Searched the pellet sxn of the forum for brisket tips, but the results said the search was too broad, so no results. Going to be doing an angus packer for lunch next Saturday, so would appreciate any advice you folks may have. Here's my initial plan unless I hear suggestions for improvement from you folks.
1) Trim and dry brine on Thursday night.
2) Friday am put brisket on Yoder @ 225 with point end closest to fire pot. Monitor temp and wrap in butcher paper at around 150, take up to probe tender in flat and pull from smoker.
3) Hold for a couple hours.
4) Separate point from flat and vacuum seal then ice bath. Into fridge overnight.
5) Friday am cut point into chunks for burnt ends. Sauce ends and throw flat and ends back on Yoder @ 225 to reheat for a few hours.
Any advice on how I could improve this would be appreciated.
The hottest part of the 640 is at the right side on the lower grates.. You'll need to to a biskuit test. Get two cheapo biskuit rolls from the store, heat the smoker up to biskuit temp and place them all over the smoker. You'll see where temps are hotter. That said, if you cook anything on the upper grate the temps will be lower up there, adjust your time/temp. It's why I rotate my butts etc.
Ohh wash the grates and dry in the sun and then spray with PAM to start the seasoning when you do your burn in. No need to spray the inside of the smoker.
If your cooking on a patio make sure the smoke stack isn't pointed where a nice brown patina will develop and the wife will be mad. I ended up with a dryer tube directing smoke off the patio.
I don't understand the dry brining. Please reconsider. Use the KIS method to start.
Dry brining is salting the brisket the night before and then adding the dry rub (w/ no salt) the next day prior to smoking. Here's an article that explains it on another forum I use: https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/ ... et-brining
Seriouseats.com is also another site that discusses it.
If you are having issues with dry brisket, I would suggest not applying any salt until just before the meat goes on the cooker. Applying salt will draw moisture out of the meat, which you see as liquid in the wrap or pan.
Personally, I apply my seasonings, injections, etc., just before the meat goes on the cooker, which means the seasonings are never on for more than 30 minutes prior to going on the cooker.
Yoder_Herb wrote:If you are having issues with dry brisket, I would suggest not applying any salt until just before the meat goes on the cooker. Applying salt will draw moisture out of the meat, which you see as liquid in the wrap or pan.
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Yes, Herb you are absolutely right. But, if you give it enough time, (why I do it the night before) the moisture you see on the outside will actually be drawn back into the meat. It results in the salt being drawn in with it. The seasoning actually get deeper into the meat than it will with just a surface treatment. Seriouseats.com (Kenjil Lopez) has a ton of articles involving dry brining. Here's a link that also does a much better job explaining the specifics: https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/ ... et-brining
I used to do it all the time. After cooking across the country with comp teams, I no longer do it. It's surely us a personal choice, and was a learning curve for me.
Yoder_Herb wrote:I used to do it all the time. After cooking across the country with comp teams, I no longer do it. It's surely us a personal choice, and was a learning curve for me.
Interesting insight Herb. Was it your experience that most comp teams don't dry brine? I'm going to have to do a test on the next butts I do. Dry brine one and salt the other just prior to cooking. I know we aren't talking widgets here and each butt is different, but it will be interesting to see if I can tell the difference. I'm an old science teacher, so I'm all about using science to improve, but I'm always open to new strategies/ideas. I may just find that while there is a difference, it may not be worth the extra effort.
Yoder_Herb, I tried doing butts and briskets this past weekend without dry brining and I have to admit, I couldn't tell the difference. I did use pre-injected butts, so that may be cheating a bit, but that's usually the only thing available around here. I also tried Butcher BBQ prime injection on the brisket, which already has plenty of salt in it, and was impressed with that. I'm going to join your camp, won't be dry brining in the future as it's just an unneeded extra step IMHO.
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