I just got my 3.5 last week. I wanted to start with something challenging that I had never done before. Having 100's if not 1000's of hours on my masterbuilt (it died hence my 3.5) - smoking is not new but my 3.5 and brisket were.
This forum is half the reason I bought a smokin it!
SO, I spent hours upon hours on here reading and taking notes to try and make the perfect brisket on my first try. I would say I got 95% of the way there(subject to your own taste
). And all my guests thought it was the best they had ever eaten. I have the good fortune of travelling the country for work so I eat bbq everywhere I go. I am by no means an expert cook, but I do know what I like and don't like. Here is my step by step of 6 pages of notes and an entire weekend on this cook:
1) I started with a full brisket, 11.5lbs. Our local meat markets are so / so. I would assume this was a "choice" cut at best. Not premium.
We process about 10 deer a year in my family so I do ok with cutting meat. This brisket needed some trimming to get it in shape to cook. I would guess I took about 1.3-1.5 lbs of fat off.
-My target was a fat cap with 3/8-1/2" fat cap.2) Next I brined it for 12 hours in a stainless steel container (yes stainless is ok for brining. I work for a chemical company and had my lab analyze my brine and they confirmed 100% no chance you could react the metal, seriously)
-1 gallon water
-1 1/8 cup kosher salt
-1 cup brown sugar
-1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbs garlic powder
- 1 tbs onion powder
- 1 tbs cayenne pepper
- 2 tsp black pepper
-12 hours in the fridge covered
-Rinsed and patted dry
-Scored the fat cap in 1" squares 3) Next I wanted the smoke ring- brisket is the only place I ever look for it
- Rubbed with instacure, wrapped it in plastic wrap, and refrigerated for 1 hour
- Then rinsed thoroughly and patted dry1 hour was too long or I rubbed too much on. Next time I will rub less and only go for 30 minutes before rinse. I wanted a smaller smoke ring, this was easily 1/4" in.4) Next I injected. I wanted a moist brisket so brine and injection were both on the list.
- 1/2 cup beef broth
-1/4 cup worcestershire
-2 tbs Franks Red Hot
-2 tbs panela (cane sugar)
-1 tbs kosher salt
-1/3 cup full bodied or dark beer (no light)I thought the brisket was a tad salty for my liking. Next time I'll cut the beef broth to 1/4 cup and worcestershire to 1/8 and add a 1/2 apple juice to the mix5) Next I rubbed a light coat of
yellow mustard as a binder. Very light coat, as thin as I could get it.
6) Next I rubbed it.
-7 tbs black pepper
-3 tbs kosher salt
-3 tbs Lawry's
-1 tbs garlic powderI will use the rub again but I will not rub the fat cap. That's where I experienced the saltiness the most that I did not like.-After the rub, I wrapped it in plastic wrap and
refrigerated it for 12 hours.
7) Now it was time to smoke!
Assuming a cook time of roughly 1.5 hrs per lb (which did hold true!). I placed it in the smoker so it would be ready mid day the following day.
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I used 7.2 ounces of wood. 2 pieces of hickory placed on the hotter spots and 1 piece maple on the tip of the burner where mine is cooler. My intent was to have an equal burn on the wood- which I was able to accomplish.
- I lined the bottom of the smoker, the top of the wood box, and the bottom of my wood pieces with foil.
-I did NOT use the PID.
I set the smoker temp to 225F.
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My target internal meat temp was 190 minimum with a 200 max. I purchased a Fireboard, so I placed 5 probes in the three most extreme thinness / thickness areas and 2 (for double redundancy) in the middle. I was skeptical that the meat would equalize on temp. The thinnest part was maybe 3/4" and the thickest was well over 3". Within in 2 hours the entire piece was cooking within 5 degrees of each other and finished that way. Thank you Fireboard for putting my mind at ease!
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I placed the meat fat cap down-
After the fireboard showed me all my areas were up to temp (the last hour was grueling to watch and wait!)
-I pulled the meat out and placed it in foil
-I dumped the remaining 3/4 cup of injection on the meat and wrapped it tight
-It then went into a cooler with towels below and above for 1 hr
Then it came out and was cut!
It was very good and I will use this recipe again with a few tweaks mentioned above.
If you've never tried to cook brisket, try it!
