Going to try my hand at a Brisket again

[shrews824]

I'm really wanting to do a Brisket.  I've only tried one other a few years ago.  I used my old Masterbuilt electric smoker.  I babied that Brisket all day and monitored the temp like a hawk.  When it reached temp, I pulled it off the smoker and wrapped it for about 45 minutes.  Needless to say it was one of the worst pieces of meat I have ever eaten.  Dry as a bone!!!  I was so frustrated after spending nearly 16 hours with it and it turned out so bad.  Not to mention the expense of the Brisket itself. 

Do any of you guys/gals have any tips or tricks with regards to using the Smokin'-It smokers?  I love Brisket, but have quite a bit of hesitancy with trying it again. 

I'm really confident in my pork and poultry smokes.  Now, I want to be confident in my beef smokes.

Thanks in advance,
Scott

 

[BedouinBob]

Brisket, have no fear. Be sure to brine and inject it and include a water pan in the box. I do mine with a simple Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Powder rub. Not too heavy! Let the meat shine through.  There's plenty of recipes on the forum under beef. Make sure you provide your pictures! We live for them!

 

[gregbooras]

Scott,
You can brine and inject the brisket and it will be juicy. But if you have a Costco near by, I would suggest buying a Prime Brisket. Cost should be around $4.00 a lb. Since I have been buying prime, I don't inject or brine.

Also I think 45 minutes is not long enough to rest, I would shoot for 2 hours.

Do a search here on the forum and you will find lots of good ideas/advice and recipes for brisket!.
Best Greg

 

[TX Gent]

Second Greg's adds.... Prime, water boat, simple is best along with a 2hr rest.

Good luck and just do it ...

 

[Walt]

Definitely get prime if available. SAMS carries Prime near me. However, I'm with Bob brine & inject as well.

 

[gregbooras]

For my smokes I mostly go with Pecan. I also slather the brisket with lots of yellow mustard then sprinkle on the rub. While you can use rub you like, alot of folks use Salt & Pepper mix of 50/50. But after traveling throughout Texas I have a rub that is simpler to what John Lewis uses, see below.

Ingredients:

14 T 16 mesh ground pepper
6 T Lawry’s seasoning salt
6 T Kosher Salt
2 T Granulated Garlic
Mix all ingredients and then place in an airtight container.
This is great on beef ribs, brisket and burgers.

Best Greg

 

[SuperDave]

Most people buy a flat for their first brisket and the problems start there.  Inexperience and the worst part of a brisket aren't a good way to start.  If using a brisket flat, wrapping is almost mandatory, IMO. 

If smoking a prime full packer, the margin for error greatly increases.

 

[SconnieQ]

SuperDave and Greg have the best advice here. You don't have to brine or inject with a Prime whole packer from Costco. Problems arise when people buy small flat portions from their local supermarket. They are lean, and turn out dry. The smoker does not create miracles if the original meat quality is not there.

 

[shrews824]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys.  I'm going heed all the advice.  I really want to be able to produce a quality piece of meat here.  I love Brisket (as most all do I'm sure).  If I can find one for fairly cheap I might just go ahead and buy it!!!

 

[old sarge]

I get prime from Costco.  I inject but do not brine.  I also use a Jaccard on the brisket. I am not sure it is needed with an injected prime but it is what I do.

 

[shrews824]

I get prime from Costco.  I inject but do not brine.  I also use a Jaccard on the brisket. I am not sure it is needed with an injected prime but it is what I do.

Good deal.  The more I research it definitely sounds like injection is the way to go. 

Went to the market yesterday and looked at some briskets.  They are crazy expensive around here right now.  $5.99 lb for a full packer.  They were running anywhere from $58 to $70!!!  Think I'll wait until they drop the price a bit before I experiment again.  Did pick up a couple of racks of St. Louis Style ribs for a killer price though.  I guess those will be going on the smoker this weekend.

 

[SconnieQ]

I get prime from Costco.  I inject but do not brine.  I also use a Jaccard on the brisket. I am not sure it is needed with an injected prime but it is what I do.

Good deal.  The more I research it definitely sounds like injection is the way to go. 

Went to the market yesterday and looked at some briskets.  They are crazy expensive around here right now.  $5.99 lb for a full packer.  They were running anywhere from $58 to $70!!!  Think I'll wait until they drop the price a bit before I experiment again.  Did pick up a couple of racks of St. Louis Style ribs for a killer price though.  I guess those will be going on the smoker this weekend.

Do you have a Costco nearby? Seriously, meat alone for your smoker will pay for your membership in savings, and quality (that most people including me can't get anywhere even close to that price). PRIME whole packers will be somewhere between $2.59 to $3.79 per pound, depending on time of year, and location of Costco.

If I have a Prime brisket from Costco, I don't inject or brine. Not needed. Personally, I never inject anything. I feel like the liquid just exits right back through the same hole it was injected in, and the injection site creates a path for additional juices to escape. That's just me. Do I have any scientific proof of that? No. Just my own opinion.

If I don't feel I have top quality meat, my helper processes, in order of my opinion of what might help the most 1) foil wrap at around 160-170 and put back in smoker until done, 2) brine, 3) injecting (but at this point, I would do all 3 if the meat were that bad).

 

[shrews824]

I get prime from Costco.  I inject but do not brine.  I also use a Jaccard on the brisket. I am not sure it is needed with an injected prime but it is what I do.

Good deal.  The more I research it definitely sounds like injection is the way to go. 

Went to the market yesterday and looked at some briskets.  They are crazy expensive around here right now.  $5.99 lb for a full packer.  They were running anywhere from $58 to $70!!!  Think I'll wait until they drop the price a bit before I experiment again.  Did pick up a couple of racks of St. Louis Style ribs for a killer price though.  I guess those will be going on the smoker this weekend.

Do you have a Costco nearby? Seriously, meat alone for your smoker will pay for your membership in savings, and quality (that most people including me can't get anywhere even close to that price). PRIME whole packers will be somewhere between $2.59 to $3.79 per pound, depending on time of year, and location of Costco.

If I have a Prime brisket from Costco, I don't inject or brine. Not needed. Personally, I never inject anything. I feel like the liquid just exits right back through the same hole it was injected in, and the injection site creates a path for additional juices to escape. That's just me. Do I have any scientific proof of that? No. Just my own opinion.

If I don't feel I have top quality meat, my helper processes, in order of my opinion of what might help the most 1) foil wrap at around 160-170 and put back in smoker until done, 2) brine, 3) injecting (but at this point, I would do all 3 if the meat were that bad).

Unfortunately, I don't have a Costco close to me.  The closest one is about 70 miles away.  I live in a very small community and it's very rural.  Very limited on selections of meat.  If my wife and I make a trip into the city we usually stop at a supermarket of some kind and stock up.  I'll definitely give Costco a look the next time we are near one.  Thanks for the info. 

I can see your point about the injection and injection points.  Makes sense. 

I'll just have to experiment and see what works best for me.  I'm excited about giving it a go however. 

 

[swthorpe]

Experimentation is a beautiful thing!  ;D

 

[shrews824]

Experimentation is a beautiful thing!  ;D

Without a doubt.

 

[SuperDave]

I've been using Lipton Beef Onion soup infused with garlic for my injection on brisket that isn't prime.  I make the soup with beef broth instead of water and add a heaping tablespoon of minced garlic. After the mixture has sat overnight, I pour through a strainer to get the onion and garlic chunks out. 

 

[shrews824]

I've been using Lipton Beef Onion soup infused with garlic for my injection on brisket that isn't prime.  I make the soup with beef broth instead of water and add a heaping tablespoon of minced garlic. After the mixture has sat overnight, I pour through a strainer to get the onion and garlic chunks out.

Ooh.  That sounds like a good idea for an injection.  I may have to give that a try.  Thanks for the tip.

 

[curegeorg]

I'd agree that the main key to brisket is getting a good quality meat and a whole packer not just a flat.  The Primes I have bought have all been good, however the quality in them varies a bit.  I've tried Select and also Choice and the Select was pretty good and the Choice also.  I do have them bring me out several to look over and/or don't buy if I don't like the look and feel of the meat.  I've bought from a variety of butchers and stores, but around Raleigh, NC they are all packaged the same and in cyro bags so pretty likely same suppliers.  Anyway, I have not been blown away with Prime vs the others, but a great Prime will be noticeably better.  You could also go Wagyu, just break out the credit card!

I trim my Prime some, thinning fat cap and taking off some of the hard dense fat wherever it might be.  I also pull off the fat above the "skin" for the most part.  I would agree you are better off not trimming as much until you see what difference it can make (over trimmed one and it was just OK).  Just don't dig too much between the muscles because there is no end to the fat there.

I dry brine my whole packers for around 2 days (until liquid has reabsorbed), rub em with corn oil and cover them in my 3 pepper mix, let that soak in for 6 hr or so, then smoke per forum instructions using water with fat cap down.  Also, I don't wrap, I let it cool either in the smoker on off or in the oven on off.  I will tent it with some foil some times if it looks/feels a little dry.  Wrapping will certainly improve the moisture/tenderness sometimes, but it also changes the meat a little.

I use 2/3 pecan and 1/3 mesquite wood.

I'd agree to use the tips as a reference but try what you think you may like because tastes vary greatly.