A
austintexas
Guest
Seeing that it’s the 4th of July weekend and Randall’s has brisket’s on sale for $.99/lb., and I have absolutely nothing to do this weekend, I went and grabbed a brisket. A friend has been wanting to learn how to do one, so I took some pics along the way. Also, since so many folks come to HD looking for brisket advice, thought someone may find this helpful. My brisket probably doesn't stack up to Brisketexan's, but it's awfully tasty.
This is my pit. It belonged to my dad. Very special to me, plus it is a hell of a smoker. Behind it is a 1/3 of a cord of oak with a few mequite logs mixed in.
First, I built my fire. Used charcoal to start it and used oak logs for the duration. I prefer oak to mesquite, as I think is gives the brisket more flavor and gives it that nice charred finish.
Adjusted the temp with the damper and chimney stack:
Rubbed the brisket. I just use equal parts salt and pepper and a little paprika or really whatever I feel like adding on that particular day. It really doesn't matter, because the flavor truly comes from the smoke and the meat.
Got the temp up to 200-225. If you go over or under, don’t panic. Just add logs and/or adjust the damper/chimney. When you're talking about 10-12+ hours of cooking time, an hour too hot or too cool can be remedied easily. When the temp was right,
I put the brisket on. Placed it as close to the thermometer as I could. I don’t use a meat thermometer, but you can.
Cracked a Dos.
Stared at my pit for a few hours. The dogs were going crazy. The one on the right is wearing a National Championship collar.
This brisket was 10.5 lbs. Basically following the 1.5 hours/lb., I pulled it off at 11:00 am after putting it on at 8:00 pm. I let it smoke all night, adding one log at about 11:30 pm. Got up around 6:00 am. The temp had dropped to around 150, but, I didn't panic and added another log and ran it up to 250 for about an hour before leveling it back to the 200-225 range.
After pulling it off, I let it sit for about 20-30 mins before slicing.
When I slice it, I first slice the fat cap off the top. (notice the nice charring the oak gives it?):
I slice my brisket perpendicular to the grain of the brisket. Nice smoke ring!
Slice all the way down. You can use about 80% of the brisket, if it’s a good, lean one. BTW, you know you have a lean brisket if you can bend it in half. Kinda like thumping a melon. If you can't bend it, it's likely too fatty.
That’s it. Simple. Rub it. Start a fire. Put it on. Leave it the hell alone. This was a particularly good one. No BBQ sauce needed on this one…
Some folks do a lot more than this, but I keep it as simple as possible, letting the smoke and the meat speak for themselves. The more I usually try to do, the more I typically screw it up.
This is my pit. It belonged to my dad. Very special to me, plus it is a hell of a smoker. Behind it is a 1/3 of a cord of oak with a few mequite logs mixed in.
First, I built my fire. Used charcoal to start it and used oak logs for the duration. I prefer oak to mesquite, as I think is gives the brisket more flavor and gives it that nice charred finish.
Adjusted the temp with the damper and chimney stack:
Rubbed the brisket. I just use equal parts salt and pepper and a little paprika or really whatever I feel like adding on that particular day. It really doesn't matter, because the flavor truly comes from the smoke and the meat.
Got the temp up to 200-225. If you go over or under, don’t panic. Just add logs and/or adjust the damper/chimney. When you're talking about 10-12+ hours of cooking time, an hour too hot or too cool can be remedied easily. When the temp was right,
I put the brisket on. Placed it as close to the thermometer as I could. I don’t use a meat thermometer, but you can.
Cracked a Dos.
Stared at my pit for a few hours. The dogs were going crazy. The one on the right is wearing a National Championship collar.
This brisket was 10.5 lbs. Basically following the 1.5 hours/lb., I pulled it off at 11:00 am after putting it on at 8:00 pm. I let it smoke all night, adding one log at about 11:30 pm. Got up around 6:00 am. The temp had dropped to around 150, but, I didn't panic and added another log and ran it up to 250 for about an hour before leveling it back to the 200-225 range.
After pulling it off, I let it sit for about 20-30 mins before slicing.
When I slice it, I first slice the fat cap off the top. (notice the nice charring the oak gives it?):
I slice my brisket perpendicular to the grain of the brisket. Nice smoke ring!
Slice all the way down. You can use about 80% of the brisket, if it’s a good, lean one. BTW, you know you have a lean brisket if you can bend it in half. Kinda like thumping a melon. If you can't bend it, it's likely too fatty.
That’s it. Simple. Rub it. Start a fire. Put it on. Leave it the hell alone. This was a particularly good one. No BBQ sauce needed on this one…
Some folks do a lot more than this, but I keep it as simple as possible, letting the smoke and the meat speak for themselves. The more I usually try to do, the more I typically screw it up.
