Just pulled a brisket out to cook this weekend
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Came from this guy who I raised and had butchered, so I want to do him justice
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That said, I've never cooked a brisket before. Tips, techniques, suggestions? Have a gas grill and a charcoal grill, no smoker.

Enlighten me with your ways

In before microwave

You're halfway there, that's a boil-in-bag directly from your butcher.  Just heat up some water and enjoy straight from the pack.  Pairs nicely with ketchup.

Need to cook that low and slow for best results.

IMO, should buy an inexpensive smoker and do it right.

Or air fryer.

Sous vide for 72 hours at 150*

I do have a chief electric smoker, but I don't know if that gets hot enough. Seldom use it

Nothing cosmic about cooking a brisket.

Trim excess fat. Salt and pepper rub. Cook over indirect heat until 202-205F internal. Oak smoke is traditional. Slice pencil thin and eat.

With fire, obviously.

I'd make chili

Making pulled beef?

Did I make it in before asking your husband...





Brisket needs internal at 205*   I like my brisket smoked

Where is the rest of it?

Pulled brisket tacos with fresh tomatillo salsa and thin sliced habaneros on homemade corn tortillas

Corned beef.

Put it in a brine and make corned beef with cabbage. Easiest way and it’s killer. OR

Since you don’t have a smoker, cook it on your BBQ using indirect heat. FAT side UP. Slow and low until the internal temp reaches a stall. Then pull it and wrap it in foil. Let it stand for another hour. Put it back on indirect heat until the temp reaches about 240. Pull it let it rest. OR

Cook it in the oven. They still come out pretty good in the oven. Go with a reverse sere method. Slow and low until you hit the stall. Pull it let it rest then crank the oven up to about 500 for about 20 minutes.

https://www.ar15.com/forums/general/Texas-Brisket-Chili/5-2595791/

With fava beans and a nice Chianti

Disregard any advice that doesn’t come from a texan.

Texans have smokers and won’t even attempt this without one.

It is not a bad idea. Braised in chipoltle adobo. Make chilli or tacos

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salt and pepper

225 over your wood of choice

bout an hour per pound - wrap or dont wrap at your discretion

check online for internal temps - it varies by person you ask


edit - just read you dont have a smoker - disregard everything I said - good luck.

edit #2 - could probably just do it in the oven at 225 but it wouldn't have a smoke ring or flavor

Without a smoker i would do this...


Build a hardwood fire, allow it to burn down.
Lightly cover brisket with Coarse salt n pepper
Put brisket on a Dutch oven
Add 3 cups beef stock
2 cans stewed tomato
2 cans Chipotle in adobo sauce
4 cloves garlic diced
1 red onion coarsely chopped

Prop Dutch oven up about 6" over coals, every hour add coals on the lid over Dutch oven.
Maintain coals/fire in a manner that "feels" consistent.

Burn the actual fire about 2 feet away and transfer coals to the cook.

Probe with a meat thermometer after 4 hours.  Checking every hour after.  Feel free to stir/flip the meat.
Remove from coals after the thermometer reads 200.  Allow to sit for 30 mins.

Serve as a taco filling with cilantro, Mexican cheeses

thaw in microwave, then trow in oven for an hour or so

cut and serve
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Smoke it...

Yea, that's not gonna work.

at your local HD, WSM

Ironic

No.  The chief smokers barely get hot enough to cold smoke cheese.

Grind it up, add beans, make chili!!

Lol came here to post this

2 important things to add:

Take the time to separate the flat from the point. Then rub then cook

And

Use an electric knife for the slicing unless you have crazy sharp kitchen knives

Works great for ribeyes, never tried it for brisket.

I see what you did there

Or pastrami.

Depending on the size of the brisket and the size of your charcoal grill, you can do it if you set the grill up for two zone (coals on one side, meat on the other). Then this:

Don't go crazy on the trim, take the hard fat off where you can, level off the top and try to remove any silver skin without making gouges, fat side I'll level out if it's got a bunch of uneven spots, but otherwise pretty minimal trimming.

Basic rub: 2tbsp coarse black pepper, 1tbsp coarse kosher salt, 1tsp granulated onion, 1tsp granulated garlic. You can multiply this out as far as you'd like and make a large batch for a good all purpose seasoning. I personally use duck fat spray as a binder, but I've also used mustard, olive oil, just plain old water, and nothing.

Cook whatever temp you like and your smoker is capable of, I'm personally a hot and fast cook so my normal is 300-315, but if you want to run 225 then go for it, for wood I use a mix of oak, pecan, and cherry for beef. If I spritz, it's a light coat of duck fat spray about every hour or so.

There are no magic temps or times for the cook, every cut of meat is different, so don't get hung up on numbers. My home, catering, and comp briskets don't even get a temp probe until they're wrapped (if I wrap) or when the bark is set up. If you choose to wrap, wrap when you have a color and bark you like, I typically don't wrap briskets at home or for catering until they're done. Paper is good, it will help preseve your bark but it will wick away some surface moisture. Foil will soften your bark, but it will keep more moisture contained, and the bark can be "reset" after the rest and before slicing.

The hotter you cook the higher your finish temp will be, it takes the same relative amount of time for collagen connective tissue to break down, so "done" at 225 may be 203, where at 300 it can be 212-214, and this will also vary by the cut. When I cooked at 225 I would start probing for doneness around 200, you're looking for the feeling of a toothpick into room temp butter, very little resistance in or out. It's an acquired feeling that can be learned, take a stick of butter and sit it on your counter with a cup of toothpicks, when you walk by throughout the day, grab a toothpick and run it into the butter, you'll know when it's soft.

When your tenderness is there, pull it, leave wrapped (or wrap if you didn't during the cook), and put it in a cooler or turned off oven wrapped in old towels or a blanket for at least an hour (longer is better) to rest before slicing.

Find videos on the correct slicing if you're not sure, a quick way to screw up a great brisket is slicing it the wrong way. You want to slice across the grain, not with it, and the flat and point has grain going different directions, so separating the two is the ideal way. It's not really something I could describe here with words, but there's some excellent videos out there on it.

Lol

But earlier you said you ain't got a smoker?

For the size of that brisket, you'll be fine. At least you won't go fast and high.
You need mesquite chips.

I'm interested in how this turns out.

So what did you decide to do, OP?

Haven't done it yet, was going to thaw it out for Friday or Saturday

That will absolutely do it.  it will just take a day.

Finally an update. Ended up cooking it on my gas grill using the smoker tube. Only a 6.5 pound brisket, from a smaller steer I had butchered. Not huge, but mine.

Put it on about 9àm, cooked until 7pm, rested an hour, and cut. Stayed about 250-270 the whole time.  Was well received by family, my 10 year old son said it was the best meat he'd ever eaten, and brought leftovers for lunch. Ate it later in the week and it tasted better everytime
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Now I need a true smoker, so next time I'll do better!

Pellet smoker FTW

do you separate the point and flat or cook the whole packer?

???

I think the whole thing thing. I cut the thick fat off. Same as the package picture, just less fat