First Time Brisket - tips wanted!

[kairoer]

Hi all! I have been tasked with doing some BBQ for 30 people, and decided I should try brisket for the first time. Possibly a risky decision, but hey, I can do risk!

I will follow the brisket recipe on here, and I know ecowper will be happy to coach me in distance. However, there are a few issues Id like your thoughts on:

- I have a standard Weber Kettle (not the small, not the huge, the standard - possibly 22"?). I have used my kettle for lots of great low-and-slow (no, I dont have the sear-n-smoke thingie yet...it is on the list!) using the fuse method. My question is: will this be large enough for a 8KG brisket? Or will I risk ruining the meat as the fuse burns almost under the meat?
- due to the timeframe of the party (we tend to eat early in Norway), I may not have 10+ hours to BBQ during the day. Instead, I was consider to do a few hours (3, perhaps?) the day before, to build up the smoke taste and crust. Then I would move the meat to a convection oven with steam, and let it tenderise there in a controlled environment, possibly over night. During the day of the BBQ, I could possibly put it back on the BBQ to give it back some crust? Am I dreaming here, or does this sound like a possible approach? Alternatively, would it work if I put it in the oven first, and then on the kettle for a few hours before serving? (I know, lots of stupid questions, and far away from the pit-master way of making brisket!)
- What should I expect of time for a brisket of around 8Kg? Doing the Texas wrap and all...
- Is there any must-have sauce I need?

In addition to the brisket, I plan to make a few beer-can chickens, and there will be lots of sides, salads, bread and of course the liquid stuff!

Any help appreciated, as always!

Thanks,

Kai

[kmhfive]

An alternative to consider is to cut the brisket before cooking. That may move the meat out of the fuse's way. You will have plenty of smoke flavor after 3-hours if that's all you can give. You can finish in the oven no problem.

Another thing to to consider is to get the kettle up to 270-280 and cook faster.

[kairoer]

If I heat it at 270-280, will it not dry out?

[DeusDingo]

kairoer you get the cooker to that temp, not the meat

[OneEyedJack]

I did a 6.8KG (before trimming) last weekend. It turned into a 4.5KG piece of meat after trimming that just barely fit in my 22 inch Weber with a SnS. There is no way the snake method will allow you to cook indirect. Perhaps, you can fake the SnS by using some other materials to hold the coals to one side and use a water pan under the meat for moisture. Use the SnS lighting method which is start 12 coals in one corner then add unlit coals. My cook took a full 12 hours at 225*F-250*F then two more hours in the faux cambro. I got rave reviews from my guests and I'm sure they were not just being polite.

[Henrik]

Instead of the snake method, just put two bricks in the kettle, to simulate the SnS. That will be way better than the snake for such a large brisket. Also, as kmhfive suggests, cut off the flat(test) end if it doesn't fit. It will most likely be too thin anyway. Use the cut off meat for burgers.
I've done several briskets at higher temps (275° F), that works fine, but then you must use a water pan. Actually, I always use a water pan in the kettle.
As for the grill vs oven: I would definitely put it on the grill first, to get that smoke flavor. Not sure 3 hours is enough. Are there other options? Cook it the day before and re-heat in the oven? Get up early? I'd much rather get up at silly o' clock, get the grill going, go back to bed for a few hours. With briquettes in your kettle it should be relatively stable.

[ecowper]

You guys are pretty close together (Stockholm and Oslo) .... you should have a Pitmaster meet up sometime

[Henrik]

Not a bad idea actually, we need to get the bbq movement going big time.

[kairoer]

A great idea, Eric! In fact, I will be in Stockholm later this year, Henrik, I may be able to squeeze in an extra BBQ day

[Henrik]

Here's an example picture with the bricks. These are rather large, so I only used 1 and 1/2. The SnS is way better, but this works well in the meantime.

[kairoer]

Fantastic! Now I get the idea! This I could do, me thinks.

[ecowper]

I like how Henrik does that with the bricks. I think that should work well for indirect for that brisket. Definitely you will want a water pan on the other side of the bricks.

[Henrik]

Yes sir, that water pan will work wonders.

[kairoer]

I have a perfect water pan, an old iron pot (dutch owen kind without the lid). Use it for most all my BBQ these days

[ecowper]

Sounds good kairoer .... note that with a water pan, and that setup, there's no reason you can't cook that brisket at 250-275. I cook mine in that range all the time. So does Aaron Franklin of Franklin BBQ. :-)

[RonB]

I would suggest fire bricks if you can get them.

[progenitive]

Having failed at brisket a few times using traditional techniques, and having succeeded every single time with sous vide, I'd recommend the sous vide method, if you can swing it. Doing a brisket the first time, and having 30 people judging you, can be very stressful! I like 155F in the SV for about 30 hours, then chilling the meat, and smoking it for about 2.5 hours to finish it. The meat will most definitely be moist and of the right texture this way. The only issue I've had is getting enough smoke flavor (but I like a LOT of smoke), and I'm going to try smoking before sous vide at some point in the future.

So a good workflow could be to finish SV the day before, and go to the smoker about 3 hours before serving time.

[GadjetGriller]

Dang I'm jealous I want one of those Convection/Steam ovens!! Have not caught on here in the States so prices for even small toaster oven sized ones are very expensive!

[kairoer]

haha GadjetGriller they are expensive here too, I just happen to have access to a restaurant kitchen

[GadjetGriller]

Kool kairoer Now I'm really jealous. I go to the local Restaurant supply store just to drool. Enjoy The experiences!!

[ecowper]

alright, now that we have dealt with the "how to set up the kettle" issue .... here's some general tips and tricks for brisket that I've learned over the years

1. Most important - Buy good quality brisket .... don't go for the cheapest.
2. Do review how to trim the brisket. This is going to be a big deal for turning out a quality product. I highly recommend Aaron Franklin's youtube videos on the topic.
3. Do not feel that you have to do some sort of fancy rub on the brisket at all. I normally only use black pepper, kosher salt and granulated garlic powder. The meat and smoke stands on its own, big time.
4. Build a solid plan for how you are going to cook this hunk of beef and stick to it.
5. 250F (120C) is a great temp for brisket. You can even go to 275F (135C). The biggest key here is to keep your temp consistent and not play with it.
6. Definitely wrap in foil when it is in the stall and the bark is well set. Meat's internal temp is probably gonna be about 175F (80C) when you want to wrap.
7. Don't depend just on temperature for this piece of meat. How it looks, how it feels, how your temperature probe goes into the meat .... they are all important. When the temp probe goes into the meat like a knife into warm butter .... it's done.
8. Definitely plan at least 1 hour (better yet 2 hours) for holding the brisket in a faux cambro ..... a good ice chest ..... wrap the meat in foil, then several towels, then place in the cooler.
9. Try to slice the meat when the internal temp is about 145F (63C).

I hope this helps

[kairoer]

Decided to follow this process:

1. smoking and heating up to stall
2. wrap in aluminium foil
3. finish off cooking in oven (industrial kitchen)
4. cool and store until Wednesday
5. gently reheat on BBQ just before serving

Hoping this will yield a good result.

For meat, I got a large slab of some black angus brisket, imported from US. Nice marbling. Using just salt and pepper for seasoning.

Very happy for all your support and encouragements! Here are some pics from the project!

[Sephon]

kairoer , Looks like a pretty cool set-up. I'm excited to see the finished product.

[kmhfive]

That's going to be one great-looking brisket. Let us know!

[kairoer]

I will be writing a newbies experience of brisket in the kettle, according to ecowper - watch out for it!