Over Night Birthday Brisket With Problems But Turns Out FANTASTIC!!!

[Mark In The Pit]

YouTube (Short URL)

The accompanying video isn’t a cut an dry brisket how to. It is more less an experience I had doing my most recent over night birthday brisket. I do have the basics below though so you don’t have to go hunting all relevant information if you are curious about how to make a brisket.



Ingredients:
Brisket
Yellow Mustard
Sugar
Salt
Pepper
Chipotle Powder

Method:
Remove excess (hard) fat and trim any uneven corners to give yourself a nice square brisket to work with. Rub all ingredients (proportions to taste) on the brisket and pat firmly to make sure they stick. Set smoker / grill to 250°F ~ 300°F. Cook 8 ~ 10 hours or until tender (roughly 1.5 hrs per lb. For me tender usually occurs around 203°F.

Once internal temp is reached remove from heat and let rest as long as you can stand it. If time is not an issue let rest until brisket cools down to around 150°F. However, you can still eat it fresh off the smoker and have a very enjoyable experience. Worry more about enjoying your time and company than specific details of making the perfect brisket. Brisket tastes better when you are having a good time.

Should you wrap?
That’s up to your personal preference. I don’t always wrap, but some times I do.

When to wrap?
When I wrap it is only to stop the meat from getting darker and taking on smoke. Time nor temp are gauging factors for wrapping. Once the meat has reached what is in my mind the perfect color I will wrap it. Some people say don’t wrap mid stall but I don’t worry about it. If / when it’s ready to wrap I wrap. This goes for all meats I plan on or end up wrapping (but usually only discussed when talking about brisket or pulled pork).

What should you wrap with, paper or foil?
In my experience, it makes the most sense in my mind to use paper on meats that have an easy shape to work with. I also only use it on meats that I don’t intend to fall apart like pulled pork. Brisket is a perfect candidate for wrapping in paper. Pulled pork can have an odd or more round shape that paper doesn’t fold well with. Because of that I will use foil when I do something like a pulled pork.

The Stall?
I mention that earlier so I’ll explain it briefly. Basically when the collagen and fat start to sweat out of the meat the internal temp of the brisket will stall, as in stop getting hotter for a few hours. Once a majority of the fat and collagen renders out the internal temp will start to raise again. I don’t worry too much about this unless I’m on a deadline, then I’ll plan for it.

Slicing?
This is very important for a better serving / eating experience. You need to cut against the grain. Sanding in front of your brisket with the point (fatter end) to the left and the flat (thinner and lean end) start at the right side of the flat work your way from the outside to the center of the brisket. Slice roughly pencil thin slices against the grain, moving your hand forwards and backwards. Once you get to the center (or where you notice the point and flat connect) turn the point 90° than continue slicing. That’s pretty much it.

If your brisket is a little on the tenderer side hold the outside edges while you slice so you don’t tear it apart. If your brisket is a little over done you can make your slices thicker to compensate, if it’s a little under done and still kind of tough cut it a little thinner to compensate.

Enjoy!