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Got my first smoker for Father's Day this past weekend. Needless to say I'm pretty stoked to get it fired up! Going to try my first crack at a brisket this weekend. So...

anyone have any good recipes/tips?

When I bought my pit almost 10 years ago I got a lot of great tips from here
http://www.texasbbqrub.com/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As far as rubs go, in use one from Sams's club and its been the best so far. Use to mix my own but this is just as good and easier. Plan on cooking slow and low, about 200-250° for 12-18 hours. Academy has great cooking logs. I prefer pecan logs. I don't wrap my meat unles the wood is not aged enough and it seems like it may leave an acrid taste.

I could go on. It's really a trial and error drill. The more you cook the better you'll be.

Check out Aaron Franklin's YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/user/BBQwithFranklin" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Just noticed you're in San Antonio. I can come over and taste test.

Go Spurs Go

Low and slow, allow about an hour and a half per pound at 200-225. Invest in a good thermometer, I have a wireless one which is great. It monitors pit and meat temp. Final temp should be 185-190, that is a guide. You want to take the temp at the thickest point of the flat, the point always runs hotter because of the fat. The meat will hit a wall at around 160 and can take several hours for the temp to rise again, don't worry about it just keep that temp at 200-225. when my hits 180 internal i raise the temp in the smoker to 300 to push it up to 190. It is ready when a probe slides in like it is warm butter. Once it is done, wrap in foil and then a towel and put in a cooler. Allow at least 2 hours until cutting. I am about to smoke a 10 pound one, planning on 15 hours. I use a salt lick brisket rub and burn oak. Any store bought brisket rub will be good enough, or just mix up you own. Crack some beers, make fire and smoke some meat!

If you want an awesome smoked brisket, try a cold smoke. I just started doing these and they are very tasty!

Meat Prep:
Put your brisket in a salt (kosher is best) and sugar brine. Add whatever spices you want. I like coriander, cuman, garlic, and pepper. Let sit in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. Rinse it thoroughly (about 20 minutes) in cold water to remove all the salt. Note, if you don't rinse it well, the meat will be VERY salty (voice of experience talking here).

Grill/Smoker Prep:
Get a cheap hot plate and take all the plastic parts off. Put it in the bottom of a large terra cotta or clay pot. Heap your wood chips (after soaking, of course) inside the pot and place the whole thing into your grill or smoker. Plug it in. Place your meat on the grill and close it up. Smoke time is 12-16 hours depending on brisket size. Replenish wood chips as necessary.

You now have cold smoked corned beef brisket!

RottenApple wrote:If you want an awesome smoked brisket, try a cold smoke. I just started doing these and they are very tasty!

Meat Prep:
Put your brisket in a salt (kosher is best) and sugar brine. Add whatever spices you want. I like coriander, cuman, garlic, and pepper. Let sit in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. Rinse it thoroughly (about 20 minutes) in cold water to remove all the salt. Note, if you don't rinse it well, the meat will be VERY salty (voice of experience talking here).

Grill/Smoker Prep:
Get a cheap hot plate and take all the plastic parts off. Put it in the bottom of a large terra cotta or clay pot. Heap your wood chips (after soaking, of course) inside the pot and place the whole thing into your grill or smoker. Plug it in. Place your meat on the grill and close it up. Smoke time is 12-16 hours depending on brisket size. Replenish wood chips as necessary.

You now have cold smoked corned beef brisket!

Have you ever tried beef that has already been "corned"?

WildBill wrote:Have you ever tried beef that has already been "corned"?

Yes. And, to be honest, I (and my family) prefer mine over commercially made corned beef. The one thing I don't do is add the artisan salt to give it that pink coloring. Most commercially made corned beef uses artificially colored calls instead of true artisan pink salt (which can be on the expensive side).

Btw, I made my first corned beef for the last DFW TexasCHLforum Get Together at Elm Fork. It was hot smoked instead of cold, but that's because I was too afraid to try a cold smoke method and introduce it to a bunch of armed folks. No telling what they might have done to me if it turned out bad.

New pit-- I suggest building a fire in it and let it burn/smoke for a while to season the pit before placing a brisket in there.

One of the problems some pits have it their inability to maintain a constant temp. This causes one to constantly have to open the pit and stoke the fire. This results in in either too hot or not hot enough. You'll get your's figured out in time.

Other's comments about a wireless thermometer are good. That will keep you from having to open the pit constantly and loosing its heat. Those on pits are not where the meat is so not all that accurate a measure.


http://www.smokingmeatforums.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; has good pit fixes and tips.

Lots of BBQ forums and recipes out there. I'm a fan of a dry rub style myself, rather than a BBQ sauce cook.

Thanks for the tips fellas! I definitely will be doing some sort of dry rub. Low and slow seems to be the key part. I don't think I'll have too much trouble regulating/keeping temp, as it's an offset smoker, but I am going to get a digital thermometer. I just want my first time to be something special, something I'll remember forever

The old boy who used to cut my hair is an old goat from Louisiana with a nose like a cherry tomato. I haven't tried this yet, but this is how he said he did his, and claimed that his was world famous all over his little corner of Possum Kingdom Lake.....

He started with a crawfish boil with those commercial packets of spices you can get, because you have to have something to eat to temper the beers while you're smoking the meat. After he had strained all the contents of the crawdaddy boil out of the spicy water, he then put the whole brisket into it to brine for a while. After brining in the hot crawfish water, it would have cooked just a little bit, and he then took it out, patted on a light rub (never gave me the recipe) and smoked it.

I've been wanting to try that for a while now.

The Annoyed Man wrote:The old boy who used to cut my hair is an old goat from Louisiana with a nose like a cherry tomato. I haven't tried this yet, but this is how he said he did his, and claimed that his was world famous all over his little corner of Possum Kingdom Lake.....

He started with a crawfish boil with those commercial packets of spices you can get, because you have to have something to eat to temper the beers while you're smoking the meat. After he had strained all the contents of the crawdaddy boil out of the spicy water, he then put the whole brisket into it to brine for a while. After brining in the hot crawfish water, it would have cooked just a little bit, and he then took it out, patted on a light rub (never gave me the recipe) and smoked it.

I've been wanting to try that for a while now.

Sounds interesting. Except for the crawfish part. They aren't kosher. So I did some checking and here's the typical spices used in those crawfish spice packets. I might try it using just the spices and skip the crawfish.

4 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds
3 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons whole allspice
2 tablespoons dill seeds
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper
8 bay leaves
Salt and cayenne pepper (or liquid hot sauce) to taste

The only problem with smoking a brisket is that they're so darned hard to light.

RottenApple wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote:The old boy who used to cut my hair is an old goat from Louisiana with a nose like a cherry tomato. I haven't tried this yet, but this is how he said he did his, and claimed that his was world famous all over his little corner of Possum Kingdom Lake.....

He started with a crawfish boil with those commercial packets of spices you can get, because you have to have something to eat to temper the beers while you're smoking the meat. After he had strained all the contents of the crawdaddy boil out of the spicy water, he then put the whole brisket into it to brine for a while. After brining in the hot crawfish water, it would have cooked just a little bit, and he then took it out, patted on a light rub (never gave me the recipe) and smoked it.

I've been wanting to try that for a while now.

Sounds interesting. Except for the crawfish part. They aren't kosher. So I did some checking and here's the typical spices used in those crawfish spice packets. I might try it using just the spices and skip the crawfish.

4 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds
3 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons whole allspice
2 tablespoons dill seeds
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper
8 bay leaves
Salt and cayenne pepper (or liquid hot sauce) to taste

You can buy the prepackaged "pillows" of spices already assembled.....kind of like giant tea-bags. http://www.nolacajun.com/Zatarains-Crab ... 7Aodg0IApA

Season your pit first. Nothing like that creosote & motor oil taste on your meat to throw everything off.

For the actual cook: trim & season the meat the night before, run your pit to a constant 225 (I use lump charcoal), put the meat directly onto the pit from the fridge for that classic smoke ring, use a thermometer in the thickest part (I have one that attaches to a digital display that sits outside the pit so I can constantly monitor temp without opening the lid), when they internal temp hits about 190 wrap the brisket in foil then in a towel & place the whole thing in a cooler, add extra towels or an old pillow to fill up the rest of the empty space in the cooler, when the internal temp drops to about 150 slice it against the grain.

I serve sauce on the side, but have yet to have anyone use much of it.