Ive been studying up on brisket cooking.
Hope to try my first one this weekend on the pellet smoker. What was your recipe?

 

are you wanting a simple recipe, or complex? there is absolutely nothing wrong with 16# black pepper and kosher salt but I prefer the more complex rubs myself.

 

This last smoke was 1 part coarse kosher salt, 1 part garlic powder, and 2 parts coarse ground black pepper. I rubbed a small amount of yellow mustard on to act as a binding agent for the rub. Set the dial on the pit boss at 225* and let it run until it stalled for around an hour around 165*-170 and then wrapped it in butcher paper and aluminum foil, bumped the temp to 250*, and let it run until around 200* internal and then started poking it with the therma pen until it went in like butter and then pulled it and let it rest in the cooler for an hour. Final temp when I pulled it was 205*.

My other go to rub is a mixture of black pepper, white pepper, garlic salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cayenne powder, chili powder, and brown sugar.

 

Simple as possible for the first one.

 

Course pepper and kosher salt is about as simple as it gets (and boring). Don't be afraid to lay it on pretty heavy since it is a large piece of meat. You can use pickle juice or mustard as a binder but it is not required. I mix the two at a 50/50 ratio as a binder. If your pellet smoker has the heavy smoke feature run it the first 2 or 3 hours on that setting then bump it to 225 for a few hours, then again bump it to 250 until you have the color you want. I also throw the meat on cold while the pellet smoker warms up in an attempt to get more smoke in the meat. Start spritzing after the salt and pepper passes the scratch test (typically 4-5 hours). Spritz it every 30-45 minutes with the liquid of your choice. I typically use pickle juice or apple cider vinger & water. I don't pay much attention to the stall anymore. I'm mostly looking for a good bark. Once the bark is to your preference, or if the meat starts showing signs of crisping or drying out wrap it in paper and chunk it in the oven at 250. You can finish it on the smoker if you want, but once it is wrapped smoke will no longer penetrate and the oven is less maintenance and cheaper to run. Brisket usually comes off anywhere between 195 & 205. Don't get too caught up in the number. Pull it when it easily probes. I open the wrap and set it on a wire rack to stop carry over. Once the temps drop to around 170* throw it back in the oven at 170 and let it rest. The longer the better. I usually leave mine in the oven at 170* for 8-12 hrs wrapped.

If you're bored you can cube up all of the fat that was trimmed from the brisket and throw it in a pot and render it down. After a few hours you can fill a mason jar with golden lard (filtered with coffee filter). I lay some down on the butcher paper before wrapping to help protect the bark and add flavor. Some people go as far as smoking the rendered fat. I tried smoking it and couldn't taste a difference.

fat side up (my opinion LOL) and cut against the grain. Don't freak out if the stall lasts a long time. Don't drink too much and pass out.

If you're in a hurry you can cook it at 275 - 300 the entire cook. Just keep an eye out for crispy edges and burning. I decided I like to run mine slow. It takes more time, but is more forgiving. I feel like the end product is better too.

 

One thing to remember, the meat is done when the meat is done. There’s not a set time or anything else to it. I’ve had 14lb briskets take anywhere from 8-18hrs to cook. Just is what it is.

 

and if you're lookin, you aint cookin. Do your best to leave the lid down as much as possible. When you do need to open it, get in, do what you need to do and close the lid.

 

Amen. Best smokes I’ve done have been the ones I’ve forgot about for a while.

 

Thank yall!we are going to get a brisket later in the week and some more stuff to smoke. I like to get my moneys worth out of the pellets. ​​​​​​​Speaking of pellets. What do yall like?​​​​​​​I've been using competition blend from camp chef on deer, pork ribs, and chicken. Before that was alder and before that was mesquite. Can't really tell much of a difference but their competition blend has the best non bitter smoke taste.

 

Whatever hickory I can find at whatever store I’m at when I remember I need some.