Point end brisket

[HeyBertHeyErnie]

Got this from Sainsbury's, about 40mm thick at the fat end. Rubbed in brown sugar, paprika, onion granules, garlic granules, chilli powder, and cayenne. Smoking it tomorrow, any tips (pun intended:)) let me know. Gonna smoke with mesquite at 125C till 65 int temp, foil and resmoke till 85?

[Smokin Monkey]

Do not go by IT only. Tryon the tooth pick test. Should go in to the Brisket like hot knife in to butter, no resistance.

[HeyBertHeyErnie]

Cheers, any idea how long roughly that will take?

 

[Smokin Monkey]

Low and Slow is not a time element. Its all about IT. 

[HeyBertHeyErnie]

I just don't want to leave it too late to put it in, I'm guessing it will take at least 4 hours, but wondered if anyone had any experience?

[Smokin Monkey]

If you go early and its ready, wrap in towels and place in a cooler box.

[HeyBertHeyErnie]

???

[HeyBertHeyErnie]

[Wade]

A good guide would be three hours unwrapped, spritzing with marinade or apple juice every 20 minutes or so, and then three hours foiled. Then wrap in additional foil and place in towels in a cool box until required - 1-3 hours. Getting it to temperature is only the first step. It is the time it spends at that temperature that causes the connective tissues to break down and the meat to become tender.

[HeyBertHeyErnie]

Cheers Wade, turned out ok I think. It was a tiny bit tough, but, supermarket brisket, first time smoking, and still lovely, moist, delicious.

Final consideration I am also a tenderness nazi and super self critical. It needed a bit more salt, and a lot longer at 65.

[Wade]

The texture looks good - although it is difficult to tell for sure without touching and tasting it. I think that you should be very satisfied with it - especially as it is your first attempt. 

To help with the tenderness you need to get the IT of the brisket up higher than 65 C. The temperatures for cooking brisket are different to those of cooking beef steak. I am sorry but I should have spotted this in your original post and let you know then. With the smoker temperature at 110-120 C the IT of the brisket will rise to ~85-90 C during the cook and will remain around there, dropping slowly, for a couple of hours afterwards once it has been wrapped and insulated. 

As you discovered, you can use a lot of salt in your rub without the end result being too salty. I tend to use a simple salt, pepper and garlic powder rub with brisket which helps to bring out the flavour of the meat without disguising it too much. 

Great attempt and looking forward to seeing your next one 

[HeyBertHeyErnie]

Thanks Wade, don't worry, I did cook it to 85 IT, but the second I hit 86 I took it out and stopped. I also cooked it at too low a temperature I think, dehydrating the outside slowly rather than barking it. I was at a very stable 106-107 for a long time yesterday. Because it's an offset smoker I was so determined not to overdo it at the hot end I went to the other extreme. Thanks for the tip on salt, I'm sticking a load in the other half of the rub I made up and doing a chicken with it next.

Good points, the exact level of smoke ring I wanted, internal moistness, smoker tuning practice, probes worked really well, topped up charcoal twice with slight issues.

Bad points, slight uncooked spice taste, purists toughness issue :), lack of bark, not enough fat on the brisket really, too low a temperature, insulation came off the smoker lid gap right at the start, IT WASN'T PERFECT DAGNAMMIT!!!!

All good experience  

Edited July 2, 2018 by HeyBertHeyErnie