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My First Brisket

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    My First Brisket

    Sorry about the less than clever title, but it says it all. I performed a Weber calibration with a newly acquired SnS about a week ago (results posted) and the results prompted me to go for the Big One. I bought a 12.5 lb full packer and was informed that it was Choice++. I think that was a made-up grade and there were no markings on the cryo-vac packaging to indicate grade. So, I assumed that I just got select grade. I chucked the hunk into the fridge for 7 days awaiting the dinner party I was planning. I trimmed and dry brined the beast 36 hours for my scheduled 0300 cook start time.

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    Dry Brined and Trimmed To 9.7 lbs.

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    I used cheap yellow mustard to bind the BBBR.

    Using a Weber Kettle and my new Slow 'N Sear, I put the meat on when the grill temp got to 140 degrees, added 3 chunks of Western Oak for smoke, and started adjusting the vents. After 45 minutes, I was able to stabilize the grill in the mid-220 degrees range.

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    At the 5 hours mark, I rotated the meat and topped off the water and fuel.

    At the 8 hours mark, the meat temp 169 degrees when I crutch wrapped it. I had to relocate the kettle to keep it out of the blazing sun and made a very important discovery: PULL and DO NOT PUSH a loaded Webber Kettle! While I was pushing it, it stubbed a toe on a concrete transition and the whole shooting match self-emptied onto the patio (insert about 2 minutes of curse words here). Since the meat had been wrapped, it was easy to recover it, but the spilled water bath partially extinguished some of the burning coals. I left the lid off for about 5 minutes and the coals started generating heat again.

    At the 12 hours mark, the meat temp hit 203 degrees and was put into the faux Cambro for 2.5 hours. The time is now 18:30 and it's dinner time. The meat temp only dropped to 190 degrees while in the Cambro. When I unwrapped the meat and tried to get it onto my cutting board, the meat was so tender and juicey that it was falling apart. Here's what it looked like after carving.

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    Served with pinto beans and warm potato salad with pecan pie for dessert. Needless to say, the dinner was a huge hit with my guests.

    One question that I have is would the meat have firmed up had I let it cool outside the Cambro to more like 145 degrees?

    #2
    Oh, i like this! Great brisky cook!!

    Comment


      #3
      Man, I have come so close a few times to dumping the contents of my kettle. Even pulling very far you run the risk of the wheels getting ahead of the kettle and the whole thing falling over. I just park that sucker in the driveway and if the sun becomes a problem, I bring out the Coleman 10x10 canopy.

      Comment


      • HawkerXP
        HawkerXP commented
        Editing a comment
        You all need to get a Performer. With the table extension its a Weber 4x4. I move mine all over the yard following the shade or trying not to kill the grass in one spot while I dance back and forth waiting and watching.

      • fuzzydaddy
        fuzzydaddy commented
        Editing a comment
        HawkerXP you're not helping my MCS. I ran across a blue kettle / performer recently and it's stuck in my mind, if you know what I mean.

      #4
      ""One question that I have is would the meat have firmed up had I let it cool outside the Cambro to more like 145 degrees?""

      @OneEyedJack

      Yes, competition folks like to allow their briskets to cool to about 145 internal, this helps with obtaining more uniform slices.

      Comment


      • OneEyedJack
        OneEyedJack commented
        Editing a comment
        Thanks for that info! I had one guest who was pushing me to get the meat plated. Next time I'll wait.

      #5
      Nicely done!!

      Comment


        #6
        Nice brisket OneEyedJack

        Comment


          #7
          Looks like a good brisket.

          Comment


            #8
            Congrats and well done! That's a nice looking brisket. Good writeup and photos. Thanks for sharing!

            Comment


              #9
              That's a great first brisket! You're saving leftovers for some hash tomorrow, right?

              Comment


              • OneEyedJack
                OneEyedJack commented
                Editing a comment
                Leftovers went into tacos and a salad. We got 12 meals out of it!

              • ecowper
                ecowper commented
                Editing a comment
                Nice! Next time you cook brisket, consider saving some to make hash with. Yum!

              #10
              Thanks to whomever deleted the duplicate posts. I kept getting a "working" message that would not go away and I ended up pushing the post button too many times.

              Comment


                #11
                OneEyedJack I enjoyed your post since I will be cooking my 1st brisket next weekend. My question is, as a general rule of thumb, is it necessary to allow it to cool in a cambro or can it be allowed to cool faster on the counter at room temp? Great looking brisket!

                Comment


                • OneEyedJack
                  OneEyedJack commented
                  Editing a comment
                  From my limited experience, I would allow the meat to cool on the counter after 2 hours in the cambro. I bet I could have held this brisket in the cambro for 4 hours! Good luck!

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