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Today I attempted to smoke my first brisket. I followed a YouTube video for beginners and learned some lessons along the way. I have an electric smoker and wood chips, so the instructions in the video were followed, but had to be modified along the way with what I know about how my smoker works.

The Guide: Trimming



My Meat

1. 9.98 lb Brisket @ Kroger ($1.87/lb with coupon)

My Steps: Trimming

1. Remove the brisket from the plastic, place onto a cutting board set inside a large cookie sheet to catch the juices and mess.
2. Pat down with paper towels to remove the juices.
3. Follow step-by-step with the trimming video: remove the kernel, shape up the flat to round it out, clean-cut the sides, remove the silver skin.

My Trimming Changes for Next Time

1. Be more careful about how much fat is removed from the flat.
2. Aim for a more consistent depth for the brisket overall, the end of the flat got dried out some.

The Guide: Smoking



My Steps: Smoking

1. Preheat to 225 F
2. Spread Mustard on the meat-side, sprinkle 1:4 ratio salt to pepper, with 3/4 Tbsp Garlic Powder on all sides.
3. Place meat-side up, directly on rack, middle of the smoker.
4. Cook 2 hours at 225 F, then... check if rub has started to set.
5. Cook 2 hours at 250 F, then:
   • Check if rub has set.
   • Check the color (if not there, add another hour).
   • Check the temp (150-165F in point/flat).
   • If Dry, Spray with 1:1 ratio of apple cider + apple juice.
   • If Juice Pooling, place foil ball under meat to drain juices.
6. If Needed: Cook 1 hour at 250F, then... If color is good, wrap with butcher's paper, meat-side down when put back in smoker.
7. Cook 2 hours at 275 F, then...check tenderness by poking with thermometer. Should feel like poking butter.
8. If Needed: Cook 2 hours at 250F, then... check tenderness.
9. If Needed: Cook 1.5 hours at 250 F, then... check tenderness.
10. When ready, let rest in ice chest until internal temps come down to 150 F.

My Smoking Changes for Next Time

1. Do not use a water pan at all. Use it as a drip tray, and nothing else.
2. Use a better, more flavorful rub. This one came out kind of bland, but the bark was great with the steps above.
3. Do not go over 250F. The 275F was for his pellet smoker, and mine was much smaller.
4. Leave the smoke vent fully open the whole time. The objective is to remove the moisture and shrink the brisket by 40%.
5. The extra 1.5 hours at the end was too much. The tenderness was already there, it just made the meat fully cooked and start to dry in the flat.
6. Rest in the ice chest. The oven cooled pretty quickly.

The Results