castlepines
is Blowin Smoke!
Yep, first brisket ever, and it was done on my WSM. I was feeling pretty good about myself after some success with a couple butts and thought I'd move up to something a bit more of a challenge. I picked up a brisket from WalMart that that was just shy of 16lbs and on sale at $1.67 per pound. It was sealed in cryovac and had a "sell by" date of September 27. I threw it on the smoker on September 29 for an all night smoke. After trimming, the total weight was right around 10.5 pounds. I figured 1.5 hours per pound at 225F and a two hour rest in the cooler would give me some wiggle room for a target dinner time of 6pm. If I started at midnight that should put me within the target time-range. I knew what I wanted to do with this brisket, had a good plan, and was feeling pretty good about it.
Fail. This was humbling.
My trimming skills definitely need some more work. I wanted about a quarter inch of a fat cap and had that in most places. In other places? Not so much. I actually used some of my trimmings as "patches" in the areas where I was down to the meat. Heck, it all comes off after anyway. I wasn't going to be winning any beauty contests with this trim job but that's what bark is for, right??
Salt and pepper only for seasoning, no injecting, fired up the WSM for 225F, on it went a little before midnight. I really had to squeeze that sucker inside the WSM 18 since the ends of the brisket found their way to the edge of the smoker. But it fit, with a little nudging. Of course the temp dropped for a bit with that large hunk of future leather on the top grate. With some tweaking it found its way to around 225F. I set my limits on the Mav ET732 and just coasted. Eventually I fell asleep for a couple hours and when I woke up the grate temp was just 207F. Crap! My ET 732 didn't alarm at all. I'll have to play with that a bit more going forward. Hopped up, made the adjustment on the smoker and soon was back to around 225F. This was where the stall began and it likely lasted a few hours. I say "likely" because it started when I had fallen asleep for a few hours...I just don't know when exactly. I was patient, confident and expecting it, so I waited it out and eventually it powered through and started climbing again.
Fast forward to the end. When the brisket temp was 195F I started probing it for tenderness. It definitely needed some more time so I let it go a bit longer. Once it hit 201F it really did feel probe tender. The point darn near separated from the flat pulling it with one hand. The point felt more tender than the flat but both seemed ready. SEEMED ready.
I grabbed a cooler and thought I'd go fancy with this step. Instead of filling the cooler with some hot water, bringing it outside, draining it, then drying it out with towels I decided to try something different and save a step. I put a bakers rack on the bottom of the cooler and added a pan of boiling water to the cooler on top of the rack. The heat from the pan warmed up the cooler nicely and saved me the hassle of having to drain it and wipe it out. I'll do this one again going forward. After this, the brisket was wrapped in foil, then towels, then placed in the cooler for a two hour rest. After two hours, the "grand reveal" was next and on the cutting board it went.
I first sliced a piece off the edge of the point...kind of dry, and not much of a smoke ring. Maybe the next slice will be better. Slice #2...still kind of dry, still no smoke ring. Maybe it will moisten and redden as I go towards the center. Slice 3...and this slice was thicker than the others because I wanted to get to the center fast! Nope, still dry. The entire flat was dry. Son of a brisket. On to the point.
The point was actually pretty decent. Moist, tender, and not overpowered with seasoning. The smoke ring was there and so was the flavor. I didn't make burnt ends and just sliced it up in shreds. My girlfriend likes her BBQ without sauce and so do I. The kids like some sauce with SBRs being their favorite. We all liked it and ate up most of the point.
The flat? I've registered it with the State of PA as an assault weapon and filed for a permit to keep it in the house. It was disappointing that it didn't turn out but I do feel safer knowing it's there should someone break in the house. Actually, it's in a container in the fridge waiting for me to make some stock out of it...if it's even possible.
So, what went wrong here Brethren? I'm guessing I rushed it at the end and my idea of "probe tender" is different than the brisket's idea of "probe tender". The brisket will always win that argument. I'm open to suggestions, as usual. My next one will be smaller to start with, that's for sure.
Fail. This was humbling.
My trimming skills definitely need some more work. I wanted about a quarter inch of a fat cap and had that in most places. In other places? Not so much. I actually used some of my trimmings as "patches" in the areas where I was down to the meat. Heck, it all comes off after anyway. I wasn't going to be winning any beauty contests with this trim job but that's what bark is for, right??
Salt and pepper only for seasoning, no injecting, fired up the WSM for 225F, on it went a little before midnight. I really had to squeeze that sucker inside the WSM 18 since the ends of the brisket found their way to the edge of the smoker. But it fit, with a little nudging. Of course the temp dropped for a bit with that large hunk of future leather on the top grate. With some tweaking it found its way to around 225F. I set my limits on the Mav ET732 and just coasted. Eventually I fell asleep for a couple hours and when I woke up the grate temp was just 207F. Crap! My ET 732 didn't alarm at all. I'll have to play with that a bit more going forward. Hopped up, made the adjustment on the smoker and soon was back to around 225F. This was where the stall began and it likely lasted a few hours. I say "likely" because it started when I had fallen asleep for a few hours...I just don't know when exactly. I was patient, confident and expecting it, so I waited it out and eventually it powered through and started climbing again.
Fast forward to the end. When the brisket temp was 195F I started probing it for tenderness. It definitely needed some more time so I let it go a bit longer. Once it hit 201F it really did feel probe tender. The point darn near separated from the flat pulling it with one hand. The point felt more tender than the flat but both seemed ready. SEEMED ready.
I grabbed a cooler and thought I'd go fancy with this step. Instead of filling the cooler with some hot water, bringing it outside, draining it, then drying it out with towels I decided to try something different and save a step. I put a bakers rack on the bottom of the cooler and added a pan of boiling water to the cooler on top of the rack. The heat from the pan warmed up the cooler nicely and saved me the hassle of having to drain it and wipe it out. I'll do this one again going forward. After this, the brisket was wrapped in foil, then towels, then placed in the cooler for a two hour rest. After two hours, the "grand reveal" was next and on the cutting board it went.
I first sliced a piece off the edge of the point...kind of dry, and not much of a smoke ring. Maybe the next slice will be better. Slice #2...still kind of dry, still no smoke ring. Maybe it will moisten and redden as I go towards the center. Slice 3...and this slice was thicker than the others because I wanted to get to the center fast! Nope, still dry. The entire flat was dry. Son of a brisket. On to the point.
The point was actually pretty decent. Moist, tender, and not overpowered with seasoning. The smoke ring was there and so was the flavor. I didn't make burnt ends and just sliced it up in shreds. My girlfriend likes her BBQ without sauce and so do I. The kids like some sauce with SBRs being their favorite. We all liked it and ate up most of the point.
The flat? I've registered it with the State of PA as an assault weapon and filed for a permit to keep it in the house. It was disappointing that it didn't turn out but I do feel safer knowing it's there should someone break in the house. Actually, it's in a container in the fridge waiting for me to make some stock out of it...if it's even possible.
So, what went wrong here Brethren? I'm guessing I rushed it at the end and my idea of "probe tender" is different than the brisket's idea of "probe tender". The brisket will always win that argument. I'm open to suggestions, as usual. My next one will be smaller to start with, that's for sure.
