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Smoked brisket
- Thread starter Smoker
- Start date
My brothers-in-law and I are currently engaged in a friendly, and mutually beneficial, brisket contest. We did two recently and are really having good luck with the so called "foil boat" method.
To touch upon the "fat side up or down" question, I did mine meat side up at 225 and spritzed every hour until 170 degrees internal then placed in foil boat meat side up until probe tender. This was done an my recently purchased Traeger Ironwood XL on super smoke setting with a blend of oak, hickory, and cherry pellets (Lumberjack brand)
My BIL did his at 190 degrees, fat side up, no spritz, then flipped to fat side down in the foil boat and pulled when probe tender. This one was done an a Louisiana Grills pellet grill with same blend of woods( Kirkland brand)
Both briskets turned out really good. I will humbly admit that my brother in laws brisket was better, hands down. Both had excellent bark and smoke flavor however the brisket cooked fat side up turned out noticeably juicier meat. That could be for reasons other than the fat side being up , i.e., more intramuscular fat on that particular brisket or the 190 cook temp. A conclusion obviously can't be drawn from this cook alone.
Something to note is that these modern pellet grills are pretty amazing. I've had offsets, kamados, and now a pellet. Although I still believe that offsets are the gold standard, 3 cooks in and my Traeger is turning out BBQ that beats anything I've done on my various other smokers.
Brisket #1
Brisket #2
from
To touch upon the "fat side up or down" question, I did mine meat side up at 225 and spritzed every hour until 170 degrees internal then placed in foil boat meat side up until probe tender. This was done an my recently purchased Traeger Ironwood XL on super smoke setting with a blend of oak, hickory, and cherry pellets (Lumberjack brand)
My BIL did his at 190 degrees, fat side up, no spritz, then flipped to fat side down in the foil boat and pulled when probe tender. This one was done an a Louisiana Grills pellet grill with same blend of woods( Kirkland brand)
Both briskets turned out really good. I will humbly admit that my brother in laws brisket was better, hands down. Both had excellent bark and smoke flavor however the brisket cooked fat side up turned out noticeably juicier meat. That could be for reasons other than the fat side being up , i.e., more intramuscular fat on that particular brisket or the 190 cook temp. A conclusion obviously can't be drawn from this cook alone.
Something to note is that these modern pellet grills are pretty amazing. I've had offsets, kamados, and now a pellet. Although I still believe that offsets are the gold standard, 3 cooks in and my Traeger is turning out BBQ that beats anything I've done on my various other smokers.
Brisket #1
Brisket #2
from
I just put a brisket on the masterbuilt,
200 degrees, around 14 hours seems to be the time frame.
Done this a couple times overnight.
Turned out pretty good, so far,
Using all frontier lump charcoal.
Will probably need to refill the hopper after 9 or 10 hours.
I been using, Hard Core carnivore black. Dry rub,
I really like it
200 degrees, around 14 hours seems to be the time frame.
Done this a couple times overnight.
Turned out pretty good, so far,
Using all frontier lump charcoal.
Will probably need to refill the hopper after 9 or 10 hours.
I been using, Hard Core carnivore black. Dry rub,
I really like it
That looks fantastic!
Thanks! Have you tried Hardcore Carnivore Red? I have both the black and the red and they're both really good. I've used the red on my last few cooks with good results.
I used the Red on pork, good stuff
I always cook mine fat side up for this reason. I think that's the main difference from what you described. Looks delicious, though.
I use a humble pellet smoker, but my preferred technique for tender tasty brisket is:
lather it with mixture of Worstershire sauce and my rub of choice for that day.
Put it to maximum smoke overnight (the lowest heat setting), or until about 160 degrees internal temp. This usually takes about 8 hours.
Remove, wrap in foil, add about 1/2 cup of apple juice (not too much, we're not boiling it, just keeping it moist)
Return to the cooker at a higher heat depending how long you want to go. I usually do 225.
Cook it the rest of the way over several more hours until the internal temp is >205.
Remove, let it rest but not too long (10 minutes is usually more than plenty) then slice and serve immediately.
I think this is a pretty simple technique for beginners, and I haven't really found much better results with more effort. I don't have the equipment for a thick bark like some on here have described, but I also don't find that really enhances the end product's taste much. I also tend to not worry about trimming fat too thoroughly BEFORE cooking. You can trim and serve if need be, but the fat cooks in some good flavor you don't want to lose.
lather it with mixture of Worstershire sauce and my rub of choice for that day.
Put it to maximum smoke overnight (the lowest heat setting), or until about 160 degrees internal temp. This usually takes about 8 hours.
Remove, wrap in foil, add about 1/2 cup of apple juice (not too much, we're not boiling it, just keeping it moist)
Return to the cooker at a higher heat depending how long you want to go. I usually do 225.
Cook it the rest of the way over several more hours until the internal temp is >205.
Remove, let it rest but not too long (10 minutes is usually more than plenty) then slice and serve immediately.
I think this is a pretty simple technique for beginners, and I haven't really found much better results with more effort. I don't have the equipment for a thick bark like some on here have described, but I also don't find that really enhances the end product's taste much. I also tend to not worry about trimming fat too thoroughly BEFORE cooking. You can trim and serve if need be, but the fat cooks in some good flavor you don't want to lose.
Smoker, try injecting it the night before with beef broth, do a simple salt/pepper/garlic powder rub, instead of using foil, wrap it in butcher paper. The sweet spot for internal temp is 200-204.
Will give that a try
I made up a rub that I use as for brisket, and as a base for my pork shoulder (I usually add some spice to it for pork shoulder, and lighten it up for loin/chops ).
Kosher salt, coarse black pepper, roasted garlic, cherry tomato powder, and a dash of hatch chile powder. I have been tweaking the ratios for the last year or so.
So far it is a win, nice dark bark and not overpowering so that the meat is still the focal point.
I have also used this rub on ribs, last time instead of using only mustard as a binder I threw in a few dabs of sriracha. Added just enough zing that I will be trying this again.
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The cherry tomato powder js very interesting. What kind of flavor does that add when it's smoked?
Kind of an earthy sweetness. We had way too many tomatoes that ended up in the dehydrator.
Got another brisket on, for the overnight,
Im learning, put it on at 8pm.
It's ready to pull of anywhere from 9am to 11am.
Depending on size, stall time,
The masterbuilt is weak on smoke,
I haven't wrapped the last few I did,
Felt it wasn't needed, need all the smoke I can get,
I do have them in a aluminum pan, hold all the juices,
Maybe its the wrong thing to do,
But they have been turning out really good,
Im learning, put it on at 8pm.
It's ready to pull of anywhere from 9am to 11am.
Depending on size, stall time,
The masterbuilt is weak on smoke,
I haven't wrapped the last few I did,
Felt it wasn't needed, need all the smoke I can get,
I do have them in a aluminum pan, hold all the juices,
Maybe its the wrong thing to do,
But they have been turning out really good,
Peach paper made a big difference for me. Moister brisket, but I still seem to have issues with a protracted stall.
