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**CurlingDog** · June 30, 2016, 07:37 AM

Good question fzxdoc ... lets back up the bus and ask... what is the point for using a pan? if it's only use is for capturing drippings and keeping the gasser clean, i think you can get the best of both worlds by putting a cooling rack on top of it and some water in the bottom so the drippings don't burn in. The thing I don't know is... will tinfoil drip pans be structurally strong enough to support 10lbs of brisket...

**Breadhead** · June 30, 2016, 07:59 AM

Good question. I've seen it done too. It just seems wrong to me. I want airflow around my brisket to bark it up properly. It would be interesting to have someone explain the theroy though. I don't think I'll be changing my method though.

**DeusDingo** · June 30, 2016, 08:14 AM

i think it's so the flat can soak in the juices and stay moist and not dry out. i would imagine, though, that the flat would then taste like pot roast at the end.

**Huskee** · June 30, 2016, 08:34 AM

I could be wrong, but I'm guessing it's one of those 'don't know any better' things. Does the recipe also say to let it come to room temp first? Lol. If you're a fan of "bark360" I wouldn't use a pan, and I know you know this too per your stated suspicions on the matter. Never hurts to try something once, if nothing else but to confirm suspicions though, right?

**DWCowles** · June 30, 2016, 08:44 AM

I have done a brisket in the pan method before and it turn out good. It did bark up good as I put the fat cap on the bottom. I think the reason some people do it is to keep from making a mess in their smoker and to collect the juices.

**Nate** · June 30, 2016, 08:58 AM

All of this that we do here all comes down to some personal preferences...

I have had some good brisket that was cooked in a pan. Here are a few observations:

1. it is the easiest way to handle meat (move around, wrap, rest, etc...)
2. makes cleanup a lot easier
3. catch the juice! (run it through a fat separator / gravy strainer and serve it back with the meat)
4. use a wire rack in the pan and place brisket fat cap down... can help with bark formation
5. play with wood usage to help with smoke flavor if you are worried about it.

**CurlingDog** · June 30, 2016, 09:21 AM

there is something to be said for meat drippings incinerating on the 'flavorizer"'s, be it v-shaped bars or lava rocks or ceramic disks. yes, it's a mess, but you gotta measure the trade off that additional "smoke" that could help with the bark vs gaining drippings for an au jus. YMMV

Very interesting question... I'll be over here -------------------------> listening closely.

**CandySueQ** · June 30, 2016, 09:49 AM

I've cooked butts and briskets both ways. My ideal way with a pan was with the rib rack of the FEC100 put an aluminum pan in between with savory liquids (and a couple of sliced in half onions) and a regular rack on top. Best of both, plenty of air space for smoke and the pan to catch the drippings. I've cooked in sheet pans with racks, that was mostly clean cooking issues. I found a product called Frog Mats years ago. Those gave me easy, bare hand movement of meat so I got away from pans in the Jambo. I washed the cooker out after every contest, so cleanup wasn't so bad. Bad thing about cooking in pans is it slows the whole process down. Now, if you're cooking hot n fast, you may want that buffer to protect the meat.

**Spinaker** · June 30, 2016, 09:59 AM

I do agree with most. I think its more to keep the smokers clean. I use a stainless pan for my KBQ and my Keg when doing a brisket or shoulder. But both are under the grate that the meat is sitting on. Again, this is just to catch the drippings. Making a brisket gravy from the drippings is one of the most manly things I have ever done. Its full flavor, salty and rich beyond belief.

**fzxdoc** · June 30, 2016, 03:55 PM

Thank you all for your thoughts on this. I figured that since so many pitmasters put their brisket in a pan for smoking, there must be good reasons behind it.

Back when I used my gasser, the meat was on a grate over a pan plus there was a pan of water in the gasser too. So the meat was not ever IN a pan, but over one. And, as you say, CurlingDog , since the meat juices did not hit the "flavorizer bars", I may have been missing out on a lot of little flavor bombs vaporizing back up to the meat. I had some hella meat drippings, though, (like Spinaker said) to pour into the crutch foil wrap. Truth be told, I thought my gasser briskets were pretty tasty.

Then I got my Pit Barrel Cooker. Ohmigosh what a gamechanger, flavorwise. I'll never smoke a brisket on my gasser again. The PBC spoiled me for "bark 360", as you say, Huskee , and turned me into a true bark hound.

So now, with my Summit Charcoal-n-ator, I'm wondering if I'll be facing another flavor gamechanger. That's why I wondered whether/why using a pan for smoking a brisket is better. I recalled that several BBQ heavy hitters here use pans for their briskets and of course I see them used in the competition BBQ TV programs all the time.

So, considering Nate and DWCowles 's thoughts (Two heavy hitters on the BBQ All Star team, for sure) about why a brisket in a pan is a good idea, here are my take home messages from this lesson:

Cleanliness: The design of that Summit Charcoal monster allows me to have a drip pan set under the grate, so putting the brisket inside a pan for the purpose of keeping my particular smoker clean is not necessary.

Ease of transport: I can see that as an advantage. I've never actually dropped a hunk of smoked meat transporting it to the kitchen, but I've come close a couple of times.

Catch the Juice: see Cleanliness above, concerning the design of my new charcoal smoker. I'll be catching juice for sure!

Tips to make a panned brisket have more bark and smoke flavor: these are good ones. Thanks! If I use a pan, I'll for sure follow them, plus using your method, DWCowles , of placing the meat fat side down in the pan. (I may never achieve the flavor you do from your wood smokers, though, DW. Sigh.

)

And finally, CandySueQ , thanks for your thoughts. It's also good to know that using a pan might slow the cook down.

Thank you all again, for your insights from different angles on this question. I feel slightly smarter now, thanks to you.

Kathryn

**CeramicChef** · June 30, 2016, 04:00 PM

Kathryn - that new Summit is a kamado in essence. I do brisket all the time with a drip pan under my cook. That accomplishes two things ... first, you can get drippings if that is your thing and you want to make a sauce (I don't) and secondly, it keeps your Summit clean and safe from flare-ups.

I have cooked briskets in a pan on the odd occasion, but it's certainly not my preferred modus operandi. I much prefer to just lay them on the cooking grate with a drip pan under them, set it for 225, and walk away until it hits 200 or so IT. Then when it probes like warm butter I pull, wrap, cooler, etc. I do not wrap in butcher paper as seems to be the rage the days and I certainly never wrap in foil, i.e. The Texas Crutch.

All the best to you on this cook. Here's to great cooks and even better memories with family and friends!

**fzxdoc** · June 30, 2016, 05:29 PM

CeramicChef , both Max and Meathead said that this Summit Charcoal is more Komado-like than not. I think I'll start following your topic about Komados, because I'm thinking that there's a lot of applicable information to be had there.

I do want to try smoking a brisket in a pan on my Summit Charcoal Smoker/Grill just to see how it fares. As I mentioned in my previous post, I was essentially wide-eyed and bushy-tailed with respect to smoking when I got my PBC, and it taught me the kinds of smoke flavor profiles that my family loves. I would not be surprised if this WSCG teaches me something similar.

Gosh, I love learning new stuff!

Kathryn

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