Ya, many do. But I've found that protecting the meaty side from direct heat does wonders for juiciness... particularly on an offset where the brisket in question is closer to the heat source. Try it next time!
Going To Smoke Today!
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We are friends and it’s ok if if we disagree. I like KC burnt ends and I’ll bet you are a no sauce Texas guy. Come to KC and I’ll show you some good bbq lol
Absolutely! Wait.. no sauce? huh? No way! lol I love sauce!
I smoked fat side up for 30 yrs, then read about it and tried it, and been doing it fat side down for the last 20. But to each his own brother!
Anyway, hell ya, it's on my bucket list to travel to KC and eat BBQ some day!
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You are welcome at my house any time brother
Listen to monty55 
I am listening for sure ever since his post showing big gun Kloze smokers
Electric huh, I’ve looked at those before despite being a bit of a purist, seem to be able to turn out good stuff!
I am listening for sure ever since his post showing big gun Kloze smokers Electric huh, I’ve looked at those before despite being a bit of a purist, seem to be able to turn out good stuff!
Best chili I ever made was with a brisket!
I seriously think I’ll copy this post and print it out. Like reading a friggin’ manual!I'm glad it turned out for you my friend!
Here's a little advice from a fellow piper, and an old Texan that's been smoking brisket longer than I care to remember. If you want your brisket to be tender and juicy... do this
Leave 1/8 inch of fat on the flat when you trim it up. No need to leave fat on the point, plenty of internal fat there.
Cook the brisket fat side down. This prevents the meaty part from over-cooking and drying out. This is more noticeable on an offset smoker, but your heat is coming from the bottom I think, so it's still valid. There is a myth that brisket should be cooked fat side up so that the fat oozes down through the brisket. This does not actually happen as people think. It's just a myth... so smoke fat side down, BUT save all the fat from trimming the brisket and place on splatter screen on rack above brisket.. over the meaty part. This fat will render down during the smoke and slowly drip beefy goodness down onto the meaty part which not only keeps it from drying out, but adds yummy fatty juices
Count on about 1hr smoking per pound. The only way you will get to temp on a brisket sooner than this is to crank the heat up to 270-300, and that is NOT low and slow smoking. You might as well roast it in the oven. (which is doable and tender, but not smoky, and not kosher lol.
Smoke the brisket at a temp of 225-230 until internal temp of the flat reaches 150, or until it stalls, whichever comes first.
Use a remote thermometer and do not open the door (except to add wood chips etc.) until the brisket reaches temp. You have the advantage of being able to do this with that electric smoker. Every time you open the door of that electric smoker you dump all the heat out. Then it has to come back up to temp which just prolongs the smoke.
Once brisket reaches 150 or stalls, remove and wrap in parchment paper, or foil, parchment paper is better!
Return to your smoker and crank the heat up to 270-300 just until the brisket starts to climb out of the stall, then lower back to 225-230 and continue the smoke until internal temperature reaches 203. This is the temp at which your brisket will be tender and juicy, but not over cooked. Anything under that temp and it will not be at it's most tender. Anything over that temp and it will start to dry out.
At this point you have several options...
1) If you're in a hurry to eat asap, remove from smoker, unwrap, let it rest 30-45 minutes, slice and enjoy.
2) If your smart, and your brisket was done several... 1 to 5 hours prior to mealtime... lower temp of smoker to 125 if possible. leave it alone until 30 minutes before mealtime, remove unwrap, slice, enjoy... or
3) Remove from smoker, wrap in foil, then several old towels, place in an ice chest until 30 min before mealtime, then remove, unwrap slice and enjoy.
4) If you want to firm up your bark, remove from wrap, place back on grate, set temp to 300 and cook for 10-15 minutes. Remove from smoker, let rest 30-45 min. slice and enjoy
Points to remember...
If it stalls wrap it up and get that heat up to break out of stall. The cause of a stall is the juices evaporating off the surface and cooling the brisket such that it is not cooking anymore given the heat applied to it. Wrapping it stops the evaporating process. Increasing the heat brings the temp of the brisket UP such that evaporating juices don't matter anymore and it can continue rise in temp until tender.
Leave the smoker closed. Only open when necessary. Use a remote thermometer. This just make the process so much easier. You always know what the internal temp is so you can spot the stall right away, which is important if you want to bust out of it, and get to temp asap, and they are very affordable these days.
Make sure you're slicing the brisket correctly... start on the end of the flat, slice across the grain on the flat, when you reach the point meat on top of flat rotate 90 degrees, continue to slice from big side to small.. until a few inches from the end. slice that off and into burnt end chunks.
If you're interested in learning to do some yummy pork candy (smoked pork belly) PM me for details. I'm sure I've already glazed some eyes over with this long-winded post. lol
Good luck to you brother. Smoking meat is a wonderful and satisfying endeavor.
Even after 50 years of doing it I still learn new stuff all the time.
So never give up and keep on smokin!
... so smoke fat side down, BUT save all the fat from trimming the brisket and place on splatter screen on rack above brisket.. over the meaty part. This fat will render down during the smoke and slowly drip beefy goodness down onto the meaty part which not only keeps it from drying out, but adds yummy fatty juices
Use a remote thermometer and do not open the door (except to add wood chips etc.)
Points to remember...
If it stalls wrap it up and get that heat up to break out of stall. The cause of a stall is the juices evaporating off the surface and cooling the brisket such that it is not cooking anymore given the heat applied to it. Wrapping it stops the evaporating process. Increasing the heat brings the temp of the brisket UP such that evaporating juices don't matter anymore and it can continue rise in temp until tender.
I do put the fat side down but my little "thing/trick" that I do no matter what I'm smoking is to cover the top shelf of my smoker with thick cut black pepper bacon and let it drip down onto everything. Plus, left over smoked black pepper bacon makes one of the worlds greatest BLTs on the rare occasion there is any leftover.
My smoker has a built-in probe so no need to open the door to take a temp reading and the wood chips load in through a small opening in the side near the bottom that helps keep all of the heat and smoke inside.
I will be giving the wrap method a try next time. I've always been reluctant to bring the internal temperature up since I've always just done steak that get stopped well before that level for a medium rare done-ness and higher temp just seems like a recipe for dryness and overcooking. I've done a little reading after reading your post and it seems like the extra temperature is required to breakdown the collagen in brisket. That really helps explain why I get the results I do. Breaking past the stall with a wrap sounds like it will really help with the tenderness and keep things moist.
I'm really enjoying learning about smoking/cooking these cuts of meat. It's not just about adding smoke flavor. Fat rendering and breakdown of connective tissue (collagen, etc.) are very import to understand why things are done a certain way. I just have to learn to do it on a smaller scale in my little smoker.
The best part is you get to practice getting perfection and enjoy the results. If something goes sideways, just turn it into chili or a hash.
I'm still learning on my little smoker, but nothing has been dreadful (and corn and onions have been pleasant suprises).
I like your bacon idea! It's the next best thing to fat trimmings. If you ever get a whole packer brisket, try using the fat trimmings the same way you do with the bacon. You can place it on one of those splatter screens to keep smaller pieces from falling through.
That's one of the hardest things for people to grasp with brisket... it's not like other cuts of beef, and it ain't no steak. Now you can cook a brisket in an oven at 350 in a fraction of the time, and it will be tender, and probably juicy, but it won't taste like the brisket your looking for. Only low and slow with good smoke will get you there. Like you said, you have to break down the collagen.
Anytime you end up with a brisket that's too dry, too tough, or too whatever... cut it up into small cubes and make Texas Chili out of it. Now that will put a smile on your face!
Keep us posted on your future smokes!
Personally I find brisket to be very forgiving. All the fat and collagen mean you need to try hard to get a bad result. I never had one in any case.
I find goose to be the biggest b*tch to get right… It goes from raw to perfect to cardboard in a flash. It doesn’t have much meat on it either, it’s mostly bone and fat! I have thrown two geese in the bin for being inedible, at least the litre of fat they rendered was kept for years to make the most amazing roast potatoes ever.
A German friend had us for Christmas dinner and turned out a perfect goose, what she did was put it in a pot of water, very well salted, and brought to a soft boil, then drained and dried the goose before putting in the oven. Turned out amazing, soft juicy meat, crispy skin, and a tray full of amazing goose fat to keep for later.
This rendered fat can be kept in a jar in the freezer for literally years, I never even bothered to warm it, just heat a spoon, take out what I needed for potatoes, pie crust, basting etc and back in the freezer it went.
I find goose to be the biggest b*tch to get right… It goes from raw to perfect to cardboard in a flash. It doesn’t have much meat on it either, it’s mostly bone and fat! I have thrown two geese in the bin for being inedible, at least the litre of fat they rendered was kept for years to make the most amazing roast potatoes ever.
A German friend had us for Christmas dinner and turned out a perfect goose, what she did was put it in a pot of water, very well salted, and brought to a soft boil, then drained and dried the goose before putting in the oven. Turned out amazing, soft juicy meat, crispy skin, and a tray full of amazing goose fat to keep for later.
This rendered fat can be kept in a jar in the freezer for literally years, I never even bothered to warm it, just heat a spoon, take out what I needed for potatoes, pie crust, basting etc and back in the freezer it went.
I ran a BBQ outfit full time (and then some) for a while and cooked brisket 4-5 nights per week. Cooked on a variety of different cookers, techniques can vary depending on your equipment to get the optimum product, but th basics are basics. Agree with Monty for the most part but there are as many different ways to cook BBQ as there are to pack a pipe and everyone has a system they swear. Fine tuning your process is half the fun.
Would highly advise trimming according to this video.
I’ve tried different rubs and injections, finally settling on salt, pepper and a kiss of cayenne as the perfect brisket rub.
In a perfect world i’d cook brisket a little hotter than pork (about 230-240) until it gets a nice mahogany color before I would wrap it (usually somewhere between 165-180 internal at the thickest part of the flat). By cooking a little hotter you render the fat a little better and push right through the stall.
I like to cook fat up generally so it doesn’t come off on the grate - YMMV. Depending on your cooker you don’t HAVE to wrap (my stumps never burned the meat and it never dried out, but it was necessary with the Old Hickory) but if you do, always wrap brisket in peach butcher paper (rather than foil), it will preserve the juices but still let the meat breath so you don’t end up braising it an loose your color and bark.
After wrapping I push the heat up to around 260 -270 to finish and further render the fat. I would start to check for doneness about 201 degrees either by probing with the thermometer (should go into the thickest part with no resistance, like melted butter) or picking up the brisket and feeling whether or not it has let go. When done it will be pretty floppy. Sometimes they are done at 200, but I’ve had them go up to 210. They are done when they are done.
When done, put it in a hotel pan or something similar and let it rest for an hour. Ideally, let it sit out for 20 min or so to loose a little heat and then put it in an ice chest or cambro to rest for a coupe hours - you can stuff a couple of towels in the ice chest to help it stay warm even longer.
And definitely go with a whole packer brisket as Monty mentioned - you won’t be disappointed!
Would highly advise trimming according to this video.
I’ve tried different rubs and injections, finally settling on salt, pepper and a kiss of cayenne as the perfect brisket rub.
In a perfect world i’d cook brisket a little hotter than pork (about 230-240) until it gets a nice mahogany color before I would wrap it (usually somewhere between 165-180 internal at the thickest part of the flat). By cooking a little hotter you render the fat a little better and push right through the stall.
I like to cook fat up generally so it doesn’t come off on the grate - YMMV. Depending on your cooker you don’t HAVE to wrap (my stumps never burned the meat and it never dried out, but it was necessary with the Old Hickory) but if you do, always wrap brisket in peach butcher paper (rather than foil), it will preserve the juices but still let the meat breath so you don’t end up braising it an loose your color and bark.
After wrapping I push the heat up to around 260 -270 to finish and further render the fat. I would start to check for doneness about 201 degrees either by probing with the thermometer (should go into the thickest part with no resistance, like melted butter) or picking up the brisket and feeling whether or not it has let go. When done it will be pretty floppy. Sometimes they are done at 200, but I’ve had them go up to 210. They are done when they are done.
When done, put it in a hotel pan or something similar and let it rest for an hour. Ideally, let it sit out for 20 min or so to loose a little heat and then put it in an ice chest or cambro to rest for a coupe hours - you can stuff a couple of towels in the ice chest to help it stay warm even longer.
And definitely go with a whole packer brisket as Monty mentioned - you won’t be disappointed!
Wow, that sounds amazing. I've never had the opportunity to cook a farm raised goose. I used to hunt ducks and geese a lot. Wild goose has no fat on it to speak of. I would usually breast them out and just cook the breast meat in a gumbo, or cut into stips and fry. I did try to smoke one once, that was a disaster. But I've always been curious about a farm raised goose, and how that would taste.
All great advice!
You guys should listen to @beargreasediet, he did this for a living!
I don't like to wrap in foil, for the same reason you mentioned. Point in fact, I didn't used to wrap at all. I do recommend it for those trying to learn how to smoke a brisket just to help with stalls. Yes, it's the darker butcher paper that works best. Like you said, it allows the brisket to breath.
Well, I'm getting hungry!
Hmmm, I guess wild geese are even more gamey. Goose tastes great - I love it, my wife doesn't like it - sweet, gamey, meaty.
Odd that there's no fat, I can imagine much less fat than farm but it is still a water fowl so should have some fat.
When you say breast...what did you so with the rest of it? Lots of nice skin and legs. Feels wasteful in my opinion to take a wild goose and dilute its wild taste in a stew. When it comes to wild stuff I am a bit of a purist, always prefer to have it as pure as it comes, just with a dash of salt.
Yes, the wild geese and ducks are a different bird! Much more gamey. Due to the fact they have to forage for their food, and migrate a gillion miles twice a year, there is very little fat. They are also much smaller than the farm raised varieties. Down here in Texas we have snow geese and lesser Canadians, both are smaller than you'd find up north. And finally, when you have a successful hunt and you have 10-30 birds to deal with, it's much easier to breast them out on location. Particularly ducks. Wild ducks are a fraction of the size of domestic farm raised ducks. There's not much meat anywhere except the breast. Occasionally I would pluck a whole bird if I happen to shoot a very large goose. but the legs have very little meat on them. For hunters of waterfowl it's not unusual to cook up goose or duck in gumbo's or stews down here, as there's just a lot of meat to deal with on a successful hunt. The other common way to deal with wild variety down here is to breast them out, cut the breast into strips. Dip in flour, egg, or a batter and deep fry. Like I said, it's a different bird altogether.
I never hunted, have a couple of friends who do. I see now the weight differences, seems like a wild goose can be 3-4kg, while a farmed/domestic one can go up to 10kg. I mean I've seen geese in villages etc and some of them are scarily big (and aggressive).
I've had wild boar, both farmed as well as properly wild, shot in a forest - they taste different though neither had much fat on them.
If you play the odds, folks maybe shouldn't listen - there is a lot of bad bbq here in the PNW!
But we cooked a proper Texas brisket (according to many Austintonians) which is superior to KC IMO.