A brisket, a brasket, a green and yellow basket?

[smokyYank]

Just thought I'd try to come up with a little humor...perhaps very little.

I've made a few briskets in my day, but nothing spectacular.

I'd love to hear from you folks out there with any and all advice to make a nice smoky, tender, juicy, flavorful brisket.

I have a pellet smoker (vertical) with water pan. Among other questions, I have these:

1. Should I use a whole brisket or just the point or the flat (I don't need such a big piece)

2. Do I use the Texas Crutch at around 160F?

3. What rub recipes go well with this?

4. Sauce recipe?

5. Dry brine, if so, how long?

6. Inject with apple juice or other?

7. Once up to temp, leave it in the foil wrapped in blankets till it cools?

Any other advice you can give will be appreciated!

[smokyYank]

8. At what temp is it DONE?

[bbqLuv]

Until is done, about 204*f internal in the flat.

[RonB]

1 - up to you. People here have great success with all of these.
2 - Some do and some don't. Some wrap at a specific temp, and some when the bark is set, (which seems a bit more logical to me).
3 - Texas style is considered S&P only, but, again, it's up to you. Some add various spices and some use a commercial rub.
4 - Traditional TX style doesn't use sauce, but, again, some do.
5 - Most dry brine. Time varies, but depends on thickness. I like 3 days if I have the time.
6 - Again, up to you. I don't. If ya don't have that much time, use what you have.
7 - Resting helps with tenderness. 2 or3 hours is probably average, but longer can work too. You just want to keep the temp above 140°.
8 - It's done when it's probe tender and that can occur anywhere from 190°ish to above 203° depending on the grade. Select will take longer than prime, and wagyu will take less than prime.

Buy the best quality, (grade), you can afford for the best results.
Don't pre slice - brisket dries out quickly. Slice as close to serving time as possible. I slice to order as people bring their plates to me.

[smokin fool]

Hmmm, my wife is constantly asking if there’s a point to my babbling

[smokyYank]

Thanks, RonB

[RonB]

Waiting for the Worms and
smokin fool - My Grandfather used to say "I asked you what time it was, not how to make a watch.".

[Waiting for the Worms]

1) My preference is to do whole packers, but when I can find them I will buy just the point for times I want brisket and don't have people to share with. I never do just flats, but that's just a personal preference.

2) If you're going to wrap, and that is always a debate all unto its self, then you would want to wrap when the bark is where you want it. Depending on what temp you are cooking at, that could be before the stall, during the stall, or after the stall. For me, it is usually after the stall, but YMMV.

2a) Part 2 of this question is what to uses for your wrap? I prefer butchers paper, others prefer foil. And some feel the foil boat gives them the best results. The best way to figure out what you like is to try them out and see what works best for your tastes.

3) My choice for rub is salt, pepper and garlic powder (see #5). BBBR is very popular here, but really, your rub choice depends on your own tastes. The only way you will find what works best for you is to experiment with different rubs.

4) My preference is no sauce. If you want to try a sauce, I would start here.

5) YES! Dry brine is one of the few things that causes very little debate. It works, it helps, and is highly recommended for large cuts of meat. I dry brine for at least 12 hours, then add the pepper and garlic just before cooking. Some will dry brine for 48 hours before cooking. My thought is that for a cut like brisket is that you want at least 8 hours for the salt to work its way into the meat.

6) Injecting is another one that is wide open for discussion. I don't inject, but others swear by it. There are a lot of commercial brisket injections, and on the free side Meathead suggests using beef stock. The only way you'll find out for sure if it is worth the effort for you is to try it. I have never heard of using apple juice as a beef injection before, but that doesn't mean it can't be done.

7) Wrapping and resting is known to be the "secret step" to making great brisket. If you didn't wrap during the cook phase, then you still have a choice of paper or foil for wrapping during the rest. If you do decide to wrap when the bark is set, then no further wrapping is needed. Simply move the brisket into a cooler for at least one hour, and up to 4 or 5 hours. If you want to rest longer than 4 hours, I recommend stashing it in your oven set to its lowest setting. For my oven that is 170°. The important thing to remember when resting the brisket is to not let the temp drop below 140°.

8) Every brisket is different, so every brisket will have a slightly different finishing temp. As a very general guideline, the higher the quality cuts such as USDA Prime, and your wagu, are going to finish at a lower temp than you Choice and Selects. While you use temp as reference, for when to start checking, what you are really looking for is "probe tender". That is when the probe of your instant read thermometer slides into the meat smoothly without resistance. "Like pushing it into a jar of creamy peanut butter." As a general rule, the flat is what you need to be checking. The point has so much intramuscular fat, that if the flat is done, the point is too. A good time to start checking for probe tender is 190°, but don't be surprised if it doesn't probe well until 200° or so.

Our friend ecowper wrote up a great tutorial for first time brisket making that you can find here. If you follow his method, your chances of making a great brisket go up dramatically. After that, it's all about tweaking and refining things for your own personal preference. One thing I'll mention is that you want to be cautious of making too many changes from one cook to the next. I wouldn't recommend changing more than one thing on each cook. So for instance if you chose not to wrap during cooking the first time, then don't wrap, use a different rub, and cook at a different temp the next time. Alter only one variable at a time until you get to what to you is the perfect brisket.

And the single most important piece of advice I can give you is this. Don't stress out over it, it's just BBQ. We all have disaster stories of cooks gone wrong. It happens. It's part of the learning process. When I'm making BBQ, I always have it in the back of my mind, that dinner will either be what I'm cooking, or pizza from my favorite place that delivers. Either way, everything will be fine.

[bbqLuv]

I agree, except where I don't 😛

[smokyYank]

WOW! Thanks so much, Waiting for the Worms !

[ecowper]

Great comments/input. I was gonna say stuff, but you said it already!!!

[bbqLuv]

I have a pellet smoker (vertical) with water pan. Among other questions, I have these:
Not a Traeger but heading in the right direction.

1. Should I use a whole brisket or just the point or the flat (I don't need such a big piece)--Yes referred to as a Packer Brisket. Or you can cook the flat for slices.

2. Do I use the Texas Crutch at around 160F? --Yes 160-170F, bark set, foil wrap

3. What rub recipes go well with this? --Salt, Pepper, and Garlic for starters, Trager beef or coffee rubs, and Sugar's BBQ beef rub is good too.

4. Sauce recipe? --Sauce on the side, a very simple BBQ sauce recipe Melted Butter-Brown sugar-lemon juice-Worcestershire sauce, and Ketchup--Kind of a sweet and sour sauce.

5. Dry brine, if so, how long? You can dry brine, over knight is good.

6. Inject with apple juice or other? Beef broth is what I inject.

7. Once up to temp, leave it in the foil wrapped in blankets till it cools? --Internal temp 204*f and probe tender, a "wiggle in the jiggle". It is called resting, 2-4 hours or longer works.

Any other advice you can give will be appreciated! --Okay, if you add a small pinch of curing salt or celery salt to your rub it will enhance the smoke ring, but you didn't hear it from me.
Lastly, do not forget PBR.

[Waiting for the Worms]

You're mostly right. Except for where you're wrong.

[smokyYank]

Thanks, bbqLuv

[DogFaced PonySoldier]

Okay, if you add a small pinch of curing salt or celery salt to your rub it will enhance the smoke ring, but you didn't hear it from me.

Yes this is correct - but may not be necessary at all. Check out the smoke ring (purely aesthetic, of course) from my recent cook of beef ribs on my Yoder pellet smoker -

[bbqLuv]

I would eat that, smoke ring and all.
I would pair that with PBR.

[smokyYank]

what's PBR? not peanut butter and ribs?

[rickgregory]

Everyone has good points above (ha!) but no one has mentioned a key aspect... start with a good brisket. Doesn't need to be SRF Gold or whatever but try to find something nicely marbled, choice or better.

After that, I'd keep it simple. I kind of dislike the 18 ingredient magic rubs. It's beef. It tastes good. You don't need it to be just S&P, but I'd keep it straightforward... maybe add granulated garlic and perhaps some paprika and leave it at that. Or use a favorite rub you like on other beef.

After that it's what people have mostly already said - smoke, at a low and slow temp. Wrap when bark is to your liking. Start checking for probe tender (like pushing a probe into butter) at 190 and when you get there, pull it and rest in a faux cambro/cooler/whatever for at least a couple of hours.

[smokyYank]

Thanks, rickgregory. What's SRF Gold?

[rickgregory]

SRF is Snake River Farms, a high end meat supplier. Gold is a high grade. Really nice but pricey - https://www.snakeriverfarms.com/amer...old-grade.html

[ecowper]

The only thing I guess I’d add is to pretty much agree with rickgregory about the rub on the brisket. Salt, pepper, garlic (SPG) in equal parts. If you dry brine, then omit the salt in the rub (salt double jeopardy is bad. I’ve done it, had inedible food). I like coarse ground pepper for this. The bumpier you can make the surface of the meat, the more smoke it will grab, in my experience.

[smokyYank]

Thanks

[RlsRls]

No one mentioned a "binder" pre rub, Not needed?? Or is that just for Pork?

[rickgregory]

You can use it and some do but it's not required. Mostly it's about getting the basics (meat selection, trimming (to a degree), heat management) down.

[ecowper]

Regardless of the particular meat/cut, I generally use nothing but water.

[smokyYank]

So another question - if you wrap it after it reaches 200F, won't that make the bark soggy, or is that intentional? I know for pulled pork and ribs you want a dry bark, so I hit it on the grill at 600 for about a minute per side.

[rickgregory]

It might soften a bit but you can wrap with butcher paper to alleviate that but you'd do that at the stall. When it's done, around 200F, you're wrapping to insulate it during the rest. ALWAYS rest a brisket for a 2-4 hours if you can. Makes a real difference.

[Stuey1515]

One of the best pieces of advice I was given here is to keep a diary of your cooks.
It is much better at remembering what you did and how it tasted, than a memory like mine.
It really upped my game, as my imbibing of a few lubricants during the cook tends to cloud the memory as well

[smokyYank]

Thanks! I do. And also the brain lubricants as well.

[smokyYank]

Thanks rickgregory

[fracmeister]

1. Whole brisket! Maybe seperate them. Explore new leftovers. Perhaps go keto!
2. Try it with and without.For a long time I did not crutch. Now I sometimes do.
3. Try alchemistfirebbq.com power word grill... that is my go to
4. If you are good no need for sauce (official required response) but my family likes my variation on the KC style sauce here in AR. You SHOULD HAVE YOUR OWN SECRET RECIPE
5. Yes. Overnight or at least 8 hours.
6. Not apple juice. Maybe beef broth or one of those concoctions you buy but i don't since I buy good briskets.
7. When it is done I usually wrap in foils/towel and keep in cooler or even leave in oven on lowest setting (wrapped in paper, sitting on something to catch any grease) till serving time. A rest of even an hour or two is better than no rest but you can eat it right off the grill.
8. Till it's tender or 203-205. If it ain't tender at 205 you better plan on making thin slices...(or so I have heard as mine are always tender) if you overcook and they are falling apart make thicker slices. (or so I have heard)

[smokyYank]

Thanks!