There hasn't been a brisket conversation in awhile on here and I don't have time to review all the posts. I am cooking my first brisket on my electric Masterbuilt smoker. I read earlier that it only needs "wood" smoke for 3-4 hrs. What do you guys recommend?

Also the brisket was too big (16 lbs) so I cut about a 4 lb chunk off the end and am cooking it separately. So this will change the cook time for the main piece of brisket correct?

I don't have a cooler to put it in once I remove it from the smoker so in lieu of that can I take it out wrap it in foil and put it back in the smoker with the smoker off?

thanks in advance!

It's hard to mess up a brisket. Do it, document it, post the pics.


THEN, we will tell you what went wrong.

J/K, it'll be good.

I also just bought one. Go to YouTube. Lots of stuff there.

Masterbuilt also has a web site with a lot of recipes.

If your only gonna do 3-4hrs in the smoker, your gonna have to finish in the oven. I prefer an electric turkey roaster to the oven.
How long? Till it's done. Brisket is cooked to a final temp, not a length of time.
If it is important to you, you will not get a smoke ring in the master built unless you throw in a piece of charcoal or two with the wood. If using chips or pellets, crunch the charcoal up a little.

To clarify I am talking about just adding wood chips for 3-4 hours. The smoker is electric!

any cut of meat can only absorb so much smoke. 4 hours is about the time determined by most. I smoke for at least 4 hours and then wrap until internal temp is about 195-200 then rest in a cooler for a few more hours.

Smoke at 250 for 2 hours then wrap in foil and cook another 10 hours or more. the longer the better. Ask the good BBQ places, some go 12-14 hours.

I've gone 24hrs just to see what happened. Turned out great. I try to "time" my brisket around when it is to be eaten, then try to hold temp until then.

6 hours-no less, different wood, different penetration, fruit woods take longer, pecan a long time.

I smoke mine until the it hits 160 then I wrap in foil or butcher paper until it hits 190-200 internal temp. Once it hits 190-200 take it inside and just open the foil until the stream comes out don't take it out of the foil just let it cool for 10 min. Them wrap it back up with foil then take a towel and wrap it and put it into a cooler for another hour after that enjoy.

This^^^^^^^^

Wrap in foil around 160-165. Length of smoke also determines temp you smoke at. Usually I get 6 to 8 hours of smoke on my meat cooking at around 220. 4-6 hours if cooking at 250 and higher.

Smoke it about 6 hours, then wrap it in aluminum foil and pop it in the oven at 185 degrees when you go to bed. When you wake up, adjust the temp to get the brisket to 190 degrees in the lean portion (it may already be there). You can then hold it in the oven at 170 degrees until you're ready to eat it.

this; after smoking set temp to 165 for 10+ hrs an just be careful to keep meat temp below 205 degrees (water boils out @212 = dry meat)!

Go by temp not time. At 160 wrap in brown butcher paper and cook till it hits 200 internal. Should poke like butter. Rest in a cooler for at least an hour before slicing. Profit!

I usually pull off my brisket at 190-195 and then wrap in beach towel and put in a cooler/oven/cardboard box... doesn't really matter. I use a digital thermometer to be sure but just like BigBob said unless the probe feels like it is sliding through warm butter then it isn't finished. All briskets have different fat content so its best to go by feel. The brisket in the video was smoked then wrapped in a towel for 2.5 Hrs since I had to transport it. As you can see there were no negative effects from the travel time.

I have yet to cook my first brisket. Good luck. I've got a big pit with smoker box. Pretty much a lifetime supply of oak firewood. 'Can pace myself drinking beer throughout. It's time I quit putting it off. I have several of these brisket threads tagged so I'll have more information than I know what to do with when I dive off into it.

Um...no comprende amigo

I smoke a lot of briskets each year and there is some advice on here I don't agree with. First of all, foil is the pitmasters crutch and you really shouldn't use it on brisket, ever. If you trim the brisket properly before cooking it, you will have the perfect amount of fat on the piece of meat to last through the cook. You want between 1/4" and 1/2" fat cap on the brisket before you cook it. I usually prefer a little more fat on the flat (lean part of brisket) and a little less on the point (fatty part of brisket). You want to make sure you remove the deckle and the other hard undesirable fat. Aaron Franklin of the notorious Franklin BBQ in Austin has a fantastic video about how to prepare a brisket on youtube. He shows you exactly how to trim it and how he seasons it, which IMO is the best...SALT AND PEPPER ONLY. Half kosher salt, half coarse ground black pepper. With good wood smoke that is all you need. I've been cooking briskets with salt and pepper only for a long time after trying hundreds of recipes with tons of seasonings and mustard and all that. And at the end of the day nothing beats a good oak smoked brisket with salt and pepper. And you definitely do not need mustard to form a bark. I have amazing bark on every brisket I smoke, with salt/pepper and oak wood.

I smoke all my meat on my custom pit made out of a 350 gallon propane tank. I built a custom temperature controller device for the pit and it uses fans to pump air into the firebox and it does an awesome job of keeping the pit at temp. I usually don't see more than 5 degrees variance on a long cook. Because I have the big pit, I never do whole muscle meats on my Masterbuilt, but I do smoke sausages in it. I tried muscle meats a few times and the taste simply doesn't compare to my big pit. There is something you absolutely need to get for the masterbuilt. The wood chip tray on the masterbuilt sucks. It doesn't smoke well. There is a company that makes a special tray that holds some wood pellets in a maze pattern. You fill with pellets and light it at one end, let it burn for a few minutes then blow out the flame and let it smolder. Then you put it in the masterbuilt and it will provide smoke for 12-14 hours. It works VERY well. I have made some awesome summer sausage and other sausages in my masterbuilt. The pellet tray is an absolute necessity. Worth every penny.

https://www.amazenproducts.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=AMNPS5X8

Keep it simple. The most important thing is to keep your temps steady and remember, if you're lookin you aint cookin.

Here is Franklin's video for reference.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmTzdMHu5KU

My general rule is 2 hours plus 30 minutes a pound, at 200-225; I'll wrap them in foil when they are carmel colored.

If you want tender, this is it. If you want pretty, wrap in wet towels and let them cool before slicing in a cooler or in a foil covered pan.

I am usually more about tender than pretty...

The bigger the pit or cooking area-- the more variance of temps will be found throughout the pit. If your meat is here or there in the pit will change on temp. I've seen 25 degree ups and downs on large pits. Use a dual thermometer to get two accurate readings in the pit. Never just rely on the built in temp. They only read at the tip end.

I have never and will never wrap a brisket in a towel. I don't believe there is one right answer on how to cook a brisket, have eaten several excellent briskets that were all prepared and seasoned differently. Cooked hot and fast with foil and cooked low and slow without foil. Cooked the whole time in foil except the last few minutes etc. and have had all that were fantastic as well as miserable failures.

Cook it to temp not time like everyone has said and that's a good rule of thumb for all meats your gonna be cooking.

Tried the pellet smoker tray in my electric smoker and it worked Great! 11 hours of smoke without issue. Thanks for the input!!!

No problem! Glad it worked out for you!!