293524 Fri Jul 18 12:16:18 -0700 2003 15 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1606480 1) We talk a lot about brining turkeys and chickens before smoking - has anyone ever tried that with brisket? 2) Does anyone know of a sure fire way to avoid a DRY smoked brisket - I tend to slow smoke mine at 200-250 until an internal temperature of 160-170 - often get dry ones though not always - I'm convinced there must be another trick to it (injecting the brisket with something? marinating in oil? etc) This is somewhat urgent as I'm supposed to smoke one for a party tomorrow..... any help greatly appreciated Fri Jul 18 12:16:18 -0700 2003 0 Dylan 1 1606482 We did a July 4 brisket (big one) that got rave reviews. Ordinarily I marinate one for about six hours before smoking it but this year we did not have enough time so we went with a dry rub of classic 1950's design: onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, salt, black-red-white pepper. No papain. Smoked it with hickory (indirect heat) for about six hours on Jul 3. Put it in a throw-away aluminum pan on July 4 with half bottle of wine, cut up onion and garlic (real ones, not powder) and whatever-elsde-we-felt-like-throwing-in (e.g. thyme). Covered it tightly with aluminum foil. Put it in the oven at 210 degrees at 9:00 AM and pulled it out around 3:00. Tender and tasty and moist. A friend's mom puts Heinz Chili Sauce in the pan when it goes into the oven. Really good. The more packaged items you can use in brisket cooking, the better. Makes it more "american" in my view. The trick is to cook it long enough so that it re-hydrates (if that is the term) and all the collagen and whatever breaks down. Fri Jul 18 12:31:37 -0700 2003 1606480 0 Hazelhurst 2 1606485 That's essentially what I've done in the past - use a dry rub. Once in a while, I get a great brisket that way, but it's often dry. I search for a more consistent method! Fri Jul 18 13:05:12 -0700 2003 1606482 0 Dylan 1 1606490 Do you have enough fluids in a pan in your smoker so that it is moist, not dry heat? Fri Jul 18 13:15:56 -0700 2003 1606480 0 The Rogue 2 1606492 I've never tried that - I just normally stick the brisket in the smoker - I do like the crust that develops on the meat and wonder if moisture would impede that. Does that water pan really make that much difference? My smoker manufacturer (Cookshack) does not recommend using it. Fri Jul 18 13:44:13 -0700 2003 1606490 0 Dylan 3 1606496 Depending upon the kind of smoker, yes it can. The water pan helps moderate the temperature in the smoker, and the evaporation of the dripping-laden water helps baste. You also might want to mop the brisket with a little apple juice, beer, or combination of stuff every couple of hours. Finally, when the brisket hits an internal temp of 190, take it off the smoker, wrap it in foil, and put it in an empty cooler for an hour or two. More important that any of my advice, is to maybe check out the source of much of it: The Kansas City BBQ Society message board. These are the experts. Link: http://www.rbjb.com/rbjb/rbjbboard/index.html Fri Jul 18 14:00:55 -0700 2003 1606492 0 dude 4 1606503 Just a quick note. The link that Dude put in his response is not the KCBS Forum. It is The BBQ Forum which is owned and moderated by Ray Basso. The KCBS Forum can be found at www.kcbs.us. But I will say that Dude sent you to the right forum in my opinion. Just a slight correction in which forum it is. Hope you don't mind me posting the clarification, Dude. John Fri Jul 18 14:52:25 -0700 2003 1606496 0 RibDog 5 1606509 not at all... I thought you were going to call me on internal temp or something. ;-) Fri Jul 18 15:50:28 -0700 2003 1606503 0 dude 6 1606521 No, I won't beat you up on that. Every time I think I know better than someone else on BBQ, they come and put back a few paces. It is a continual learning process with que. But I will say that my teammate has taught me that it is more important to check the easy with which you can push the probe through the meat. To be honest with, I do both myself. John Fri Jul 18 17:59:55 -0700 2003 1606509 0 RibDog 3 1606506 I have never had a problem with a moist brisket not forming a nice crust. A good dry rub mix forms a coating that the meat juices and smoke adhere to and it gets real nice, crisp, and tangy. I always use a boiling hot beer and herbs mix in a pan to provide moisture and refill with hot mix as needed. I find that the liquid helps regulate the smoker temp and keeping it from getting too hot as well. Fri Jul 18 15:44:04 -0700 2003 1606492 0 The Rogue 1 1606493 I've finally gotten mine to come out perfect. I get an untrimmed whole brisket, pare off the big lumps of fat and shave the cap of fat down to ca 1/4," coat with freshly cracked pepper plus coarse salt, and cook in a smoker for 10-12 hrs at 200-225. It is ready when you can stick in an instant-read thermometer and pull it out easily. No pan of water. Be sure to measure the temperature on the grill where the meat is, not up in the top of the cooker -- there can be a big difference. I use a remote thermometer like a Polder for this, which saves opening the cooking chamber to check temp. Fri Jul 18 13:50:15 -0700 2003 1606480 0 john clark 2 1606499 What temp does your instant read thermometer say when it's done? Fri Jul 18 14:27:03 -0700 2003 1606493 0 Dylan 3 1606504 Never checked. It's about the texture -- you want to hold it at I would guess around 180 or a bit over that for several hours so that the collagen (I think) breaks down. When it reaches "done" temp it will still be very tough. Hours later-at the same temp-you can slice it into big servings of tender smoky heaven. Fri Jul 18 15:13:45 -0700 2003 1606499 0 john clark 1 1606516 Dylan: Scrool back on board to 07/02/2003 to Slow[dry] Roast for a Beef Brisket. Check my reply, and the post from Pam, who followed my recommendations. The only difference is that you may wish to "Dry Rub" the beef before cooking. If your cooking in Smoke it's not necessary to sear surface before cooking. Should you wish to brine meat, i'd recommend giving it more time to be effective. Try to keep heat close to 225 degrees. Brisket is finished when temperture is 210 degrees, Whatever method you choose please post your results. Good Luck. Irwin Fri Jul 18 16:39:17 -0700 2003 1606480 0 Irwin Koval 2 1606520 Thanks. 210 internal temp is a lot higher than I've seen elsewhere - (180-195) - are you sure on this one? Fri Jul 18 17:48:24 -0700 2003 1606516 0 Dylan 1 1606586 I saw this on Food TV's "Calling All Cooks" show that featured BBQ recipes from a couple that have won numerous BBQ Contests/Cook-offs. The couple recommended smoking brisket to 160 degrees. Then they took their brisket out, wrapped it in aluminum foil, placed it back in the smoker and smoked until the brisket reaches 180 degrees. Smoking the brisket to 160 degrees will smoke the meat suuficiently and get the outside nicely crusted. Smoking it in aluminum foil untill 180 degrees ensures moist, tender brisket. Sat Jul 19 17:30:29 -0700 2003 1606480 0 Norm