Trimming: I do a lot of trimming of my brisket. A lot of briskets come with a great big fat-cap and I like to trim most of that off. A lot of that won't render out. Any "hard" fat you have, get rid of it.

Soaking: I soak my brisket overnight in straight beef broth. I don't Inject ike some folks and that soaking has always worked great. Dry the meat off completely before applying the rub

Rub - I've always used a mixture of salt, garlic powder, onion salt and pepper. Don't add sugar and don't add exotic flavors, you don't need it. So typically, I'll go 1-cup salt, 3/4 cup pepper, 3TBS garlic powder and 3 TBS onion powder. Montreal Steak seasoning is also very good. I apply my rub liberally, in every knock and cranny.

I posted below about how I prep my charcoal. I can't recommend enough having a digital thermometer with the probe inside the smoker. If your temps get too hot, it will ruin your brisket (made that mistake). Cook time will depend on size. I smoke at 225 to 250, you can go up to 300 but I don't like to go over that.

I "mop" or baste my brisket every few hours with straight beef broth. Again, I don't get fancy. Once the meat hits 150 to 160 it does tend to stall out. I wrap mine in foil though I've seen some mention butcher paper. Foil is my preference. Note that once the meat reaches about 140, it stops taking smoke so throwing more chips on the charcoal does nothing and wrapping isn't goin to impact the smoky flavor.

Once you wrap, make sure of a few things

1, it helps to have a second digits thermometer, this one with the probe in the thickest part of the meat.

2. Make sure to freshen up your coals. Add more unlit coals and another quarter to half chimney of hot coals if your temps have begun to fall.

3. Add plenty of moisture to the foil

4. Wrap the foil TIGHT, and wrap it twice

5. You don't want to keep opening and closing the smoker once you wrap so that's why i recommend all the above.

Now, watch the temp closely because it's not going to move much at first, the. All of the sudden, it's going to move quickly. Once it gets over the hump, it rises quickly. I cook to between 190 and 195.

When it hits that temp, I take it out and put it straight in either my oven (turned off) or an empty cooler to rest. I can't tell you enough how important resting is. Don't open the foil to peak, go straight from the smoker to the rest making sure the foil is still wrapped tight. Let it rest 1-2 hours.

One final thing, only slice what you're going to eat and only slice it right before it's served. It dries out quickly.





[Post edited by JLM-Hokie at 12/08/2016 2:30PM]