Tweet
In a previous thread I had asked about brining a brisket prior to smoking. Opinions varied a good bit as to yay or nay. I will post my process in normal fashion and list my thoughts on the brining debate at the bottom.
Started with a 17.2# prime packer from Costco. $3.29/lb
Trimmed it down and put in a tub for an overnight soak. Brined with MH Nekkid Brine with some additions suggested by Rich
Pulled from brine the night before, dried and rubbed down with Dickey’s Grub Rub. I didn’t weight the brisket post trimming but it was noticeably heavier when I pulled from the brine so I weighed it, 15.1# post brine. Hoping to avoid an oversalting situation, I added some additional CBP,GP and a slightly sweet pecan rub I had. Wrapped in plastic and back in the fridge
0430 pulled meet from fridge, got some coals going and set up the ring of fire with an inverted vortex. Pecan and cherry chunks were used as the smoke source
0500 brisket on, fat side up. It pretty much filled the Weber. Wanted temps around 275 but after seeing how close the brisket was to the edge, I closed the bottom vents touch more and temps stayed in the 250* range.
Periodically I pulled the lid and rotated the grate to “follow” the ring of fire.
Hit a pretty big stall around 150*, don’t remember how many hours in but I was getting a bit concerned. Once the stall broke I decided to foil at 165* rather then 170* to hopefully move things along a bit without decreasing quality. Figuring I may need to add some charcoal and not wanting to lose ground, I turned the kitchen oven on at 300* and after foiling, I placed the brisket in the oven while I added charcoal. Used my Thermapen prior to the oven to double check and by the ‘pen, it was at 172*. Back on the Weber. I had picked up a family pack of basic smoked sausage and laid them on top of the brisket to take on some smoke. Preheated the cooler and at 12.5 hours IT hit 195 so into the cooler it went packed in towels. Sausage was foiled and coolered as well.
The cooler rest period and transport was a total of 2 hours. Definitely still warm. Ended up leaving the point on which wasn’t a good idea as the grain direction changed but the team didn’t seem to be bother much by it.
Brisket turned out awesome, I didn’t bring any home. Bark was solid, meat was moist, flavor was balanced, not overly salty or peppery. I brought a bottle of Rudy’s BBQ sauce just in case, less than a cup was used by the entire team.
It was definitely the best brisket I have cooked since I got into smoking meats.
Saying it was the best brisket I’ve ever had would be a bit bold but I’m confident in saying it was comparable to most.
As far as the brining:
Was there a difference? I would say so.
Was the difference night and day? No
Would I Brine again? With a prime brisket, if I had the time and materials, probably but I wouldn’t lose a lot of sleep if it didn’t happen. On a select or unmarked brisket, I probably would as insurance. I do feel like the prime brisket was more pliable in bag form vs an unmarked brisket
For my part of the sides I brought the obligatory pickles and onions along with a pineapple I sliced, cored, tied back together, gave it a roll in cinnamon and sugar then grilled to cover the sweet side of things.
As an experiment I made some smoked potato salad. It was amazing.
Boiled the potatoes first then cold smoked for two hours using apple pellets.
Chilled then cubed.
Other ingredients were as follows
Kosher salt
Alderwood smoked sea salt
Bourbon barrel smoked coarse black pepper
Black pepper
Garlic powder
Sour cream
Yellow mustard
Mayo
Chopped green onion
Crumbled bacon
Shredded cold smoked cheese
Didn’t get a ton of pics but here is what I got.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading and thanks to all who have passed along ideas and advice.
Brining
seasoned
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Started with a 17.2# prime packer from Costco. $3.29/lb
Trimmed it down and put in a tub for an overnight soak. Brined with MH Nekkid Brine with some additions suggested by Rich
Pulled from brine the night before, dried and rubbed down with Dickey’s Grub Rub. I didn’t weight the brisket post trimming but it was noticeably heavier when I pulled from the brine so I weighed it, 15.1# post brine. Hoping to avoid an oversalting situation, I added some additional CBP,GP and a slightly sweet pecan rub I had. Wrapped in plastic and back in the fridge
0430 pulled meet from fridge, got some coals going and set up the ring of fire with an inverted vortex. Pecan and cherry chunks were used as the smoke source
0500 brisket on, fat side up. It pretty much filled the Weber. Wanted temps around 275 but after seeing how close the brisket was to the edge, I closed the bottom vents touch more and temps stayed in the 250* range.
Periodically I pulled the lid and rotated the grate to “follow” the ring of fire.
Hit a pretty big stall around 150*, don’t remember how many hours in but I was getting a bit concerned. Once the stall broke I decided to foil at 165* rather then 170* to hopefully move things along a bit without decreasing quality. Figuring I may need to add some charcoal and not wanting to lose ground, I turned the kitchen oven on at 300* and after foiling, I placed the brisket in the oven while I added charcoal. Used my Thermapen prior to the oven to double check and by the ‘pen, it was at 172*. Back on the Weber. I had picked up a family pack of basic smoked sausage and laid them on top of the brisket to take on some smoke. Preheated the cooler and at 12.5 hours IT hit 195 so into the cooler it went packed in towels. Sausage was foiled and coolered as well.
The cooler rest period and transport was a total of 2 hours. Definitely still warm. Ended up leaving the point on which wasn’t a good idea as the grain direction changed but the team didn’t seem to be bother much by it.
Brisket turned out awesome, I didn’t bring any home. Bark was solid, meat was moist, flavor was balanced, not overly salty or peppery. I brought a bottle of Rudy’s BBQ sauce just in case, less than a cup was used by the entire team.
It was definitely the best brisket I have cooked since I got into smoking meats.
Saying it was the best brisket I’ve ever had would be a bit bold but I’m confident in saying it was comparable to most.
As far as the brining:
Was there a difference? I would say so.
Was the difference night and day? No
Would I Brine again? With a prime brisket, if I had the time and materials, probably but I wouldn’t lose a lot of sleep if it didn’t happen. On a select or unmarked brisket, I probably would as insurance. I do feel like the prime brisket was more pliable in bag form vs an unmarked brisket
For my part of the sides I brought the obligatory pickles and onions along with a pineapple I sliced, cored, tied back together, gave it a roll in cinnamon and sugar then grilled to cover the sweet side of things.
As an experiment I made some smoked potato salad. It was amazing.
Boiled the potatoes first then cold smoked for two hours using apple pellets.
Chilled then cubed.
Other ingredients were as follows
Kosher salt
Alderwood smoked sea salt
Bourbon barrel smoked coarse black pepper
Black pepper
Garlic powder
Sour cream
Yellow mustard
Mayo
Chopped green onion
Crumbled bacon
Shredded cold smoked cheese
Didn’t get a ton of pics but here is what I got.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading and thanks to all who have passed along ideas and advice.
Brining
seasonedSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Comment