Miranda Smith in Seattle wants to cook a Brisket

[HawkerXP]

Welcome to the Pit!

17lb whole packer brisket! Yeah! Trim all that hard white fan off that baby. Yes, it's going to be a couple of pounds worth, but it won't render, and nobody will eat it. I do leave a nice layer of fat on the flat, about a quarter of an inch. Dry brine as described by Meathead on the free side, and let it sit in the fridge at least 24 hours. I like to hang my brisket in the PBC running around 270*. Use at least two hooks to keep that monster from flopping on the coals! You also want to make sure it will hang and not touch the coals. I'll place my hooks in the meat to keep it off them. I let my briskets go in the barrel until they are out of the stall. Say around 170* internal. By then (7ish hours) they have a nice bark and the charcoal in the basket will be about finished. I just pretty much just let the barrel do its thing. I'll monitor the pit temp but not excessively so. Anywhere between 250 and 325* is fine with me. When I pull it, I place in a foil pan on top of a rack, add a little beef broth and cover tight with foil and put in the oven to finish. Start checking for probe tender around 190*. When I'm happy with the probe feel, I lower the oven to as low as it will go and let it rest until time to eat. 10ish hours total cook time is pretty good number for me in the barrel and oven.

Definitely read what Meathead has to say on brisket and well, everything else too. Good luck and have fun!

[HawkerXP]

I do flat down - point up. Big briskets get close to the charcoal when hung. I'd rather have a little of the flat tip well done then any part of the point. Mosca

[HawkerXP]

I quit hanging butts. On the grate they go.

[fzxdoc]

MsTwiggy, I hang butts until they reach about 160° then move them to the grate to let them finish up. There's something about hanging meat in the PBC that makes me happy. That doesn't work for meatloaf, though. Hahaha.

Kathryn

[MsTwiggy]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome! I'll be taking pics of my progress/process, I promise to have fun, and I'm lookin' forward to taking a bite of juicy brisket and declaring victory 🥂

[Mosca]

No one addressed this: "After haunting some reddit subs I had pretty well convinced myself that I needed to get a kamado."

That is called More Cooker Syndrome, or MCS for short. It’s up to you how you want to deal with it. It is neither good, nor bad. Lots of people welcome it. Most people resist it, but remember: resistance is futile. You don’t get to pick it, you don’t get to control it. You get to manage it. Myself, I channel it into MMS: More Meat Syndrome. All my cookers work perfectly fine, but I itch. So I log into Creekstone and get More Meat. (This creates a secondary condition: AFS, Another Freezer Syndrome.)

MCS is deadly and pervasive. It isn’t fatal, but if you succumb, you’ll need to budget for it. Myself, I’ve had my BGE for about 15 years. So I already have a kamado. I’m good, right? NO! Now I want a Komodo Kamado!

Remember the children! Remember the mortgage payment!

[Mosca]

2) I am really cautious about what I call "the tyranny of things". I can get this thing to replace my other thing. But nothing really changes, and life is the same. I just have a different thing.

That’s how I handle MCS, and why it channels into MMS. Because MMS always turns into a great meal!

[Dr. Pepper]

And no one mentioned a KBQ as an option!!!?? WTH (H, instead of F)
And, MsTwiggy, I'm not sure what the non-sexist equivalent is, but Mosca forgot to mention WAF. 'Wife Acceptance Factor.' Maybe the SOAF? (Significant Other Acceptance Factor.) I have run into serious WAF issues with regards to freezer chests (added a third small one 😬) and cooking implements. Latest a churrasco set-up.

[Dr. Pepper]

Oops, got hung up in a ‘you’ve duplicated this message’ message, so deleted and started over below. Or, so I thought ðŸ’!

[MsTwiggy]

So I have trimmed my brisket, dry brined it and now it's in the fridge uncovered on a baking sheet. I weighed the trimmings, mostly fat, and they were 5# 3oz. I salted with kosher sea salt at 1/2 tsp per pound of trimmed weight. So ~2tbsp. The plan is to start the fire in my PBC at 3am. I will hang the meat with my butt saver in place and transfer to the grate in upper position when I crutch with red paper, hopefully around 165 or whenever the bark looks good. Hopefully dinner by 6pm. . . Pic of butt saver. It's only 19.5" from grate to rebar hole so I'm going to need to get creative with my hanging. Thanks again everyone for all the encouragement and positive suggestions!

[Mosca]

Looks good!

[fzxdoc]

[smokin fool]

Atta girl....
Should be great, I'll message you my flight number so you can pick me up....
....or should I Uber?

[RichieB]

Welcome from Western Massachusetts. Many smart people have provided you advice so I'll sit back and 👀👀👀

[Alan Brice]

Welcome fr Cincy Oh! Your already way ahead of me n I have many brisky under my belt. Started in an elec box that usually ran 35 - 40 hrs. Then I learned to wrap😝. I had one recently fall into the coals. At 2 in the morning I wrapped it an put it in kit oven at 170 til morning. Still Dee Lish! You will be fine. Above all have fun!

[TripleB]

I'm always late on these threads..... I've smoked a few briskets on my PBC. I have a few suggestions, comments that have not been mentioned, but I'm sure you are on your smoking adventure way so no use in mentioning them now. Look forward to seeing your pics and comments.

[MsTwiggy]

Some teasers. . . About to put it in the cooler for a rest. Cook has gone well, I had to have a little talk with myself about 3 hrs in to stop chasing the temp. Things went smooth after that. I used the BBBR and mopped with Texas sauce when i wrapped it in paper. First pic is when i added more coals. Second photo is bark right before I mooped. Will share photos after I slice and serve.

[jecucolo]

Beautiful! You did a great job!

[Dr. Pepper]

Beautiful!

[Steve R.]

Good work; that looks fantastic!

[DavidNorcross]

Welcome from Virginia!

[MsTwiggy]

I have posted pics in the whats cookin' thread, it was delicious! https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...25-spring-2022

[fzxdoc]

Yay! Glad it was a great cook for you.

Kathryn

[Donw]

You did great!

[Sweaty Paul]

Salutations from Hays, Kansas! Don’t have a PBC, however, many here do who I’m sure will be helpful. I know a bunch of folks are very successful using their Webers too. Good luck and welcome.

[jecucolo]

I always use my PBC for brisket. Dry brine over night and the cover with Big Bad Beef rub. Let it cook for 8-10 hours, rest for 2 wry in butcher paper and chow down.

[MsTwiggy]

A big thank you to fzxdoc for all the information you have posted for PBC as well as your TLC for me on this thread, HawkerXP for the photo of how to hook the gargantuan mass of meat, ecowper for the detailed brisket information, Mosca for armchair therapy on my MCS syndrome, jfmorris for the wrap suggestions, and ILMsmoke I would have been really freaking out about my temp spikes were it not for your comment.
This is such a wonderful place, y'all have been more than welcoming, i really couldn't have pulled that off without the team here. . . more smokes to come!!

[HawkerXP]

Nice job!

[fzxdoc]

It was a pleasure to help a fellow cook join the I-Smoked-A-Brisket Club.

You really did a great job. You're a natural.

K.

[Huskee]

Nice work!

[Dr. Pepper]

MsTwiggy Welcome, from one Seattleite to another. And, great result on your first (or second, but first great) brisket. My first was noways that good.

I want to second fzxdoc Kathryn in suggesting that once you have the bark you want, you can always wrap and bring inside to an oven. If you have enough coals in your PBC there's no advantage to that, but I use a KBQ, which has to be fed small wood pieces every 25 minutes. So, I wrap in pink paper, and into the oven until probe tender after achieving the bark I want.

And, MsTwiggy, on the topic of acronyms: I'm not sure what the non-sexist equivalent is, but Mosca forgot to mention WAF. 'Wife Acceptance Factor.' Maybe the SOAF? (Significant Other Acceptance Factor.) I have run into serious WAF issues with regards to freezer chests (added a third small one 😬) and cooking implements. Latest a churrasco set-up.

Finally, if you're thinking about spending for a Komoda style cooker, you could also consider a KBQ. Big differences, however. Can't grill on a KBQ, and you have to feed it frequently. But a great clean-smoker.

Again, welcome from Seattle to Seattle. Go Sounders! (Sorry, New Yorkers)

[RonB]

I lost track of this thread, but great job on that brisket.