14 lb Full Packer Brisket help!

[t-motheviking]

So the old man was on a road trip and he brought back a 14 lb brisket he wants me to smoke.  I have no idea how long to expect it to take, what temp to smoke at, and what kind of rub/binders y'all have found to be best!  Any info would be greatly appreciated!

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[old sarge]

t-mo: I do my briskets (and butts) between 10 and midnight.  A full packer is going to take a long time.  I trim excess fat and place it on the side that is lacking fat. My rub is pretty basic:  cracked pepper, kosher salt, garlic powder, brown sugar.  Sometimes onion powder. No binder.  I also jacquard and inject beef broth.  I place the brisket fat side down on the rack, 5 - 6 ounces of hickory and let it go to an internal temp of 195 - 200. I smoke at 225 degrees.  I am in the minority on the rub as well as binders. You might want to go through the recipe section and search out brisket. Wen the brisket is finished (1hr 30 min per lb on average) I double wrap is heavy foil, then wrap in a heavy toll and place is a cooler just large enough to hold it and I let it rest for an hour or two before serving.  Sometimes, there is little to no resting as the natives get restless. If slicing, 190 degrees internal; if going the shredding/pulling route, 195/200. At an internal temp of  around 170 you will hit the stall; it will look like the temp will never change. Also, make sure your meat probe is in meat, not a fat pocket.  Hope this helps. Sorry for the long windedness. Dave

[polarlys]

I did my first full 12* brisket in my 3d just the other day.   Having it today at a family BBQ.  I've done briskets before but this was the first using my 3d.  I lightly trimmed the fat cap and brined it for about 12 hrs.  Dried it off and smeared the outside with mustard to give some adhesion to the light dry rub of my choice.   Into the smoker 225* about 10pm.   I put the probes in and set it for 190* IT and went to bed.   In the morning it was in the stall at about 160* and stayed there a while longer.   By 3pm it was around 178* and I went out for awhile.  My wife was home watching it and somewhere between 3pm and 5pm it reached the IT and went into hold.   All together it was in the neighborhood of 17 hrs.   Looked great and the pieces that fell off tasted good.   Today I'll warm it up and slice it.    Be patient with yours.   Kinda hard to plan when it will be finished so allow enough time to let it do it's thing and you won't be disappointed.

[Walt]

Polarlys, that's a great overall technique. It will consistently produce moist briskets. For flavor profile the traditional evoo, salt & pepper is always a winner. However, quite often I apply different flavor profiles & even fortify that profile by injecting those flavors as well. As long as your initial technique produces juicy brisket, the rest is just tasty experiments.

The most common mistake,in these units, is to undercook brisket. It is done when a toothpick slides through with no resisrance. If you pick it up it should feel like a sack of jelly. 190, 195, 200, 205 IT depends on the quality beast it came from. I'm usually on the higher side but it varies.

[cookingdude555]

walt that brisket defies gravity

[LarryD]

Hey T-Mo... you can find lots of topics on here that talk about all of our first briskets, our trophies, and our mistakes! 

I personally don't use any binder...  my favorite seasoning is a blend of salt (2 parts), onion powder (1 part), garlic powder (1 part), and black pepper (1/2  part).  You can be creative and use all kinds of spices, but I haven't found that they are necessary nor worth the additional effort and expense.  When I take the brisket out of the brine (I always brine) I rinse it and pat it dry (not excessively... just don't want it dripping).

I put the brisket in a large roaster pan, pour a bunch of seasoning on it, and then rub in/around.  Flip it over and do the same to the other side.  Use whatever fell off (and extra if needed) to get the sides and obscure spots.  Whatever stays on the brisket at that point is what goes in the smoker.

Time will be difficult to calculate...  it's done when it's done and not even 20 minutes before.  The closest I came to a 'bad' brisket is when I (foolishly) made plans with a hard start time and had to pull the brisket ~30 minutes early.  It was still very edible and tasty, but clearly not as tender and moist as all of my priors which were never rushed.

I pull mine when both the flat and the point have hit at least 190 and before anything hits 200.  While I could have an exception yet, so far that has always passed the jiggle and poke tests.  The point and flat always end up within 5 degrees of each other, so I haven't found it to be uneven cooks to be an issue.

Good luck!  Definitely let us know how it turns out...

[SconnieQ]

Sconnie’s Brisket Rub
5 Tablespoons paprika
3 Tablespoons kosher salt (reduce the salt by half or eliminate if you brined the brisket)
2 Tablespoons garlic powder
2 Tablespoons onion powder
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon black pepper
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
1 Tablespoon chili powder (mild, medium or hot)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander

Brisket Smoking Instructions
Whole Packer Brisket
Cut in half to fit smoker if SI #1 or #2.
Minimally trim, only trim the really thick fat to 3/8 inch, score the thickest fat.
If you want a faux smoke ring, just before smoking, rub a dusting of Morton Tender Quick into the meat, plastic wrap, refrigerate 1 hour. Rinse thoroughly, pat dry. Skip this step if you don't care about the faux smoke ring.
Coat with mustard or oil, then the rub.

5-7 oz wood.
2 disposable foil trays, 2/3 full of water (can also add some vinegar to water). Placed on each side of the floor of the smoker, snugged up against the wood box.
Approx 1-1/2 to 2 hours per pound @ 225 (usually 2 hours/lb for full brisket cut in two pieces).
IT 195 in the flat, 200-205 in the point.
Wrap in 2 layers of foil and towels, rest 2-6 hours in cooler.