First time Wagyu Brisket! Help.

[East End Cowboy]

Hello Everyone! Finally joined here after a year or so of following along... love this site and have gotten so much out of it, happy to finally pony up! I'm a backyard newbie/amateur in East Hampton, NY and consistently get rave reviews on the baby backs I smoke 3-2-1 style on my WSM. I've smoked three briskets in my life, and all came out pretty darn good... not entirely the best ever, but great flavor, texture and tenderness. Followed Aaron Franklin's simple dalmatian rub recipe/techniques each time, wrapped in foil at the stall, and used Post Oak chunks for 10-11 hours. So far so good. BUT I NEED YOUR HELP! For Memorial Day weekend I splurged on a SRF 14 pound gold wagyu brisket and just invited 25 people over to eat it with us. I'm a little nervous and don't want to switch up my technique too much, but I've been reading about injecting, wrapping in butcher paper instead of foil, competition-style rubs, temperatures anywhere between 225 and 300... I'm all over the map and wondering if I should switch it up given this ultra-premium cut of meat or just go with what worked the last 3 times. Am I overthinking things? Any advice or things I should consider different about smoking a Wagyu Brisket? Oh, and I'm planning to smoke some baby backs as back up plan, can't go wrong there . Looking forward to getting to you know you all! THANK YOU!

[Huskee]

Welcome! 25 people is a lot for a 14lb pre-trimmed brisket, but with ribs and sides you should be ok. I wouldn't inject a Wagyu! I never inject any to be honest, but the beauty of a Wagyu is the extra internal marbling = flavor! Butcher paper will not speed up your cook like a foil crutch will, but it will speed it up a tad, and it will give a little crunchier bark. You also may find your point of 'probe tender' doneness comes earlier on Wagyu.

[East End Cowboy]

Thank you Huskee! I should’ve mentioned half the folks coming are kids under 13 so hopefully I’ll be covered. Appreciate the note on Butcher Paper. I’m leaning on going that way for the bark.

[PBCDad]

Welcome East End Cowboy!

I'll preface my response by saying I haven't done too many briskets and I've never done a SRF anything, but I've read a lot on this site that I think will help.

• First, don't overthink it, it is still a brisket, just one that will be harder to screw up.
• Don't inject. That is to keep the brisket from drying out, a problem you won't have with Wagyu.
• Wrapping in butcher paper is popular, but based on what I've read, the difference is subtle. You'll taste a huge difference using Wagyu, which will likely mask any difference you would get with different wrappings.
• I might even suggest not wrapping at all since there is so much interstitial fat in there and just getting lots of bark if that's what you like.
• Cooking temps anywhere between 225 and 300? Correct, they all work.
• Rub - go with what you know
• MOST IMPORTANT - it will likely get done a lot sooner than lower grades of meat. Start checking the feel when it gets around 180* and pull it off once it is wubba-wubba or the probe slides in easily after you get through the bark. Don't cook it all the way up to 203* unless it really needs it.

Okay, now all the other members with much more experience than I have can tell you what you should really do.

[East End Cowboy]

That's all really helpful PBCDad! Thanks for flagging the 203* thing... I was smoking Aaron Franklin-style to 203*... I'll pay attention to that after 180*-ish.

[PBCDad]

Happy to offer what little help I can. To be clear, most people say it is done somewhere in the mid 190's, but by starting to check around 180* you'll be sure to not miss when it finishes.

[EdF]

I generally don't wrap, so my advice not to is predictable. Expect this piece of meat to be done sooner given the fat content. Enjoy!

[JakeT]

I'd stick with whatever has given you the best results in the past. Too stressful to try anything new or experiment when you've got a bunch of company coming. Not to mention keeping with the simple salt and pepper will let that wagyu be the star of the show.

[jecucolo]

I agree with JakeT. Stick with what you know.

[Troutman]

Welcome from Texas !!! Treat that SRF brisket gently and she'll make you the pitmaster of the neighborhood. Good luck !!

[RonB]

Welcome to The Pit. I can't add anything to the good advice already posted.

[texastweeter]

Welcome. I would still inject. I inject all briskets. Use the rub you like. I always cook brisket at 225 until probe tender. Like others have said, it will most likely be done a bit sooner. I still crutch but use butcher paper and add no liquid to the wrap.

[SMOG MAN]

Do what you already know, Don’t change much. It will probably get done at a little lower temperature than what you have already cooked so be sure you keep a check on internal temnperature and the "Wabba Waaba" (probe tender), don't over cook. For me I have found a good injection helps, (I am fond of Butchers BBQ, I am guessing the phosphate helps) I always inject now but not a necessity. I wrap in foil, save the purge and use it when you serve. YOU GOT THIS!

[East End Cowboy]

Awesome pep talk, thanks SMOG MAN

[JoeSousa]

I have cooked a couple of their briskets in the past. Pretty much treated it like any other brisket. Salt and pepper for a rub and cook it until tender. The first one I cooked took about the same time as some other prime briskets I have done but the second one cooked much quicker.

Sometimes I wrap in butcher paper, sometimes I don't. Kind of depends on my mood and how I am doing timing-wise. And I think it is easier to determine doneness if you don't wrap. You can more easily touch the brisket and jiggle it.

Once it is done it will keep for 4 hours easily if you wrap it in butcher paper and put it in your cooler. I like to wrap a big beach towel around it and fill the cooler with some other towels if I need to hold it for a long time. So if it does end up cooking quicker than you expected you can still pull it and it will stay hot for hours.

[East End Cowboy]

Thanks JoeSousa! I'll keep everyone posted

[Mr. Bones]

Howdy fom Kansas Territory, Welcome to Th Pit!

I'd haveta agree with "go with what ya know"
Ya can always experiment another time, when th pressure ain't on.
I'd bet money that ya'll do jus fine!

[East End Cowboy]

Thanks Mr. Bones. That’s pretty much where I’m leanin’!

[East End Cowboy]

Hi Everyone and Happy Memorial Day Weekend. It's a rainy day out here on the East End of Long Island but yesterday was gorgeous, especially with my first Wagyu brisket cook! I smoked the 13.3# SRF yesterday and it was just phenomenal! Wanted to give you a rundown and some pix here as a follow up:


First I fired up my 22.5" WSM, using the donut method with KBB and chunks of Post Oak scattered throughout. I unpacked the brisket around 11:00p Friday night and it was pre-trimmed pretty perfectly. There was maybe 1# or so of harder fat to trim off, but compared to other cuts of Prime I've purchased it was the easiest trim ever. I used a 50/50 mix of salt and course pepper as my rub and sprinkled away.



After about 45 minutes or so, I had the smoker up to 275* and decided it was time to let 'er rip around midnight. I usually like to smoke everything at 250* and intended to keep the WSM between 250-275 the whole time going into the cook. I settled in to a little (a lot) of red wine and checked on my temps every 60-90 minutes, which I always do... until this time when I passed out around 5:00a (again, too much wine . I woke up at 8:30a in a complete panic with my Thermapro receiver on my belly, which showed the pit at a way too low 165* and the meat at 146*. Approaching the danger zone! Ugh! I don't think I had enough charcoal in my donut, I really have to dig into that a bit more because my fire just burned out too quick. I fired up some more KBB and was quickly able to get back up to 300*. The brisket slowly starting creeping up and I couldn't take my eyes off the thermapro... I think I watched every single degree bump between 146*-165*... as it kept going up, my blood pressure kept going down.

At around 10:45a and 165* brisket temp, I had a fantastic bark and wrapped using the foil and just for kicks I put a tiny splash of Montauk IPA in the foil... it's like watching a cowboy catch a wave, baby! I put two racks of spare ribs on the cooker and started to finally relax.



The brisket climbed quicker than I've experienced before... perhaps because now I was cookin' around 300*-310*? About 2hours later we hit 204*, just one degree higher than that magic I've previously experienced at 203*, and I wrapped up the wagyu in a beach towel and put it in the cooler, then went back to wrap up the ribs, which had a nice little bark and tenderness happening. I typically use the 3-2-1 method and included just a little bbq sauce, and again, that signature splash of Montauk IPA in my rib wrap. I finished the ribs with more sauce for an hour or so, then did just about 10 minutes more on my grill at a higher heat to really get 'em crisped up.

Anyway, company started coming over around 4p... the brisket held nicely in the faux cambro and was steadily getting down in the 140-150* range, which is when I like to slice. At 5:30p we put all the sides and the ribs out, I unwrapped the brisket... and as the crowd of wives and children gathered around the island in my kitchen to watch and cheer me along, I cut up some burnt ends and flicked them around the cutting board for all to enjoy... instantly got rave reviews... "best ever"... "OMG how did you do this?"... "Wow, my husband could never do that!"... LOL, I think that's my favorite part of the cook! All the husbands started coming in to see what the commotion was about and dinner was served!



Oh, and about those ribs... they came out pretty darn good too...



Thanks for all the tips and feedback here, guys! After a lot of back and forth and questioning myself, I ended up taking the advice of "do what you know, do what's worked before". I didn't really change anything up and overall am really happy with the cook. Other than passing out and that fire management issue I had for some reason, it was a success. The Wagyu from SRF was absolutely fantastic and such a treat, highly recommend it if you're looking to splurge on a cook this summer!

Happy smokin', gang... enjoy what's left of the holiday weekend!

[Troutman]

Good job cowboy....yee haw !!! Good write up as well. Now go tell the wives AND their husbands to join the PIt and we'll git 'em learned up !!!

[jecucolo]

Man, that was a very awesome write up. Who needs a Stetson!

[EdF]

That ain't no Stetson (I grew up in Danbury, CT). But it's a pretty fine "pork pie". And the story was great!

[Meathead]

I did a SRF wagyu brisket last month and decided to do some fiddling. I separated point from flat and removed most of the surface fat. I used Butcher Blend injection. I foiled both when the color looked good and the stall started. Smoked on my Karubeque. I made burnt ends from the point and crisped them on a gas grill. Turned out pretty good!

[Troutman]

No pics? We have rules here, no pics no happened !! Only teasing, would be nice to see your work...

[VideoWolf88]

That sounds way too good to save for the next book, lol.

[EdF]

Should have known you were a stealth KBQ-er! Looking forward to the new book!

[Huskee]

Great writeup and pics, and congrats on a great cook. Now that the preliminaries are out of the way, here's some info for you:

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