Brisket, foil or no foil?

I usually wrap in foil the first few hours then unwrap for remainder once meat starts to sweat. Got a new little brinkmann smoker that has water pan in it. Im wondering if that will provide enough moisture. It is a small smoker, im guessing about 18" diameter. Will probably hold up to 6lb brisket or maybe 2 4pounders.

I go the first 3-4 hours open then wrap in foil to finish....

I smoke first-then wrap late.

Brown butcher paper ftw.

I had better meat using foil with my brinkman.

I smoke 4 hours, then place on foil, add liquid and wrap. I use commercial heavy foil and double wrap it. It is called the Texas Crutch. You can Google it...

Out of foil first then foil if you want/have to.

I like cooking them unwrapped the whole time if I can.

I smoke for 4 hours, put in a pan and cover with foil, finish in the oven at 250.

Smoke 5 hrs at 180-200. put in a pan and seal with foil, in the oven at 210-220 until internal temp hits 202 (about 5 hrs).

smoke first then foil

smoke first here too. If you wrap it first, you will cook the external part, then when you unwrap, it won't absorb the smoke very well.

PMK is right. You need to smoke the brisket before you cook it. Once the meat reaches 212* it is done smoking and begins cooking, so get the smoke ring in there first, then wrap it and finish it at 250*.

Agree with smoke first then wrap. JFYI , check out this website for great BBQ : www.bbqpitboys.com

I cook unwrapped the entire cook, (8-12 yrs depending), then wrap tight and put in cooler to rest. You guys that are placing your briskets in a pan and covering with foil are missing out on some of the juices you could be reabsorbing during the rest.

hah looks like i've been doing it backwards. Always turned out good though. I am going to make one this sunday smoke then wrap and put back in pit.

agree skinnerback ... I do brisket both ways (foiled & unfoiled) depending on how much time I have. 8-14 hours heavy smoke with pit at ~225, double wrap and toss in cooler for a few hours.

Here recently I have gotten a bit lazy and don't have an endless supply of wood to maintain that high of a temp, so I smoke 8-14 hours at pit temp 170-180 to get the smoke embedded, double wrap with wide heavy duty aluminum foil, place on cookie sheet and into the inside oven at 225* until internal temp hits 195*, turn oven down to 200 and let the brisket go for another hour to hour and a half (depending on size) as the internal temp will keep on going up to 200-205, once the internal temp has been at or slightly above the 195 mark for 1-1 1/2 hour, merely turn the oven off and let rest over night as the oven temp falls. The next morning it is tender as butter, juicy and heavily smoked.

I am normally a die hard old school smoker but this method sure makes things easier.

In the cooler to rest is the way to go...

I would be careful w this. Check your temps after that long of a rest. Bacteria can start to grow at around 145 degrees I believe. The longer it stays in the dangerous range the bigger chance you have for trouble. You might get away with it for a while then that one time everyone gets sick. I don't rest more than 3 hours and that is wrapped in towels in a cooler. If it's going to be longer I cool it down and reheat it. Not ideal but neither is diarrhea for three days.

Yes I wrap in a towel. Now I want brisket!

me too...a nice medium thickness that doesn't quite break when you hold it up, but melts when you put it in your mouth. some sweet tea, slice of cheddar, a pickle and a jalepeno...now that I think about, got any white bread and spicy sauce?

Man I love those little Brinkman smokers. Mine's going on about 20 years old now and still smoking away. I never wrap in foil. I keep a pot of water simmering on the stove to add to the water pan as it evaporates. For a real treat do a pot of beans in the water pan under the brisket. I usually get a big tin-foil cake pan to line the water pan with when I do beans under the brisket.

Pot o beans under the brisket...

My smoker is modified to add a second shelf, I can do that!

Gotta run, it's brisket and (alpha test) beans time!

no foil at all while cooking youre not cooking a damn roast...smdh

The first 15 to 30 minutes of smoking is the most important and has greatest influence...smoke first then mist with a juice (apple fro me) and then wrap in foil
okiehuntr

I have never wrapped ANYTHING but one of the best briskets I ever had was wrapped most of the time.

foil on briskets tells me a lot about those that that do it....just sayin

Let us know how those beans turn out Cast. I bet they'll be great. If you usually add salt to your pinto seasoning cut it back by 1/4, the beans pick up salt from the drippings off the brisket.

I do it the right way

turned out okay. A little chewy, and could have been more moist. I probably should have trimmed more fat off before smoking and wrapped in foil earlier. With a probe thermometer in the brisket, I couldnt get meat temp past 160. Once i foiled it, it got up to 180 but i only had it in foil for about 45mins. I was in a hurry to go set a hog trap on the lease. No sure what smoker temp was cause it reads warm - ideal - hot. it was in mid ideal most of the time. any tips are appreciated.

Actually from what you have posted I strongly recommend getting a new temp Guage with numbers and make sure the end of the probe is close to the same height off the grate as the food you're cooking (especially not above it).

The brisket was chewy b\c temp did not get high enough to allow fat to fully render. That's ok as cooking more brisket till you find what works for you is where the fun is at!

I cook my briket between 250 and 300, never letting my temp spike higher as it will cook the rub and reduce its flavor.

Brisket cannot absorb any more smoke after internal temp at 165 so you might as well wrap it to keep in moisture after that. I use commercial cellophane to wrap then encompass in foil. Once temp gets to 210 I bring in and finish in oven for another hour or two at 250 degrees. Internal temp at 235-240 and it should be ready to rest an hour and then eat. My take and it works.

You let it get too hot. Mid "ideal" is about 235 degrees on a Brinkman. Using a meat thermometer, pull it at about 140 in the center and let it rest. It'll raise to almost 160 and keep cooking before it starts cooling. I pull roasts at 120 and let rest to get that "cool pink" center.

now im confused..not hot enough or too hot. I know beef only needs to get to about 150 to eat safely, even less for steak. But most brisket recipes i have came across say to pull at about 200°.

You need to melt the fat layers in the brisket to self baste and tenderize. Thus the higher temps for longer periods.

My guess is it didn't get to cook past the stall for long enough. How long did you let it rest before serving?

Yes your brisket can only absorb so much smoke (to help create smoke ring), but it still continues to make that awesome bark during the cook. If you wrap during the cook, you are losing bark.

You have to cook your brisket the way you like to eat it. I only like mine smoked for 4 hours and then wrapped. Any longer and I think it's too smokey and it tears my stomach up.

Understood. I have found though, that most folks aren't working their pit correctly and that's why it gets over smoked. I used to be guilty of this myself and ruined my share of them. I'm not saying that you don't know what you're doing, just saying that once I figured out how to work my pit I can cook briskets unwrapped the entire cook and they don't come out too smokey. Good bark and just a hint of smoke.

Over smoking is all about the choice of wood. In a hurry? Use mesquite, smoke 4 hours max below 200* and wrap in several layers foil and place in oven for 4 hours at 250*. Got time? Use pecan and/or hickory. Smoke it overnight for 12 to 14+ hours, then raise pit temp to 200+ and finish it using meat thermometer. They'll both be mouth watering good, but the long slow smoke is always better.

Work on seasoning/rub. The real magic is there, letting it rest a bit before serving is the other secret. Then there is slicing...

I reckon there is a lot to know about burning meat. After you've done it for forty years or so, you'll still be learning new tricks. I just tried my first pot of beans smoked under the brisket. YUM YUM YUM

Wood is only part of it. Over smoking has more to do with damper control than anything. I cook all of my briskets with mesquite only. Split, dry & cured wood with the exhaust damper WIDE open. Regulate temp with the air intake only & keep intake pointed into the wind. Smoke coming out is clear to light blue. Billowing is bad. Even using only mesquite I never have a brisket that's too smokey. Now, when I used to choke the exhaust damper and use wet wood and all of that yes I over smoked a lot of meat.

Those beans look great BTW.

I only let it set 30mins before slicing..for off to a late start and was in a hurry to set a hog trap

Were you happy with the flavor and amount of smoke? If so, you are more than half way there. Like everyone else said, to each his own. It's a lot more expensive to start learning briskets now than it used to be. Worst case scenario, take all the wet and make chopped. I do that with what I can't get good slices with on every brisket.

Simple rules:
cook slow for longer period
no need to smoke the whole time
foil makes the stall easier

I've cooked maybe a hundred briskets and I still use foil. We can't all be genius bark masters like that old sob Newgulf!

yep, everyone has their own tricks and methods that are formulated over their experience. I've been cooking various types of barbecue for roughly 50+ years, starting out as a kid with my dad and his cooking buddies that catered events all around central Texas. There is a big difference in smoking one or two briskets for ones own consumption as opposed to smoking 300-350 briskets for a 10,000 person event, different equipment, different techniques, etc. I enjoy changing things up to see what differences (good or bad) there are and always willing to listen to someone else's methods. Then take the things I like forward. Rarely will I tell someone they are doing it "wrong" just because it's not one of my methods unless it truly is wrong (like only bringing the center of a brisket up to 150*). There is a whole lot of information (some good, some not) available now on the web that we didn't have 20 years ago, much less 40-50 years ago, as it was passed down from someone that already had experienced stuff that worked or not.

some people like different amounts or levels of smoke, some people like the flavors of certain wood or another type or a mixture of various, some people like various spices in their rub versus other spices or combinations. some people like to cook hot and fast versus low and slow, wrapping or not, even closed pit versus open. None are really wrong, just different. Another point is some people like the lean or dry part while others like the moist or fatty part ... its all about ones liking really. not so much wrong or right ...

Yes, whatever works for you/whatever you like. I'm just sharing a few things that I have learned through the years of cooking BBQ (30+ yrs ) .

yep, part of it is helping others and also listening (or reading) what others have found to work, give it a try frequently...

Yes we were happy with the smoke and flavor..just need to experiment to get it more tender. The bark was decent but i think trimming more fat will improve that.

Yup, cut the chit chat and start saving for your next brisket.

This past weekend I smoked a brisket over mesquite. Beans underneath as mentioned above. The beans are now legendary. The brisket I cut up into burnt ends and basted with a sauce I made up from the drippings from the foil overcoat. They were excellent, but not what I wanted. I have a chunk of brisket left. This weekend I do the same thing to it, but then I'm going to chipotle coat and put a good layer of my SPG & brown sugar rub on the chunks and put them on the smoker to get a crust. That's what I call burnt ends.

My first time with burnt ends too.

Point is, after 40+ years of cooking BBQ, there's always something new to try (or invent). My chipotle crust is an example. I invented that.

What are you doing for seasoning? Dry rub? The right rub really helps the bark.

Salt pepper garlic onion powder..little cumin..brushed some stubbs bbq sauce on at one hr and 3rd hour

Try mixing some brown sugar in with the dry ingredients.

LOL!!!

IMHO, most store bought BBQ sauces are for the finished product (dipping), not for cooking with. I am not a sauce type guy, if the brisket is cooked properly, no sauce is needed ... again, that's my taste, my wife is the opposite liking a sweet sauce on the finished product. The way I was taught, no type of tomato based sauce until the meat comes off the pit and is sliced, chunked or chopped ... again, a matter of preference.

Well if it's applied just before you serve it...

No, I can't do it. Sauce will mess with the bark, makes it gooey. Stick with a dry rub. If you want, I guess you could baste it first, then pile on the dry rub. Mine always seems to lack salk, so I hit my brisket with Kosher salt first, then chipotle paste, then soak it all up in dry rub. I let it rest a while, then on the smoker fat side up for the duration. I don't turn mine if I don't have to, and keep it away from the hot side of the smoker, if you have a hot side.

Me? All my sides are hot.

A couple fist-sized pieces of hardwood lump charcoal thrown on the coals will help build a good bark. I have no idea of the science behind it, but it works. I usually check my briskets at the beginning of the last hour to hour and a half of smoking and if the bark needs help I'll throw on a couple lumps.

first and foremost get you a good dual temp probe. One for the cabinet and one for the meat.

trim fat to about 1/4 all around
use your rub that you like
225-250 internal smoker/oven temp (I like to keep it right around 225)
smoke unwrapped for 4 hours its about all the smoke it'll take by then
pull it and wrap it real good in foil (yes there are some snobs out there but this works great, proven and is easier and more consistent until you decide if you want to be a snob to lol)
back in the smoker until your internal temp hits 200 (not hot enough = tighter/tougher meat. to hot = to tender and falling apart. Of course all to a varying degree)
remove from smoker wrap in a towel and if possible let it sit in a cooler for at least a few hours. In the beginning the meat will actually continue to rise in temperature before it starts to cool down and reabsorb some of the juices left in the foil. Cooling it down also makes a huge difference in being able to get a nice slice and keep you from burning yourself. Cut across the grain. Cut off a little piece of the point on the flat to see which way at first. Keep an eye on it because it will change through the process. I always save the juice to keep meat moist if dinner is going to take a little while and I also use it to put in my bbq sauce. Have fun. After just a few briskets you'll learn what you like and don't like and can tweak. Its what makes it fun.

Ill try all dry rub next time..just trying different things..ive seen recipes that put mustard before smoking, basting with slop every hour, etc...

Mustard just helps keep the rub on and/or allows you to add more. The flavor cooks away. I use it for chicken. Gives chicken a nice color to.