beef brisket ?

[jc]

Guys,
I am looking to cook a beef brisket this weekend and i have never cooked one. I am trying to figure out what kind of rub to use or if I should just let the natural flavors of the meet come out. I have cooked tons of Boston Butts and ribs but never a beef brisket. i will be cooking on a Big Green Egg for 1.5 hours per pound or until internal temp reachs 190-200 degrees, fat side down.

[Jelly]

Guys,
I am looking to cook a beef brisket this weekend and i have never cooked one. I am trying to figure out what kind of rub to use or if I should just let the natural flavors of the meet come out. I have cooked tons of Boston Butts and ribs but never a beef brisket. i will be cooking on a Big Green Egg for 1.5 hours per pound or until internal temp reachs 190-200 degrees, fat side down.

turn it upside down then, you want the fat up, you can trim some off if you like

[donia]

turn it upside down then, you want the fat up, you can trim some off if you like

+1 as the fat renders, it will permiate down through the meat giving it mucho flavor and aids in achieving a juicier brisket.

[4dawgma]

You wearin' yer smart cap today donia?

[donia]

You wearin' yer smart cap today donia?

yeah, i gave it a whirl for a lil while...starts to hurt after a lil bit, though...is it supposed to?

[hillhunter03]

cook it low and slow just like anything else.i have a bladed meat tenderizer i use on a brisket before i cook it also. i would marinate it for a while to help keep it moist and tender. trim all the fat off around the edges and cook it fat side up. be sure and cut it against the grain too. this will also help with the tenderness. i would even wrap it up after it gets a good color to it and gets some smoke flavor. hope this helps but i cant tell you what i marinate and rub mine with cuz that is a secret. just remember that it is beef and not pork. It needs to be seasond more like a steak and not a Butt.

And BGE's are the worlds best cookers!
Other than Jambo Pits.

[Steam]

You need to listen to Hillhunter. He does competitions and all that crap. Parents even selling their own rub. He knows his stuff when it comes to meat. IT'S HARD TO BEAT HIS MEAT!!!!!

[greenhead80]

make a rub with your favorite spices them smoke it with the fat side up while it is smoking get a squirt bottle fill with apple juice and about every hour spray it down to keep moist when the internal temp reaches 165 deg pull it and wrap it in foil until it reaches 190 -195 internal temp then pull it from the heat and let stand and cool a little bit then un wrap and slice cross the grain it will be the most juicy brisket ever I have cooked several and never had a complaint and the first one I cooked was in texas and they said it was one of the best they ate

[M.R.Ducks]

Here are my $0.02 so take it as you will. A few tips that I feel are critical for cooking an excellent beef brisket.

1.) Be sure when you pick your Brisket you get one that contains both the point and the flat, also know as packers cut. You also want to make sure that the flat (typically the side of the packaging that shows the most meat) has a slight marbleization similar to what you would look for in a rib-eye. BE SURE IT IS PACKAGED IN A VACUUM SEALED BAG

2.) Before you add any rub or marinade to the brisket you will need to trim a small amount of fat from the brisket so it will cook a little more evenly. My rule of thumb is to trim all but about 1/4" of fat from the back side of the flat. Also there is a rather large mass of fat that connects between the point and the flat of the brisket. I normally crave out a 'V' section of fat in this area. Be careful not to carve so much fat that you remove the point from the flat. Once it has been trimmed you can marinade it with the rub or liquid of your choice.

When it comes to cooking I normally start with the Brisket fat side up and cook it for half the total time (1.5 hrs per pound). At the half way mark I will flip my brisket and cook fat side down for 1/4 the total time (temp will be around 150-160 with grill at ~220-240) and then finish it off fat side up until the brisket reaches about 194. Once it is finished I wrap the Brisket in foil and an old towel (leave your thermometer in it if you have one) and place the brisket in a cooler. I leave the cooler inside and I don't touch the brisket until the temp falls to somewhere around 150. Depending on the size of the Brisket and the ambient air temp it could take around 4-5 hrs for it to drop.

Another little nugget of advise...use wood that comes from a fruit or nut producing tree. I have found that woods like hickory and mesquite have a little to much bite and change the overall flavor of the brisket. The last few briskets that I have cooked I used a mixture of Pecan wood and Apple wood chips. The meat had a nice smokey flavor but didn't have the bitter bite that Hickory gives the meat.

[randywallace]

Guys,
I am looking to cook a beef brisket this weekend and i have never cooked one. I am trying to figure out what kind of rub to use or if I should just let the natural flavors of the meet come out. I have cooked tons of Boston Butts and ribs but never a beef brisket. i will be cooking on a Big Green Egg for 1.5 hours per pound or until internal temp reachs 190-200 degrees, fat side down.

turn it upside down then, you want the fat up, you can trim some off if you like

I always did mine with the fatside up, but have been hearing more and more folks doing the opposite. http://www.barbecuenews.com/forum2/topi ... at,up,down

The BILLYBONES moderator on that forum is W.E. Wall. That cat has cooked beef for hundreds of thousands.
I gave it a try. It turned out good, so now mine go fatside toward the heat (which is down in my Lang).

[donia]

I always did mine with the fatside up, but have been hearing more and more folks doing the opposite. http://www.barbecuenews.com/forum2/topi ... at,up,down

The BILLYBONES moderator on that forum is W.E. Wall. That cat has cooked beef for hundreds of thousands.
I gave it a try. It turned out good, so now mine go fatside toward the heat (which is down in my Lang).

now, that just throws a wrench into my line of reasoning....so is the theory with fat side down that is insulates the meat nearest the heat...or that the fat actually forms a crust quicker, therefore locking in juices quicker????? or that the fat being closer to the heat "boils" it back up through the meat instead of just running down????

[randywallace]

I always did mine with the fatside up, but have been hearing more and more folks doing the opposite. http://www.barbecuenews.com/forum2/topi ... at,up,down

The BILLYBONES moderator on that forum is W.E. Wall. That cat has cooked beef for hundreds of thousands.
I gave it a try. It turned out good, so now mine go fatside toward the heat (which is down in my Lang).

now, that just throws a wrench into my line of reasoning....so is the theory with fat side down that is insulates the meat nearest the heat...or that the fat actually forms a crust quicker, therefore locking in juices quicker????? or that the fat being closer to the heat "boils" it back up through the meat instead of just running down????

Insulates the meat for a more uniform cook is my understanding. I have cooked them both ways and had good results. Just something to experiment with I love BBQ like a fat kid loves candy.