Wrap a brisket first?

[RemE]

I like to run at 225 degrees. Wrap around 155-160. I will wrap with foil, meat side down on 2 sticks of butter, sliced into tabs.

Ummm, butter!

 

[Timmy]

What do you set your temperature to for overnight brisket smoking? I will be smoking a brisket overnight this weekend.

I run mine at 195f on an overnighted.

 

[Pylex]

Low and slow gets a bark!View attachment 5287

Nice!
Now, THAT's what I'm talking about...

 

[Olds442]

• More smoke does not equal a better smoke ring – When meat reaches the 140°F mark, it stops taking in smoke. By this we mean that the gases which are responsible for the formation of a smoke ring will not penetrate the meat after it has reached this temperature. Many will wrap their meat at this point to keep it extra juicy.

That's why it would be foolish to wrap a brisket while it's taking on smoke.

i was gonna say exactly that.

reverse smoke makes no sense from a smoke perspective.

 

[Jim G]

I do 190F overnight, wrap at 165F mid morning, then 225F till 203 internal.

My next change will be to rest out till 180F, then into the cooler for the final rest before slicing.

Regarding this reverse smoke idea, I will be trying a Sous Vide brisket, season and cook at 165 for 24hours, then smoke to 203. Probably not wrapped.

I'll be very curious if you detect any smoke flavor.

 

[RemE]

I'll be very curious if you detect any smoke flavor.

Someone here has done it, wrapped after Sous Vide, still got bark, and said it was the best tasting ever. So I have to try it.

 

[Puertex]

Low and slow gets a bark!View attachment 5287

This looks good !
When do you wrap it?
I see the foodsaver...Do you vacuum bag some of the brisket for future use?
Puertex

 

[RemE]

This looks good !
When do you wrap it?
I see the foodsaver...Do you vacuum bag some of the brisket for future use?
Puertex

Wrap at 160F.

That shot is the leftover from the 18 pounder that we had the night before. I sliced that refrigerated hunk into a dozen portions. I had poured the drippings into a grease separator, then into a gallon ziploc layed flat in the freezer. I took that sheet of frozen drippings, cut into 12 pieces and put one in each vac bag portion before sealing and freezing.

I then Sous Vide at 150F to reheat as needed. I've had a couple since and they are awesome!

I'm a FoodSaver fan! If I'm going to burn a hopper full of pellets on a long cook, I'm now making BIG meat, specifically for leftovers!

 

[GrillMeister]

What do you set your temperature to for overnight brisket smoking? I will be smoking a brisket overnight this weekend.

Jim G answered as I would have.

 

[John S.]

Generally I use the Matt Pittman "Weekday Brisket Method (Low and Slow) everyone loves it...

 

[Guest4474]

I just tried my first brisket last weekend and ended up with very tough meat ... my advisor told me that I'd overcooked it but my wife and mother-in-law said the opposite ... seeing these "overnight" cooking comments maybe I have to give my wife an apology

I had a good smoke ring, first 2 hours unwrapped at 200F ... then another 2.5 hours wrapped in foil at 250F ... wish that brisket was cheap enough to practice more

 

[dflaher]

I just tried my first brisket last weekend and ended up with very tough meat ... my advisor told me that I'd overcooked it but my wife and mother-in-law said the opposite ... seeing these "overnight" cooking comments maybe I have to give my wife an apology

I had a good smoke ring, first 2 hours unwrapped at 200F ... then another 2.5 hours wrapped in foil at 250F ... wish that brisket was cheap enough to practice more

Yeah - your 1st sounds similar my first. It's counterintuitive, especially when you're used to pulling a steak or other types of meat off a gas grill at 130F or so...but...you really need to wait until it hits 200-205F.

 

[dflaher]

I sliced that refrigerated hunk into a dozen portions. I had poured the drippings into a grease separator, then into a gallon ziploc layed flat in the freezer. I took that sheet of frozen drippings, cut into 12 pieces and put one in each vac bag portion before sealing and freezing.

Dang that's dedication! I will have to try that next time. What do you use for a grease separator? And what do you do with the meat while the drippings are freezing?

 

[MDY]

The reason that you cook brisket (and pulled pork) to a temperature around 200 degrees is that you need to melt the collagen in the meat. (This also applies to making a pot roast out of Chuck). All of these cuts are heavily worked muscles and if you do not break down the collagen then they will be very tough.

The reason that you smoke first and then wrap ~160 degrees is that: 1) as noted by many above, smoke adheres better at lower temperatures; and, wrapping it at 160 helps it get to the higher temperatures without experiencing a stall. A stall is when the meat gets to a temperature where it stops rising in temperature for a while (potentially hours) because all the energy is going into driving moisture out of the meat and then evaporating it from the service.

 

[John S.]

I tightly wrap brisket in paper at 165 then pull at 205…
low and slow….