Smoked Brisket
 

Anyone here smoked a brisket using a Weber Kettle?

I'll do a rub, maybe a butter injection, a bast and hickory smoke for the first couple of hours. I just want to know if anyone here's done it.

I don't know how I'll serve it, so any advice on how you did it would be cool.

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

Its been about 10 years since I last smoked briskets but here's how I use to do it...

I like them as even in thickness as i can find...do not remove the fat cap (3/8 to 1/2 inch is ideal)

needless to say the word is "low and slow" 180 to 200 degrees, cooking times will vary depending on the thickness and the temp, generally 1 to 1 1/2 hours per pound...I like applewood but hickory works fine...keep away from the fire box as much as possible

Make cuts into the fat spaced every 1 to 2 inches and stuff with fresh garlic cloves (very important) I rub Spicy Brown Mustard all over the brisket both sides and then I rub in my DRY RUB (no salt). I like paprika, cayanne pepper, crushed cloves, dried lime peel, minced onion, cumin and a mild poblano pepper roasted first and then minced.

Had an OLD COOK who told me to make a mixture of water, vinegar, a little maple syrup and some KY Bourbon or KY Whiskey and mop on starting after 4 hours, once an hour to help keep it moist but found it gave it TOO MANY FLAVORS...

good luck, send me some...

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

My neighbor and I have done briskets before. He usually will cook them in the oven for 5 or 6 hours on very low heat, then we'll throw them on the smoker for 5 or 6 hours. He uses a rub and also a mopp sauce while smoking. Remember, brisket is a tough slab on meat.

He uses the same protocol for smoking pork shoulders too.

I just smoked ribs last weekend and did a rub, then once the smoke bark formed on the outside, I spritzed with an apple juice/old grand dad mix to keep things moist. Turned out excellent!

Here is a great source of information

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forums/index.php

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

Thanks guys.

Michael, I will use a melted herb butter and inject into tough meats if I'm worried about them drying out or just want them extra juicy. Using it in turkey is awesome. If the fat cap isn't thick enough, or if there isn't one depending on the meat I'm cooking, I'll often cover with thick bacon.

Mike, I won't be using an oven at all. If it can be cooked in the kitchen, it can be cooked on a grill.:)

I'll be using a rub and then a mop sauce after the bark and I've decided I'll use hickory for the first few hours.

That web site is nice and will look through it some more. I've found a bunch of info here:
http://www.thesmokering.com/forum/index.php

I smoked baby backs last week and they were a bit salty. I screwed up the rub and used sea salt for the courseness, but the rub already had salt. To counter it I used some more brown sugar, but it didn't really work. On the positive side, the ribs were cooked perfectly according to the pros. It wasn't "falling off the bone", but just pulled off. I'll be doing them again soon.

I smoked a few chicken breasts tonight with mesquite, a Weber brand rub and a cheap spicy mop. Ummm, it's the first time I've liked the mesquite. I was about to give up on that wood.

Next time I do pork I want to use applewood. Apple and pork, two greats together.

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

Notice how most of these recipies have whiskey? :D

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

Almost forgot, I said I'm using a Weber Kettle, not a smoker, but it works if you're patient.

I'm intersted in getting a real smoker, but I'm leary of the cheapo models. I've read that hot fires with wood, which is what should be used in them, can burn through the thin firebox. Mesquite is one that can cause it.

Anyone have advice on a smoker? If you have one of the less expensive, Home Depot types, how's it working? Maybe I should just get one of those to work with for now and see how it goes.

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

If not ON the meat, you can always put it in the drip tray and steam it in.:)

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

Or.......my method. For each bite of BBQ, you wash it down with a sip of whiskey. :D

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

VA moonshine and pork butts.:clapping:

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

Ken! I'll be right over!! Yum!

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

Try this:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/

You'll see a recipe for Texas smoked brisket on the left side of the page.

Type brisket in the search and you'll find some really good recipes.

Happy hunting.

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

Of course!

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

Inject a brisket = BLASPHEMY! Easy on the basting, too; basting a brisket is for pussy Yankees. ;)

When the meat comes off the grill, wrap in foil and let rest for 20-30 minutes. As for how to serve, unwrap the bitch, slice it, and eat it. :D

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

I was hoping you'd respond, being from TX and all. That's the way I'll do it. Thanks.

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

Now that you mention it, I gotta agree.

There's a Texan BBQ joing about 15 minutes from my house...operated by a bunch of pussy Yankee's, no doubt.

The brisket is smoked and it doesn't look like it's been basted with anything.

The smoke ring penetrates the meat by about a quarter inch.

It's thin sliced and wrapped in foil when I buy it.

After thinking about it, I'll be having a double order of smoked brisket for lunch.

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

Damn Ken....this thread has my mouth watering and making me think of getting my smoker cabinet prepped for the weekend!
:)

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

YUM!!

Trent got one of the Traeger smokers last summer. He uses it CONSTANTLY. He usually doesn't add any seasoning, but he does baste with a little apple juice on occasion and mostly on pork.

Slow cooking is the key imo.

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

Well, if you'll recall, I'm actually from south Louisiana (but been in TX since '89), so when you want to boil some crawfish or deep fry a turkey, give me a shout. ;) But I do enjoy smoking my own briskets.

In addition to smoking, which I have indeed done on a standard Weber (indirect heat), I have another method for cooking brisket that is always a hit. It entails "stuffing" the brisket with chopped jalapenos, chopped yellow onion, chopped shallots, and garlic, and seasoned with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. BUT, you'll take issue with the fact that it gets cooked for about 3 hours in the oven, and the 4th hour on the grill is only for char-broiling and getting a little smokey taste to it. The drippings collected in the oven pan make for one hell of a great stock for gravy to be served over white rice and black-eyed peas.

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

No oven! No oven!

After Que'ing it to 160* I'm going to pull it off, foil it and put it in a cooler for an hour before slicing it. That seems to be the method recommended by many on one of the smoker forums.

Rox, my first Father's Day is coming up and I told CP I wanted either a big tool box or a smoker. Well, she's already gotten me Duquane natural gas grill and the Weber Performer, and she's not too hip on the tool box thing, so maybe I'll get a gift card.

How does Trent like his Traeger? I assume he got the offset box, but which model did he get?

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

I assume it's on a rack, I'm down with trying this one. Will do this weekend. What oven temp and quantity of ingredients for the stuffing? Are there any other particulars I need to know about?

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

Who cares. Just stuff some junk in there and turn the oven on low. sheeezzz....

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

Ken I am using a cheap Brinkman I got at Lowe's. It's a propane model. Works great but it only has two racks in it. I bought the cheap one to see if I liked the tedium of smoking. I've been oogling some of the high end smokers in the cabelas catalog...they are set and forget pretty much...all digital....check them out...nice smokers!

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

For the serious smokers out there...


www.pittsandspitts.com

you'll pay dearly, but will not be disappointed...

:clapping: I'm hungry

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

Ok brain! I'll just shove stuff in it.... And hope! :giggling:

I'm thinking 325 degrees should do the trick. Then I'll throw it on a smokey grill for an hour.

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

WAY too expensive! Holy crap! You can get a good 16"-20" with offset box with 1/4" steel that's tunable for around half that if you look. On the otherhand, custom pieces are pretty sweet.

I mentioned wanting one again and that idea was very, very quickly nixed. I guess practice for a BBQ cookoff is going to be trickier than I thought.;)

After doing some reading tho, it appears a cheap bullet smoker with mods to the door to seal it better work decent for overnighters. Even the cheapest of models, like KMart/Sears, will work alright and cook for maybe 8 hours on one load of charcoal holding temps around 250* without having to constantly watch it. That can be harder with an offset.

The more expensive bullets like the Weber SM, still under $200, can go 12+ hours with NO mods. They're ready out of the box, but I'd need that permission thing again....:(

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

OK KEN !!!

ALL the men on the forum give you their permission...!

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

For a 5-6lb brisket:

1 cup of chopped jalapenos, 1 cup of chopped onion, 1/2 cup chopped shallots, two cloves minced garlic. Mix all together in a bowl. Slice the brisket along its full length (butterfly style), and open it up. Spread the mixture evenly on one side and fold the other side back over (close the butterfly). Tie the brisket with cotton cooking twine. Sprinkle with salt, black pepper, and cayenne to your liking. Place on rack in pot (dutch oven or similar baking pan), cover, and cook in oven at 325 for 3 hours. Remove brisket from pot and place on grill for about an hour. I like mine charred on the outside, so I usually put it over direct heat for the last 30 minutes or so. Be careful because even after only 3 hours in the oven, the brisket can sometimes start to fall apart, making the transition to the grill messy. Remove from grill, wrap in foil and let rest for 2-30 mins.

Disclaimer: I came up with this method and the ingredients on my own, so your results may vary. ;)

As for making the gravy, I pour the drippings into a sauce pan, bring to a simmer, add a tablespoon or so of flour, and continue stirring/cooking on a low fire until it tastes right. Usually have to add a little salt and black pepper.

Good luck!

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

Pete,

Thanks so much for responding, that sounds awesome!

The only way I might tweak your recipe -- no disrespect -- is by adding some butter to the drippings for the roux/gravy.

I'll let you know how it turns out!

Jeff

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

None taken...tweak the hell out of it, that's half the fun of cooking!

Please do let me know how it turns out...but if it's not good, send me a PM. :giggling:

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

I gotta tell you,

I cut a pocket in the side of a six pounder and stuffed it with your stuffing recipe i.e. chopped jalapenos, shallots, onions, and five large cloves of garlic. Tied it with butchers twine, coated it (heavily) with cayenne pepper, sea salt and ground black pepper. and pan roasted it in the oven for 5 hours at 225 degrees. I put it on the grill for 2 more hours of smoking with mesquite wood chips.

It was awesome, even the 7 y/o agreed as he was wiping beads of sweat from his forehead! I heated up BBQ sauce on the side to disguise some of the heat.

Here's to you and thanks for the recipe, it'll make a showing at our table every couple of weeks.

:perfect10s:

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

im sorry....what are Briskets?????

I have to google them now

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

Big Dad, glad to hear it turned out so good! :clapping:

Lily, a brisket is a cut of fatty beef from the lower chest of the cow. It's a relatively inexpensive cut of meat, but as you probably know, the fattier the cut, the more flavor. Most often, it comes in large cuts, 5lbs and up, like an extra large roast. It's more popular in the southern states, where we tend to do a better job of utilizing more (less waste) of an animal...and making it taste good. ;)

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

I won a WSM last week on EBay. It's brand new, but was open box and missing the hardware, door, feet and hangers. I got it so cheap that even with the new parts, already ordered, I'm going to save nearly $100!

Once it's together I'm going to build a low table with a piece of slate I've got for the top and put it on wheels with a shelf for the chamber. I also want to get a stacker for it from ProQ, but the pre-orders are sold out so I have to wait on it.

First cook is going to be an over-nighter of two butts and a whole packer on the WSM, plus ribs on the Performer as appetizers. (I bet you sick mo-fo's are thinking nasty thoughts right now. I know I did after I read what I typed...:dancingbanana: :beerchug: )

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

It's what TX SUT said. Here's a pic of a small 3.5lb brisket flat on my Weber Kettle. A whole packer is HUGE in comparison.

Attachment 48821

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

Ken,
How do you like the Weber Performer? Im trying to justify the price to the wife, she doesnt really agree, but....she hasnt said no!

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

Doooood, are you $hitting me?! You gotta get permission?! You're "Big Poppa" aintcha?!

What you need a kitchen pass to buy one?!

:giggling:

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

I'd have to agree with Big Dad here... Except I had to get permission....:o

I love the Performer. The table is great, as is the charcoal storage underneath.

I don't use the gas starter, tho. I know it may sound weird, but I've been trying to avoid petroleum products in the grill so I even use natural lump in it with a chimney starter.

Another thing is if you use the gas starter, it only works the middle of the grill, so if you use the coal baskets you need to lift the coals out off the grate and put them in the baskets. It's just easier to dump the chimney starter out.

Now that I've got a WSM, I may make a move to Kingsford because of the long burn times with it. The only lump that's readily available here is Cowboy and that stuff sucks. The last bag I used consisted of mainly hardwood flooring pieces. I'm sure it's safe, but it kind of bothers me. I have spoken with others that have found other curious things in their Cowboy Lump.

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

LOL...nice. Nope just trying to keep the peace at home.
Got it anyways...couldnt wait, read lots of reviews and really like the look of it. When she came home she didnt even notice it on the patio...I was like are you kidding me? I had to point it out to her! Funny thing is she really liked it, especially how much work space there is on it.
Cant wait to try it out tonite, was going to use it last night but we got one hell of a good downpour.
Made a yummy marinade for some steaks, 3/4 fresh lime juice, 4 cloves garlic finely chopped, sea salt, fresh ground pepper, finely chopped cilantro and 1 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper.

Shes really gonna be surprised when I dig an inground pit this weekend over by the patio! :jump:

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

Yeah, that would bother me too. Im going with the Kingsford Natural Lump.
For my pit Im getting some Mesquite logs and some Pecan wood from a nearby Pecan orchard. My grandfathers giving me his reciepe for an awesome rub. Hes all excited that Im digging a pit in my yard and wants to come help. Hes turning 83 on the 25th and is still as strong as a bull. Love him like crazy!

Re: Smoked Brisket
 

I like Big Poppa.:D

Permission- Hell yes!

This is his 3rd grilling apparatus this year and quite frankly it's looking a little ghey on my back deck. I am the home maker....I make the home. Order.

ORDER I SAY!!!:soapbox:

Plus I have the control......:D:giggling: