Last brisket question EVER...

Knoxville-Horn

Knoxville-Horn

1,000+ Posts
...I promise.

I'll make it quick and simple.

1) 9-11 lb. brisket
2) Smoke for 7-9 hours, unwrapped, on regular charcoal grill (w/ mesquite chips) keeping temp. around 200-225 degrees.
3) Wrap in foil, place in oven at 225 for about 2 hours.

Is this about right? Suggestions?
 
push the coals towards opposite sides of the grill, or go to home depot and buy those $8 charcoal holders

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Sorry guys. I meant the last question from me as I believe this is the third thread I've started and I've yet to make a brisket.

Between this board and watching Barbeque University, I've suddenly taken a liking to grilling. If you couldn't tell by my questions, I've really never grilled before.

Thanks for the advice....
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Oh, and I was planning to put the coals on one side and put bricks between them and the brisket.

The grill is large and has a cover so that smoke will not escape, which leads me to another question (see...I lied when I started this post
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). How open do I leave the vent on the top of the grill? Do I close it all the way, leave it partly open, or leave it completely open?

And, I have no idea what "brined" means. Could someone clue me in on this.
 
Pretend you didn't hear the word "brined"... that's all you need to know (he was being facetious).

Always leave the exit port completely open; only close it to prevent water from getting in or to shut off your fire if you want to try & salvage some wood or lump charcoal.

You should control your temp via the inflow of air (low side) NOT the exhaust.

Personally, I don't ever finish off in the oven (heck, I don't do any pat of it in the oven).

I finish fully wrapped (like 2 or 3x) in foil & a cooler for 2 or 3 hours if I have the time.

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dont' forget to trim it and inject it with a bunch of apple juice.
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I'd plan on at least 80 minutes per pound at 225 F, and 90 minutes per pound to be safe. You can always hold a fully-smoked foil-wrapped brisket in a warm oven (~ 200 F) or a cooler for hours if it gets done early.

Which brings up the question; how will you know it's done? Hint: buy a meat thermometer, and aim for 185 F - 190 F internal temperature.

For what it's worth, I usually smoke for 6-8 hours, wrap it in foil, and finish it in the oven. They turn out terrific.
 
Blain needs to get over it.

Once the smoking process is complete (approx 8 hours, depending on the size of the brisket), pretty much everyone here agrees on wrapping it.

SO -- once it's wrapped, the ONLY thing it gets by the next stage of cooking is heat. It either gets it by being put in a cooler, where the internal heat of the brisket finishes the cooking, in the oven, where additional external heat finishes the process, or left in the smoker, which does the exact same thing as an oven at that point -- adds external heat.

Once a brisket is wrapped, everything else just acts like an oven. And, for those of us who smoke at home, we often prefer the ease and convenience of putting it in the easy to control oven for a few hours, as opposed to having to be outside tending the fire for a bit longer.

A better question to ask -- once it is wrapped, is there any ADVANTAGE to finishing it in the smoker as opposed to the oven? Of course, there isn't.

This is a pretty dumb issue, that some folks try to make into a "purist" thing, when it actually doesn't mean a damned thing. There is not a LICK of difference, taste, texture, or otherwise, between a brisket wrapped and finished in a smoker and a brisket wrapped and finished in an oven. I've done it both ways, and can say with confidence that is a fact. And in light of that fact, this "issue" is a non-issue.
 
What he said. If I had to stay awake for the complete cooking cycle on every large brisket I smoke, I wouldn't smoke any briskets. I can put a 15-pounder on the smoker after work on a Friday night, take it off at 2 AM or so, wrap it, throw it in the oven, get some sleep, and have it ready for a late lunch Saturday. Perfect.
 
Personally, I think wrapping it in foil at any point can make the texture a little mushy and it kind of steams and fades out the smoke ring. But really the debate is splitting hairs and there is not much difference either way.
 
Meh. A modern oven at 225 doesn't make my kitchen, much less my house, any hotter, as far as I've noticed. And as NCAA mentioned, it makes the house smell FANTASTIC.

Is it "lazy?" Hell yeah. I do it for the same reason that I don't raise and butcher my own cattle. Also, I like to be able to go in, shower, and cool off before my guests come over to eat. It's nice to not have to be outside over a hot smoker, in the Texas heat, for the last few hours of the process. Also, it lends absolute certainty to my heat at that stage -- even the best fire fluctuates in temp. My oven stays pegged at 225 with the push of a button. Maybe it uses 25 cents in electricity. It would cost me a 25 cent stick of oak, maybe two, to keep my fire going another four hours. Cost is a wash, and who even cares? We're talking pennies.

So. No cost advantage. No flavor advantage. No "temp of your house" advantage.

Just the "advantage" of being able to say "I finished my brisket on the smoker, not in the oven."

I prefer the advantage of "my brisket is kick-*** delicious, and I am cool and clean when everyone comes over."

If it brings you a great sense of superiority to spend a few more hours being Grizzly Adams, Master of Fire, then more power to you. As for me, after 8-9 hours of tending a smoker, I like to clean up and get some rest. And as my end-result is as good as it gets, I ain't gots no problem with that.
 
Gotta go with Blain on this one. Let the missus bake a cake in the oven. I'll be outside - just me, my pit and cold brewtarskies.
 
one other thing, after you boil, uh, smoke and finish your brisket, let it set for a while off of the fire/out of the oven (leaving it in the cooler does this automatically) so that the juices all even out before you slice into it.
 
I'm sorry, but the experience of waking up at 10 AM or so, nursing a slight hangover and just a little tired after smoking a brisket until 2 AM, with the house absolutely saturated with the smell of brisket is not to be trivialized. Try it, you'll like it.
 
Brisket, I don't really care once it's wrapped where it finishes off - if I still have fire in the smoker, I leave it there until I don't. I'll move it inside to the oven if I don't. Either way, as someone already mentioned, I go shower to wash the smoke off at this time.
 
I'm loving this thread so hard...

ThreadJack time:

Who wants to bring their warez to my place in Drippin' this Spring for another attempted Smoke-Off?

Depending on how things schedule out, I'm thinking the Spring scrimmage should be about 1 or 2 weeks after the the LongHorns dominate Rosenblatt (of which Texas will reign supreme) & maybe just after Easter as well.

So far, I'm seeing BriskeTexas, Ian, JimmyJazz, me, maybe OrangeBlood... who else should I peg?

Categories include brisket, piggie ribs & yardbird.

If we get enough kid attendance, I know where to swing a low priced bounce house.

Parking is available for up to 40+ vehicles.

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I'd love to come down for that --depending on the date. My family and I were going to try to come to Texas during my Spring Break. (I'm back in school and my wife is currently an ESL teacher so we both still get Spring Breaks.) Keep us posted on this board.
 
Yeah, I'm willing to give that another try. Let's get it planned well in advance so kids' schedules, etc. are accomodated. Sounds like a lot of fun.
 
So, back to my original question. If I smoke it for, say, 10 hours, wrap it and put it in a cooler, I'll know it's done if it's internal temp. is about 200?
 
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