New (for me) Brisket Technique...

JD McGee

somebody shut me the fark up.
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So...I've been reading Mrs. JD's July issue of bon appetit titled "The BBQ Issue". There is an article titled "brisket, low & slow" that's a pretty good read. The recipe I'm interested in doing this weekend is a Southwestern brisket with ancho chile sauce.

The recipe calls for a 5 to 5 /12 lb flat with 1/4 to 1/2 in fat cap...

Apply the rub 2 - 24 hours in advance, wrap with plastic wrap, place in fridge...

Fire up the smoker (hickory or oak smoke woods) to 250...

Place the brisket (fat side up) in a disposable aluminum pan for the first 3 1/2 hours (or 160 internal temp) then wrap in two layers of HD foil...smoke for another 1 1/2 hours ( to 190 internal temp)...let rest on a baking sheet for an additional 1 to 2 hours before serving.

Your thoughts?
 
I was reading that recipe on line at the market the other day. That ancho chiie sauce sounded really good. Go for it and keep us posted.
 
I'm pretty new at this so just my thougts.

I don't like the roast beef effect that the brisket in a pan gives.

I put the fat cap down.

Just learning about rubs so I'll just read other posts.
 
I'm pretty new at this so just my thougts.

I don't like the roast beef effect that the brisket in a pan gives.

I put the fat cap down.

Just learning about rubs so I'll just read other posts.

Roast beef effect...:confused: Not sure what you mean here bro...
 
Roast beef effect...:confused: Not sure what you mean here bro...

It sits in the juices and seems more like it was roasted in a pan. Still flavorful just not very much of a smoke flavor. Not complaining if you smoked it that way I'd eat it. :-D:-D:-D Just let me know when its ready.
 
It sits in the juices and seems more like it was roasted in a pan. Still flavorful just not very much of a smoke flavor. Not complaining if you smoked it that way I'd eat it. :-D:-D:-D Just let me know when its ready.

Gotcha...:p Supper's at 6:00 next Saturday or Sunday depending on the weather! :biggrin: Don't be late! :twisted:
 
Gotcha...:p Supper's at 6:00 next Saturday or Sunday depending on the weather! :biggrin: Don't be late! :twisted:


Cool Thanks. I used to live across the sound from you in Bremerton and Port Orchard, I'd be there if I still lived there.
 
I did the Ancho chili bbq sauce out of the Texas LEgends cook book. It was ok, I had to use a little beer to thin it out, it was pretty thick. Definitely different than a sweet thick sauce.
 
I would be tempted to do it fat side down (but like my wife say, I can't follow a recipe)
Let us know how it goes.
 
That's pretty close to SOP except for the pan. When I use a pan I put a cookie rack in the bottom of the pan to keep the brisket up off of the bottom. As far as fat side direction, if you have tuning plates I'd say fat side down. Otherwise fat side up.
 
That's pretty close to SOP except for the pan. When I use a pan I put a cookie rack in the bottom of the pan to keep the brisket up off of the bottom. As far as fat side direction, if you have tuning plates I'd say fat side down. Otherwise fat side up.

The pan is the first thing that got me too... Seems like your blocking a whole side of meat from getting any smoke.... If there is a way to make it a drip pan or as Pitbull said, put it on a rack so the bottom gets a chance at the smoke, it sounds good to me...

As for the the fatcap, I always do it up on my Lang so it's a non-issue to me...
 
I read that recipe last night while thumbing through the magazine in a store last night. I then grabbed a copy of The Barbeque Bible (S. Raichlen) and looked at his basic brisket recipe. Not identical but oddly similar they were, right down to cooking the brisket in a foil pan.

I'm not a fan of doing the initial phase of cooking a brisket in a pan or cooking fat side up. (I use WSMs and that is why I like to cook fat side down.) I think the pan creates a braising environment too early in the cook and the meat doesn't get a chance to take on as much smoke as it would resting directly on the grate.

Hopefully this method will work well for those who give it a try.
 
The pan is the first thing that got me too... Seems like your blocking a whole side of meat from getting any smoke.... If there is a way to make it a drip pan or as Pitbull said, put it on a rack so the bottom gets a chance at the smoke, it sounds good to me...

As for the the fatcap, I always do it up on my Lang so it's a non-issue to me...

Actually I've been experimenting with the pan idea lately due to the close proximity of my tuning plates to the cooking grate in my horizontal on the Old Country. There is too much radiant heat for beef in my opinion. I did like I said above, but cut the sides of the aluminum pand down to about 3/4" tall. The brisket came out perfect in all aspects. The radiant heat is not an issue on my LyfeTyme. If you don't have tuing plates there is no need for a pan.
 
I'm agin it. I don't ever start out putting meat in a pan unless I don't care about the smoke flavor, and I never 'don't care' about the smoke flavor. Having said that, I'm pretty much an idiot about such things until someone shows me the error of my ways.
 
I'm more interested in tender and juicy than I am smoke flavor...my wife's not a big fan of smoked meats...so I'm counting on the rub, au jus, and sauce to provide the flavor.
 
I'm not a fan of letting the brisket lay in the fat either...the idea of using a rack to rest above the juice seems like a great idea that I will try this weekend.
 
I'm curious as to how you get your brisket to 190 in 5 hours cooking at 250? Maybe because it's just the flat?
 
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