Brisket - Details on KISS

[Xring01]

Per the other thread… here is my Keep It Simple Stupid Brisket.
If you start out with a shitty piece of beef, then your probably screwed. This is Angus Choice, which is the best that I could find in my area.
This one does not have as much fat in the strands as I prefer, but its what I could get.
Another weekness of this brisket, is one of the pictures on the flat, look how thin it is. This is not ideal, I prefer them much thicker, but this was the best one they had. So I had to take it.

Here are some before/after of how I trim. I like to leave 1/8” thick on the fat cap, some areas I leave a bit more, other areas I take it down to meat. Thats where the burnt ends come from… the point… notice I took most of the fat off the point… if I chose to make burnt ends in that section, then I dont have to remove the fat… So make sure you get lots of rub on the point. Cut as much of the “HARD FAT” off, which is in the point as you can. That Hard Fat will not render out. Trim it to make “Aerodynamic”. Think of the smoke flowing over the brisket like a race car. Get it to flow as smooth as you can, without removing to much meat.

See above picture.. See how thin this brisket is… again, I prefer my briskets alot thicker in this section if I can find it.

 

[Xring01]

So, lets talk about timing… I want this brisket to be done by 6pm tomorrow and its 9pm the night before. My plan is to put this on the smoker at around 2am tonight, hoping its done around 2pm tomorrow, and a 4 hour rest… and I have 1-2 hour buffer in case it goes slower. It shouldnt because this is only a 12 lb brisket, so I will try to run the smoker at 225-235, should be plenty, but if cooking to slow, I can always bump up the temp to 275…

Right now, I have only put a very light coat of mustard ( you will not taste it), consider it glue to hold the rub… My rub is my top secret recipe, so eff yall, your not getting it. HA..

Again its 9 PM…. I have only rubbed one side. It will sit and there for hour or more.. just absorbing those flavors on that side. before I go to bed, I will flip it over, and do the same thing.

I will get up 1:30am, start the fire on the smoker, and hopefully put the brisket on at 2am… at 225. I guess the important part. I am using my Weber Summitt Charcoal smoker for this cook.

Before I go any further… ask me any questions you have…

About 30 minutes later, I took the below picture… See how much moisture comes out of the meat… The salt in the rub is working its way in, and alot of the flavors that I have in the rub…

Its 2:18am and the brisket has been on the smoker for about 5-10 minutes..

 

[Xring01]

Reserved for next steps

 

[Xring01]

Reserved for next steps

 

[Crazyhippy]

Why mustard? I have seen mustard, mayo, olive oil all used to get run to stick... What's your reasoning for mustard?

And is there a premade rub you would suggest? Can keep your secret squirrel stuff private, but what over the counter rub?

 

[Xring01]

Why mustard? I have seen mustard, mayo, olive oil all used to get run to stick... What's your reasoning for mustard?

And is there a premade rub you would suggest? Can keep your secret squirrel stuff private, but what over the counter rub?

Honestly, I learned how to run a smoker growing up in Texas, and its how everyone in my family cooked briskets. I learned via osmosis… just being a kid and growing up and helping out my dad, uncles, family members, neighbors… just how its done the Texas way..

I cant prove it, but Mustand, and Celery Seed improve the smoke ring. Neither flavors will come thru In the final product. Hint hint… Celery Seed is in my rub….

Honestly, I dont use any premade rubs. Why, pretty much all of them at 50% salt… You pay $8-10 for 12 oz, and get 6oz of Salt.. just wasting money, and to me because of the huge amounts of salt… you dont taste the other flavors that I want to taste. Based on the videos on youtube… Meat Church and Slap your Daddy are some I would be willing to try, but they would have to be given to me to try… LOL

For my official KISS recipe… equal parts of Salt, Coarse Ground Pepper & Coarse Garlic… not the fine grind garlic. And no Garlic Salt.. Start with this as your base line.

 

[DLC]

Great Info!

can you explain bark? How does it do it’s Thang…. How do you get it

and
Slightly off Topic….

Burnt Ends
what, who , how …. I know the why! We need the 411


Thank You !

 

[Xring01]

Great Info!

can you explain bark? How does it do it’s Thang…. How do you get it

and
Slightly off Topic….

Burnt Ends
what, who , how …. I know the why! We need the 411


Thank You !

Actually thats a great question. It takes awhile to figure that one out….
To me its a Time - Temperature equation…
But in my experience… at roughly 175 degrees internal temp in the thickest part… That bark is set… what do I mean…

The bark will get very hard, and will hold up, during the “Wrap” phase…
If wrap a brisket before the bark is set, the bark gets to soggy and falls off in the “wrap” stage….

So, even when the internal temp is showing 175 ish.. I poke the bark with my finger check that its set up… If it hasnt set up, than I will run it longer, then after the bark is set… THATS WHEN YOU WRAP..

I use foil pans and foil on top.. when I wrap… because it catchs alot of the Au Jus… which is yummy goodness.

Again… this is my opinions/experience… get enough people who think they can cook a brisket, and they will argue with everything I have stated….

OK… Burnt Ends
Those come from the Fat part of the brisket, referred to as the Point… which has alot of fat in it.
When the brisket is completely cooked and rested a bit (at a minimum)… You cube up the point into 1” Cubes or slightly smaller… trim the big chunks of fat off, put your favorite BBQ sauce on the cubes and alot of rub, and put them back in the smoker… for 30-45 minutes…
Serve them up…
So you get a very smokey, bbq, fatty, seasoned piece of BBQ Goodness.

 

[DLC]

What about adding a bit of Chile or crushed Chile flakes to a rub?

good idea
or
Bad

and what about brown sugar


What affects would either one have if added separately To a rub?

 

[Xring01]

What about adding a bit of Chile or crushed Chile flakes to a rub?

good idea
or
Bad

and what about brown sugar


What affects would either one have if added separately To a rub?

Question becomes… is the rub just being used during the smoking phase, or being used after its cooked?

The longer the smoking time, the less flavor of the rub, comes thru in the final part. Basically what I am saying if you taste the rub before you smoke… and taste just the bark after the cook/smoking time… You really dont taste the “potency” of most of the flavors….

Salt/Pepper Hold up very well the rest of the spices, dont really come thru much at all. So adding chili powder is something thats in my rub, but you dont really taste it when the brisket is completely cooked. Butt, the rub I make, I make it in several lb batchs when I make it, I use if for just about everything, not just briskets.

No your question is why do I recommend garlic in the KISS… because it makes a damn good crispier bark that holds up in the wrap stage. Texas pretty much is Salt/Pepper only… Fancy Texas is Salt Pepper Garlic… I prefer the bark with Garlic, you dont taste the garlic.

I do not use brown sugar on briskets… Pork Butts/Ribs yes…

Ohh…a key thing… why people add alot of flavors in the rub in the beginning… as I outlined above… when people make their rub, they typically make huge batchs that last them awhile/many cooks… But…. When we get to the “Serving” stage of the brisket… Guess what I add… Yep… A really healthy sprinkling of my rub… and you will taste the flavors of it then, because its done, and not going back into the smoker for 12 hours.

Hope that answers your questions.

 

[DLC]

Yes! that gives me better direction to go from here!

we use the same rub for about everything!

 

[Sleek-Jet]

Why mustard? I have seen mustard, mayo, olive oil all used to get run to stick... What's your reasoning for mustard?

And is there a premade rub you would suggest? Can keep your secret squirrel stuff private, but what over the counter rub?

Well, to start mustard is usually one ingredient in most rubs, and there usually isn't much salt in yellow mustard. So think of it as a liquid ingredient of the rub. The vinegar is rendered out during the smoke and mustard is "sticky" so the rub adheres to it really well.

I use it on anything img going to smoke and it always turns out great.