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  • #16
    Missed the other thread for some reason but here is my method:

    The meat
    You have to get a "packer cut" brisket. The pre-trimmed ones have way too much fat trimmed, etc. I have found the packer's much harder to find in Utah than in Texas (not too surprising I guess). In fact, the only place I can consistently find them is Wal-Mart. And I hate to buy meat there but the briskets have been fine. Costco here seems to just carry 2-3 lb small pre-trimmed ones which are no good for what we are after. Aside from taking a look at it and making sure there is a good fat cap but not too much marbling throughout beyond that, I don't have any big secrets to choosing them.

    Preparation
    Packer cuts will be vacuum packed so can be wet aged for a week or two with no issues. So I try to get them that far ahead of time and leave them in the fridge. About 48 hours before the expected meal, I get them out and rub them (a recipe I came up with online and modified to taste at some point). It has some kick to it so YMMV. I'll post the rub recipe below. I apply the rub very liberally, to the point if you can see any meat, there is not enough. I then wrap the brisket in heavy duty foil and put it back in the fridge for 24 hours.

    Smoking
    I use a Bradley electric smoker. Have considered getting a Traeger but haven't pulled the trigger yet. This is a great smoker to get at Shaka's price point IMO. I got the OBS with manual temp control. Doing it again I'd get the digital just to make life a bit easier.

    Anyway, I load the smoker with about 6 hours worth of mesquite (the only wood to use for brisket IMO), pre-heat the cabinet to 200, then put the brisket(s) in. You get a significant temp drop when you put the meat in. In fact, what I do is smoke it until the temp comes back up to 220, which is usually about 4-6 hours, depending on how much meat there is.

    Cooking in the oven
    I've found the 6 hours in the smoker to be plenty of smoke, so I finish it in the oven as it is just much easier to control the temp. At this point I move it to a roasting pan and douse it with apple juice. Enough to have an inch or so in the bottom of the pan. Put a meat thermometer remote probe in and cover tightly with heavy duty foil. Oven temp at 200 or so. At this point it just takes as long as it takes. I've had this stage be anywhere from 6-10 hours, depending on the meat, how much there is, etc. I pull it at an internal temp of 190.

    FTC
    Foil - Towel - Cooler. This is the true secret to all good BBQ. After taking the meat from the oven, I wrap it several times (about 4 layers) in heavy duty foil, then wrap in two or 3 layers of old bath towels, then put it in a cooler. Minimum 2 hours, as much as 4 or 5. Main thing is you don't want it to cool into the danger zone.

    That's pretty much it. Low and slow, the sealed pan with apple juice to keep it moist, and FTC.

    Rub
    1 1/2 cup paprika
    1/2 cup coarse black pepper
    1/2 cup coarse salt
    1/2 cup sugar
    4 Tbsp chili powder
    4 Tbsp garlic powder
    4 Tbsp onion powder
    4 tsp cayenne pepper

    That makes enough rub for a couple of 10-12 lbs packers. I just keep it in a big tub and make enough to have plenty.
    "It's true that everything happens for a reason. Just remember that sometimes that reason is that you did something really, really, stupid."

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    • #17
      Originally posted by Shaka View Post
      Like TD I'm also looking at trying out the wonderful world of cooking with a smoker. I think the question I was going to post regarding a reasonably priced smoker was just answered. The Weber looks like a good place to start. Anyone have any other recommendations less that $500?
      Call Take A Break Spas down in Springville they carry Traegers for a pretty good price. Ask for Dave Johnson and tell him you know me he will take care of you.
      *Banned*

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      • #18
        Brisket -> seasoned with sn'p and garlic powder -> throw in crockpot fat side up, on low for 24 hours -> last hour add favorite bbq sauce -> shred beef and remove fat layer -> serve on buns WITH cole slaw.

        Seriously. Brisket or pulled pork sandwiches should only ever be eaten with a nice, crunchy, creamy slaw.

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        • #19
          Alright, I'm going to give brisket another shot next weekend and will return and report.
          Jesus wants me for a sunbeam.

          "Cog dis is a bitch." -James Patterson

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          • #20
            Originally posted by SuperGabers View Post
            Brisket -> seasoned with sn'p and garlic powder -> throw in crockpot fat side up, on low for 24 hours -> last hour add favorite bbq sauce -> shred beef and remove fat layer -> serve on buns WITH cole slaw.

            Seriously. Brisket or pulled pork sandwiches should only ever be eaten with a nice, crunchy, creamy slaw.
            The hard core BBQ guys will be offended by this, but my wife does BBQ this way and it works fine. I prefer a good smoked brisket or pulled pork, but compared to the properly performed crockpot method it's an incremental improvement not order of magnitude improvement.

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            • #21
              Originally posted by jay santos View Post
              The hard core BBQ guys will be offended by this, but my wife does BBQ this way and it works fine. I prefer a good smoked brisket or pulled pork, but compared to the properly performed crockpot method it's an incremental improvement not order of magnitude improvement.
              Agreed. I prefer smoked as well. Alas, when one does not have a smoker (yet) the crockpot is a good back up.

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              • #22
                cough. diner. cough.

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                • #23
                  Thanks FM, Moliere, and DT. Yes, I am aware of all of the other sites covering briskets, but I thought it would be fun to see what you all do.

                  Originally posted by Moliere View Post
                  I've never used a Traeger but it sounds like they just as good of a job. The upside is they hold the temperature constant with the push of a button, and are thus easier to use. The downside is they are more expensive upfront and I imagine the pellets they use are also more expensive than a bag of Kingsford charcoal and some hickory wood blocks.
                  The pellets aren't too bad, especially for smoking since the usage rate is quite slow. I love being able to swap between different hard woods so easily but far and away the biggest benefit is the simplicity. Set the temp using the digital controller and walk away. A full hopper of pellets seems to last forever on the smoke setting. Prep and cleanup is also trivial.

                  Originally posted by FMCoug View Post
                  About 48 hours before the expected meal, I get them out and rub them (a recipe I came up with online and modified to taste at some point). It has some kick to it so YMMV. I'll post the rub recipe below.
                  I have tried lots of rubs. My favorite commercial rub is Butt Rub:

                  http://www.buttrub.com/

                  It has a nice kick to it. But our overall favorite general purpose rub is one we make ourselves from a recipe I picked up several years ago:

                  Paul Kirk’s Basic Barbecue Rub

                  Dotty Griffith, restaurant critic for the Dallas Morning News prepared this recipe for barbecue fans on the Lawry’s Live! cooking stage at the 2002 Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest. This versatile rub is from Griffith’s new cookbook, Celebrating Barbecue.

                  Paul Kirk, Kansas City barbecue cook-off champion, teaches this basic rub formula to his barbecue classes, encouraging his students to customize it to their own taste. He recommends this all-purpose rub for beef, lamb, pork, chicken or fish. Apply liberally.

                  1 cup sugar
                  1/4 cup Lawry’s® Seasoned Salt
                  1/4 cup Lawry’s® Garlic Salt
                  1/4 cup celery salt
                  1/4 cup onion salt
                  1/2 cup paprika
                  3 tablespoons chili powder
                  2 tablespoons black pepper
                  1 tablespoon Lawry’s® Lemon Pepper
                  2 teaspoons ground sage
                  1 teaspoon dry mustard
                  1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
                  1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

                  Combine all the ingredients in a sifter and sift to blend well. Store in an airtight jar in the refrigerator. The rub keeps, refrigerated, for 2 to 3 weeks; frozen, for 6 months.
                  Makes about 3 cups.
                  Highly recommended.

                  Originally posted by jay santos View Post
                  The hard core BBQ guys will be offended by this, but my wife does BBQ this way and it works fine. I prefer a good smoked brisket or pulled pork, but compared to the properly performed crockpot method it's an incremental improvement not order of magnitude improvement.
                  Geez, Jay. I hope your brother doesn't read this.
                  "There is no creature more arrogant than a self-righteous libertarian on the web, am I right? Those folks are just intolerable."
                  "It's no secret that the great American pastime is no longer baseball. Now it's sanctimony." -- Guy Periwinkle, The Nix.
                  "Juilliardk N I ibuprofen Hyu I U unhurt u" - creekster

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                  • #24
                    Originally posted by Jeff Lebowski View Post


                    Geez, Jay. I hope your brother doesn't read this.
                    He would kill me.

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                    • #25
                      Smoking the brisket do I want to have the fat side up?
                      Get confident, stupid
                      -landpoke

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                      • #26
                        Originally posted by HuskyFreeNorthwest View Post
                        Smoking the brisket do I want to have the fat side up?
                        Yes. That's what keeps it moist.
                        "It's true that everything happens for a reason. Just remember that sometimes that reason is that you did something really, really, stupid."

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                        • #27
                          I threw a whole packer brisket on the smoker this morning at 1 am this morning. First time smoking in the big green egg. After about 12 hours, I pulled it off and separated the point and the flat. The flat is chillin in the cooler and I cubes the point to make burnt ends. Should be a good dinner.






                          Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
                          "I can get a good look at a T-bone by sticking my head up a bull's a$$, but I'd rather take a butcher's word for it". - Tommy Callahan III

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                          • #28
                            Ok. The point was delicious right off the smoker. I didnt taste the flat, I just wrapped it and threw it inthe cooler. The cubed point went back onto the smoker to become burnt ends.

                            after a couple hours, I pulled the burnt ends off the smoker. They taste ok, not great like when I first pulled it off the smoker. They leave a somewhat bitter aftertaste like rancid smoke.

                            The flat is an epic fail. It smells like stale smoke. It is pretty much ruined. I was going to foil when the internal temp was 160-165 but I got busy and thought it would be fine without foiling. I also dont think I had the top vent open enough and it trapped too much smoke and it became stale. I ended up having to leave the flat in the cooler longer than I wanted and I think that becasue the bark was too "done/burnt" it allowed the burnt taste to permeate throughout the flat. I am pretty disappointed in the results.

                            It was my first attempt at using the Egg to smoke anything and I have a few ideas as to where it went wrong.
                            "I can get a good look at a T-bone by sticking my head up a bull's a$$, but I'd rather take a butcher's word for it". - Tommy Callahan III

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                            • #29
                              Originally posted by Drunk Tank View Post
                              Ok. The point was delicious right off the smoker. I didnt taste the flat, I just wrapped it and threw it inthe cooler. The cubed point went back onto the smoker to become burnt ends.

                              after a couple hours, I pulled the burnt ends off the smoker. They taste ok, not great like when I first pulled it off the smoker. They leave a somewhat bitter aftertaste like rancid smoke.

                              The flat is an epic fail. It smells like stale smoke. It is pretty much ruined. I was going to foil when the internal temp was 160-165 but I got busy and thought it would be fine without foiling. I also dont think I had the top vent open enough and it trapped too much smoke and it became stale. I ended up having to leave the flat in the cooler longer than I wanted and I think that becasue the bark was too "done/burnt" it allowed the burnt taste to permeate throughout the flat. I am pretty disappointed in the results.

                              It was my first attempt at using the Egg to smoke anything and I have a few ideas as to where it went wrong.
                              Should have went with the Traeger.

                              jeff Lebowski! Come on, I've got your back brother!
                              Fitter. Happier. More Productive.

                              sigpic

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                              • #30
                                Originally posted by TripletDaddy View Post
                                Should have went with the Traeger.

                                jeff Lebowski! Come on, I've got your back brother!
                                Sure, kick a guy when he's down...

                                Really, you are probabbly right, but the Traegers are with their new owners now.
                                "I can get a good look at a T-bone by sticking my head up a bull's a$$, but I'd rather take a butcher's word for it". - Tommy Callahan III

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