About to smoke first beef brisket. Last minute advice

[Ender1]

Ok, so far I have smoked and bbq'd exactly two things: two pork butts.
For info on what I am using and what I have done, look here: http://www.bbq-4-u.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=21674

Now, onto the brisket. I have had beef brisket only one time in my life, at Sonny Bryan's in Texas (the original). I was underwhelmed upon having it as it was a bit dry. However, the smokey flavor was very nice and I enjoyed it.

Now my ultimate fear is making a super dry brisket. I am forgoing injection methods to hydrate and am instead concentrating on a hydrating pan in the smoke pit along with a mop every half hour.

Here are my ingredient ideas so far:

8-10 lb brisket w/ 1/4 inch fat layer on top

Rub:
1 tbsp coarse salt (Kosher)
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp sweet paprika
2 tbsp fresh ground black pepper

Coat brisket with Gulden's Spicy brown mustard and sprinkle with Worcester sauce then apply dry rub.

Mop: (i've purchased tongs and sponge as I couldn't find an adequate mop to apply with... yet)

1 tsp coarse salt (Kosher)
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 beer (12 oz)
1 tbsp ground black pepper
1 cup apple cider vinegar


Going to put mop into pan in middle of smoke pit as well as apply every 1/2 hour after the first hour of smoking.

Will remove at 8 hours, wrap in double foil, pour in cup of mop, and put back on heat for final two hours. Will cut against grain. That's pretty much it, that's my plan.

Any glaring holes anybody can see? Appreciate any info.

 

[Tri Tip]

Smoke it to 160 then foil. No mop. Not necessary! Pour some beef broth (2 tblspns) in the foil when you foil. Pull between 192-203. (when a probe just starts to go through with ease).

 

[Ender1]

Cool! I understand from the moisture standpoint that it isn't necessary. Might it be for flavor?

Thanks SO much for your input and help, Tri Tip

 

[Nick Prochilo]

Tri tip got it! That beef will have plenty of flavor with just the rub. The more you open it to mop it, the longer it will take to cook. the longer it takes to cook, the dryer it will be!

 

[bigwheel]

Dittos to whut Nick said. Mopping is a mixed bag. Not against it by any means but each 1/2 hour is too often and would be about right to keep a bark from forming, washing off your spices and letting all the heat out of the pit at regular intervals. Door/lid fanning makes tough meat. General rule of thumb for mopping depends on your pit. If your cooking on a bullet type smoker no need to mop unless you have the lid off for some other reason. On a big pit log burner etc. mopping by halves works well. Meaning you want to mop for the first time when the brisket is half done. For example say a normal brisket be done in 10 hrs. First mop be hour 5..2nd mop be at hour 7.5. Next mop at hour 9 etc. Always cook it fat side down or there wont be anything accesible which needs mopping. Mop on the fat dont help anything. Mop should be kept hot and ladled onto the meat with a SS Spoon while never physically touching the meat. When you wrap lay it out lean side "down" resting on a handful of rub and half a handful of brown sugar. Use the leftover mop as a sop to wrap up with the brisket. Just moisten it up..dont flood it out. Around one cup of sop/mop is plenty for a big brisket. I use a variant of the mop at the link below. Its about the best I've found. Since I'm a cheap skate I tend to sub out black coffee for some of the high dollar wooster sauce and cut back on the bay leaves a bit. Plust I leave out the oil since packer brisket has plenty enough fat in it so no need to add any. Hope this helps. After its done let it rest about an hour pour off the juice and defat it. Add more hot fresh sop to what you got left to equal another cup and reapply. That keep you from poaching it in grease and blood. Best of fortunes.

http://bbq.about.com/od/moprecipes/r/bl00513a.htm

bigwheel

 

[Ender1]

Excellent advice. This will alter my plan dramatically. Going to smoke at higher than 200 for sure now. Gonna try 225-230 with no mopping (if I can).

 

[Tri Tip]

Get yourself some Butchers BBQ or Cosmos and inject it while its still in its cryovac pack 4 hours prior to cooking. Mix the injection with beef broth. You will notice a HUGE flavor differance. Tenderness too.

 

[Ender1]

Get yourself some Butchers BBQ or Cosmos and inject it while its still in its cryovac pack 4 hours prior to cooking. Mix the injection with beef broth. You will notice a HUGE flavor differance. Tenderness too.

Unfortunately I don't yet have an injector. Perhaps for the next brisket. Just gonna try for purist on this one and see how much of a difference it makes. Plus I am kinda broke hehe.

 

[Ender1]

One final question. What about a moisture pan in the pit? Something filled with jus or mop to hydrate via steam during the cook?

 

[Ender1]

Bump. Desperate for knowledge.

 

[wittdog]

What are you cooking on and secondly you don't need a moisture pan in the pit. The "water" pan in the wsm is just a heat sink.

 

[wittdog]

What are you cooking on and secondly you don't need a moisture pan in the pit. The "water" pan in the wsm is just a heat sink.

 

[Ender1]

Cooked it on this:

I cooked today, so here is the update.

Got an app 4lb brisket with as much fat on top as I could get.

Coated it with brown mustard, a sprinkling of Worcestershire sauce and covered with whole cumin, chili powder, garlic salt, onion salt, paprika, black pepper rub:

Then I set it on the smoke this morning at approximately 8 am PST. Mesquite smoked rather hot, seemed to burn hotter than hickory. I had my pit at a comfy 225-250 the whole smoke. I had lost my thermometer, or had trouble finding it, I should say. I had to use a meat thermometer as a fill in until I finally found it half way through the cook.

Took it off at app 4pm PST. I had to finish off with hickory as I had run out of mesquite. I assumed since the meat had absorbed all that smoke, it couldn't take much more.

I wrapped the brisket at 140 degrees and added a cup of mop made of spices, beer, and apple cider vinegar. Took it off approximately an hour and a half later at 190. Let it rest for 25-30 minutes:

Then removed foil. A hunk of bark tore away with the foil:

Tried to cut against the grain, producing a chunky mess of meat. It was truly fork tender and could have been broken apart that way:

Here's a pic of the smoke ring:

And an up close pic of the hacked up goodness. I tried cutting with the grain towards the end since it was just so much easier.

Thanks for the help all.

I learned from this recipe that I want to go for a much sweeter taste. The rub/mop mix produced heat, but I think a nice savory sweet mix will compliment the sweet flavor of the mesquite.

 

[bbquzz]

Looks good Ender! That is a cool lookin' cooker.

 

[bigwheel]

Looks mighty tasty. Fine job.