Brisket Marinade??

more like 12-14 hrs

Crispy-

Glad to hear my now wife was able to fix you up with some wood. Let us know how the marinade works out. Many folks don't marinade at all, just rub and smoke.

A 7 pounder is pretty big for a flat, so it may take a while. Don't think I've ever tried a flat that large in a CS, so I'd be interested to hear your results. If you haven't already, check out the Brisket 101 section of this forum. It's been a while since I read it, but I'm pretty sure it covers judging for doneness, and slicing the brisket(ACROSS THE GRAIN!).

If that flat has ends that are not covered by fat, you may want to try placing a little bacon over just those parts. On the other hand, if you don't get to crazy with opening the door to check the meat, it may not be a problem due to the high humidity of the CS. If you're not using a remote Polder type thermometer yet, now might be a good time to pick one up. This will aloow you to keep an eye on the meat temp without opening the door of the smoker, which lets out the heat and humidity.

Good luck and have fun!

Crispy,

I just read your pulled pork post, and it seems your Polder is a bit nutsy. I still think properly working ones are a good tool. Seems they are kind of tempermental though!

Getting good bark in a small Cookshack is a learning process also. The pork you cooked had plently of fat to keep the interior of the meat moist. A brisket flat will have considerably less fat, so it will be more difficult to get a real thick "bark" and maintain the meat moisture. I'm not sure about the effects of marinating in "bark" formation either.

Again, please post your results, as I'm sure everyone will benefit from them!

Mornin',

Like Matt said,"not many folks marinate a brisket" but let us know.

I'm guessing that the 7 Kb meant pounds and not kilos.


It may well be choice and will cook a little quicker.

If you want to cook without foil,you might consider moppin' with something with a little oil in it around 5 hrs.

About 7 hours you might want to give it the poke test with a fork,etc. and mop again.

If your polder is working,you may find a choice flat ready closer to 185� than 200�.

Have fun.

This may sound strange, but I've done side by side comparisons and I've finally accepted it. I marinate briskets in Dr. Pepper.

Here's the steps I typically use.

I use choice grade, cryovaced packer cut briskets, make a whole in the cryo, and dump in a can of Dr. Pepper mixed with a little rub (my brisket rub is very similar to the CS brand rib rub). Seal it back up with duct tape and fridge overnight.

Remove from cryo, dry it a bit and thoroughly dry rub it again. Wrap and fridge overnight. Take it out the next day and cook.

I've done no less than 5 side by side comparisons. Identical except for the Dr. Pepper step, and the one with Dr. Pepper won blind taste tests every time.

BTW, I just cooked an 8.5 lb choice grade packer cut overnight in a screaming coastal windstorm at 250 F and pulled it at 198 F after only 8 hours. I've had them take as long as 2 hours per pound. Just goes to show you how variable timing can be. It sure is done when it's done.

It must be the prune juice.

My brisket is done. I also cooked one for a neighbor, and wouldn't you know, his was better. Mine was ok, but did not have much smoke flavor yesterday (7 lb. brisket, 3 oz. hickory). Today, I can taste the smoke. The flavor was pretty good, but I will probably leave the wine to chickens in the future. One end of the brisket crumbled as I cut it. The other end was slicable and tender. The family and a co-worker said the brisket was really good.

I think I will wait some time before I do one again. And when I do, I think I will try the Dr. Pepper.