Brisket. To use a water pan or not

[ht01us]

Going to cook my first brisket overnight. I'm wondering which of the following two options you prefer.

1) On the lower grate (MAK 2 Star) no water
2) On the upper grate over a water pan

Either way, I'll be at 225* until IT of 180; then foil and drop smoker to 200* until IT of 195 (Feel free to comment on that also

 

[sparky]

i use method 2. when i foil i raise temp to 275º until 195º - 203º. its just what i do. i use to use a water pan under my pork butts also but been using squirts method of no water. i like it.

 

[SmokeAndSpice]

I've had best luck with brisket with a water pan. I just do a steady 220 degrees.

 

[ht01us]

Okay; water pan it is! Thanks for the feedback

I agree with Sparky; water pan is not needed with pork butts.

 

[Rip]

Hey Howard, let us know how it comes out.

 

[ht01us]

Hey Howard, let us know how it comes out.

Oh definitely. I've got pictures of the prep and will take more as the cook progresses.
I've trimmed the fat cap more or less. And there is a LOT of fat.

The Remote Boss really helps on the overnight cooks like this.

 

[ht01us]

I picked up a 9 1/2 lb choice cut brisket at Gartner's Meat Market.
I also picked up a pork shoulder for Thursday night. One of my nephews is coming over and we'll cook a few butts for a bachelor party he is hosting.

My goal was to leave a 1/4" layer of fat on. Um, maybe next time. Looking at this I bet you won't want to come get a hair cut from me anytime soon.

Around 7:00 tonight I'll inject with beef broth, rub it and put it on the upper rack of the MAK over a water pan at 225*

Here it is injected, oiled, and rubbed.

On the smoker. 1 hour at "Smoke" 225* until IT of 180; Foil; 205* until IT of 195.

That's a chunk of lemon with a Maverick probe plugged through it. Two temp probes; I'll probably get confused. Like Lewis Carroll said "a man with 1 watch knows what time it is; a man with 2 watches is never really sure".

 

[ht01us]

The next morning

OMG. That took a long time to cook. 7:30 at night until noon Sunday. The temp was 15 - 20 degrees cooler on the upper grate than the built in probe measure.
Here it is about 8:30 after I removed the water pan and moved the brisket ot the lower grill. I don't think I'll be making lemonade with that lemon.

At 10:00 in the morning it hit 181 so I put it in a pan with some beer; then covered with foil to let it steam a bit.

Out of the cooker at noon. Wrapped it in a double layer of foil and put in a towel filled cooler where it will sit a few hours.
Remember that little nub I trimmed off yesterday; I just ate it and its like buttah.

LESSONS LEARNED
Long cooking time. The average temp on the upper grate over the water pan was 15 - 20 cooler than built in probe.
Either increase initial temp from 225 to 240 to compensate or don't use such a big water pan.

 

[ht01us]

Sliced and served

After sitting in the cooler for about 4 hours, I busted it out.

I split the point from the flat as best I could and sliced up the parts.

The flat is on the far right; it's a bit tough. But the slices from the point and the thicker part of the brisket were like butter. I was pretty worried about this cook, but I'm pretty satisfied.

Dinner is served. Carla is up in Victoria with her sisters so I dined alone.

The full story can be found on my blog.