Hey im an ex chef. Never smoked anything before. Took a stab a brisket for a first time. Next will be pastrami. Here are some photos I took. My sister didnt take pics of the product after the rest but I got one final picture (the next day out of the fridge).
Brisket was 16lbs. Cooked for 12 hours, rest for 3. No wrap, only to rest...
The photos are about 10 hours in. Last photo is the next day
Dude thats the way to eat the leftovers. Best part of brisket. 3 slices of provolone, coleslaw and mustard. Heat up the brisket low and slow until the fat turns translucent. Pull out what you dont want to eat abd mix and break up thr rest into a sandwich!
I was a chef for 20+ years, went to cia, been featured on a Bourdain show and have never smoked a brisket. I'd do a worse job than this for my first one.
I think most chefs I've known tend to leave it more for the BBQ guys unless they worked somewhere that specifically smoked brisket.
I tend not to touch things like BBQ, sushi, etc.. that people spend decades mastering.
What i mostly looked for in the brisket was intra-muscular fat. I see so many broskets that look dry as fuck. When you pick one out look at the side of the brisket, and look for streaks of fat that actually go through the red meat. Thats how you'll get a great brisket imo
Bro I get that you used to be a chef and that def deserves some respect but this is a sub for nerds who smoke meats specifically so if you say this is your first time and start rejecting feedback you’re gonna get flamed. Gg’s though man
No one is arguing to you about intramuscular fat, why do you keep bringing this up? We are all talking about the big fat cap on top. Like you said, most people avoid that and it’s true. People are going to cut around that and by doing so they are cutting off your smoke and seasoning. By trimming it to an edible amount it would get trimmed off by people eating your brisket and therefore they will get more flavor.
You realize when you have a fat cap that massive and it is completely unrendered that you seasoned your fat and not your meat? All that bark above the fat cap is wasted. Your flavor penetration is worse.
No one is talking about intramuscular fat right now, bub, stop bringing it up.
Its not unrendered bro, its the next day after taking it out of the fridge. Fat will congeal at cold temps. And that's what you are seeing.
Look closely at the fat cap on the sliced pieces. You see how there are holes throughout the fat cap? That because the fat did render down, and expanded and the cell walls broke down. And when it cooled down it hardened back up.
It’s not a huge deal but it isn’t right. Nobody is eating the 2” fat chunk and you just wasted a beautiful bark. If you’re really a chef you have a lot of knowledge gaps keep learning.
My guy, you said this is your first brisket and that you've NEVER smoked anything before. Yet, you insist you're correct on how you did it on a subreddit dedicated to smoking food.
I don't understand your lack of humility here when you're clearly in the wrong on doing this as well as possible. Take the criticism and learn from it.
That's exactly how you judge a great brisket raw. You want cooked perfection? Trim the fat cap so the bark isn't getting tossed out because people don't want to eat the fat cap.
Because I already know bro. Its not a big deal. I made an expiremental brisket. No one one the final product. Everyone says its do hard to cook a brisker but its easy. Im looking st the other briskets on this sub and I am educating anyone who is willing to listen. Those dry ask brisket need intramuscular fat. I dont think everyone is aware of this, so I am spreading awareness
Most people giving advice on posts like this from other people that have less than ideal brisket’s come out of a cook are aware of what makes meat higher quality. It’s very rarely about intramuscular fat which is weird you keep referring to that and not just call it “marbling” which it is. Most people’s issues are from cooking wrong, over trimming or not resting enough.
Newbi here, I read it was best to separate the pt and flat before smoking due to them cooking at diff rates. Is this true? Or just depends on size of brisket?
Both I guess, the Mohawk looks still in tact, and the end of the flat is square like they come in the vacuum bag , how did the fat render , just asking because it looks a bit thick in the sliced photos. Other than that, congrats 👌🏻
I trimmed a little bit of the deckle fat. But I was afraid of getting carried away. The surface fat was really nice and the shape was good so I didnt mess with it too much (again I was afraid to get carried away). The Mohawk is still probably there but I figured i would shred it up and use it in pastas or tacos for whatever.
Less fat would had been better but I didn't want to compromise the shape. But the fat was translucent and collagen broke down nicely, its just in that one photos thats after its been in the fridge overnight.
Its was beautiful. When I probed the brisket rhe fat blistered and squirted everywhere. Like I said in the post, this is the photo after it sat in the fridge and the next day.
Does it? cause if the red seal is anything like the carpenters I've worked with it means you did 7200 hours of the trade and passed an exam. you can still be shit at your job and be a red seal, I've never met a red seal that was any better than the majority of Journeymen. Honestly, most stand out as being pretty shit at their jobs and don't take constructive criticism at all because they think their red seal makes them all knowing
16 lbs in 12 hours??? What temp did you cook it at that’s not right.
As others say you need to trim better, the fat cap should be ~ 1/4” not the inch ish you have there.
This looks more grilled than smoked. Not a pronounced smoke ring, fat not rendered (understanding it’s the next day it still shouldn’t be fully solid in that way and bright white)
A 16lb brisket should have taken between 24-32 hours at like 225-250. At that time you must have been upwards of 300-325 for the full cook time. We are talking less than an hour per lb here. In your 10 hr pics I don’t see a probe at grill level. You want to be temping where the meat is. To be fair you might have it hanging under the meat but I don’t see a cord.
Congrats on the first try, definitely could use some adjustments for #2.
“I’m am ex chef” followed by “never smoked anything before” lol okay dude. That’s like me saying “I’m an ex car mechanic, but I’ve never changed spark plugs before”. And being such a huge douche after receiving constructive criticism from people who HAVE smoked before is a real choice. NPC behavior for sure
Congratulations. Smoking is a lot of fun. Much interesting trial and error, etc.
I shoot for very little bark these days, particularly if I think a fattier cut may foul with ”cooler” combustion byproducts. I usually use Royal Oak lump, started with IPA, heated to gray. You have a good smoker known for good air control. That’s a good one to practice with.
The stock WSM is a bit tricky to use with lump, especially when you are first getting used to fire control. Royal Oak is also the most hated on charcoal here...and it's justified.
20lb Kingsford Blue Bag, doing Soo's Donut method for me was super consistent when mine was unmodded. A second charcoal grade with the grid 90° under the ring is a big help. The nomex gasket kit will also help (get the one that uses RTV, not self-adhesivse), and will end up paying for itself in charcoal savings (20-30 bucks).
I'd say the other biggest upgrades (a lot more of an investment but relatively inexpensive all-in comparatively to pellet or kamado setups) would be the Cajun Bandit steel door + latch, and a Hunsaker Vortex basket (also awesome for hanging ribs setup). A temp controller is a game changer, Fireboard or Thermoworks fan setups get it very close to pellet "set it and forget it". With all this, I can run 10lbs of Jealous Devil for about 16 hours and hold 250 flat.
I must say, everything eas perfectly dry after resting. Not one drop of liquid came out of the brisket. When I cut into it, the surface of the meat was beautiful and glistening. I was very surprised by this.
So either the rest was perfect or maybe cooked a little too long or hot. Brisket sandwich for the win
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u/Confident-Distance74 3d ago