Brisket smoke using foil pan?

[Vince B]

Been a while since I have made a brisket on my 18 wsm and have had some good and some not so good results. Tonight I decided to mix it up a little bit. I injected the brisket with some beed broth which is a first for me hoping to get a more juicy brisket. Also I'm trying a disposable foil pan with a wire rack in the bottom of the pan. Figured this would keep the 12lb packer out of any drippings while it cooked.

Cooking this brisket fat side up with a little scoring of the fat cap. Both sides rubbed using a pepper, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, dry yellow mustard, ancho chile pepper and some chipolte pepper mix. Basically a mix I found on meat heads site and decided to give it a try. Using water in the water pan trying to keep this as moist as possible and see how it turns out.

My question is how many of you use foil pans when making brisket for a heat blocker and also the idea of cooking fat side up doing this?

Normally I cook them fat down or fat up or a flip method. However using a pan is new to me and as stated injecting as well. This is a low and slow and might foil after 160* or just let it ride until over 190*. Seems that the more temp I cook at the dryer these cuts always seem to turn out. What are your thoughts? Thank you in advance. Vince

[poppa smoke]

I would never use a pan unnder brisket ,if heat is a problem i would sugest open the exaust damper all the way and hold temp to 125

[Hook'n Bull]

Should be fine as long as the meat is not sitting in the liquid and there is a little room for the heat/smoke to circulate below the meat. I would definitely flip the meat during the cook using this method. Let us know how it turns out (pics).

[Wampus]

Another alternative is to cook it just on the smoker rack until you get the color you like. THEN put it in a foil pan to finish. We do this in competition to capture the drippings during the second 1/2 of the cook to be used for that delicious au jous. We simply pour off the grease and what's left is PERFECT to pour over slices.

[ajstrider]

My complaint over using a foil pan is not allowing the smoke to circulate under the meat. If you could raise the meat up over the pan, that would be better, at least an inch or two above it.

[Vince B]

There will be some pic's later when its finished. Just got woke up by my thermometer/alarm telling me its time to foil and stir he coals in the smoker. Makes this kind of stuff easy so you don't have to go out and keep checking it. It went off once about 6:30 telling me the meat was just over 150* when I want to foil some where between 155-160*. I just rolled over and sent the temp a little higher and went back to sleep for a few. Then sometime just after 7 I get another alarm that the pit temp is a little lower than I wanted. Oh hell I guess its time to wrap the brisket in foil and add some beef broth to the pan. Add some water to the water pan and stir the coals. No sooner get done with that and my internal clock tells me its time to go take a dump. Fark now I'm up!

Originally Posted by poppa smoke

I would never use a pan unnder brisket ,if heat is a problem i would sugest open the exaust damper all the way and hold temp to 125

125? I think you might have meant 225*. It was something I'm trying to see if it helps me with the end result. I do have two wire cookie racks under the brisket that are bent up to fit in the pan. If I had to guess there is probably a good inch between the pan and the rack/brisket. My thoughts here were to keep the edges from drying out with only having an 18 grate I figured this might help deflect some of the heat. Not sure but hey its a trial and error kind of thing.

Originally Posted by Hook'n Bull

Should be fine as long as the meat is not sitting in the liquid and there is a little room for the heat/smoke to circulate below the meat. I would definitely flip the meat during the cook using this method. Let us know how it turns out (pics).

Yeah as I mentioned above there is some room under the brisket however I did not flip this one at all. Fat cap up for the entire cook. Seems to be a debate when I have read over the years about to flip, not to flip, fat up, fat down...... you get the point. I guess for this cook its more about the tenderness of the finished product. I'm by no means a comp cook so its more about not destroying another brisket! LOL the best thing about this hobby is we get to keep trying!

Originally Posted by Wampus

Another alternative is to cook it just on the smoker rack until you get the color you like. THEN put it in a foil pan to finish. We do this in competition to capture the drippings during the second 1/2 of the cook to be used for that delicious au jous. We simply pour off the grease and what's left is PERFECT to pour over slices.

Yeah I guess that might have been another option. I did pour out the grease in the pan when I check on everything this morning. I did add a can of beef broth so there was some liquid in the pan with a tight layer of foil above the pan with a slight air gap. My thoughts were to use the liquid in the pan after it was wrapped and put into cooler for a rest. Basically pour what was left into a container and let the fat and au jus separate. Then skim the fat and use the juice to add some moisture.

Originally Posted by ajstrider

My complaint over using a foil pan is not allowing the smoke to circulate under the meat. If you could raise the meat up over the pan, that would be better, at least an inch or two above it.

I would say that I got a good inch or so. That was one of my concerns when I set this up last night. I did go a little heavy on the cherry/apple mix and made sure to bury some in with the K so it kept smoking for most of the night. This went on just after midnight and when I stirred the coals a bit ago most of the wood chunks had been rendered. I would say that I had a good 7 hours without touching the wsm and keeping the temp between 210-220.

I do appreciate the comments. This brisket by no means is going to have a very thick bark if any from what I'm thinking. But I do hope it comes out better than most that I have made. Thanks again. Vince

[trufunk]

I've done it this way cooking on small grill. I prepare my meat place In 1 foil pan and cover with foil and let that cool for a few hours them unwrap and cool uncovered till done. Just have to watch the heat.

[Bludawg]

On the UDS I use that exact setup, All be it I cook much hotter around 300 I don't foil. Getting a moist brisket is easier with higher temps. Adding a water based solution will not add moisture to the product however Canolla Oil will.( research the cooking term "Larding") The quality of the brisket has much to do with it as well. Look for as much marbling in the flat as possible.

[jacksedona]

i try to avoid pans ,i use aluminum foil on the grates to keep them clean,on top the brisket. i make lots of holes in the foil. So far all briskets i smoked need option #2-whats the directions?

[jacksedona]

as long as snows and blows in thr cold northeastwe will bbq

http://thebarbecuemaster.net

[BobM]

I do briskets at 325F, in a pan, fat side down, then foil after about 2 hours. I've gotten good results with plenty of smoke flavor.

Bob

[centexsmoker]

It's the only way I do briskets and butts. It produces great quality food,.]. You can add a little water if you want but I do it to keep my egg clean.

[JS-TX]

Your foil/wire rack setup is fine, however my preference is fat side down, especially with the heat coming from underneath. But whatever works for you is all that matters.

[que_dawg]

Originally Posted by Wampus

Another alternative is to cook it just on the smoker rack until you get the color you like. THEN put it in a foil pan to finish. We do this in competition to capture the drippings during the second 1/2 of the cook to be used for that delicious au jous. We simply pour off the grease and what's left is PERFECT to pour over slices.

^^^ This is the way I do it too. Not saying that cooking in a pan the entire time won't work, I just feel that starting it on the rack gives the smoke a little better chance to surround the meat prior to wrapping.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Vision]

Originally Posted by Vince B

Seems that the more temp I cook at the dryer these cuts always seem to turn out.

You're overcooking them.

To me, using a pan means less smoke on meat.