Save the brisket!

[Ka Honu]

I started with a 12 or 13 pound packer and sliced off the part of the flat not covered by the point to use in another recipe several weeks ago. I froze the rest and thawed it this week.  Today I trimmed it and (per Noah's instructions) rubbed it with olive oil and PBC Beef & Game Pit Rub.  I'm usually a salt & pepper guy with brisket (and maybe a little garlic) but I'm determined to use up this batch of rub before it clumps so it's figuring in most of my PBC cooks. The toothpick on the lower edge of the remaining flat marks the grain.



Sent it for a ride in the PBC and told my buddy, Maverick, it to let me know when it was ready to foil. About four hours in, it started to get ugly. The charcoal on the side under the brisket died out, apparently due to drippings. Maybe I should have banked the coals more to the other side or figured out how to hang the brisket horizontally so I could put a drip pan on the grill. 



Anyway, after about 4½ hours the IT started dropping (from a high of 154°) so I went to Plan B and foiled it with some beef broth and put it in the 300° house oven until finished (IT 200° - higher than my "normal" 185° but Noah said to do it so I'll give it a shot). Meanwhile, the charcoal reignited and burned off more or less as usual.

After resting (both the brisket and myself) I took off the point for burnt ends or chili at a later date and cut some slices from the flat for dinner. 





All's well that ends well - it was tasty, tender and moist.  What more can you ask from a brisket, especially on a new cooker?

[pz]

Looks tasty - the fun of cooking is almost as good as the eating... almost 

[sparky]

looks good.  got potatoes to go w/ it? 

[Wing Commander]

Looks very moist and tasty.

[sliding_billy]

Nice work.

[RAD]

great save on that one.

[muebe]

Turtle I think in this situation the rack might have worked better.

By hanging it the way you did you concentrated all the drippings into one small area of the coal bed.

All the juices running down the meat almost into a point.

Or using several hooks to move the brisket into a more horizontal position.

I would be interested in what Noah or Amber have to say.

Nice save and finished brisket

[PoppyBill]

Good save Turtle! It looks delicious.

[smokeasaurus]

I use the rack way more than I hang. The rack is in the "Sweet Spot" where the food usually is when hanging.

Great Idea using the toothpick to mark the grain. I usually cut off a corner to mark the grain. Then of course the briskie shrinks and I am left guessing......

[Smokin Don]

Looks great, nice color!!! Don

[Ka Honu]

... the rack might have worked better...

I'm sure you're right but there's just something really cool about hanging the meat from the rebar.

[Jaxon]

... the rack might have worked better...

I'm sure you're right but there's just something really cool about hanging the meat from the rebar.

Nice save, turtle (sir)...that's where your experience really helps.  If that happened to me, I would have been stuck with a ruinated brisket - not knowing what to do when the fire went out.

The big question I have is:  it must be about 4:30 AM there on the Island...are you usually up and at 'em this early?

[Pappymn]

Looks excellent Turtle.

[Ka Honu]

... it must be about 4:30 AM there on the Island...are you usually up and at 'em this early?

It's actually closer to 3:30. I've been known to wake up at odd hours and come downstairs to read or log on for a while before going back to sleep.  Old is not always better (but I'm on my way back to bed).

[TentHunteR]

Npthing wrong with how that turned out at all. I'd take a few slices and I normally don't go for the flat.