Brisket?

Interesting...never would have guessed that.

You can use Morton Tender Quick which you can pick up at your local grocery store or FAB (meat enhancer) as people call it pink salt. A lot of guys in the BBQ competition use Morton Tender Quick as it does not change the taste or overruns your rub.

This chemical reaction is similar to the one that occurs when you cure meat by sprinkling it with a curing salt containing sodium nitrite. These are the salts that give bacon, hot dogs, and corned beef their characteristic pink color. They lock in the pink color. Sprinkle a little on meat and voila, smoke ring.

If you want a solid smoke ring without using enhancers spray your brisket, pork butt or ribs with apple juice every 30 minutes this will enhance your smoke ring as well. When smoke roasting, moist meat holds onto smoke more readily than dry meat. Less smoke sticks as the cooking continues because the surface of the meat begins to dry. For this reason putting a pan of water in a smoker helps create a smoke ring because the evaporating water condenses on the meat.
 
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Y’all are putting your brisket in a cooler and not wrapping in foil
 
Final results. It was better than the last one but still not great. Not a lot of bend. It will take some practice I guess. Started at 7:30am and it hit 207 at about 2:15 pm. I let it rest in a cooler for 2 hours. Good bark, juicy but a tad tough. Myron Mixon would've hated it. But my wife and kids liked it.
Small flats maybe the hardest thing especially for us lesser experienced. Usually trimmed down to the meat and very little fat. If you can swing the $$$ it’s better to start with a full packer and do the separating/trimming yourself.

A tough brisket is UNDERcooked (collagen not broken down) ... overcooked is dry and crumbly.

You can’t rely on IT alone (as a couple here have said). IT is a starting point for testing for tenderness. Want to be probe-tender all over. Injecting helps. In a pan with a little liquid helps. Can work wrapped or not wrapped.

Riding the steepest learning curve, but try to enjoy the ride!
 
Here's my method. A bit different than others, but based on the method used by Cooks Country cooking show. You can view their video online.

Start with full brisket. Rub on mixture of 1/4 cup salt and 1/4 cup black pepper. Let sit 24 hours in plastic wrap with the salt pepper mixture. Throw on the brisket with smoker set to 300 and let it go until the thickest part of the brisket hits 170 degrees. Pull it off and double wrap in foil to prevent moisture from escaping. Put it back on and let the internal temp come up to 205. Pull it out and let it sit in a cooler in the foil for about 3 hours before removing foil and slicing. I also add a couple small pans of water on each end of the smoker to add moisture during the climb to 170. As far as times, it takes roughly 3.5 to 4 hours to 170, 2 more hours to 205, 3 hours in cooler. So total time is around 8.5 to 9 hours.

I admit up front this was on my old smoker which was smaller, got to temp more quickly, and fluctuated in temp little. I'm doing 2-10Lbs briskets today on my 1600pro and will update when I get a done to see how this recipe translates. The 1600 seems to cook at a lower temp than set and varies the temp a bit more. Perhaps it will be 275ish rather than 300 in the run-up to 170.
 
One tip i was given from a Texas guy is once you hit 200 start checking for tenderness with a tooth pick and you can feel the resistance. When it has none then its done
 
Here's my method. A bit different than others, but based on the method used by Cooks Country cooking show. You can view their video online.

Start with full brisket. Rub on mixture of 1/4 cup salt and 1/4 cup black pepper. Let sit 24 hours in plastic wrap with the salt pepper mixture. Throw on the brisket with smoker set to 300 and let it go until the thickest part of the brisket hits 170 degrees. Pull it off and double wrap in foil to prevent moisture from escaping. Put it back on and let the internal temp come up to 205. Pull it out and let it sit in a cooler in the foil for about 3 hours before removing foil and slicing. I also add a couple small pans of water on each end of the smoker to add moisture during the climb to 170. As far as times, it takes roughly 3.5 to 4 hours to 170, 2 more hours to 205, 3 hours in cooler. So total time is around 8.5 to 9 hours.

I admit up front this was on my old smoker which was smaller, got to temp more quickly, and fluctuated in temp little. I'm doing 2-10Lbs briskets today on my 1600pro and will update when I get a done to see how this recipe translates. The 1600 seems to cook at a lower temp than set and varies the temp a bit more. Perhaps it will be 275ish rather than 300 in the run-up to 170.
So I finished this cook and it turned out well. A couple if minor differences was that the sensor in the 1600 is a bit different from what is actually happening on the grill. It seems that the temp on the grill is about 25 degrees (F) different from what the sensor displays. The sensor on the grill is higher, by about 25 degrees higher. In the end, it is the meat what is the critical, so watching it is the key. I ended up with a good result. The meat meat hit 170 in about 3.5 hours, then 205 in about 2 hours.
 
it looks great Mike and hey do not ever compare your brisket to Myron Mixons his Brisket is nothing to brag about as I have tried it at his restaurant in Georgia I have no idea how he won some many awards with his brisket.. You can stop at any mom and pop BBQ place in Texas and there brisket is no comparison...Texas knows brisket.
When buying a brisket, if you buy Choice, your going to get a tough brisket. Buy Prime at a minimum.
I always buy Wagyu. It’s about $1.50 per pound more than Prime, but when you start with great meat, you’ll end up with great taste and very tender. I cook mine at 225. Wrap at 140-150. Take off at 195. Left it rest in a ice chest for 1.5-2 hours and you are good. I only put mustard and salt and pepper. Great Texas brisket.
 
Here's my method. A bit different than others, but based on the method used by Cooks Country cooking show. You can view their video online.

Start with full brisket. Rub on mixture of 1/4 cup salt and 1/4 cup black pepper. Let sit 24 hours in plastic wrap with the salt pepper mixture. Throw on the brisket with smoker set to 300 and let it go until the thickest part of the brisket hits 170 degrees. Pull it off and double wrap in foil to prevent moisture from escaping. Put it back on and let the internal temp come up to 205. Pull it out and let it sit in a cooler in the foil for about 3 hours before removing foil and slicing. I also add a couple small pans of water on each end of the smoker to add moisture during the climb to 170. As far as times, it takes roughly 3.5 to 4 hours to 170, 2 more hours to 205, 3 hours in cooler. So total time is around 8.5 to 9 hours.

I admit up front this was on my old smoker which was smaller, got to temp more quickly, and fluctuated in temp little. I'm doing 2-10Lbs briskets today on my 1600pro and will update when I get a done to see how this recipe translates. The 1600 seems to cook at a lower temp than set and varies the temp a bit more. Perhaps it will be 275ish rather than 300 in the run-up to 170.
What would you suggest to do if you only smoking 3 to 5 pound brisket on a pit boss
 
So far so good, at least I hope. Been 2 hours at 200. Just turned up to 250. It's about a 3 pound flat.

View attachment 421
Mike,
I cook mine at 225 degrees all the time in a open foil pan for smoke with either seven up or Dr Pepper in the pan. Rubbed the day before of course. Half way through the cooking time I wrap the pan with foil to keep it from drying out. You might try that technique
 
Brisket really is simple. Consistent low heat (205-225 is low). I have done them with wrapping and not wrapped. Not a massive difference in end result- just in total
Cooking time.

a tender brisket comes when you don’t dry it out, and when you get the internal temp up to between 202-205. But each brisket is unique, so instead of a thermometer temperature, I use the probe as a tender meter—- if it inserts like softened butter (minimal resistance), it’s ready to come out.
Yes, resting is important, but that is more about the juices getting redistributed and not lost with cutting.
Don’t cook below 200 degrees. And don’t get in a hurry. 12 hours isn’t unusual for a whole brisket- and it
Can take much longer than that.
Could help am try to smoke a small brisket bout 3 to 5 pound and not sure how long too cook and rest thank you for your help
 

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