FOOD Christmas Brisket

usmcpackrat

usmcpackrat

Veteran Member
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Here is the dryrub......this is a mixture of Himalayan pink salt, course ground black pepper, white sugar, brown sugar, garlic, onion powder, chili powder, mustard seed, paprika and cocoa.

Sorry.......the amount of each and the measurements are a trade secret.

I could tell.....but than you would know all of my intriguing thoughts on a superb championship smoked brisket.

Besides....if I tell you than you end up in some room off of a tunnel 17 floors below the Pentagon.....
 
usmcpackrat

usmcpackrat

Veteran Member
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Here is the Brisket as it now sits.

It has been pulled from the wet brine. Pat dried with clean paper towel. And placed upon my wife's good cookie cooling rack.

Do not let her see this because I'll catch all holy hell and she'll cut my balls off.....I've been previously warned......but I enjoy living a little dangerously.
I will deny and the pictures were photoshoped.

The dryrub has been tenderly massaged into every nook and cranny and than more liberally spread across top bottom and sides.

This will be lightly covered in butcher paper and than wrapped in foil to prevent drying out.
Than placed back into the fridge in the garage.

Now time for a beer. Tonight's selection is Bells Brown Ale.
 
T

thereisnofork

Veteran Member
Have you tried injecting the brisket with beef broth? It helps keep the meat very moist. Sometimes I mix beef broth with equal parts of a smoky barbeque sauce so the flavor permeates the meat. Then I usually smoke it for about 4 hours on the Traeger, wrap it in a foil bag with broth in the bag and a little more injected into the meat. Then into the oven at 220 for another 8 hours. Always comes out super tender and moist.
I couldn't find the original article/recipe that got me going this way, but there are a lot of recipes that use the foil wrap. I've seen it called the "Texas crutch".
 
W

Walrus

Veteran Member
usmcpackrat said:
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.....
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YOU GAVE OUT YOUR RECIPE! :shkr: :chg:

Awesome! We need one of those lil fainting emoticons. And we'll probably need a drooling one licking its lips, too, I suspect, when this is done.
 
usmcpackrat

usmcpackrat

Veteran Member
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Update.......brisket is now in smoker.

This is a very large masterbuilt electric smoker with digital temp control and timer. An app on my phone helps me to monitor closely.

The smoker was preheated and presmoked to 275'f.
Mesquite wood chips were used to preseason.

Upon placing brisket in about noon local time, I start with 3 loads cherry wood chips.

At about 8 tonight I will smoke again with cherry.

At midnight tonight I will pull the brisket off the smoker just long enough to fill the drippings tray with local apple cider, spray down the brisket with the same, and wrap and tie in butcher paper.

The brisket will immediately go back in the smoker and the wood chip pan will get loaded with apple chips.

Temp will be maintained at 225'f throughout the smoking process.
At 6am after my 2nd cup of Irish Whiskey infused coffee, apple chips again.....

More to follow........
 
usmcpackrat

usmcpackrat

Veteran Member
Dozdoats said:
Redefining low and slow :D
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It's the only way to go.

Just like a women in bed. You can rush through it but you'll both be disappointed. OR,......you can tenderly caress.......gently yet firmly touch,...knowing that you are in full control and the intense satisfaction only comes after great effort and work goes into it......the Brisket that is....jeesh....yall got a dirty mind....why haven't we been friends sooner?
 
usmcpackrat

usmcpackrat

Veteran Member
Chicken Mama said:
17# definitely doesn't fit on one grill of the MasterCraft. How many pounds is that chunk?
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It is a 17lbs full packer brisket.
My smoker is a masterbuilt pro.

I can fit 6 whole turkeys at one time or over 160 venison snack sticks. It's BIG inside. And I also have a cold smoker attachments for it so I can smoke cheese butter whipped cream ect....I've done everything from biscuits and corn on the cob to pie and whiskey.....
 
Capt. Eddie

Capt. Eddie

Veteran Member
usmcpackrat said:
It is a 17lbs full packer brisket.
My smoker is a masterbuilt pro.

I can fit 6 whole turkeys at one time or over 160 venison snack sticks. It's BIG inside. And I also have a cold smoker attachments for it so I can smoke cheese butter whipped cream ect....I've done everything from biscuits and corn on the cob to pie and whiskey.....
Click to expand...
Cream cheese and Mac & cheese are my two non-meat favorites in the smoker.
 
Capt. Eddie

Capt. Eddie

Veteran Member
usmcpackrat said:
spray down the brisket with the same, and wrap and tie in butcher paper.
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Aha, that's something I'll try. I've always used tin foil and beer just like I use to crutch an extra large Boston butt. Do you wrap it tightly (seal it)? I've never added smoke while crutching since it wouldn't get to the meat the way I've been doing it anyway.

Thank you for the tips, I'm definitely going to give brisket another try using your techniques.
 
usmcpackrat

usmcpackrat

Veteran Member
Capt. Eddie said:
Aha, that's something I'll try. I've always used tin foil and beer just like I use to crutch an extra large Boston butt. Do you wrap it tightly (seal it)? I've never added smoke while crutching since it wouldn't get to the meat the way I've been doing it anyway.

Thank you for the tips, I'm definitely going to give brisket another try using your techniques.
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The butcher paper is unwaxed......and that's key......
See, the paper is permeable and so the smoke will pass through.....but the moisture doesn't, at least enough to help prevent stall.

During a long low temp smoke what will happen is at about 160-170 the meat begins an evaporation process. Evaporation is cooling so it stops the temp rise and cooking process.

The butcher paper helps to prevent that. And I do wrap fairly tightly. And she will get smoke 3x while wrapped. So it does work at least in my experience.
 
Millwright

Millwright

Knuckle Dragger
_______________
One year, we had a golf, charter event that wanted brisket & bbq for 180 people in a tournament.

The cafe manager snagged me to man the pit.

By the time employees ordered one for themselves, I did 18.

Made for a long 2 days.

One thing the manager found that helped immensely was some heavy, insulated rubber gloves. They came up past the elbow and made it easy to keep all that meat rotated around the pit.
 
mossyoak1985

mossyoak1985

Senior Member
i was on the fence about cooking a brisket before this post started, never made one before but i had one in the freezer from the beef we just got. figured if i had an expert that could answer any questions at hand, now was my best shot. i only did a simple brine and did not have butcher paper but i tried it and man oh man! i think only 2 people had ham, but everyone was talking about the beef. i even overcooked it. was not dry, but to the point it was too tender to slice easily. might have started a new tradition, thanks packrat! merry christmas from our house to yours.
 
usmcpackrat

usmcpackrat

Veteran Member
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CHRISTMAS DINNER!!!


Brisket turned out the best I've ever done!!!!!

Rock Island .38 with fmj +p+ reloads....
CRKT clip point folder......
Buffalo Trace and Elijah Craig Small Batch paired with Founders All Day IPA......


All of this with organic root veggies...(parsnips, turnips, sweet potato and potato) Michigan sweet cherry salad, and Dinner rolls....
 
et2

et2

TB Fanatic
Lol … did you shoot it for tenderness. Looks delicious. There’s a smoke house in downtown Lansing called Meats. Love their brisket. I try to get there monthly while on business.
 
W

Walrus

Veteran Member
usmcpackrat said:
View attachment 309467

CHRISTMAS DINNER!!!


Brisket turned out the best I've ever done!!!!!

Rock Island .38 with fmj +p+ reloads....
CRKT clip point folder......
Buffalo Trace and Elijah Craig Small Batch paired with Founders All Day IPA......


All of this with organic root veggies...(parsnips, turnips, sweet potato and potato) Michigan sweet cherry salad, and Dinner rolls....
Click to expand...
<Insert unabashed drool icon here> and I like that CRKT folder, too!
 
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