First Brisket

Newbie Joined: 20 Mar 2012 Posts: 10 : Items

Hi. I just found this site and it's awesome. I'm in Regina and have been using my WSM for about 2 years. Love it. This weekend I'm going to try a brisket. Going to do it slow and low rather than foil it and crank up the heat. Im planning on following the virtual webber bullet midnight brisket recipe.

How does that look? You guys have any tips tricks or rub recipes you want to share with me?

Thanks!

Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2012 6:51 pm

Welcome to the forum. My favorite rub for brisket is simple, salt & pepper & garlic granules ( not garlic salt). AKA Manitoba rub.

Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2012 7:17 pm

im with jim on that one as well. I have tried a bunch of different rubs but salt pepper and garlic I always go back to.

Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 9:13 am

Hey Mix, welcome to the forum! (What's your name?) Glad to have another Regina guy on board! Here are some Brisket tips from the handout given to students in my BBQ class.
PS: I finally gave in and tried the salt, pepper, and garlic rub this past weekend. Results: One of the blandest briskets I have ever cooked. Not enough seasoning maybe. I will try it again with more salt, pepper and garlic Rolling Eyes

d. Brisket:
Cuts of meat: Whole brisket, also referred to as ‘packer cut’ brisket, contains two major muscles – the flat (lean) and the point (lots of fat and connective tissue) It’s available from select specialty butchers.
- Brisket is the toughest cut of meat on the cow. It’s loaded with connective tissue (collagen) and has a thick vein of fat separating the two muscles.
- Cooking: Plan on 1.5 hours per pound cooking at 250°, or 2 hours per pound cooking at 225°.
- Trim excess fat from roast. Try to trim the fat cap down to 1/8” to ¼” thick. Before cooking, cover brisket with a light coating of mustard. This will help the rub adhere, leading to a better ‘bark’ in the finished pork. You will not be able to taste the mustard in the finished product.
- Apply rub 30 minutes before cooking (or a day before if you wish). Just before putting meat on smoker, apply another coat of rub. The salt content of the rub will have pulled some moisture out of the meat, which will allow more rub to stick.
- Place meat on pre-heated smoker or grill. You can apply cooking spray to the grill just before, this will help when you remove the meat later. This is not a necessary step. The meat can be placed fat side down if the heat source is below the meat. The fat acts as a barrier and can help prevent the meat from drying out
- Monitor the cooker temperature, but don’t peek! You can flip / rotate the meat halfway through the cooking process.
- Aim for an internal temperature of 195 to 200° in the flat muscle. You should be able to insert a probe thermometer into the flat muscle very easily (like a knife into butter…) At this stage, the meat will be tender. Be careful not to let the tip of the probe rest in the fat vein or you won’t get an accurate reading.
- To slice: first use your knife to separate the point from the flat. You are looking for that fat vein – even a butter knife will slice through it easily.
- Slice each muscle against the grain, keeping the slices together so they don’t dry out.- Serve immediately to prevent meat slices from drying out

Newbie Joined: 20 Mar 2012 Posts: 10 : Items

Hey Rob. My name is Marc. I picked up some smoke wood from your place 2 summers ago. We haven't actually met just emailed a few times.

So you recommend the fat cap facing down on my wsm? Seems like a lot of guys take the brisket off when it hits about 160 and cut the point off and cube it and put it back on with the flat wrapped in foil. Does that sound right? Where in the city can I get a packer cut?

Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 11:23 am

Either Butcher Boy location in Regina can get you whole briskets. If you just want to slice the brisket you don't have to seperate the point and the flat. If you want to make burnt ends you can though (little cubes of point that are cooked down). If you are looking to do that just let us know and we can get ya some more info!

For rubs I like a little more as well, my favorite ones for brisket are actually coffee and cocoa based, they don|t taste like coffee and chocolate when they are done but do lend wicked flavors to the beef!

Clark

Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 2:31 pm

mix123 wrote:

So you recommend the fat cap facing down on my wsm? Seems like a lot of guys take the brisket off when it hits about 160 and cut the point off and cube it and put it back on with the flat wrapped in foil. Does that sound right? Where in the city can I get a packer cut?

Marc,

There are a million ways to do a brisket.

I use a WSM and load the packer fat cap down and don't touch it until it's fork tender, about 195°F or so. After trimming the point off, I'll put the point back in the smoker or wrapped up in foil in my oven for another few hours to fully cook it down. We just enjoyed a point, shredded into pulled brisket, last night. I add some Apple Juice and BBQ sauce. I've cubed the points and cooked them up too.

Jack

Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 2:40 pm

anyone ever use products from these guys

http://www.butcherbbq.com/

Interested in the injections.

Newbie Joined: 20 Mar 2012 Posts: 10 : Items

Clark wrote:

Either Butcher Boy location in Regina can get you whole briskets. If you just want to slice the brisket you don't have to seperate the point and the flat. If you want to make burnt ends you can though (little cubes of point that are cooked down). If you are looking to do that just let us know and we can get ya some more info!

For rubs I like a little more as well, my favorite ones for brisket are actually coffee and cocoa based, they don|t taste like coffee and chocolate when they are done but do lend wicked flavors to the beef!

Clark

Could you share ones of these recipes with me? I think I will slice the flat and remove the tip to make burnt ends....

Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 8:50 am

albertabonesbbq wrote:

anyone ever use products from these guys

http://www.butcherbbq.com/

Interested in the injections.

Yes, the brisket and pork injections are great. I don't use as much of the brisket injection as what the directions call for. I've also tried mixing it with water, beer or apple juice. I really couldn't tell the difference between the 3 liquids. So now I just use a bottle of water from the ice chest. I also add some of my rub (that I have made into powder in a coffee grinder).

And I use this to inject
http://spitjack.com/product/MAGNUM.html

Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 11:34 am

That is one scary looking injector! Thanks for the feedback on the product.

Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 2:57 pm

mix123 wrote:

Clark wrote:

Either Butcher Boy location in Regina can get you whole briskets. If you just want to slice the brisket you don't have to seperate the point and the flat. If you want to make burnt ends you can though (little cubes of point that are cooked down). If you are looking to do that just let us know and we can get ya some more info!

For rubs I like a little more as well, my favorite ones for brisket are actually coffee and cocoa based, they don|t taste like coffee and chocolate when they are done but do lend wicked flavors to the beef!

Clark

Could you share ones of these recipes with me? I think I will slice the flat and remove the tip to make burnt ends....

I do burnt ends differently but people seem to like them! I smoke the packer to 160 like you say, pull and seperate the point and the flat. Flat goes back on the cooker, then I let the point cool a bit and cube it. Toss it in a pan with sauce, cover with foil and render down until it is almost done (I do this in the oven at 350 to speed things up and since it is covered with foil there isn't much point getting it back in the cooker)(it will be super tender), remove the foil and continue to cook until the outsides are a little crispy.

My go to brisket rub (for both comps and the restaurant) is:
1/4 Cup Coffee
1/4 Cup Cocoa Powder
1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Pure Chile powder (choose for the level of heat you like)
1 Tablespoon Thyme
1 Tablespoon Garlic
1 Tablespoon Onion Powder
1 Tablespoon Hot Chile
1 Teaspoon Ginger
1 Teaspoon Cumin
1 Teaspoon Marjoram
1/2 Teaspoon Allspice
1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon
Dash Black Pepper

My go to sauce with brisket is:
3 Cups Ketchup
2 Cups Cider Vinegar
3/4 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
1/3 Large Onion
1/4 Cup Molasses
1/4 Cup Pineapple Juice
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 Tablespoons Honey
1 1/2 Tablespoons Garlic minced
5 Teaspoons Chipotle Chile
2 Teaspoons Kosher Salt

These are not my original recipes or anything, they are things I picked up over time and changed slightly!

Clark

Newbie Joined: 20 Mar 2012 Posts: 10 : Items

That recipe sounds pretty damn good. For the coffee do you just use a fine grind?

Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 5:32 pm

I use fresh ground dark roast and don't go overly fine but honestly I think any you try will be fine!

Newbie Joined: 20 Mar 2012 Posts: 10 : Items

Ok. And do I trim the fat cap or can I just leave it alone?