Newbie here....first brisket is rolling!

[NOLA Smoker]

I am an avid cook. Very good at it if I do say so myself. I have had the Big Tex now for a month, and I must say that I love it. The chickens are easy and fantastic, the ribs and pork loins have been to die for. I must say however, this brisket has me scared to death. Here is where I am so far.

1) 7# brisket trimmed with fat cap
2) Rubbed it down last night wrapped in plastic wrap. In fridge for at least 16 hours.
3) Started the grill on smoke for 15 minutes with a mix of Hickory and Apple.
4) Put the brisket on the grill fat side up. Set temp to 180 degrees. Every hour or so, I sprtiz with a mixture of apple juice, beer and worstershire sauce.

Here is my question. At what temp do I wrap in foil? Everyone says add a half cup of liquid. Do you mean into the foil then wrap tight? Place back on grill at 225 degrees until temo of ???. Then place in ice chest wrapped for how long?

Sorry for the questions. Just trying to figure this out.

 

[Salmonsmoker]

Welcome to the forum NOLA. The brisket experts will be along shortly. While you're waiting, you might search the recipe section. There might be something there. Also, go over to the BPS website. I'm sure BP has a brisket recipe in the recipe section there.

 

[muebe]

First off welcome from Southern California

Well some people foil and others do not.

If you plan on foiling I would foil when the internal temperature reaches 160F. You can put a splash of apple juice in with the foil or any other liquid of your choosing but it is not necessary. You want to wrap tightly with heavy duty foil an return to the Traeger. I would bump the temp to 260F once foiled and pull when the internal temperature reaches around 200F to 205F.

Then leave foiled and put into a cooler(no ice) and then cover with a towel and leave it alone for a couple of hours. Then remove from the foil and carve across the grain. If you cut with the grain it will be chewy.

 

[NOLA Smoker]

I have done a lot of research here. Unfortunately there seem to be so many schools of thought in regards to this. BP says wrap it at 150 degrees. Carnk it to 225 and ket it go.

 

[muebe]

Here is one of my brisket cooks. It was a 15lb packer. I went unfoiled the whole time.

There are many different schools of thought on brisket. BP has some great experience with brisket. But the decision is ultimately up to you.

Good luck and post some finished pics with your results

 

[Pappymn]

If you don't foil, it will take quite a bit longer to get to temp. My first brisket was no foil. And it came out excellent. I did inject the night before with a beef broth mixture.

 

[NOLA Smoker]

Looks great! I am going to follow your advice. Pull and foil at 160 etc. I will upload pics and let you know how it turns out.

Thanks!

 

[TentHunter]

Welcome to the forum, from N.E. Ohio!

 

[ACW3]

Welcome from North Carolina.

I have used the foil approach. It pretty much guarantees that the meat will be moist when it is done. That is the main reason I use that approach.

Art

 

[NOLA Smoker]

Well, it was moist, and the smoke flavor and ring were present, but the meat was "mushy" for lack of a better word. That and the bark was soft, so the rub had a strange texture. I am going to chop it up, put in in some sauce and hope it is edible. I have never had much luck with cooking abrisket in the oven, the pellet grill doesnt seem to do me much better.

Here are some images just the same.

 

[Chokma]

Welcome to the forum. (Muebe knows what he is talking about.)

 

[muebe]

NOLA next time let it ride unfoiled the whole time and see what you think...

I like it that way myself

 

[FLBentRider]

Welcome!

I have done briskets foiled and un-foiled. We like the texture of the un-foiled brisket better.

Yes it takes longer. I'm Ok with that.

 

[Moomtaz]

I do a variation of both methods. When the brisket reaches 150° I put it in a steam table pan with a little bit of beef broth in the bottom and then cover the pan with foil, then back on the smoker at 225. I also don't like the mushy bark, so when the brisket reaches internal temperature of 190° I pull it out of the pan and place it back on the smoker until it reaches 200°. After pulling it from the pan expect the brisket to drop in temperature and then climb back up. I then pull it at 200° and put it back in the pan, foil the top, and cover with towels to let it rest for a couple hours. I think it is important to use a pan that way you do not have the foil touching the bark directly.

There is no right or wrong way. It is based solely on personal preference. Similarly, a lot of people wrap their pork butts, but I do not. I let butts smoke the entire time without foiling.