Big Brisket Yesterday

A choice 16# packer. Some call it a brisket, I call it Beef Critter! This thing was huge! :grin:



Set the coals and wood up Friday nighty for an early start Saturday. 3 chunks of white oak and kingsford blue.:



About 5 AM Saturday:



And it's on!



Went back to bed for a couple of hours with temp alarm set on the Mighty ET-732. All ran smooth. Here's a pic 4 hours in. I used the Aaron Franklin super secret Dalmatian brisket rub. 1/2 cup kosher salt and 1/2 cup course ground black pepper. This beast measured 22" long. How is that going to work on a 18.5" WSM? The answer was supplied right here by one of the Mods in a previous post (apologys for not remember which one) and Thanks! The solution was to place a SS bowl upside down on the grill.



I cooked this brisket 5 hours till I hit the stall at approx. 178*F. At that time, I foiled the brisket. It might have taken 20 hours to do otherwise eventhough I was running between 250-270*F.

It was 12 hours to probe tender and into a blanket it went for a 2 hour rest:



Here's a shot of it opened after the rest. I should have sliced it right then:



I had some other things happening so I had to put her in the fridge overnight.

Pulled out today and heated up just till 100*F and sliced. When I put it on the cutting board, it split along the grain because it was so tender:



Did manage to slice it some and show some smoke ring:



It is delicious and turned out about as tender a one can I guess. Next time I'll be doing one around 10 lbs. I learned a lot from this cook!

Forgot to add that this was the maiden voyage of the Saints WSM. Thanks to Marty Leach!



Thanks for lookin'! :grin:

I was very happy with it but of course hindsight is 20/20. What to do to improve next time etc. Still a ways to go for this brisket pilgrim. On a taste and tenderness level, Good Stuff! :grin:

Thanks to all for the Kind Words!

coastal said:

Is that your wifes good quilt?

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That quit was made in the late 1940's by 3 generations of Ladies with a quilt loom suspended over a bed. They would lower the loom onto the bed and gather around to sew it.

For the record, the brisket was wrapped up tight in foil. No heirloom blankets were harmed in the making of this brisket. :grin:

Thanks for asking!

thunter said:

I have not smoked with white oak for flavoring. Is it pretty mild? Good for ribs, butt, chix, etc. too?

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thunter, It's Great for beef and larger cuts of pork ie. boston butts. I've not tried it on chicken or ribs...yet. You can taste the smoke more than hickory and pecan but less than mesquite would be my guess.

This was some firewood seasoned about a year ago cut up into smokin' size chunks. I've got some red oak chunks that I've used from the same place. I can't tell much of a difference in the flavor but they are both good. :grin: