FOOD Christmas Brisket

usmcpackrat

usmcpackrat

Veteran Member
Good evening all on the board tonight.

So it's currently Sunday evening and I am beginning my prep for a brisket to be served for dinner for Christmas Eve.

This will be a multi day post as I am going to be updating daily.

Tonight I pulled a 17lb full packer brisket from the deep freezer to defrost and thaw overnight.
(Pics will be inbound as long as my idiot phone will let me).

I also just finished making my brine recipie.

It's a wet brine that is a combination of about 7 different recipes I've cobbled together.

At first glance, one might be raising eyebrows and questioning sanity, but I've learned that many chefs better than me have mastered an art which I imitate.

10 cups filtered cold water
11/2 cups kosher salt
1 cup white sugar
11/2 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped garlic
2 tblsp ground pepper plus 2 whole peppercorns total 4 tblsp
1 tblsp cinnamon
1 tblsp coriander
1 tblsp ground mustard
1 tblsp star anise
1 tsp cardamom
1 heaping tsp rosemary leaves
4 or 5 bay leaves


Boil water salt sugar till dissolved. Allow to boil for awhile longer. Take brine mixture away from heat and add all other ingredients.
Allow brine to cool.
Place brisket in brine and ensure brine covers meat completely. You need a big pot for a piece of meat this size.
Place in refrigerator for 48hrs.

Pics inbound shortly.

Will update this thread through till serving smoked brisket on Christmas eve.....
 
O

Ozarkian

Veteran Member
Low and slow Capt. Eddie. That's the key to tender brisket. I usually wrap mine after about 5 hrs. then continue at around 230 degrees. It usually takes around 12 hrs for a 15 pounder. let it rest in a cooler for at least an hour after you take it off the grill.
 
usmcpackrat

usmcpackrat

Veteran Member
Murt said:
I use a similar brine for the wild pig hams that I smoke --I add a good bit of apple juice to the brine and smoke it on apple wood

That is one big honking piece of meat---how long will it be on the smoker
Click to expand...


Once it goes into my smoker it will go for roughly 24-30 hours.
I start with a mix of hickory mesquite and maple after which I switch to pecan and than twice with apple......
 
Capt. Eddie

Capt. Eddie

Veteran Member
Ozarkian said:
Low and slow Capt. Eddie. That's the key to tender brisket. I usually wrap mine after about 5 hrs. then continue at around 230 degrees. It usually takes around 12 hrs for a 15 pounder. let it rest in a cooler for at least an hour after you take it off the grill.
Click to expand...
usmcpackrat said:
Once it goes into my smoker it will go for roughly 24-30 hours.
I start with a mix of hickory mesquite and maple after which I switch to pecan and than twice with apple......
Click to expand...
Millwright said:
14 hours minimum, hold the pit at 180-200.

Takes a lotta beer to focus on that firebox.

Wish I was there to offer moral support.
Click to expand...
OK that's taking low and slow to a whole new level from pork. I was doing 225 for about 16 hours. A Boston butt (my favorite) would have been mush at that point, let alone 25-30.

I'll be keeping a close eye on this thread. I may have to try a brisket again sometime.
 
Jeff B.

Jeff B.

Don’t let the Piss Ants get you down…
Capt. Eddie said:
OK that's taking low and slow to a whole new level from pork. I was doing 225 for about 16 hours. A Boston butt (my favorite) would have been mush at that point, let alone 25-30.

I'll be keeping a close eye on this thread. I may have to try a brisket again sometime.
Click to expand...

Getting the meat to the temperature where the connective tissues melt is what’s key.

Wrapping the meat is know as the Texas Crutch and it’s very effective.

Wrapping it and setting it in a cooler for a while after cooking also improves the meat.

My pulled pork is good. Very good. My brisket is not bad. My former SIL had the touch. Kid could make damned good brisket.

Jeff B.
 
TheChrome

TheChrome

Contributing Member
When I bring a packer home, I cut a hole in the plastic and pour a bunch of vegetable oil into the wrap. I let it soak in the oil over night, then I cut the packaging, drain, and give a light rub. About 4 hours before putting it on the pit, I inject the brisket. About 2 hours before the pit, I let it assume room temperature and give it a heavy final rub. I usually smoke mine at 225 for around 16 hours (Depending on the weight) using only oak until the last 4 hours. Then I use Pecan & Mesquite toward the end.

So far, I entered one small cook off and got first place brisket. Also all my friends tell me it's the best they have ever tasted. I am gearing up to enter more competitions, although the process will need to change to be done in 8 hours. (350 degrees)
 
Last edited:
jward

jward

passin' thru
Oh my, I just had to tell my jonsing for a brisket "no"- this thread should help a bit.

I think you're the first I've ever heard that didn't use the apple juice n apple, or cherry wood to smoke. The stubborn MO mule in me says you're most definitely doing it wrong- but I'd give any sample a fair shot of making a believer out of me.

I used to take pride in our being the ones tasked with the yearly brisket smoking, until I realized it wasn't that they so loved the meat we put out, but so loathed the time consuming nature of the work... just had someone bring over a truck bed of cherry for me, I imagine that means I'll be "volunteering" to do some smoking soon afterall.
 
C

Chicken Mama

Veteran Member
Cutting the slab into two pieces seems logical to reduce the cooking time and avoid the risk of drying out the ends. I don't believe I'd ever smoke one at 350.

Sounds like we're using very similar brine and methods, and yes, the Texas Crutch is the route I go every time.

It's too cold here already for smoking cause it's nearly impossible to keep the temps where they're needed.
 
usmcpackrat

usmcpackrat

Veteran Member
jward said:
Oh my, I just had to tell my jonsing for a brisket "no"- this thread should help a bit.

I think you're the first I've ever heard that didn't use the apple juice n apple, or cherry wood to smoke. The stubborn MO mule in me says you're most definitely doing it wrong- but I'd give any sample a fair shot of making a believer out of me.

I used to take pride in our being the ones tasked with the yearly brisket smoking, until I realized it wasn't that they so loved the meat we put out, but so loathed the time consuming nature of the work... just had someone bring over a truck bed of cherry for me, I imagine that means I'll be "volunteering" to do some smoking soon afterall.
Click to expand...


I use apple wood in the smoking process....actually I smoke the brisket 4x and the last two I hit her with apple.....I also will soak her down with local apple cider before I wrap and I fill my drippings pan with apple cider too.....

Patience.....cannot rush perfection
 
Capt. Eddie

Capt. Eddie

Veteran Member
Jeff B. said:
Getting the meat to the temperature where the connective tissues melt is what’s key.

Wrapping the meat is know as the Texas Crutch and it’s very effective.

Wrapping it and setting it in a cooler for a while after cooking also improves the meat.

My pulled pork is good. Very good. My brisket is not bad. My former SIL had the touch. Kid could make damned good brisket.

Jeff B.
Click to expand...
I'll crutch a really big Boston butt for a couple hours for pulled pork, but I don't like to get the inside too mushy. I like it to where the fibers separate but are still firm but tender. When pulled the outer crust mixes in with the more tender inside.

I like to pre-heat the ice chest with boiling water, then dump the water and let the butt sit it the ice chest for at least a couple hours. I mainly smoke pulled pork with mulberry with a bit of mesquite mixed in. Got tons of volunteer mulberry trees around the place. The saying in western Iowa is "Where a bird shits a mulberry tree grows".
 
artichoke

artichoke

Greetings from near tropical NYC!
TheChrome said:
When I bring a packer home, I cut a hole in the plastic and pour a bunch of vegetable oil into the wrap. I let it soak in the oil over night, then I cut the packaging, drain, and give a light rub. About 4 hours before putting it on the pit, I inject the brisket. About 2 hours before the pit, I let it assume room temperature and give it a heavy final rub. I usually smoke mine at 225 for around 16 hours (Depending on the weight) using only oak until the last 4 hours. Then I use Pecan & Mesquite toward the end.

So far, I entered one small cook off and got first place brisket. Also all my friends tell me it's the best they have ever tasted. I am gearing up to enter more competitions, although the process will need to change to be done in 8 hours. (350 degrees)
Click to expand...
Adding oil is how I improve cheap cuts on the grill. Pour some oil on top. What doesn't soak in runs off and ignites, cooking the meat for cheaper than the propane it replaces. I don't have a smoker.
 
usmcpackrat

usmcpackrat

Veteran Member
Brisket is now in the brine.....

Here is where patience and critical timing are absolutely necessary. And for that matter essential..
If I let the Brisket sit too long in the brine saturation, I will end up with more of a corned beef texture......too short of a timeframe.....than I risk a dryer less moist of a brisket.

For a 17lbs brisket, with this particular brine, I want no more than 2 hours per lb. This should allow the salt/sugar/water to equalize between the cells of the muscle tissue strands, and the brine. This is a process called........diffusion.

See attached link......



By the time 34 hours has passed, this brisket will be pulled from the brine and be rinsed off and pat dried.

More pics inbound.
 
Marie

Marie

Veteran Member
So today I had these little voices on my shoulders fighting me to pull out the brisket that I had reserved for St Paddies day :D
But since I have to drive Christmas dinner clear across the state. I stayed with the chuck in a crock. Surely tempting though!
 
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