The Texas BBQ Forum

Good job! Congrats on your first brisket. That bark is money!

If your like me and have a hard time remembering details is sit down and right some notes on your cook. Try to be as detailed as possible. This will help you next time and minimize the learning curve.

There's a lot of things you can do to keep a brisket moist. But sometimes the brisket is lean and no matter what you do it'll be dry which highlights the importance of selecting a brisket.

Oh yeah- in case you haven't realized it yet...You're hooked! Welcome!

Nice bark and smoke ring. I know guys who have been smoking briskets for years and cant get that kind of smoke ring or bark.

Good Job

Ric G.

Nice first Smoke and KUDOS to Capt'n Jack for the support - - - this Forum is full of helpful members

Thanks everyone. Feels good to have one under my belt. I have plans to try again next weekend! I want to try other meats as well, but brisket has my main focus.

Agreed with OUP, everyone here is great.

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when you get ready
we'll talk about tri-tips
a tri-tip cooked low&slow like a brisket
to 185°~190°
is called a trisket

but i cook them like roast beef
the original SantaMaria method to 135°

Here is a photo of day after slices... so good!!



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beerent wrote:Here is a photo of day after slices... so good!!

[img]http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160710/e4382050ffb0821c306ffa0a0bc1cafe.jpg[/img]

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That pic should come with a BIB...

Looks great !!

you're going to skip some grades
you're next brisket should kick tail for a #2

For your first brisket, you did well. Mine looked like a 15 lb block of lump coal. Sliced like it too. If your brisket turned out a bit on the dry side, heck, that's what sauce is for! If you aren't intending on wrapping your brisket at any point during the cook, I suggest a temp probe with a wire. Kinda like a guru. One of my biggest bbq no-no's is opening my cook chamber during my cook. Only time I open up is when I go to wrap if I need to. If I have a good hunk o' beef and don't decide to wrap, that lid never opens. When I it's time for the poke test, then i'll open 'er up.

Txdragon wrote:For your first brisket, you did well. Mine looked like a 15 lb block of lump coal. Sliced like it too. If your brisket turned out a bit on the dry side, heck, that's what sauce is for! If you aren't intending on wrapping your brisket at any point during the cook, I suggest a temp probe with a wire. Kinda like a guru. One of my biggest bbq no-no's is opening my cook chamber during my cook. Only time I open up is when I go to wrap if I need to. If I have a good hunk o' beef and don't decide to wrap, that lid never opens. When I it's time for the poke test, then i'll open 'er up.

I opened up the door quite a few times. Also, there was one time i panicked as the temp rose above 250, and as a result it dropped to 150 for about 45 mins.. the lesson i learned is not to freak out over temp swings like that. Also, next time i want to wrap it mid way in some sort of paper as captjack suggests. Im very excited to try again. I have great left overs for this weeks lunches in the mean time!

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beerent wrote:

Txdragon wrote:For your first brisket, you did well. Mine looked like a 15 lb block of lump coal. Sliced like it too. If your brisket turned out a bit on the dry side, heck, that's what sauce is for! If you aren't intending on wrapping your brisket at any point during the cook, I suggest a temp probe with a wire. Kinda like a guru. One of my biggest bbq no-no's is opening my cook chamber during my cook. Only time I open up is when I go to wrap if I need to. If I have a good hunk o' beef and don't decide to wrap, that lid never opens. When I it's time for the poke test, then i'll open 'er up.

I opened up the door quite a few times. Also, there was one time i panicked as the temp rose above 250, and as a result it dropped to 150 for about 45 mins.. the lesson i learned is not to freak out over temp swings like that. Also, next time i want to wrap it mid way in some sort of paper as captjack suggests. Im very excited to try again. I have great left overs for this weeks lunches in the mean time!


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I use pink butcher paper to wrap my briskets. Abco Paper in Austin sells it. One roll will last a long time. I second getting a digital thermometer. I used an el chepo from Walmart for a while. Works great and costs less than $20. Money well spent.

beerent wrote:I opened up the door quite a few times. Also, there was one time i panicked as the temp rose above 250, and as a result it dropped to 150 for about 45 mins.. the lesson i learned is not to freak out over temp swings like that. Also, next time i want to wrap it mid way in some sort of paper as captjack suggests. Im very excited to try again. I have great left overs for this weeks lunches in the mean time!

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Your temps are going to fluctuate, that's just the nature of the beast. Don't sweat it too much. Best thing to combat the fluctuation woes is to pay attention to when you add your fuel of choice; (we will use wood splits for the sake of discussion). You add a split, watch your temp as it catches and starts to burn. Watch where it spikes to and try to see about how long it hovers in that range. Let's say you are shooting for a cook temp of 275 but your temp just spiked to 350. That's sounds like a ton!! It is only a 75 degree difference, relax amigo! Now.. If it spikes to 500 or so, then you can dance all over the panic button. There are a few of us here that cook brisket >300 degrees and have beautiful results. In my honest opinion, I think it's a lot more difficult to produce a "perfect" brisket below the 300 range. Wrapping helps with moisture and cook time. Some briskets need it, some don't, for some cooks it's just personal preference. Exercise caution when wrapping; it may be called "the Texas crutch" but don't let that fool you. Wrapping is a double-edged sword and don't let ANYONE tell you different. It can turn your brisket into a pile of pulled beef in no time if you aren't careful, especially if you're using foil.

CaptJack wrote:look how much you learned from your first smoked brisket
you needed the water pan
you need to spray it when it gets dry
you should have wrapped it in some kind of paper between 160~180
i still think 160. keeps it more moist
and you learned a lot about your smoker
how much fuel to add, and when - to maintain the temp you wanted
and the more briskets you cook
the less often you'll open the door and look
not only does it let the heat out
it lets the moisture out

chop up some of your leftovers
make a brown gravy
and serve it over egg noodles
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=27330

Great job Beerent! First brisket is always memorable, because of how much you learn.

Capt Jack has the answers on what to do with a busted brisket. I've definitely made a pot roast from left over brisket... Some of the best I've ever eaten.

Head up to Round Rock and we'll have a cook.