Joel's Home Smoked Brisket

[Joel]

Well, I guess I should share my brisket, at least pictures of it...   I have a love of smoking and grilling meats.   

I start with a Choice nose on (whole piece) brisket, that weighs about 12-15 lbs.    I trim some of the hard excess fat off the cap, but try to leave at least 1/4" of fat on the brisket to keep it moist and from drying out.    I sometimes cut a cross the top of the brisket so that the fat can actually penetrate the meat.    Then season with your favorite rubs and seasonings, and put in the refrigerator overnight.   I use a Myers Prime Rib Butter Rub.     Some people choose to inject their briskets with phosphates, but I just do a good rub down.

 

My pellet smoker is a Smoking Brothers SB24.  

 

 

I've always felt that pellet smokers are great, however, I just didn't get the heavy genuine smoke flavoring, even if there was a good smoke ring.     I started using a small 6x6 pan, putting 4 charcoal pieces in.  I light the charcoal then place raw hickory wood on it.  It will take a few minutes, but the wood will start smoking nicely.  

 

 

I usually leave this "Cold Smoke" process for at least an hour, as you can see how dense the smoke is.    The chamber temperature never exceeds 80 degrees until I turn on the actual pellet smoker.

I usually start my brisket at midnight allowing the "Cold Smoke" process to go 1 to 2 hours.   At 2AM, I turn on the pellet smoker, and you can immediately see the majority of the smoke being blown out the chimney.   I leave the pellet smoker at 185 through the morning hours so nothing gets out of control.  This also allows more smoke penetration before the meat seals up.     Around 7 or 8 AM, I kick the heat up to 250 until the meat gets around 180 degrees internally.   You can flip the brisket if you feel too much heat on the grill side.   Then I reduce the heat back to 225 for the remainder of the cooking time.  

 

I pull the brisket at 195 degrees internally.   Some people wrap in foil, place in a cooler and cover with a blanket for an hour..   I usually put in a metal cooking pan, cover with foil, or use the cooler method.   Some people wrap the meat with plastic wrap, as long as it has a high enough heat factor.  

Here are some end pieces I cut off....  you have to sample..     Cheers everyone, Enjoy!

[Average Joe]

Now that looks great!!   I can almost smell the burnt ends...   I really like the idea of the "Cold Smoke" using the charcoal and wood chunks...  GREAT IDEA! 

Thanks for sharing..

[Catfish Hunter]

Umm...   I just drooled on my keyboard....    That looks sooooo good...  

[Robert T]

Wow, that looks fantastic!!     I have used a pellet smoker before as well and feel that they do a good smoking, but it lacks that har hickory sap to really give that heavy smoke flavor.    I really like your idea, and will give that a try as well.