Parrothead72 Posted December 1, 2014 Report Share Posted December 1, 2014 Hi all. Cooked a 4 lb beef brisket flat this weekend after the tryptophan wore off from Thanksgiving.... Brined it for 12 hours in OJ (quart), Habanero tabasco (2 Tbsp) and 1/4 cup of Kosher Salt. Poured the brine into a Ziploc and let it marinate overnight. Rubbed it (after patting it dry) with a liberal amount of yellow mustard and then a homemade rub (cup of dk brown sugar, 1/2 cup paprika, 2 tbsp coarse black pepper, 1.5 tsp chili powder, 1.5 tbsp garlic powder, 1.5 tbsp onion powder, 1 tsp cayenne pepper, 2 tbsp kosher salt. Heat soaked the KK for an hour and brought it up to about 250* (thermometer) but the iGrill read 275* or so on the main grill surface. Did so with some ECC in the fire basket and 2 wax cubes (leave the dome open once I light them to get the fire going for a few minutes). Added a mix of apple, cherry and hickory wood (chunk of each). Let the KK go for about 7.5 hours (followed progress on my iGrill). Interesting that the meat plateau effect kicked in and took 2-3 hours at 160* where we simply moved sideways (all the heat being used to convert collagen to gelatin). Disconcerting because you think your cook isn't going well when you see it move laterally for so long but sure enough after some time it busted through the plateau and kept on climbing. Now don't laugh at me but it was pitch black when I took the brisket off the KK and when my iGrill read 200*. Wrapped it in foil and then in some towels and let it rest for an hour. Sliced it against the grain and 24 hours later it is all gone. Absolutely phenomenal. Tender. Moist. Juicy. Not a huge smoke ring and a wonderful flavor without anything too overpowering. Sorry for not having more photos. Next up - a whole packer brisket and my goal of doing some burnt ends! Special thanks to Robert (user 5698k) for all his help and advice on this cook and a bunch of others. - Noel 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5698k Posted December 1, 2014 Report Share Posted December 1, 2014 Looks like I'll be asking you for advice!! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilburpan Posted December 1, 2014 Report Share Posted December 1, 2014 Nice! Haven’t tried brisket yet, but I’ll be coming back to this post for tips when I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted December 1, 2014 Report Share Posted December 1, 2014 Lots of good advice on brisket is buried throughout the Forum. Use the search engine to find them all. After your first one, then we can kickstart the debates again over the "Texas Crutch," hot & fast vs lo & slo, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeramicChef Posted December 2, 2014 Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 Parrot! Absolutely NOTHING wrong with that! Kudos! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead72 Posted December 3, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2014 Must have done something right. Wife brought home another flat for this weekend. I really wanna do the burnt ends but probably need another go or two at the flat before the point. Will send some pics. Thanks all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5698k Posted December 3, 2014 Report Share Posted December 3, 2014 Burnt ends are easy, let me know when you're ready to try them. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeramicChef Posted December 3, 2014 Report Share Posted December 3, 2014 Must have done something right. Wife brought home another flat for this weekend. I really wanna do the burnt ends but probably need another go or two at the flat before the point. Will send some pics. Thanks all. BRAVO! When your wife likes the Q, Parrot, you're GOLDEN! And Robert is quite right, burnt ends are pretty easy. He'll get you through! On another note - how in the world do you keep your KK so dadgummed WHITE!? If I had that thing down here in OK, it's be sandblasted pink because of all the red dirt we have flying around here in the mild breezes! How do you keep the smoke from turning the top brown? Beautiful Kooker, Parrot, really beautiful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amir Posted December 5, 2014 Report Share Posted December 5, 2014 I'm doing this cook over the weekend. Got the brisket and ready to roll. I'll take some pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead72 Posted December 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2014 Shut down the vents and break out a little tile cleaner that we just so happen to use in the bathroom.....nothing fancy....give her a lit shine once in a while....speaking of your red dirt..... I love red dirt, gritty country music....shames those twangy Nashville folks.... I spend a lot of my time in Austin and fell in love with the whole outlaw music scent - REK, Gary P, McMurtry, Ray Wylie, JJW, good stuff if it appeals to you...Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
normstar Posted December 5, 2014 Report Share Posted December 5, 2014 Random question for y'all. If I wanted to make a brisket and have some burnt ends, but I did not want to cook a huge whole packer, can anyone think of a way to get a partial brisket that would give you some of both parts? Would cutting it in half lengthwise work, or would that ruin it? Reason I ask is my butcher uses a ton of briskest in his ground burgers and said he'd be happy to cut one up any way I wish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5698k Posted December 5, 2014 Report Share Posted December 5, 2014 If your butcher will cut the brisket, get the size pieces you want, and go for it. I've cooked the pieces seperately, and it worked fine. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ducaticraig Posted December 6, 2014 Report Share Posted December 6, 2014 Noel, did you cook indirect or direct heat? Another question, did you you foil at 160 or leave the brisket on the grate until it reached 200 and then pulled to foil? Did you spray anything on the brisket during the cook? Thanks Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead72 Posted December 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2014 Been on road a week. Sorry. Indirect heat. Never foiled while cooking. Pulled it off and then foiled and toweled it for maybe an hour. Wife asked for it again today. Gonna make it maybe Thursday so we have it next weekend. Apologies for taking so long to get back Craig. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeramicChef Posted December 14, 2014 Report Share Posted December 14, 2014 Parrot - sounds like a plan on that brisket. If your wife likes it, what else matters? I always hated living out of a suitcase. Nothing like your own bed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisLinkletter Posted December 15, 2014 Report Share Posted December 15, 2014 I always have shot for 190º on my flats that I will slice.. In a 225º grill you will still get 5-7º climb after you take it out. I even ice my foil wrapped flats sometimes to stop the cooking. Some others might want to chime in here. The ones I've over shot were a bit too fall apart crumbly tender. What's the consensus here? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead72 Posted December 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2014 Noel, did you cook indirect or direct heat? Another question, did you you foil at 160 or leave the brisket on the grate until it reached 200 and then pulled to foil? Did you spray anything on the brisket during the cook? Thanks Craig Hi Craig. Never sprayed anything. I've found with the KK there has been no need for me to do so. I've not had anything dry ever. Maybe my palette isn't the most sophisticated but.... I re read my notes and it was off at 197 and rested in foil for 30 minutes indoors. No cooler. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ducaticraig Posted December 15, 2014 Report Share Posted December 15, 2014 Thanks for the reply, much appreciated. Was that indirect or over fire?Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead72 Posted December 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2014 Indirect sir. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...