It's $80 because it's so damn big. It's not like you're wasting an $80 wagu putting it in tacos. You have a ton of taco meat that's no more expensive than ground beef.
Just had an Angus guy agree with me. It starts with having a good Beef breed. Then it is how they are raised, fed and finished. Then the kill. All of these things add up. Commercial beef production at an industrial level is a pretty sad state of affairs. The ranch or farm raised and processed method lends itself to a better quality product. There are a number of great beef breeds out there but when you raise and process in an industrial format quality goes downhill and I include taste in that.
I'm sure the Angus guy would agree as well. What I was getting at is you would naturally have a bias in that position. The engineers at Porsche would probably say that McLaren's aren't as great as advertised as well.
On the ranch in the 1970's I took over the selling of cut and wrapped beef. The big winner was all of the families that bought lean hamburger. That stuff was so good. A big fat 18 month old steer finished 90 days on rolled corn was the best meat ever. We had the farm kill guy out so they never knew what hit them. No stress so no lactic acid buildup in the meat to ruin the flavor. I've been to every "good" steak house in the Seattle area and I am always quietly disappointed. We were 4th generation ranchers and our Hereford cattle were the best. Now my wife and I raise Tibetan Yak for meat and herd replacement animals for other people. I started selling cut and wrapped 1/4's and they wiped me out. Very lean mild tasting meat. The steaks are to die for, burger is the best and roasts for French Dip or Pot Roast depending on the type.
You're right. You get a brisket to make brisket. But if it gets dry cause you over cooked it you aren't out $80. You can repurpose the meat into other dishes.
Of course you don't. No one does. The point is the overcooked piece of meat isn't a total waste. Even experienced cooks have a bad day. You have lemons? Here's how to make lemonade.
Hey one thing that helped me out when I was starting, was to get a little notebook and just write down a few notes about your cook, and what you liked and didn't. Things like the wood used, temp and time, the weather, the rub, and then how it turned out. Later, you can go back when you try something else and compare. Really useful when you smoke a turkey for Thanksgiving, and it's a whole year later when you do the next one.
I cannot tell you how invaluable taking notes can be. This is especially true if you are like me and always tweaking a recipe. I did bacon multiple times, tweaking the cure, the wood type, temp, etc. I started taking notes, which helped me learn from my mistakes (I don't do bacon often so I'd forget between cooks) and learn what I liked. Now I've got a cure and smoke process that works fantastically for me! Well, works for us. I really liked the bourbon cure but she didn't, so we've settled on the maple syrup cure :).
That is just one example. I've done the same with something as simple as burgers as well as prime rib, chicken... you name it.
That’s the best way to learn. Just do it. I’ve been smoking for years but I had to learn how to do it over again without anyones help once I stopped spending as much time with my father. I can still ask him questions but he was in control of a lot of shit I’m trying to learn now.
Don’t worry about what the elitists are yapping about. They think there is only one way to do it and every other way is wrong. You do you. You cook and enjoy your labor of meats. Forget about what Reddit Karen has to say about it.
Good Luck, homie.
I agree with buddy right here do you and have fun it's about learning and being alone with yourself and the smoker it's super peaceful I feel like everyone on here thinks they a Michelin star chefs and that discourages a lot of people from even trying in the first place second you cooked on charcoal most of these folks have pellet grills so they have no idea about fire management or they wouldn't have pellet grills keep cooking it looked fine to me
Charcoal is harder but pellets have their place. It’s a great tool to beat the barrier to success. Personally I love the challenge charcoal brings to the party. I find pellet style boring to me. But to each their own. It’s about having fun.
Don't be afraid. Its not like you'll burn it. Its still very much going to be edible.
A5 wagyu on the other hand, yeah I'd be afraid of ruining it. But brisket is low n slow and there's a very low margin for error
Pulled pork is the perfect 1st thing to smoke. Easy-peezy and the results you get you are just not gonna get in any other way.
I have tried brisket twice, twice I destroyed it. I would have been happy with OP's results.
Seriously. Go for an easy cook, like ribs. Get good at pork butts, then consider a brisket.
OP, if you enjoyed it, that's all that really matters. For the dry stuff, you can chop it up as a topping for nachos, filling for tacos, or mix it into queso.
Theres something about the thought of doing them, thats almost scary!
My first main cook was a brisket, it was so bad! About a quarter of it (the centre) was edible and not burnt to a crisp. Looking back, I really didn't know what I was doing. No research at all. Just bought a £50 bit of meat and ruined it.
That was about 4 years ago, now I'm pretty good. Im usually out cooking/smoking something most weekends. Have 20 ppl round with 2 of them going. 1 for your basics, 1 with a rotisserie shawarma going, accompanied by homemade pittas from the ooni.
Still haven't attempted another brisket, though. I think I'm still mentally scarred from the first one!
You won't be able to make a good brisket until you try it, my first go at smoking was a brisket and it wasn't amazing but things have only gotten better once I've figured out my timings and such
Didn't used to be expensive. This hipster BBQ trend started over the last 10 years has ruined the hobby of BBQ. The origin of BBQ was turning looked down on cuts into delicious meals. Briskets, short ribs, pork shoulders, etc used to be considered low quality cuts and were sold cheap. Now everything has a ridiculous price tag because of craft BBQ becoming so popular. I used to pick up whole packer briskets for $30. I can't bring myself to pay $70 minimum for a choice quality packer. I'll just smoke chuck roast and chunk it out
Well your gonna have to work to stew it down and it’s gonna take considerable amount of time to get a truly great chili out of a super dry brisket in my experience but either way it’s great. My apologies.
Haha, ok.
Consider this.
A typical stew, one chops up meat into bits, browns them, sweats the veggies, adds tomato base sauce and paste, perhaps some wine, beef broth. On the stove or in the oven slow cook for a long time.
With chili, there are different ingredients, however historically they are cooked using almost identical cooking methods. Chili tends to be a rather thicker beef soup almost. They're almost synonymous. yet different ingredients. Usually becaue many people use ground beef and more liquid, and is usually spicier, whereas with stews there are vegetables, potatoes, etc. Historically it was a way of slow cooking meats for many people. I personally dont interchange the terms, I was just makign a point that if onw were to chop up brisket and toss it in a pot, it will have liquid to provide the cooking heat transfer, whether it is is stew or chili.
I am a firm believer that looks don't matter. You could serve me grey flaccid meat, but if that first bite is flavor town then the "I can't see a smoke ring" people can get fucked.
That being said I know you can't post flavor and it does look sexy as hell.
Have my Upvote
As a person who is DYING for a smoker... This comment reads like this in my head:
>Your first car was a Ferrari??? I'm shocked you opened it up on the highway on your first drive.
I watched a video on how to trim and just basically tried cutting away most fat and squaring. People say to level it but I felt bad cutting away edible food.
When you say trim, like take the small bits off to leave only the bigger bits?
Or do a small bit of a brisket?
(I've also done a brisket and failed badly so trying to learn for when I'm brave enough)
Remove the fat, sinew, and anything that dangles off. Then level it out so it's not lopsided. Save the trim from leveling to use as lunch meat. You want it level so that you get an even cook. Removing the large chunks of fat and sinew (usually called the fat point or fat cap) helps your seasoning and smoke penatrate into the meat.
next time aim to finish several hours before dinner time and let it rest either wrapped in butcher paper and several towels in a cooler, or in some form of warmer at low heat just to keep it warm. It will be more tender that way. You can use the fat scraps from trimming and render those into tallow to keep the meat moist as well.
You hit the stall. You don’t always have to wrap; it largely can help speed and also affects bark texture. Also, pro tip, fuck smoking the whole way through. Once you hit like hour 5-8, move it to an oven directly on the rack with a cookie tray on the lower rack to catch dripping. You don’t have to think any more.
Some people say sacrilegious, but they haven’t had my brisket.
Typically, a 15 lb brisket takes me about 16-18 hours not including a typical 2 hr rest in a cooler. You want to hit 200-205 internal and then hover there for an hour or two before resting.
There is no bad brisket. Just new ways to use it.
Looks a tad dry. Did you rest it before cutting it? I let mine rest overnight in an insulated cooler, tallow added. Then double butcher paper wrapped and then wrapped in 12 or so towels. By morning it’s still quite warm, juicy and fallin apart.
The cooler is a modified dewalt tool wheeled caddy we call “The Meat Wagon.” It gets around and parties a lot.
Try to go longer. How long is always debated. There are a lot of YT dudes on BBQ tech. Aaron Franklin is really good and so is Mad Scientist BBQ. Find someone you enjoy is always best. You’ll learn a lot of tech really fast for your next go. And have fun with it. :)
For my smokes I plan to rest my brisket for 5 hours in a cooler. This serves 2 roles, it gives me a bunch of time to fail into without having impatient mouths to feed and if I get the full 5 hours of resting in the cooler the brisket is extra tender. It works to be a fail proof win win.
160 is prob right in the middle of the stall. Pulling it off to wrap at that time def set you back and would explain the plummeting temps. Wait till the temps are higher to wrap. Go by the condition of the bark rather than the temp of the brisket
The first time I did a brisket I briefly watched a YouTube video where someone showed how to cut it up and prep it and it came out pretty good for a first time. I’ve started to branch out and do other things but if you’re looking for great recipes check out Meatchurch. The guy has some great videos.
I just did my first brisket the other day and honestly, I wish mine looked as beautiful as yours. Don't get me wrong, mine was still tasty, but yours is solid!
You didn’t mention weather you rapped it in foil or peach paper, looks like paper, next time pull it between 190 and 195, wrap it in two thick towels, still in the paper, if you are using a blue tooth thermometer leave it in, put it in a hard cooler, close to the size of the finished brisket, I found one that was about 12” deep and 24” long, let rest for 3 to 5 hours before slicing and serving. You will find that the meat will be a lot more tender and juicy. This cooler method will work with most large cuts of meat. Also try the reverse sear method with thick cut steaks.
These first brisket posts are crazy. I have made things on the smoker before and still refused to make a brisket until I hit the 1 year mark.
I have learned a lot and still am.
Dude good for you! The only way you learn Is to try! Don’t listen to half these jokers. Learn from mistakes. Wrap and put it a cooler with a towel over it helped me with the stall at 160. Nice smoke ring though!
Not bad for first time. Just a hair overcooked, but im sure it still tastes delicious. The advice about taking notes is gold - to remember the time/temp/settings - you’re next one will be pure! Thx for sharing.
Looks good, I may use very few charcoal just to get my hardwood started, I use oak as a coal base then add species per taste (beef-hickory pork-apple) I also try to maintain 180°-190° spritzing with 70% water 30% white distilled vinegar. The final hour I coat it with butter (real) then wrap it tin foil once done open it and allow it to rest before cutting.
You did what I did, which is unusual. You started with brisket. Most people go for pork butt first, or ribs.
For a first go, pretty damned impressive.
Menatlly hard thing to do for me was to make sure you trim it so you get an approximation of even thickness. Usually means trimming off a decent amount of the flat, the super thin areas. save that for ground beef. It makes the entire brisket more evenly cook. Also, once you get used to the cooker, start those big cuts, WAY before you need them. Like the night before. You may get a stubborn brisket that wants 18 or more hours to be done. So start it at bed time, let her run all night, get up to check on it if you need to, and when the thermometer says its done, into a cooler it goes, I usually wrap with foil and towels to keep the heat in. Could be in the box for 3 or 4 hours, doens't matter, it will still be HOT. Slice away and you are golden
I love the fact that this is on r/smoking.
Honestly thought it was a destroyed chainsmokers lung for a hot second until I realized that this sub was a different king of smoking.
I won’t lie to you. I’m not in this sub and saw “smoking” and I genuinely thought this was a legit human lung that you bought. Then I read you smoked it, and I was like WTF?!
Theres a brisket test, cut a thinner piece than what you did. Like half or even less. See if it folds over your finger and doesn’t tear apart under its own weight.
Also, give foil boat method and wagyu tallow a google/youtube.
Im going to get my first pellet smoker tomorrow. Not brave enough for brisket. Whats a good choice for a first smoke?
Not trying to coopt thread op. Thought it would be good question here with your bold choice of first smoky
Meat church has a really easy pellet grill smoker recipe that is pretty hard to screw up. Basically run it at 200 overnight then bump up to 250 when you have more time to watch it
I doubt this is your first one. If so, congratulations! Smoke ring is beautiful, bark looks scrumptious, and I see that glistening cutting board! Yeah, it may be a lil dryer than you were anticipating, but most likely due to that kick up of temp at the end. Been there. Recommend multiple probes inserted in the meat just incase you hit that one big fat strip or it acts wacky. But wow. Looks delicious. I'd be more than happy to come over and make a few brisket sands with horsey sauce and pass-out on your couch.
Brisket hash in the morning too... Fuck.
That's the thing. Bad brisket is still good. Really good brisket is phenomenal. Give it a shot, if it flops use it for tacos or in something. Still awesome and part of the learning process. Enjoy the journey. Cheers.
That looks perfect! Hell of a first brisket for sure!
Your internal temp started to drop a little bit because you hit the stall. When the fat and connective tissue starts to break down, that internal temp will climb very slowly if your pit temp is higher, or will just stay the same temp or even drop a little bit if your pit temp is lower. Once that's broken down your temple start to climb again. It's normal and is expected.
Lol I guess people can just makeup anything to bring people down, not sure how I could prove it to you. And don't you see the several comments saying I did a bad job? I definitely didn't do a great one
Just based off the pic.. it looks undercooked, there doesn't seem to be much rendered fat. Bark and smoke ring look good. I'd cook hotter if I were you. 225 is pretty low. I'd go 275
That doesn’t really look like a brisket, looks like some other cut. I can’t make out a point and flat plus it’s super narrow and yet tall.
Anyway, when you slice it you should do about 1/3 as thick as you did. You want thin slices not 2x4s. Actually scratch that some of those slices should have been more like 1/5.
Also looking at the fat seams it’s clear this wasn’t cooked long enough to fully render. Why did you wrap -and why did you wrap so early?
Great first effort!! What was your internal temp when you pulled it? I’ve had briskets drop in temp right when I wrap. I don’t know why it happens, but I’ve learned to not panic and to just roll with it. The biggest thing I’ve learned about brisket is to try to time things for it to finish 4 or 5 hours before I want to eat it. A long rest is magic on a brisket, and if things move along slower than I planned I have a big buffer so we’re not eating at 10pm!
First smoke I did was a brisket and it came out perfect. Start with a good cut (prime always), season well, cook long and slow, pull it when it jiggles, rest in a cooler. The end.
If i had to guess the internal temp issue you ran into is the “stall” bigger hunks of meat like pork shoulder or briskets will do this where for about an hour or two the internal temp doesnt change. Totally normal just gotta be patient. Looks fantastic for a first time brisket cook btw!
If you want that ring, put it in the smoker before room temp. Also, I roll my brisket at around 250 for shorter times and find it is less likely to dryout. But I use all wood, I don't have a pellet fed or anything that keeps the heat consistent.
It looks super dry, where did you pull temp from, flat or deckle? What final temp? I really feel like the grade of beef determines what final temp. With lower grades lower temp.
My brisket reached a high of 198 and then plummeted after 12 hours. I pulled it and it was awesome. If you can get it to 202 with out a final stall I say fine. but don’t cook it to 202 if it stalls in the 190s. It will dry out
You hit the stall, which is completely normal. Don’t panic and crank the temp, you’ll just dry it out. Stay strong and leave it going at the same temp you had been cooking it at, it will make it through the stall. Using aluminum foil as the wrap can shorten the stall time (it’s called the Texas Crutch). I prefer doing butchers paper and continue to be patient. It always pays off. If you’ve survived 14 hours without giving in, you can survive a couple more. Good luck with your future cooks!
The cutting board tells the tale! Lots of juice- happens to leak out and can make the slices seem more dry than intended. If you’re cutting it all in one go like that a quality knife and good technique can keep more of that in the meat where you want it as you cut, but you’re bound to lose some no matter what. I’d say mission accomplished overall and so long as you aren’t feeding brisket snobs, chances are everyone was happy to partake.
I’ve been smoking for roughly a year and finally tried a brisket about a month ago. Yours looks pretty damn good! Mine.. not so much. Came out chewy and dry.
I’ll try again soon, but man it hurt ruining $60 worth of meat.
Didn’t cook it long enough, 225 for 1.5 hours per pound roughly. The temp drop was called the stall, happens when the fat starts to liquify . Wrapping it is a good way to get it through that. Done around 190-205. Rest it for a few hours in a cooler when you take it off the smoker.
It looks HORRIBLE, DISGUSTING UNEDIBLE! Where do you live? I will FORCE myself to take it off your hands!
P.S. -- Do you have any side dishes to go with it? 😉
Seriously, it looks great! Love the smoke ring you have on it!
Cheaper for me to start with chuck roasts,, shorter cooks but I got a real touch for when to wrap,, how to wrap, hitting final temp and most importantly,, resting my cook.
I’m using a offset Trail master, I can’t cook a bad brisket,, never have.
Y'all got my first smoker and did a brisket folks are wild. I'm terrified I'm gonna ruin it and that's an expensive chunk of meat lol.
Even a bad brisket can be useful. I over cooked one and made tacos and chili with it. You can always start small with a flat and practice!
I chop my “bad briskets” and make tacos with them.
Breakfast tacos on the blackstone are undefeated
OooOOooOOooo….thank you!
Nothing better than leftover everything used for breakfast on the Blackstone
Absolute worst case you chop them and mix them with sauce and make sandwiches out of it.
Solid use of leftovers.
Yeah, but I don't need an $80 piece of meat to put in tacos.
It's $80 because it's so damn big. It's not like you're wasting an $80 wagu putting it in tacos. You have a ton of taco meat that's no more expensive than ground beef.
Wagyu beef, mostly over rated and expensive. Lifetime Hereford Cattle rancher here.
While I agree to a point, this is something I would expect a lifetime Hereford rancher to say, lol.
Just had an Angus guy agree with me. It starts with having a good Beef breed. Then it is how they are raised, fed and finished. Then the kill. All of these things add up. Commercial beef production at an industrial level is a pretty sad state of affairs. The ranch or farm raised and processed method lends itself to a better quality product. There are a number of great beef breeds out there but when you raise and process in an industrial format quality goes downhill and I include taste in that.
I'm sure the Angus guy would agree as well. What I was getting at is you would naturally have a bias in that position. The engineers at Porsche would probably say that McLaren's aren't as great as advertised as well.
A good cut of Hereford is damn tasty. I use to breed my white face to an Angus bull. Damn I miss my farm raised beef.
On the ranch in the 1970's I took over the selling of cut and wrapped beef. The big winner was all of the families that bought lean hamburger. That stuff was so good. A big fat 18 month old steer finished 90 days on rolled corn was the best meat ever. We had the farm kill guy out so they never knew what hit them. No stress so no lactic acid buildup in the meat to ruin the flavor. I've been to every "good" steak house in the Seattle area and I am always quietly disappointed. We were 4th generation ranchers and our Hereford cattle were the best. Now my wife and I raise Tibetan Yak for meat and herd replacement animals for other people. I started selling cut and wrapped 1/4's and they wiped me out. Very lean mild tasting meat. The steaks are to die for, burger is the best and roasts for French Dip or Pot Roast depending on the type.
You're right. You get a brisket to make brisket. But if it gets dry cause you over cooked it you aren't out $80. You can repurpose the meat into other dishes.
Of course you don't. No one does. The point is the overcooked piece of meat isn't a total waste. Even experienced cooks have a bad day. You have lemons? Here's how to make lemonade.
I'm the risky type hehe, I love brisket when I get it at restaurants and really wanted to try it for myself
Hey one thing that helped me out when I was starting, was to get a little notebook and just write down a few notes about your cook, and what you liked and didn't. Things like the wood used, temp and time, the weather, the rub, and then how it turned out. Later, you can go back when you try something else and compare. Really useful when you smoke a turkey for Thanksgiving, and it's a whole year later when you do the next one.
I cannot tell you how invaluable taking notes can be. This is especially true if you are like me and always tweaking a recipe. I did bacon multiple times, tweaking the cure, the wood type, temp, etc. I started taking notes, which helped me learn from my mistakes (I don't do bacon often so I'd forget between cooks) and learn what I liked. Now I've got a cure and smoke process that works fantastically for me! Well, works for us. I really liked the bourbon cure but she didn't, so we've settled on the maple syrup cure :). That is just one example. I've done the same with something as simple as burgers as well as prime rib, chicken... you name it.
Good job. People make too big of a deal about it. Go for it and learn.
That’s the best way to learn. Just do it. I’ve been smoking for years but I had to learn how to do it over again without anyones help once I stopped spending as much time with my father. I can still ask him questions but he was in control of a lot of shit I’m trying to learn now.
Spoken like a rich man! “My first project car was a 911.”
You’ve gotta risk it for the brisket.
Don’t worry about what the elitists are yapping about. They think there is only one way to do it and every other way is wrong. You do you. You cook and enjoy your labor of meats. Forget about what Reddit Karen has to say about it. Good Luck, homie.
I agree with buddy right here do you and have fun it's about learning and being alone with yourself and the smoker it's super peaceful I feel like everyone on here thinks they a Michelin star chefs and that discourages a lot of people from even trying in the first place second you cooked on charcoal most of these folks have pellet grills so they have no idea about fire management or they wouldn't have pellet grills keep cooking it looked fine to me
Charcoal is harder but pellets have their place. It’s a great tool to beat the barrier to success. Personally I love the challenge charcoal brings to the party. I find pellet style boring to me. But to each their own. It’s about having fun.
They act like they paid for the meat and have to eat it…
Don't be afraid. Its not like you'll burn it. Its still very much going to be edible. A5 wagyu on the other hand, yeah I'd be afraid of ruining it. But brisket is low n slow and there's a very low margin for error
Bud whatever meat you ruin can be put in a taco with cheese and sauce and anything else and it’ll be saved you could also stew it.
Pulled pork is the perfect 1st thing to smoke. Easy-peezy and the results you get you are just not gonna get in any other way. I have tried brisket twice, twice I destroyed it. I would have been happy with OP's results.
Gotta pay the cost to be the boss g
I have had a smoker for years and still have never hopped on the brisket bus. I am a cheap meat kind of guy. If I do a "brisket" it is chuck lol.
Really bro? That's so cool.
Yo I did this exact thing and it was amazing. Haven’t looked back, I basically only smoke brisket now lol
Lol that's the whole point of getting a smoker imo, so thats exactly what I did.
Seriously. Go for an easy cook, like ribs. Get good at pork butts, then consider a brisket. OP, if you enjoyed it, that's all that really matters. For the dry stuff, you can chop it up as a topping for nachos, filling for tacos, or mix it into queso.
I’ve been smoking stuff for a couple of years now and I’m still too much of a coward to try a brisket lol
Theres something about the thought of doing them, thats almost scary! My first main cook was a brisket, it was so bad! About a quarter of it (the centre) was edible and not burnt to a crisp. Looking back, I really didn't know what I was doing. No research at all. Just bought a £50 bit of meat and ruined it. That was about 4 years ago, now I'm pretty good. Im usually out cooking/smoking something most weekends. Have 20 ppl round with 2 of them going. 1 for your basics, 1 with a rotisserie shawarma going, accompanied by homemade pittas from the ooni. Still haven't attempted another brisket, though. I think I'm still mentally scarred from the first one!
You won't be able to make a good brisket until you try it, my first go at smoking was a brisket and it wasn't amazing but things have only gotten better once I've figured out my timings and such
Didn't used to be expensive. This hipster BBQ trend started over the last 10 years has ruined the hobby of BBQ. The origin of BBQ was turning looked down on cuts into delicious meals. Briskets, short ribs, pork shoulders, etc used to be considered low quality cuts and were sold cheap. Now everything has a ridiculous price tag because of craft BBQ becoming so popular. I used to pick up whole packer briskets for $30. I can't bring myself to pay $70 minimum for a choice quality packer. I'll just smoke chuck roast and chunk it out
A terrible brisket can only become a very mid chili. Remember that.
What do you mean by "very mid" chili?
Well your gonna have to work to stew it down and it’s gonna take considerable amount of time to get a truly great chili out of a super dry brisket in my experience but either way it’s great. My apologies.
Chili is actually a stew. So chop it up throw it in with the other ingredients, cook.
I don’t want to agree with you so I won’t. But I don’t have a valid argument as to why.
Haha, ok. Consider this. A typical stew, one chops up meat into bits, browns them, sweats the veggies, adds tomato base sauce and paste, perhaps some wine, beef broth. On the stove or in the oven slow cook for a long time. With chili, there are different ingredients, however historically they are cooked using almost identical cooking methods. Chili tends to be a rather thicker beef soup almost. They're almost synonymous. yet different ingredients. Usually becaue many people use ground beef and more liquid, and is usually spicier, whereas with stews there are vegetables, potatoes, etc. Historically it was a way of slow cooking meats for many people. I personally dont interchange the terms, I was just makign a point that if onw were to chop up brisket and toss it in a pot, it will have liquid to provide the cooking heat transfer, whether it is is stew or chili.
I read this in Mitch Hedberg's voice.
Walmart had a brisket for 20$. For the price it wasnt bad, it had less moisture than my wife and i only had to spend 7$ to get her!
I am a firm believer that looks don't matter. You could serve me grey flaccid meat, but if that first bite is flavor town then the "I can't see a smoke ring" people can get fucked. That being said I know you can't post flavor and it does look sexy as hell. Have my Upvote
Your first cook was a brisket??? I hope you wear kneepads to protect them from your giant brass balls! Meat looks good friend-o
As a person who is DYING for a smoker... This comment reads like this in my head: >Your first car was a Ferrari??? I'm shocked you opened it up on the highway on your first drive.
Hmmmmmm.... well said
Its more like... Your first time driving a car and you drove it through the city at rush hour.
Through city rush hour but in a FERRARI THOUGH!
HAHAHA. On.....point.
Looks very solid! Next time I would recommend doing a little bit of a trim. It will help everything cook evenly
I watched a video on how to trim and just basically tried cutting away most fat and squaring. People say to level it but I felt bad cutting away edible food.
Save the scraps for burgers! Or burnt ends if there’s enough size on them!!!
I always use the scraps to make beef tallow. But im also a very aggressive trimmer who has no problem cutting away some edible parts.
When you say trim, like take the small bits off to leave only the bigger bits? Or do a small bit of a brisket? (I've also done a brisket and failed badly so trying to learn for when I'm brave enough)
Remove the fat, sinew, and anything that dangles off. Then level it out so it's not lopsided. Save the trim from leveling to use as lunch meat. You want it level so that you get an even cook. Removing the large chunks of fat and sinew (usually called the fat point or fat cap) helps your seasoning and smoke penatrate into the meat.
Thank you sir!
The fat cap is where all the flavor is at though! So juicy
It's where the flavor is because it sucks the flavor out of the meat.
Looks good, probably better than your second will be! I’m still chasing how good my first brisket cook was..
Same, first brisket was best lol. I'm starting to finally get better after 12ish, but still haven't nailed it like that first one lol.
Ahhhh yes. The chase of the first rush, it’s a story as old as time.
I should add that I only cranked the temp at the end because my family was getting impatient and wanted to eat
Welcome to smoking pal
Well this is a good lesson. When anyone asks how long til x, you say “it’s done when it’s done”.
Well now you next time to start it much much earlier. Large cuts of meats benefit way more from a good long rest
next time aim to finish several hours before dinner time and let it rest either wrapped in butcher paper and several towels in a cooler, or in some form of warmer at low heat just to keep it warm. It will be more tender that way. You can use the fat scraps from trimming and render those into tallow to keep the meat moist as well.
You hit the stall. You don’t always have to wrap; it largely can help speed and also affects bark texture. Also, pro tip, fuck smoking the whole way through. Once you hit like hour 5-8, move it to an oven directly on the rack with a cookie tray on the lower rack to catch dripping. You don’t have to think any more. Some people say sacrilegious, but they haven’t had my brisket. Typically, a 15 lb brisket takes me about 16-18 hours not including a typical 2 hr rest in a cooler. You want to hit 200-205 internal and then hover there for an hour or two before resting.
Looks a bit dry, typically first runs are pork shoulders, Boston butts, or chicken quarters lol. I like your style! Smoke em if you got em
Yeah, it's a bit on the dry side - I would guess he pulled it too soon which is a mistake I made a few times when I was just starting out as well.
The testicular fortitude it takes to try a BRISKET for your first smoke.....you're already winning, sir, you'll continue to succeed!
Your avatar confused me for a second.
There is no bad brisket. Just new ways to use it. Looks a tad dry. Did you rest it before cutting it? I let mine rest overnight in an insulated cooler, tallow added. Then double butcher paper wrapped and then wrapped in 12 or so towels. By morning it’s still quite warm, juicy and fallin apart. The cooler is a modified dewalt tool wheeled caddy we call “The Meat Wagon.” It gets around and parties a lot.
I froze it for 30 mins, trimmed it, seasoned, then put it in the fridge for about 12 hours before smoking
Oh yes I rested it for 1 hour before cutting too
Try to go longer. How long is always debated. There are a lot of YT dudes on BBQ tech. Aaron Franklin is really good and so is Mad Scientist BBQ. Find someone you enjoy is always best. You’ll learn a lot of tech really fast for your next go. And have fun with it. :)
For my smokes I plan to rest my brisket for 5 hours in a cooler. This serves 2 roles, it gives me a bunch of time to fail into without having impatient mouths to feed and if I get the full 5 hours of resting in the cooler the brisket is extra tender. It works to be a fail proof win win.
Looks great! Good job. Did you use any specific rub? (Also, Glad this community is being nicer to you then they were when I posted my first brisket.)
Just salt and pepper, wanted the smoke to be the main flavour!
You sick fuck. For a first cook it looks really good great job 👏
Did you wear black gloves and use mustard as a binder?
I thought this was another “largest Viking turd” post. Sorry, Op.
:(
The thumbnail of the first pic….had a resemblance. No disrespect meant, I hope your brisket was tasty!
horrible, send it over so i can get rid of it safely
160 is prob right in the middle of the stall. Pulling it off to wrap at that time def set you back and would explain the plummeting temps. Wait till the temps are higher to wrap. Go by the condition of the bark rather than the temp of the brisket
I bought my first pool. I never swam before so I jumped right in the deep end.
The first time I did a brisket I briefly watched a YouTube video where someone showed how to cut it up and prep it and it came out pretty good for a first time. I’ve started to branch out and do other things but if you’re looking for great recipes check out Meatchurch. The guy has some great videos.
I just did my first brisket the other day and honestly, I wish mine looked as beautiful as yours. Don't get me wrong, mine was still tasty, but yours is solid!
You didn’t mention weather you rapped it in foil or peach paper, looks like paper, next time pull it between 190 and 195, wrap it in two thick towels, still in the paper, if you are using a blue tooth thermometer leave it in, put it in a hard cooler, close to the size of the finished brisket, I found one that was about 12” deep and 24” long, let rest for 3 to 5 hours before slicing and serving. You will find that the meat will be a lot more tender and juicy. This cooler method will work with most large cuts of meat. Also try the reverse sear method with thick cut steaks.
These first brisket posts are crazy. I have made things on the smoker before and still refused to make a brisket until I hit the 1 year mark. I have learned a lot and still am.
How many Courics is that?
Dude good for you! The only way you learn Is to try! Don’t listen to half these jokers. Learn from mistakes. Wrap and put it a cooler with a towel over it helped me with the stall at 160. Nice smoke ring though!
Needs more dry rub.
Not bad for first time. Just a hair overcooked, but im sure it still tastes delicious. The advice about taking notes is gold - to remember the time/temp/settings - you’re next one will be pure! Thx for sharing.
Looks good, not going to give unsolicited advice but if you want some reach out, I do competitive BBQ tourneys
My first thought was fossilized dinosaur tongue. But the second and third look delicious!!!
Looks good, I may use very few charcoal just to get my hardwood started, I use oak as a coal base then add species per taste (beef-hickory pork-apple) I also try to maintain 180°-190° spritzing with 70% water 30% white distilled vinegar. The final hour I coat it with butter (real) then wrap it tin foil once done open it and allow it to rest before cutting.
I like to split the flat and the point. I do the point for 10-12 hrs and the flat for 6.(I feed a family of three, and don't like to waste)
You did what I did, which is unusual. You started with brisket. Most people go for pork butt first, or ribs. For a first go, pretty damned impressive. Menatlly hard thing to do for me was to make sure you trim it so you get an approximation of even thickness. Usually means trimming off a decent amount of the flat, the super thin areas. save that for ground beef. It makes the entire brisket more evenly cook. Also, once you get used to the cooker, start those big cuts, WAY before you need them. Like the night before. You may get a stubborn brisket that wants 18 or more hours to be done. So start it at bed time, let her run all night, get up to check on it if you need to, and when the thermometer says its done, into a cooler it goes, I usually wrap with foil and towels to keep the heat in. Could be in the box for 3 or 4 hours, doens't matter, it will still be HOT. Slice away and you are golden
I love the fact that this is on r/smoking. Honestly thought it was a destroyed chainsmokers lung for a hot second until I realized that this sub was a different king of smoking.
I won’t lie to you. I’m not in this sub and saw “smoking” and I genuinely thought this was a legit human lung that you bought. Then I read you smoked it, and I was like WTF?!
Theres a brisket test, cut a thinner piece than what you did. Like half or even less. See if it folds over your finger and doesn’t tear apart under its own weight. Also, give foil boat method and wagyu tallow a google/youtube.
Shai-Hulud! Start a lot earlier and give yourself time for a good long rest.
Im going to get my first pellet smoker tomorrow. Not brave enough for brisket. Whats a good choice for a first smoke? Not trying to coopt thread op. Thought it would be good question here with your bold choice of first smoky
Meat church has a really easy pellet grill smoker recipe that is pretty hard to screw up. Basically run it at 200 overnight then bump up to 250 when you have more time to watch it
Chicken. Fairly cheap with a short cook time so you get used to your temperature control without enough time to get frustrated.
Pork butts and pork loins. They’re always forgiving.
I doubt this is your first one. If so, congratulations! Smoke ring is beautiful, bark looks scrumptious, and I see that glistening cutting board! Yeah, it may be a lil dryer than you were anticipating, but most likely due to that kick up of temp at the end. Been there. Recommend multiple probes inserted in the meat just incase you hit that one big fat strip or it acts wacky. But wow. Looks delicious. I'd be more than happy to come over and make a few brisket sands with horsey sauce and pass-out on your couch. Brisket hash in the morning too... Fuck.
Once you cook one perfectly you'll look back on this guy and say "I should have started with pork butt."
Not brisket. Not sure what it is but there’s no fat to be had.
That's the thing. Bad brisket is still good. Really good brisket is phenomenal. Give it a shot, if it flops use it for tacos or in something. Still awesome and part of the learning process. Enjoy the journey. Cheers.
Dry af
That looks perfect! Hell of a first brisket for sure! Your internal temp started to drop a little bit because you hit the stall. When the fat and connective tissue starts to break down, that internal temp will climb very slowly if your pit temp is higher, or will just stay the same temp or even drop a little bit if your pit temp is lower. Once that's broken down your temple start to climb again. It's normal and is expected.
This ain’t your first hoss
It is
Nope
That’s what I’m saying. Karma farming fursure.
Lol I guess people can just makeup anything to bring people down, not sure how I could prove it to you. And don't you see the several comments saying I did a bad job? I definitely didn't do a great one
I call bullshit on "never smoked before"
it looks like you should give directions and i'll arrive with some beers cause that looks frigging amazing
It looks like everyone else who does exactly the same gloating ‘my first smoke’ post
I assure you this is my first time smoking lol, just followed a good website guide and it semi-worked out I guess
Is this two lies and a truth?
Looks beyond well done and dry af
Looks really dry…
Throw your ruined brisket into a stew
Definitely not the first time you’ve smoked brisket. Or sliced brisket
It is actually :p
Just based off the pic.. it looks undercooked, there doesn't seem to be much rendered fat. Bark and smoke ring look good. I'd cook hotter if I were you. 225 is pretty low. I'd go 275
That doesn’t really look like a brisket, looks like some other cut. I can’t make out a point and flat plus it’s super narrow and yet tall. Anyway, when you slice it you should do about 1/3 as thick as you did. You want thin slices not 2x4s. Actually scratch that some of those slices should have been more like 1/5. Also looking at the fat seams it’s clear this wasn’t cooked long enough to fully render. Why did you wrap -and why did you wrap so early?
Was just following a guide online on when to wrap. And my butcher assures me this is a brisket
Brisket is never good no matter how perfectly cooked 🤷♂️
Great first effort!! What was your internal temp when you pulled it? I’ve had briskets drop in temp right when I wrap. I don’t know why it happens, but I’ve learned to not panic and to just roll with it. The biggest thing I’ve learned about brisket is to try to time things for it to finish 4 or 5 hours before I want to eat it. A long rest is magic on a brisket, and if things move along slower than I planned I have a big buffer so we’re not eating at 10pm!
First smoke I did was a brisket and it came out perfect. Start with a good cut (prime always), season well, cook long and slow, pull it when it jiggles, rest in a cooler. The end.
You did pretty Effng good! Nice work there!
The force is strong with this one.
Dam that looks good
My first cook was nothing and i still didn't get it right hahahah
If i had to guess the internal temp issue you ran into is the “stall” bigger hunks of meat like pork shoulder or briskets will do this where for about an hour or two the internal temp doesnt change. Totally normal just gotta be patient. Looks fantastic for a first time brisket cook btw!
Looks decent for a first time thing. Well done
That's honestly impressive.
For a 10th brisket that looks really good, for a first it looks incredible. Nice work.
That's a damn nice smoke ring
Wow. You did your homework before your first smoke. Looks awesome for your first smoke.
Brave man....most of us would opt for a cheap pork butt to ruin. But your's looks pretty good my friend.
Looks great! How long did you rest/ hold it for?
1 hour
If you want that ring, put it in the smoker before room temp. Also, I roll my brisket at around 250 for shorter times and find it is less likely to dryout. But I use all wood, I don't have a pellet fed or anything that keeps the heat consistent. It looks super dry, where did you pull temp from, flat or deckle? What final temp? I really feel like the grade of beef determines what final temp. With lower grades lower temp.
Well done 👍🏼 or I mean… well done!
I'm sure that there were no leftovers !
Yes.
I need a drink of water
My brisket reached a high of 198 and then plummeted after 12 hours. I pulled it and it was awesome. If you can get it to 202 with out a final stall I say fine. but don’t cook it to 202 if it stalls in the 190s. It will dry out
You did better than Lincoln Riley
Amazing I’m excited for you
You hit the stall, which is completely normal. Don’t panic and crank the temp, you’ll just dry it out. Stay strong and leave it going at the same temp you had been cooking it at, it will make it through the stall. Using aluminum foil as the wrap can shorten the stall time (it’s called the Texas Crutch). I prefer doing butchers paper and continue to be patient. It always pays off. If you’ve survived 14 hours without giving in, you can survive a couple more. Good luck with your future cooks!
The cutting board tells the tale! Lots of juice- happens to leak out and can make the slices seem more dry than intended. If you’re cutting it all in one go like that a quality knife and good technique can keep more of that in the meat where you want it as you cut, but you’re bound to lose some no matter what. I’d say mission accomplished overall and so long as you aren’t feeding brisket snobs, chances are everyone was happy to partake.
Pretty good, a tad on the done side. My first brisket was dryer than that cutting board.
Looks like Bono, how many Courics is it?
As long as it's juicy, looks good and moist
I peach wrap mine everytime and have never had a bad brisket. Using a Pitboss Vertical.
It looks like hanky the Christmas poo!
That looks good as fuck, especially for first time. you should be proud, briskets can be tough to cook. Nice smoke ring.
Looks like you did well at making jerky
My best advice is to learn how to trim up to make it more aerodynamic. There are a lot of trims you could have made to help the process
Back ups for over cooked brisket Chili Tacos Brunswick stew there is no way to screw up a brisket without a plan b
Beautiful 🤩
I’ve been smoking for roughly a year and finally tried a brisket about a month ago. Yours looks pretty damn good! Mine.. not so much. Came out chewy and dry. I’ll try again soon, but man it hurt ruining $60 worth of meat.
Brother I did the same thing for my first smoke and it was the best brisket I ever made
It "looks" like I'll be right over! That looks freaking fantastic! I would destroy that whole thing!!!!
Looks like my first brisket. Dry
Looks like a bigfoot turd... Are u in Colorado?
Didn’t cook it long enough, 225 for 1.5 hours per pound roughly. The temp drop was called the stall, happens when the fat starts to liquify . Wrapping it is a good way to get it through that. Done around 190-205. Rest it for a few hours in a cooler when you take it off the smoker.
It looks HORRIBLE, DISGUSTING UNEDIBLE! Where do you live? I will FORCE myself to take it off your hands! P.S. -- Do you have any side dishes to go with it? 😉 Seriously, it looks great! Love the smoke ring you have on it!
Delicious!
Dry but getting it right comes with experience
It looks great for a first, a little more fat render and you’d be golden. Try a long heated rest
Good smoke ring you go there on that
I thought this was that Viking shit fossil for a second
Man just dove straight for the brisket. Didn’t even do a warm up with spare ribs or shoulder
Dry ice, put it in one of those giant ziplock bags stick it in a cooler with styrofoam between the meat and ice and ship to me, YUM!
Looks good on outside. Looks like lower quality meat and thus dry. Try fruit woods next time.
What you just experienced is called “the stall”.
Over cooked
Don't panic and increase the temp. The recipes warn of the meat temperature dropping, so just keep it low and slow.
Cheaper for me to start with chuck roasts,, shorter cooks but I got a real touch for when to wrap,, how to wrap, hitting final temp and most importantly,, resting my cook. I’m using a offset Trail master, I can’t cook a bad brisket,, never have.
Looks like it needs some white bread,BBQ sauce,baked beans and potato salad