Smoking Brisket - the Secret Tips & Tricks You need to know

[00:00] so you want to cook a brisket well

[00:01] that's what we're going to do today

[00:02] brisket it can be one of the most

[00:05] difficult things you've ever cooked it

[00:06] can also be one of the most rewarding

[00:08] things you've ever cooked brisket Done

[00:09] Right is absolutely delicious today

[00:12] we're going to show you how we Source

[00:14] the brisket kind of pit we're cooking

[00:15] the brisket on give me some tips and

[00:17] techniques on how we cook a good eating

[00:19] brisket at home and you know it's going

[00:20] to be good it's going to have to be good

[00:22] let's get to cooking y'all so we're

[00:23] cooking this brisket that we're doing

[00:24] today on one of our stick burner pits

[00:26] I've got my Outlaw fired up back there

[00:28] smelling good in The Smokehouse it

[00:30] doesn't matter if you don't have a stick

[00:31] burner we're going to be going over to

[00:33] Basics today and they're going to apply

[00:34] to any pit so you can take that and

[00:36] apply it to your grill at home first

[00:38] thing to me when we're talking cooking

[00:39] brisket is it's going to take time you

[00:41] brisket's not something you can hurry up

[00:43] no we got an early start this morning

[00:45] real early because somebody had to drive

[00:47] a couple hours to get here no I set my

[00:49] alarm clock you know before the sun came

[00:51] up got up I got me a good bed of Royal

[00:53] Oak briquettes going couple tumbleweeds

[00:55] underneath the fire and I just left the

[00:57] pit open I'm talking about open the cook

[00:59] chamber doors open up the exhaust 100

[01:01] and leave the Firebox door open I want

[01:04] to get a good coal bed established I'm

[01:05] gonna let that smoke get out of there

[01:06] let it start drawing through the pit and

[01:08] then I'll go ahead and shut the doors

[01:10] once my bed's established and let the

[01:12] heat from the coals those BTUs heat that

[01:15] pit up you know 15 20 minutes you got a

[01:17] good coal bed going this time start

[01:19] adding those splits usually that's when

[01:20] I start checking my dial back a little I

[01:22] mean I want it to slowly creep up to 275

[01:24] I'm not trying to give it all the heat

[01:26] it's got a little bonfire in it you

[01:27] could use just about any kind of

[01:29] charcoal you want any kind of wood we

[01:31] like burning hickory wood that's what we

[01:33] burn in our stick burners because it's

[01:34] in our area we've noticed this a ton but

[01:36] the Hickory and the hardwoods keep your

[01:38] coal beds so much healthier you know you

[01:40] maintain that cold bed when you start

[01:41] running fruit Woods you know you lose

[01:43] that so you have to have that hardwood

[01:45] throughout the cook process to maintain

[01:46] that cold bed or you'll be fighting

[01:50] whenever I'm picking up a brisket first

[01:52] I want to look at the cry vac make sure

[01:53] it hadn't been compromised to make sure

[01:55] there's no leaks in it it's nice and you

[01:57] know got tight if the brisket's loose in

[01:59] it that's okay if it's flexible that's

[02:01] better you want the packaging tight that

[02:03] means it's got a little age on it but

[02:04] what I'm looking for is when I grab the

[02:06] brisket is a uniform thickness across

[02:08] the flat I don't want it to tell out two

[02:10] thins on the sides I don't want to you

[02:12] know have any butcher Cuts in it things

[02:13] like that often you can't tell in the

[02:15] package right you just have to go by

[02:17] feel but really if you'll just kind of

[02:19] go for something that feels like it's a

[02:21] little pliable that the package is still

[02:22] tight on it doesn't have any leaks

[02:24] oxygen hasn't gotten into it doesn't

[02:25] have any discoloration and it has a

[02:27] uniform thickness that's a good sign

[02:28] it's gonna be a good brisket it's going

[02:30] to be a little bigger on that point in

[02:31] but like you said you don't want it

[02:33] paper thin on that flat end because

[02:34] that's what's going to get dry and

[02:35] that's what's going to make you think

[02:36] you screwed up and didn't cook a good

[02:37] boost I did a home trim which is not as

[02:39] aggressive as you would going to a

[02:41] contest the way I look at it and it's

[02:43] kind of a lot along the way it's like

[02:44] Aaron Franklin teaches where it's about

[02:46] aerodynamics it's about airflow in that

[02:48] pit over the brisket I'm not trying to

[02:50] cut every single little thing off of it

[02:53] but I do want to make it smooth I want

[02:54] to kind of round it a little bit I want

[02:56] to take off any of the oxidized edges I

[02:58] want to take off any of the thick fat we

[03:00] cook this brisket fat side up because we

[03:02] want a good eating brisket today we're

[03:03] going to make a nice little crust on top

[03:05] of it but I took that fat down to about

[03:07] a quarter inch there's good fat on a

[03:09] brisket there's bad fat and you'll

[03:11] notice that good fat will be that hard

[03:12] dry fat and that's what renders and

[03:14] that's what's going to put that flavor

[03:15] in that brisket but sometimes I know

[03:17] you've probably seen on this one toward

[03:18] the flat you kind of see that slimy fat

[03:20] it's not something that's going to

[03:21] render and that's hard to cut off if you

[03:23] don't have a super sharp knife you're

[03:24] just going to push it around on that

[03:25] brisket you ain't gonna cut it off every

[03:26] time I'm trimming briskets I always go

[03:28] for my little six inch semi-curved

[03:31] fillet knife the blades real thin on it

[03:33] it's flexible but you can get the thing

[03:34] razor sharp and it's easy to get an edge

[03:36] back on and I do trim both sides like I

[03:38] flip the meat side over I'm going to

[03:40] take out a little bit of that decal fat

[03:41] the whole thing is we want this brisket

[03:43] to lay flat on the cooking grate on the

[03:45] grill and so that's where that

[03:46] aerodynamic looks in you got to think

[03:48] we've got airflow coming from the

[03:50] Firebox through the fire chamber then

[03:52] out the exhaust well we want that air to

[03:54] not be restricted when it hits that

[03:56] brisket and that's going to keep it from

[03:57] drying out from crumbling if the air can

[03:59] flow right over it's smooth and an

[04:01] aerodynamic type way it's going to be a

[04:03] better brisket but if you're cooking on

[04:05] a drum or something like that that the

[04:07] airflows mowed from the bottom up you

[04:09] still want that aerodynamic look because

[04:11] like all your Corners they need to be on

[04:13] the radius because that's what's going

[04:14] to crumble so like you were saying

[04:15] radius them off and make them smooth and

[04:17] you know the edges no Sharps no points

[04:19] you know you can do that with scissors

[04:20] you know if you don't have a good knife

[04:21] you can take scissors and walk right

[04:23] around that edge and just round off all

[04:25] the edges and you're going to still gain

[04:26] that same airflow even if it's on a

[04:28] pellet grill a drum or a stick burner

[04:32] once you got it trimmed you got to get

[04:33] something on it before we put it on the

[04:35] pit now for a good eating brisket I'm

[04:37] along those Texas flavors with a little

[04:39] bit of barbecue rub to it I used a base

[04:42] layer of your Prime Beef rub because I

[04:44] can't blame you there I mean I want the

[04:46] Savory I want that little pop of heat I

[04:48] want that Umami flavor and it just goes

[04:49] with beef I mean it just really does I

[04:51] love the I love the primes oh it doesn't

[04:53] cover anything up that's right it melts

[04:55] in you really don't even know what's

[04:56] there but you're like wow that's pretty

[04:57] good flavor you know it's almost like a

[04:58] dry brine coat a little bit and I didn't

[05:00] go super heavy with it on brisket but

[05:01] brisket can take the seasoning next I

[05:03] went with some barbecue rub I wanted

[05:05] that you know traditional kind of a

[05:06] barbecue look to it that's where you get

[05:08] a lot of that color from you get some of

[05:09] the spice and some of the sweetness from

[05:11] the sugars in it to get it to caramelize

[05:13] some you could use whatever rub you want

[05:15] on a brisket really and then to finish

[05:16] it off just a little texture with some

[05:18] TX that's that coarse saw coarse black

[05:21] pepper if you don't have that season you

[05:23] could use anything you want that has a

[05:24] coarseness to it I've used Montreal

[05:26] steak seasoning before I've just bought

[05:28] cracked black pepper and like kosher's

[05:30] flaky salt but to me that gives you that

[05:32] authentic kind of when you think about

[05:34] brisket look to the bark and to the

[05:37] outside you're going to get it from

[05:38] those seasonings this is a what I call a

[05:40] top flow offset stick burner so your

[05:42] heat's going to be mainly above that

[05:43] brisket I'm gonna put the fatty Point

[05:45] toward the fire basically your fat is

[05:47] sacrificial you have to render it but

[05:49] also that Fat's gonna help protect all

[05:51] the meat that you're trying to you know

[05:52] you're going to eat are you a fat up or

[05:54] fat down guy or does it depend on the

[05:56] grill it depends on the grill in my

[05:58] opinion but also depends on the cook you

[06:00] know what are you going for Do you want

[06:01] to build a good hard bark on that meat

[06:04] or do you want to kind of start

[06:05] rendering that fat and because I know

[06:06] our Heat's kind of more Above This

[06:08] brisket we're going to put it fat up

[06:09] this time if you're cooking on a pellet

[06:11] grill the Heat's coming from the bottom

[06:12] cook it meat side up you know it's

[06:14] completely up to you I don't think one's

[06:16] better than the other but I think one

[06:18] could make your cook easier for your

[06:20] pizza it depends on your airflow and it

[06:22] depends on where you're trying to

[06:23] protect that brisket I think that's what

[06:25] I've always said when people ask me and

[06:27] when you trim that fat down to a quarter

[06:28] inch you have a better chance of

[06:30] rendering that fat and getting it to

[06:33] flavor like what I've noticed on a stick

[06:34] burner pit especially when you've got

[06:36] your heat running 275 to 300 that fat

[06:38] can almost crisp up a little bit during

[06:40] that cook and that's a beautiful thing

[06:42] when you get that crunchy fat right on

[06:44] top of it I mean you'll see at the end

[06:46] that I hope we get some of that today

[06:47] yeah I can't wait that's what I love to

[06:49] eat so mark That's that first split that

[06:51] I put in there this morning it's burned

[06:53] probably for about 45 almost an hour and

[06:55] see there's your coals right there this

[06:57] Hickory is already starting to make the

[06:58] cold bed you still have some briquettes

[07:00] down there but we're building a cold bed

[07:01] as we speak so that is perfect so Mark

[07:03] right now we're at the easy part of a

[07:06] brisket cook it's just maintaining fire

[07:08] that's it well I say it's easy this is

[07:10] when everybody wants to go look at it

[07:11] and poke at it I said you just gotta let

[07:13] it go you just gotta be patient how

[07:15] often should you be opening the cook

[07:16] chamber to see what's going on in the

[07:18] cook chamber if it's the first time

[07:20] you've ever cooked one or on a new pit

[07:22] look at it in the first 30 or 45 minutes

[07:24] that'll tell you you know if your fire

[07:26] is running like it should or if the

[07:27] Pit's running like it should but once

[07:28] you know your pit don't worry about it

[07:30] you know

[07:31] goal is to hold this brisket at 275 for

[07:36] most of the entire cooker at least until

[07:38] we get it wrapped but right now it's

[07:40] about maintaining temperature not having

[07:42] those drastic up and downs we want a

[07:44] good even heat across it what about

[07:46] spritzing or mopping or adding moisture

[07:49] to the brisket as it Cooks so we're

[07:51] going to Spritz today I think that's a

[07:52] good way to really pinpoint on like

[07:54] areas that's going to Drought you know

[07:56] the top of that the very top of that

[07:57] brisket is in the hottest amount of heat

[07:59] in the most airflow it's going to start

[08:00] wanting to dry out that Bark's going to

[08:02] set a little quicker so we're gonna have

[08:03] to pay attention same thing on your flat

[08:05] all the edges your flat is going to want

[08:07] to dry out and get a little crusty and

[08:09] we'll Spritz and we may even Shield that

[08:11] with a little aluminum foil later on so

[08:12] what about running a water pan in there

[08:15] I know some people like in a stick

[08:16] burner pit they'll add a little moisture

[08:18] to the Cook chamber just to kind of

[08:22] mellow that hot air out a little bit you

[08:25] know you get a little bit of that

[08:25] evaporative cooling off that water pan

[08:27] it mixes and puts a little bit of

[08:28] moisture in that pit have you ever ran

[08:31] that when you're cooking briskets or

[08:32] even in common right so I mean I've run

[08:33] it in comps before if we're not cooking

[08:36] many proteins in the pit like this past

[08:37] weekend we were just cooking eight slabs

[08:39] of ribs in a pit I ran a water pan

[08:41] because it wasn't enough protein in

[08:43] there to produce that humid cooking

[08:45] environment now a lot of this I'm gonna

[08:47] go back to location we're in Mississippi

[08:48] it's humid you know we got a ton of

[08:50] motion there right now so a water pan

[08:52] isn't as critical but it is going to do

[08:54] two things it's going to help you

[08:55] maintain a lower temp you know if your

[08:56] fire is wanting to get away or you know

[08:58] you're running a little bit hot that

[08:59] water pan is going to cool that cook

[09:01] chamber down plus it's going to add a

[09:03] little bit of steam a little bit

[09:04] moisture to the Cook chamber it's not a

[09:06] make or break like I say we're not

[09:07] running one today but I know what this

[09:09] bit's gonna do and I know what this

[09:10] brisket's going to do and I know we can

[09:11] Spritz and we can produce the same

[09:13] product as if we were running a water

[09:14] pan it's just an option it's an option

[09:16] if you're cooking you know if you have a

[09:18] smaller pit and you're cooking one or

[09:20] two briskets and that brisk you know

[09:22] taking up most of that cook chamber I

[09:24] wouldn't run a water pan because you're

[09:25] never going to get that Mark to set

[09:26] you've got to have a little bit of dry

[09:28] heat but you still want just a smidge of

[09:30] humidity in that cook chamber making

[09:32] that going cooking last weekend Mark you

[09:34] get that first place brisket up through

[09:35] the mountains doesn't it we did I'm

[09:37] pretty proud of my briskets that's

[09:38] something that I think that's my

[09:39] favorite protein to cook because it's

[09:41] something that's a lot it's a lot to

[09:43] learn and you know there's so many

[09:44] different ways to do it and there's so

[09:46] many different ways to get to that

[09:48] perfect brisket you know we can cook the

[09:50] same brisket side by side

[09:51] and I cook a little bit hotter and you

[09:54] cook a little bit lower and we'll finish

[09:55] at different temps you might take it to

[09:57] 202. I'll take it to 210 but we have the

[09:59] same texture what's that difference the

[10:01] biggest difference is that you think in

[10:03] cooking a comp brisket versus cooking a

[10:06] brisket like we are today where we know

[10:07] we're going to eat it and we just want

[10:09] to cook a good home brisket so a comp

[10:11] brisket is very very rich and it's one

[10:14] of them deals you know that judge is

[10:16] only taking one bite two bites you know

[10:18] if you do your job they're going to go

[10:19] back for that second bite but brisket

[10:20] like we're cooking today you can sit

[10:22] down and enjoy you know you can it's

[10:23] still going to be rich because it's

[10:25] brisket it's got a lot of fat in it but

[10:27] you can sit down and enjoy it a Cod

[10:29] brisket you eat more than one slice of

[10:31] it you're you're done you know you're

[10:33] going to be miserable because we put so

[10:34] much into it we're injecting you know

[10:36] we're seasoning this brisket 12 hours in

[10:38] advance because I want it to basically

[10:40] marinate in the rub and then we're

[10:42] turning around we're coming back with

[10:43] glazes you know we're coming back with

[10:44] as you use and we're trying to pack as

[10:46] much flavor in that brisket as we can in

[10:48] one little bite I usually don't eject

[10:50] why do you not inject something at home

[10:52] or what's the takeaway I mean that's

[10:54] that's up to you now if I'm cooking a

[10:55] leaner brisket you know if I if I buy a

[10:57] brisket and I can get home and I start

[10:59] trimming and I realize man this

[11:00] brisket's lean I might mix up a little

[11:02] beef broth or just a little something

[11:04] but when you're cooking a protein you're

[11:07] trying to cook the moisture out that's

[11:09] what gets it tender that's the cooking

[11:10] process you're cooking water out so

[11:12] adding a bunch of injections to a

[11:14] brisket at home is all it's really going

[11:16] to do it's going to slow you down the

[11:17] more injection you put in it the longer

[11:19] it's going to take that brisket to cook

[11:20] because you're having to cook that back

[11:22] out I think people don't think about

[11:23] that like when you do inject something

[11:25] you add that moisture like you're

[11:26] talking about it increases cook time

[11:28] every single time I mean if you just say

[11:31] you have a 10 pound brisket and you put

[11:33] one cup of beef broth you're putting an

[11:35] hour to two hours on that brisket so do

[11:37] you think you're better off just dry

[11:39] seasoning and

[11:40] maybe letting it sit and dry brine a

[11:42] little bit hoping some of those flavors

[11:44] get down in the meat because you're not

[11:45] gonna unless you've got a really long

[11:47] time and I've done it before

[11:48] uncomfortable season inject our brisket

[11:50] overnight and let them sit in the cooler

[11:52] until we cook them the next morning just

[11:54] because we want that time we want the

[11:56] flavor to get all the way through the

[11:57] meat we're really changing it but at

[11:59] home my thinking is I want beef so I'm

[12:02] not trying to cover anything up of that

[12:04] beef taste I'm not trying to add

[12:06] anything down in the meat I'm going to

[12:07] get the Smoke Gets a flavor I'm gonna

[12:10] get my seasonings as a flavor I'm not

[12:12] going to glaze it I just want that Texas

[12:14] style brisket flavor that I know I love

[12:16] what's your thoughts on Tyler before we

[12:18] roll into that you know I think it just

[12:20] got to be a fad I don't think you're

[12:22] gaining anything by putting Tallow all

[12:25] over that brisket when you wrap it what

[12:27] I've noticed it's done to me is give it

[12:30] a greasy feel and I do not want greasy

[12:32] and I think that's easily mistaken as a

[12:35] moist brisket yeah it's because that's

[12:36] greasy because the Tyler's on the

[12:38] outside yeah it looks good when you cut

[12:39] it that Tyler runs down that slice but

[12:41] it does not change the inner muscular

[12:44] moisture or the inner muscular fat you

[12:45] you've got what you've got it's whatever

[12:47] the cow is yeah you're cooking that out

[12:49] of it that's the gold cut that out of it

[12:50] not to have it all on the outside of it

[12:52] either I do like some tallowing stuff it

[12:54] is great render down that's a that's a

[12:56] rich good flavor but I don't think you

[12:58] gain I don't think you've gained that

[12:59] much became a fast it just looks like a

[13:01] big you take it out of the butcher paper

[13:02] and it's grease everywhere oh this is a

[13:04] juicy yeah so you think it had nothing

[13:06] to it that's all brisket shows yeah

[13:08] that's all shown

[13:12] so Mark we're two hours into our cook

[13:14] you brought up the idea let's just you

[13:16] know normally I'd just grab some water

[13:17] or whatever but you wanted to add some

[13:19] Worcestershire to it that's one of the

[13:21] big selling points when you see your

[13:22] brisket you like that dark looking bark

[13:23] and I think it's going to add a little

[13:24] color and who don't like Worcestershire

[13:26] that's got to be a good flavor on it you

[13:27] know I've never done it but it's got to

[13:29] be good the point there is you could use

[13:31] pretty much anything you want to baste I

[13:33] want to stay away from sweet stuff yeah

[13:35] like you don't want to add a lot of

[13:36] sugar because the sugar can burn you

[13:38] know you could mix up like a vinaigrette

[13:40] like a mop but what I consider a

[13:42] barbecue mop you could use straight

[13:43] water I've used pickle juice there's all

[13:46] kinds of things that you could Spritz

[13:47] with a little bit

[13:51] we're holding our temp steady at 275 and

[13:54] then we're going to cook it this way

[13:56] until it gets to 165 170 internal we're

[13:59] looking you know five six hours maybe

[14:02] we're not really worried about the time

[14:04] it's color knowing how this Bark's

[14:06] developing on the brisket and trying to

[14:08] keep the moisture from drying out the

[14:10] edges that's the big part to take away

[14:12] and the 165 170 is a good rule of thumb

[14:15] but you know pits are different you you

[14:18] may have the bark you want it may be

[14:20] good just like you want it at 140. you

[14:23] know wrap it then you know wrap it to

[14:24] your bark until you get the color you

[14:26] want we're wanting to get a good Mark

[14:28] people jumped a gun and wrapped because

[14:30] they got the color they want but you're

[14:32] going to lose some of that in the wrap

[14:33] even wrapping in butcher paper that

[14:35] Bark's going to soften up and you're

[14:36] going to lose a little bit of it so it

[14:38] doesn't hurt to overshoot that color

[14:39] just a little bit and then once you wrap

[14:41] it it'll bring it on back to exactly how

[14:43] you want it so today I think we are

[14:44] going to wrap when we get our color

[14:45] right with butcher paper I mean I like

[14:48] using butcher paper for brisket it's

[14:50] that Texas style of me it preserves that

[14:54] bark that you work hard to create on the

[14:56] outside of it doesn't allow the brisket

[14:58] to steam as much inside the wrap like

[15:01] when you wrap it up in foil foil works

[15:03] great it I mean you know it's going to

[15:05] hold Everything In It's going to make a

[15:07] juicy brisket you're going to have a ton

[15:09] of aju cook out that you can use later

[15:11] and we do it in comps all the time but

[15:14] at home I like the fact that the paper

[15:16] is permeable a little bit it's going to

[15:19] soak up some of the juice it's going to

[15:21] allow some of that smoke still to get in

[15:23] through it it's not completely sealed

[15:25] off like full would be and I think you

[15:27] just get like a better looking Texas

[15:29] traditional kind of bark right with the

[15:31] butcher paper so Mark we're about three

[15:33] hours in now we've just been maintaining

[15:35] that fire at 275 adding to split about

[15:37] every hour we spritzed it a couple times

[15:39] we did notice that we had that moisture

[15:41] accumulating on top of it and this is

[15:43] what tipping a brisket is is what we

[15:45] call it as that moisture pulls up on top

[15:47] of your flat you don't want to just have

[15:50] a bunch of it sitting there because it's

[15:52] going to make the appearance look off

[15:53] it's going to keep the bar and

[15:55] everything from penetrating by having

[15:56] that much liquid on it so you got to tip

[15:58] your brisket you just want to get that

[16:00] moisture off like he was saying touch

[16:01] the rub up if you need to actually

[16:03] looking at this brisket and kind of how

[16:04] it's cooking we base rotate that brisket

[16:06] spin it and put that flat toward the

[16:08] Firebox home because what's happened is

[16:10] our point and everything swole up so

[16:12] tall it's almost shielding that flat too

[16:14] much now so we're going to adjust during

[16:15] our cook we're going to turn the brisket

[16:17] we're going to build that bark on that

[16:18] flat a little better and I would say

[16:20] probably about another three hours we'll

[16:22] start looking at rapid but we want to

[16:23] build a good bar

[16:26] so we're running two sheets so you do

[16:29] want at least about half the 3 8 amount

[16:31] of that sheets overlapping so when you

[16:33] wrap it up it doesn't want to separate

[16:34] yeah that's what Malcolm's concerned

[16:36] with yep so you can tell we got barked

[16:38] up we got most of that juice right there

[16:39] still wanting to leak out some fat but

[16:41] that's fine because that right there is

[16:42] a seam where you're pointing flat sets

[16:44] so that's what it is we're rendering all

[16:46] that fat and it's running down the

[16:47] brisket we're just going to moisten the

[16:48] paper up just a little bit and I'm gonna

[16:50] hit the top too just a little bit real

[16:52] lightly I like to push the brisket down

[16:54] enough to where you have enough right

[16:55] here to tuck in so that way you roll it

[16:57] up underneath it just like that and then

[16:58] pull it back to you and spray in that

[17:00] paper makes it a little bit more pliable

[17:03] pull it back to you

[17:04] wrap it tight so we're Back Lean side up

[17:07] fat side back up this is how

[17:09] you keep up with that internal

[17:11] temperature normally I like to go just

[17:12] somewhere about mid flat which this area

[17:15] up here is the flattening tail we kind

[17:16] of got the hunt where the point is I'm

[17:17] just going to come in from the side try

[17:20] to keep it about right make sure you get

[17:21] good Mass I'm betting it's around 170

[17:24] degrees what do you think Mark it will

[17:26] be 170 175 maybe 172. on the money y'all

[17:30] and we didn't probe that we didn't probe

[17:31] nothing that's just how I know from

[17:33] looking at it what it's going to be

[17:34] we're putting it right back on the pit

[17:36] fat side or Point side towards the fire

[17:38] and all we gotta do is close it up and

[17:40] let it roll we're going to take this

[17:41] brisket probably about 202 at least

[17:43] that's what I want but we're going to

[17:45] kind of watch it as those degrees start

[17:47] ticking off when they start slowing down

[17:48] that's when the brisket's done if it

[17:50] Rockets up to 202 we might let it go and

[17:53] see that it's turning that's the

[17:54] important part

[17:55] [Music]

[17:57] the dreaded Stone what is the stall the

[18:00] stall was when you're really rendering

[18:02] fat this is the key point of the cook in

[18:04] my opinion to where you're cooking

[18:05] moisture out it's starting to get tender

[18:07] but the stall is when everything starts

[18:09] breaking down but we're right at 170 we

[18:12] were at the cooking process slowed down

[18:13] and we actually went back you said when

[18:15] we wrapped it you know you're going to

[18:16] fall back a few degrees and we dropped

[18:18] to like 164. but we're hour and a half

[18:21] in the wrap and it's already back above

[18:22] 170 we're probably about 175 now I've

[18:24] had to guess you said something earlier

[18:26] about this is when everybody starts

[18:28] getting nervous yeah because they got

[18:30] guests coming over in two hours they're

[18:32] wanting to serve this brisket but you

[18:33] can't give yourself a time like that on

[18:36] brisket there's got to be plenty of time

[18:38] worked in for the cook for the rest and

[18:40] then to serve it so brisket cooking it's

[18:42] a little you know it's a labor of love

[18:44] well I think a lot of times like you say

[18:46] they get impatient right now they get

[18:48] close and they're like oh that's good

[18:49] enough and guess what you're going to

[18:50] have leather yeah that's right you have

[18:52] to get it to break down I think you got

[18:54] to break it down all the way which means

[18:55] render the fat get the temp up get where

[18:57] it's tender and then you got to stop it

[18:59] and let it cool off on its own that's

[19:01] that rest period whether it's in a dry

[19:03] cooler whether it's sitting on the

[19:05] counter whether it's wrapped up in a bed

[19:07] sheet in a camera whatever you want to

[19:08] do to it you got to allow some of that

[19:10] rest for it to be the perfect brisket we

[19:13] kind of talked on different cook temps

[19:14] you know we're cooking 275 to 300. but

[19:18] you also got to think the longer that

[19:20] that brisket is in the stall the more

[19:22] tender it's going to be at a lower temp

[19:24] so if you're at a little bit lower temp

[19:25] in your pit it's in that stall a lot

[19:28] longer so it might be tender at 200 but

[19:30] if you're cooking a little bit hotter

[19:32] and it goes through that stall a lot

[19:33] quicker it ain't gonna get tender 205

[19:35] 207 you know so this is something to

[19:37] take account of is you know what's your

[19:39] pit temp have you been flaring up has it

[19:41] been getting away from you you know

[19:42] running hot or through the stall you're

[19:43] not going to be in that stall as long so

[19:44] you probably need to push that brisket a

[19:46] little bit further yeah and I mean our

[19:47] time frame is about an hour per pound at

[19:50] 275. but if you're cooking overnight

[19:52] like 225 doing overnight pellet briskets

[19:55] or something like that man you're way

[19:56] longer than that right this one those

[19:58] take me almost 20 hours to cook I mean

[19:59] the big thing to me is when you're

[20:01] trying to figure out how much time you

[20:03] need to cook one of these whole briskets

[20:05] give yourself way more than you need

[20:07] right because that brisket can hold it

[20:10] has holding power I mean we've we've

[20:12] said it earlier that you can put it in a

[20:14] dry cooler and it can stay in there for

[20:16] up to eight hours and we put probes in

[20:18] them and watch them and still stay above

[20:20] 140 internal right just hanging out and

[20:23] it makes a better product when you do

[20:25] that actually I mean I think it's best a

[20:27] lot of times if I knew I was gonna have

[20:28] a five o'clock dinner I might cook that

[20:29] brisket almost 24 hours ahead of time

[20:31] and I'm holding it the last six hours

[20:37] just like that you get that 202

[20:40] so the magical happens I'm using the

[20:43] probe that we stuck in and I'm just

[20:44] using it to move around and see what it

[20:46] feels like

[20:47] and it does still have a little bit of

[20:49] resistance in that Flat Point feels good

[20:51] we're gonna let it go to probably 205

[20:53] before we pull it up go just a few more

[20:55] degrees just to render a little bit more

[20:56] fat but it's

[20:58] it's dang close no two briskets are

[21:00] going to cook a lot right we know it

[21:02] should be done somewhere around there

[21:04] but that doesn't necessarily mean it's

[21:06] The Telltale sign it's done what are you

[21:08] looking for when you're feeling on it

[21:09] with the probe everybody says like room

[21:11] temperature butter room temperature

[21:12] butter is not up to my opinion not a

[21:14] good example but probably like not quite

[21:18] room temperature butter it's just soft a

[21:19] little you want a little bit of

[21:21] resistance because you got to think it's

[21:22] going to carry over in the rest and

[21:24] you're going to go a little bit further

[21:25] so that's when watching that dial really

[21:27] becomes critical to me I mentioned it

[21:29] earlier like we watch when it gets 202

[21:31] we want to see how long see that rate of

[21:34] time it takes to kick it to 203 and we

[21:36] start seeing that Gap grow it's not

[21:39] going as fast that means it's done about

[21:41] as far as it's going to go and so that's

[21:43] kind of your indicator so you're hitting

[21:45] the second stall is what I would call it

[21:46] this kind of is it's like a final start

[21:48] right like right now we've already hit

[21:50] the 204. it's doing this at about 10

[21:52] minute rate once we get to 205 we're

[21:55] kind of watching it now if it takes us

[21:56] 15-20 minutes to get 205 that's what

[21:59] we're going to call this brisket that's

[22:01] what it's going to come off so Mark

[22:02] we're sitting at 205 we hit that Mark I

[22:05] think that's as far as we want this

[22:06] brisket to go to today all we're doing

[22:08] is sending it right down one of these

[22:10] large aluminum steam pans and we're just

[22:12] going to let it hang out you can leave

[22:13] your probe in it and watch it while it's

[22:15] sitting here but we're just going to set

[22:16] it right here on the counter and give it

[22:18] about an hour that's about all I can

[22:20] stand today perfect world you probably

[22:22] let that brisket rest two three hours

[22:24] something like that but today since

[22:26] we're just cooking one to eat anyway I'm

[22:28] ready to get into it I'm ready to try so

[22:30] first you're just going to cut it like

[22:31] separate the Flat Point kind of right

[22:33] down for us well that's exactly what I'm

[22:35] doing I'm gonna cut it right down the

[22:36] middle and separate it we'll have slices

[22:38] on the flat this way and then we'll turn

[22:39] it and slice the point that way just so

[22:41] we get that across the grain off this to

[22:43] me that's the best slice because you get

[22:44] a little bit of lean and a little bit of

[22:46] coffee that's my favorite area I'm a I'm

[22:49] a half and half guy but you do have

[22:51] options so if you wanted to you could

[22:52] take your knife and you can see right

[22:54] here where the point and flats separate

[22:56] and you can separate that completely out

[22:57] do burn ends do whatever you want to

[22:59] with it that's your your choice yeah

[23:00] yeah but for today's today we're eating

[23:03] a breakfast slicing and eating so we're

[23:05] just going to go right in here so can I

[23:06] have my favorite half and then you get

[23:08] the front half let's open it up and show

[23:09] folks what it looks like look how juicy

[23:11] that is we got that smoke ring going

[23:13] it's beautiful perfectly rendered kind

[23:16] of smoke ring it hickory wood on that

[23:18] Outlaw pit let's put it on here I see my

[23:21] face I see once you get down to the end

[23:23] of this flat the edges are going to want

[23:25] to crumble but that's not a big deal

[23:26] honestly that's real burned in so if you

[23:28] wanted to make old school legit burn-ins

[23:30] that's where you would Cube that off

[23:31] dunk it in a little sauce make a heck of

[23:33] a bite let's cut some of that fatties

[23:35] this is the good piece the eating end is

[23:37] like I like to call it this is where I

[23:39] want to be that folks is what you want a

[23:41] brisket to do and it'll fold over its

[23:43] own weight like that you can make them

[23:45] ends clap that's a Clapper all day long

[23:49] but that's what you want and watch this

[23:50] it's still look at all the juice in it

[23:52] we got that edge of fat and it comes

[23:54] right apart that is tender brisket you

[23:56] want just a touch of tug and then let it

[23:58] go

[24:00] and I broke my rules started with the

[24:02] flat

[24:03] but it's pretty solid more cheers on

[24:06] that brother that's good that is how you

[24:10] cook fine brisket I'll see you leave a

[24:12] little bit of that fat so that just adds

[24:14] to it

[24:15] oh my God the fat and the flat is where

[24:17] it's at it's got richness but it's not

[24:19] so rich it's gonna make you feel

[24:20] miserable it's just a good eating

[24:22] brisket it's been a while since I cooked

[24:24] a brisket like this

[24:26] and I don't know if I'm just hungry

[24:28] or what that's might be fine

[24:30] all right so Mark you got you one let me

[24:32] go up in here in this end and get me one

[24:34] I ain't picking up fat at y'all no I'm

[24:36] going to that's a good bite

[24:40] well

[24:42] oh God that's so good that's so good I

[24:45] don't know why you would ever go to

[24:46] restaurants like give me some lean

[24:47] because that right there is so good that

[24:49] crunchy bark on top left that quarter

[24:51] inch Fat trim that's easy

[24:54] brisket Basics mark and it I mean it

[24:56] just takes time patience and letting it

[24:59] rest a little bit

[25:01] I couldn't imagine how good this one

[25:03] will be if you let it rest eight hours

[25:05] oh man God it'd be so good y'all brisket

[25:07] is a long process but if you take your

[25:10] time you follow some good techniques

[25:11] promise you yours will turn out this

[25:13] good mark thank you for coming to The

[25:15] Smokehouse hanging out talking brisket

[25:17] with me today anytime this was fantastic

[25:19] my friend we got to do it again

[25:21] appreciate y'all watching the videos If

[25:23] y'all like what we're doing subscribe to

[25:25] the channel y'all know y'all can find us

[25:27] on all the social platforms Michelle and

[25:29] I'll sit down next week talk about this

[25:30] brisket recipe on our weekly podcast

[25:32] yeah I'll give that a listen Mark we

[25:34] move let you slip in there I'll be there

[25:36] we'll see y'all next time