Prepping for my first brisket in a few weeks

[cmwr]

I am starting my homework WAY early but I want to make sure I have all my ducks in a row. I have about a 14 lb choice brisket in the deep freeze. It's getting cooked on saturday the 26th for a birthday party. I was planning on doing hot n fast. I need a few questions answered.

I will be using the probe test but approximately how many hours should this take? 5-6 or 8-10

Is it best to inject or just rub down with no injection?

I am a complete rookie and plan on studying more about the parts of a brisket but I am unsure what is meant by fat cap and other parts ect.

Do I need to rest in a heated cooler for a few hours before serving or can you remove from smoker and serve immediately?

I am sure I will have many other questions as we get closer to the date so please be patient with me brethren. I don't want to screw this up. Some of these people are coming over for the first time so I want to make a good impression.

 

[Shagdog]

Hope these help

I am starting my homework WAY early but I want to make sure I have all my ducks in a row. I have about a 14 lb choice brisket in the deep freeze. It's getting cooked on saturday the 26th for a birthday party. I was planning on doing hot n fast. I need a few questions answered.

I will be using the probe test but approximately how many hours should this take? 5-6 or 8-10 - Depends on what temp you use, the individual cut of meat, and if you wrap. etc etc. At 300, wrapped, 5-7 hours would be a ballpark estimate. I've had them go longer though.

Is it best to inject or just rub down with no injection? This question will probably spawn some debate. I've tried different injections and haven't really seen any difference between them. I usually will just use beef broth for added moisture, but I honestly don't know if it helps that much. I've made great briskets with no injection as well...

I am a complete rookie and plan on studying more about the parts of a brisket but I am unsure what is meant by fat cap and other parts ect. One side of your brisket probably looks completely white. There is about 1/4-1/2" of fat on it. That is the fat cap. One side of your brisket is thicker than the other. On the thicker side, under the fat cap is the point. It is a different muscle than the thin side which is the flat. The flat runs the length of the brisket, the point sits on top of half of the flat, and a vein of fat runs between them.

Do I need to rest in a heated cooler for a few hours before serving or can you remove from smoker and serve immediately? Resting is necessary, especially with hot and fast. If you can give it an hour, great. If you can give it 2-3, even better. It definitely improves your end product.

I am sure I will have many other questions as we get closer to the date so please be patient with me brethren. I don't want to screw this up. Some of these people are coming over for the first time so I want to make a good impression.

 

[aawa]

What I have used as a rough timeline based on temperature.

225-250 degrees it takes about 1.5 hours per pound
250-275 degrees it takes about 1.25 hours per pound
275-300 degrees it takes about 1 hour per pound
300-325 degrees it takes about 45mins per pound

Of course these are rough estimates and the probe test is the final say on doneness. Also make sure you add another 2 hours to the cook so that you have proper resting time.

If this is your first brisket, keep things as basic as possible.

Trim the fat cap (you will know what the fat cap is once you open the cryovac) to about 1/4in around. There will also be huge pockets of fat that you will want to trim up. Look up on YouTube BBQ W/ Franklin. He has a good basic how to video series for brisket. Trimming, rubbing, smoking, slicing all covered in the videos. He also goes over the different parts of the full packer brisket so you know exactly what to look for.

Use a simple rub. If you have a commercial rub that you want to use go for it. I personally like to use kosher salt, butcher ground black pepper, and granulated garlic. (By weight 1 part kosher salt, 1 part butcher ground black pepper, 1/4 part granulated garlic)

Throw the brisket onto the smoker fat cap towards the fire. If you are using your UDS fat cap down. If you use your kettle do fat cap down. If you have an off set smoker fat cap up with the point towards the fire. If the bottom of the brisket is getting too crispy you can always flip it during the cook or wrap it in butcher paper or foil.

Remember the brisket is not done until it probes tender in the thickest part of the flat. This is the hardest part to figure out when cooking a brisket. It took me 3 briskets to determine was the proper feeling was for probe tender. Once it is done remove it and let it rest for 15-20mins to vent off the heat. Then wrap in a double layer of foil or butcher paper (if already wrapped open the wrapping to vent off the heat for 15-20mins so it doesn't keep cooking) and allow it to rest for a minimum of 2 hours. You can rest it in a pre heated cooler or in an oven (that is turned off) or on the counter. I always put mine in the oven to save counter space since it is out of the way.

 

[Brew n Que]

For your first brisket, I would go as simple as possible so you can get your process down, before adding too many elements to your cook.

-Trim fat cap down to about 1/4" and remove areas of hard fat. (some people go untrimmed, but I find that it leaves way to many gobs of fat on the end product).
-Rub with kosher salt and course ground pepper
-Let your smoker ride at whatever temp it wants to settle in at
-For your first one, don't wrap at all
-Pull when the thickest part of the flat probes tender
-Rest unwrapped for at least an hour. After that you can wrap and rest some more, or go ahead and serve
-Only slice what you are serving
-Slice across the grain, not with the grain

If you can make great brisket with a simple process, then you can move on to more complicated techniques, rubs, etc. If you can't make great brisket like this, you won't make great brisket with more complicated rubs and processes.

 

[ButtBurner]

all your questions (and much much more) are all answered in the roadmap

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7818

 

[TroyA65]

If you haven't read the "Bludawg Brisket" method I highly recommend that you do. I you are doing HNF this works!

Here is my cook using his method.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=170904

If you do a search for Bludawg brisket you'll find it's quite popular.

 

[sliding_billy]

I like that "anatomy" pic Shagdog.

 

[QDoc]

I'm going to give you some golden advice. After you calculate your smoker prep, meat prep,cooking, rest time add 4 hours. You will probably need them. A brisket will stay warm for at least four hours after cooking. People fail to realize how much time is spent other than cooking and resting. An important reason for finishing early is to allow time to de-fat your juice so you can add that goodness back to the meat after slicing.

 

[Nhfefx]

Some thoughts for you-
Purpose of injecting is to keep moisture in the meat which drys out the longer you cook it
Better is injecting and then dry rubbing
For party not competition
I cook low 230 and plan 12-14 hours
Want to produce bark - that is a look not a time
Then - if you wrap - ( I say yes) juices at end worth keeping( comment from Qdoc)
When you take brisket off pour juice into glass container, put in refrig
Re wrap brisket in foil, wrap in old towel, put in cooler to rest
Skim fat off of saved juice - make gravy ( add nothing or whatever you wish)
I rest brisket for 2 or 3 hours in cooler
It firms up and is better for carving ( again for party not competition)
Many is the time my brisket is off the smoker at noon
Carved at 4
Works fine might take it off 3 to 5 degrees sooner than you want it to finish at if you are using a thermometer (I strongly suggest you do get an instant read for this)
Have fun!

 

[Waterboy12]

15lbs packer cooked at 300 on my SB usually goes around 6 hours. No injection, no wrap...comes out looking like a meteor(how I like it). Simple rub(SPOGC). Once I put it in I don't look at it till I start probing for tenderness. Comes out juicy and flavorful. Stick with the K.I.S.S method and you'll be fine.

 

[cmwr]

Hey guys thanks for all the help. I have been here a few times since I posted this and my subscription panel didn't let me know I had any replies for some reason. I will let ya all know how it turns out when I do it.