Recommendations on how to cook a whole packer brisket

[AliCT]

Hello! Has anyone experimented with Franklin's technique on wrapping in butcher paper rather than foil for the crutch? I have ample time this weekend so tempted to not bother with the crutch at all, but nervous there might be a moisture loss impact I'd rather avoid. Thoughts? PS, @aperalta85 I leave my Rec Tec unattended overnight with no issue at all, that thing is so solid and consistent you needn't worry. Probably more stable than your indoor oven with less hot spots (if your oven is like mine!)

[DWCowles]

AliCT I think Huskee will be doing a Wagyu brisket in a week or two using the Aaron Franklin method. I doing a Wagyu brisket this weekend and I will be wrapping it in pink butcher paper.

[Huskee]

DWCowles true dat. Sat the 18th in fact. One of my buddies has butcher paper, and he's going to let me mooch some from him for this cook. In fact he's one of the ones coming over to enjoy it with us. And he's bringing good wine. Win win for me!

[AliCT]

Wow, NOT a good 4th of July cook! A rare miss for my RecTec but I think it was a one off and more the meat's fault than anything. Hubby picked up my brisket for me Thursday and not a phenomenal looking cut of meat when I unwrapped it back at home...very skinny compared to the others I've worked with and I've never trimmed so much fat in my life. Did everything as per normal and dropped her in the RecTec at 11pm.....and it was at 203 by 7am the next morning!!!! So all my concerns about which crutch to use were pointless....we never stalled and the darn thing cooked through in 8 hours. Which meant the remaining fat layer I'd left on, even at 1/8 of an inch, didn't render all the way and my bark was pathetic. The flat was pretty tight, but loved the point thank heavens, that turned out perfect. Luckily for me my father in law is English and had no reference point so he thought it was outstanding. Little did he know! I am sure the 5 hour rest in foil helped me, but moral of the story? Always pick up your meat yourself so you can approve it in advance!!

[_John_]

AliCT Just did this test with pork butts and liked it better, overall moisture went to foil by a hair, but flavor was definitely butcher paper. In that post CandySueQ mentioned doing a brisket in paper. The main learning for me was time, it took a lot closer to unwrapped time than it did foil time.

[aperalta85]

My Briskets have been on since 6pm. The one in the masterbuilt is going a bit quicker than the one in the rectec. Getting nervous it'll be done quick but I know the stall is coming soon.

[jlazar]

Thanks to all of you for your advice. I started with a 13lb whole brisket and after trimming, ended up separating the point (4lb) and flat (6lb) due to the size of the whole not fitting in the WSM 18.5. I put a 50/50 salt/pepper rub (recommended by Franklin) on the night before and injected with just beef broth in the morning. Briskets went on at 6:30 am at 230 using Kingsford Blue and a mix of Mesquite and Hickory chunks. I put flat on bottom grate and point on top (although point weighed less) due to point being thicker and top grate being hotter. Usually a 10-15 degree difference between the two grates at startup but seems to converge the longer I cook. When cooking pieces of a similar thickness (ribs), I rotate halfway through the cook. Set my Digiq to manage top grate at desired temp. Monitor meat temps with Digiq at one level and Maverick 732 at the other. At 11am, both hit 167 at which time I crutched with a little beef broth. The point finished about 1:30 and the flat about 2:40. Wrapped both in towels and the cooler until 5:30. Sliced as Meathead recommends. They were both very tender. The point passed the pull test a little easier than the flat as expected but the meat did not fall apart while cutting. Got a picture of the finished product before slicing. Meant to take a picture after slicing but got so busy slapping hands and eating that I forgot. Only change next time would be to use the Chris Lilly rub mix which we prefer to just the salt/pepper.

[smarkley]

VERY NICE!

[Powersmoke_80]

@jlazar That bark Looks awesome! I also did Salt & Pepper then a coating of Meatheads Big Bad Beef Rub and was very happy I will do it again the same way!

[_John_]

Looks great, it's funny how good something is that looks so burnt.

[jlazar]

Thanks for the comments. Also learned that I will always do a whole packer. Wife and daughter like lean. Son-in-law likes the point. I like both.

[fzxdoc]

So burnt and so delicious-looking! Congrats, jlazar , for providing the details and photo of a fine cook.

Kathryn

[aperalta85]

The 4th of July brisket turned out amazing and they best part was I was able to sleep! I will have pictures when I get them off the camera.

Here was my timeline for those who care to read:

7/2/15
2pm: Picked up 2 18 pound briskets from the butcher.

9pm: Trimmed and Dry Brine - after trimming they were about 15 pounds each

7/3/15
10am: Mustard and BBBR

6pm: Brisket 1 in RecTec with 12" AMNTS and Brisket 2 in MES both set at 225. I announce to my friends that the 4th of July has officially begun and drink a beer (or 12) to celebrate.

8pm: Test out some fireworks for the following evening.

11pm: Brisket 1 is @ 120; Brisket 2 is @ 136

7/4/15
12am: I took AMNTS out of RecTec refilled it and threw it in MES.
Lowered temp to 215 so I could sleep peacefully. (I know it probably didn't make a difference but it made me feel better)

3am: Brisket 1 stalled at 153 but I didn't know because I was fast asleep.

6am: Brisket 1 is still at 153; Brisket 2 is at 160
After looking at the iGrill chart I find out brisket 2 stalled at 145
Wrap brisket 1 with half of a 14.5 can of low sodium beef broth
Since Brisket 2 was passed the stall I just let it go.
Put the temp back to 225

7:40am: Brisket 2 hits 170

10:40am: Brisket 1 at 182; Brisket 2 still at 171 - I throw a lot of curse words at it and then wrap it in foil with the other half of beef broth

12:30pm: Brisket 1 is at 193. Brisket 2 is at 178 so I curse at it some more and decide it's a good time to crack open some bourbon. (Assume alcohol consumption from here on out)

2:30pm: Brisket 1 is at 200 so I wrap it in some towels and put it in the cambro. Brisket 2 is at 187.

3pm: My 100% italian New York family and my friends start to arrive and look at me like I'm insane because I am not grilling italian sausage and making peppers and onions then looks at me like I'm even more insane when I explain to them that half of the meat is already done and wrapped in a towel sitting in a cooler.

4:15pm: Brisket 2 is at 190 but I check it with a temp probe and it goes right in so I took it out and put it in the cambro.

5:45pm: Everyone gathers around me as I unveil the brisket and they look at it like it's some sort of alien substance. I cut the first slice and their eyebrows raise as they try to figure out why it's so juicy after cooking for over 20 hours.

6pm: Everyone eats

6:08pm: Everyone apologizes for looking at me like I was crazy for not making sausage.

8:30pm: FIREWORKS!

[Mosca]

Nice! One of the things that has kept me from doing briskets is that I don't want to do them all night. Now I see that I can start them at the perfectly reasonable hour of 8AM, and have them for dinner the same day; that is a good thing.