Real camera may be dead for good, so pictures are not numerous or well taken, but better than nothing I guess.
I started out with 2 full packer briskets that were both within a couple of ounces of 10#. Small for packers, but worked out well since these have to go into a large container to cure. I use a clear Cambro that measures about 10"H x 12"W x 20"L to give me some extra room. This size Cambro also holds two large butts for making bacon or ham.
I trimmed the briskets of extra fat and fiberous material, then cut each brisket into two pieces, more for ease of handling than anything else. I guessing I got a total of about 2.5# of fat from the two briskets, so roughly 17.5# of meat is going into the cure.
I went for a wet cure, so I started out with about 2 quarts of water. To that I added the following:
1# Tender Quick
1# Brown sugar
4 tbs Pickling spice
3 tbs Garlic, minced
1 tbs each cracked coriander, whole black pepper, and mustard seeds
1 tsp Ground cloves
1/4 cup Honey
Bring this mixture to a boil, stir to dissolve solids, then cool. Place briskets in container and pour chilled cure mixture over, then add enough water to cover. I also inject the thicker parts of the brisket in several places to ensure the cure solution penetrates. I haven't always done this, and sometimes there has been a failure to get the meat fully cured to the core, so I think it's a good idea to be safe. Mix well, weight down briskets to guarantee they remain submerged, then place in fridge. Remember to turn once a day for 5 days.
Note: To weigh my briskets down, I use a gallon ziploc bag I blow up with air. I place the bag on top of the briskets, then put the lid of the Cambro on top, then I weigh the lid down. I can get just the right amount of "weight" by making the bag bigger or smaller, and this way I don't have to put anything into the cure with the meat.
So, five days later and you're getting hungry by now. Remove briskets from cure, rinse well, and soak in cold water for three hours, changing water twice. Dry meat, and then rub (I only do the top) with a mixture of:
2 tbs ground corriander
4 tbs coarse grind black pepper
1 tbs granulated garlic
Note: dls says to weight it down in the fridge overnight at this stage. I tried it that way, then tried pressing the rub into the meat well and weighting it down for a couple of hours. I don't know if I saw any difference, but my stomach was happier with my version, so I would suggest you try it both ways and decide for yourself if the extra time under weight is necessary.
Cool meat very well, maybe even place in freezer for an hour, then into 200* smoker until meat reaches ~160* internal. I get wonky readings when I'm doing these things, I think it has to do with the cure brine, so I usually go by feel to a large degree. I let this batch go for 5 hours in the smoker. They will not be fork tender like a traditional brisket, and you don't want them to be.
Remove meat from the smoker and once again weight it down in the fridge overnight. Here, at last, is a picture(after the smoker, after the weight, but before the steam):
The next day, place in a pan on a rack to raise the meat off the bottom, add water to the pan, cover tightly with foil, then steam in the oven for 3-4 hours. Just like dls said. You may then weigh them down again for another night, or eat them. You choose. I agree with dls in that I don't see any reason to weigh them down again. Here are mine after they steamed. These were weighed down after steaming because I wasn't ready to eat them right away, so I figure "why not"?
Lastly, here's a shot of a sliced piece. Cured through and through. Good color. Very tasty!
Hope you'all have fun with this. I think you'll be pleased with the results. I didn't weigh the meat after I trimmed it, or after it was finished, but I'm guessing you end up with about 12-13# of product from the original 20# raw weight. At $1.70 a pound raw, that gives you a finished cost around $2.80 per/#.
Final Note: dls uses kosher salt and pink salt as the basis for his cure. I use Tender Quick which is made from pickling salt and sodium nitrate/nitrite. Note that I am doing about double the meat with what might seem to be the same rough amunt of salt cure, but the TQ is much(!!!) finer than kosher salt. I suspect that his amounts, if expressed in pounds as I did mine, would be proportional for the amount of meat being cured. Just be sure that you don't mix recipes as the results will be very different. You could however adjust for amount of meat to cure, but micro adjustments are not necessary. 5 pounds +/- is plenty accurate.
Can hardly wait!!!