

The two very best briskets I ever cooked that had the ultimate "moist" slices were Choice wet-aged about 42 days. Smoked on an offset with temp's ranging from 185-330. They got wrapped in the lower 190's internal, cooled, chilled, and reheated. Moist is not always about water, that is what is getting kicked out by the boat loads during the stall. It is more about melted collagen and fats.

I like how people will slice a super hot brisket on video and talk about how moist it is due to all the "juices" running down. The meat is dry, you can see it, they are slicing hot fat and making it run. Not saying the slices are like leather.

I rarely have super moist flats, especially with all these Selects. I'll have some good slices but it works out much better to just chop it all together, especially when feeding kids and non-brisket aficionados.

People love tender brisket, being a little dry has never been a concern.

That's a good point about the fat running down. Do you have a link to what you do and how you cook your brisket Jerod. You're the brisket King.

[Jerod Broussard]

Not sure I have a thread. Each cook is unique. I've had to rest overnight, I've had 4 brisket cooks on the Pit Barrel take 15 hours, I've done a couple in less than 6 hours.

And brisket slices oxidize very fast, lotta surface area on them dudes. My moist slices look like they have a clear oil slick on them. Worst thing to do is slice a whole brisket, fan out the slices, and start taking snap shots.

I was about to chop these up for a fundraiser, so I took a quick shot. You can see the slices aren't bubbling with moistness.

The next picture is about the typical barkness that I like to wrap at. That one was getting up there and I wasn't too worried about the butcher paper mushing things up. Even so, good bark always bounces back when you unwrap.

Next is another angle of the first.

I cooked one of the worst looking Selects for Christmas. I dry brined that dude over 48 hours. Barked it up BIG TIME. Chopped it all up....HOMERUN. Sliced it would have a disaster or close to it, I explained that to who I was cooking for. Wasn't a problem, they wanted a bunch of chopped.