First Packer Brisket

[58limited]

Tortillas are also good to serve on.

[HawkerXP]

+1

[Panhead John]

Welcome to the First Brisket Club, we’ve all been there, try not to worry too much. My first thoughts were…Your 13.5 lb. brisket will shrink to about 9 or10 lbs. after cooking. Also, was this the weight before trimming the fat? If so, your brisket will be even smaller than that. That might not be enough to feed 22 people. Are you planning on any other meat to go with the brisket? The rest of your plans seem ok, but I’d start checking for probe tenderness in the flat before letting it hit 205*.

[Donw]

You are going to do great. My only suggestion is to not just depend on reaching a set temperature but look for probe tender to determine when its done. When the probe slides in like through warm butter, it is done. Good luck

[RonB]

First - relax. Maybe have a drink.

Salt and pepper is the traditional Texas rub, but many in the Pit do their own thing, so ya can't go wrong. I do the S&P, but have been known to add garlic and/or onion powders depending on my mood.

Your brisket may or may not be done at 205°. What you want is probe tender. That's when a probe goes in with no resistance - like a knife in warm butter.

Once wrapped, you can finish in the oven or grill - if the oven is available. The meat can't tell the difference. That will fill the house with the wonderful aroma of smoked beef though.

I just use slider buns for the almost neutral taste, but I must admit that I'm not a fan of sweet with beef.

If done early, you can hold longer, but if you have a leave in thermometer, use it to make sure the temp stays above 140°. If it gets close with too much time left before serving, either put it back on the grill or in your oven set as low as it will go.

Have fun!

[58limited]

Everything sounds good to me although I personally cook brisket at 250 degrees. Instead of waiting until it hits 205 degrees start checking for tenderness at about 195 degrees. When it is probe tender and jiggles like jello it is done.

[Ratherfly]

Tonight I will be starting to smoke my first whole brisket. 13.5 lbs. I've done a flat before, once. This is for a party of 22 that I will be hosting at my home tomorrow. (Heaven help me.) Oh, also it's on a pellet grill using competition blend pellets.

I'm starting to second-guess everything I've planned. From spice rubs to temperature, to foil or butcher paper. Now, it's what to serve it on. Snowflake rolls were my first plan. Now it's Hawaiian rolls. Ciabatta? I think ciabatta would be cost-prohibitive after the $$ I spent on the meat. I've made 4 different BBQ sauces, but now I'm thinking just mayo & horseradish.

I gotta stop thinking.

So, 30 hours or so ago I salted the beef and put it into the fridge uncovered. Today I'll add Meathead's Big Bad Beef Dry Rub and let that sit for a few hours. At 6:30 p.m. I'll put it on at 225° and let it go until 165°. Pull it off and wrap it in butcher paper. Plop it back on the grill until 205° then wrap it in a towel and put it into a cooler for a couple/3 hours for service at 1:00 p.m.

My current thoughts are to change it from paper to foil. And from a spice rub to just pepper and granulated garlic. Why did my husband rope me into doing this for his family? Thankfully there's a Caribbean trip coming our way in March. Ought to make up for this stress.

Suggestions?