This ties in to the 275º cooking temps ,and the Cookshack classes.
Paul is a friend of Smokin'Okie's and head cook for the great Head Country BBQ Cook team and restaurants.
They have won most of the major cookoffs in the country.
He teaches at the Cookshack cooking class,as do several other great ones like Smokin'Okie,Fast Eddy,drbbq,etc.
Even Stuart,the President,gets in on the action.
I've been fortunate to have all these fine cooks at the classes.
These responses are from answers Paul gives folks that ask him questions at the Head Country web site.
Not all of this goes with all cookers,or cooks.
There might be a bit of info that helps some of us get over a hump in our cooking.
When learning the cooker and the meat,I strongly recommend following Smokin'Okie's guides.
On a rare occasion a brisket just will not get tender. Internal temp should reach 195-200 degrees. To re-establish some of the moisture put cooked briskets in a cambro or ice-chest for 30-45 minutes.
I am a proponent of cooking hot and fast 275-300 degrees cooking temperature. I can cook a brisket flat in 6 hours and a 12-14 pound packer trim in 8-9 hours As far as trimming the brisket I have two suggestions. Keep in mind there is a layer of meat between two layers of fat that has a very good beef flavor and should not be discarded as waste.
There are two ways to cook a packer trim:
1) Just trim the heavier layers of fat off the brisket and cook as one piece. This will take 8-10 hours depending on the size of the brisket.
2) Seperate the two pieces of meat. I call the smaller piece the deckle piece. It will have a lot of fat on the top side of it. It will be seperated from the bigger piece by a very thin layer of fat. I leave the thin layer of fat on the brisket. I take the deckle piece and trim all the surface fat off. There will be marbled fat in this deckle piece. Leave this fat in the meat. When seasoning (do not) season the smaller deckle piece as heavy. Due to the fat marbled in, it will be too salty if seasoned too much. By seperating the two pieces apart the cooking time will be reduced also. The deckle will cook in about 5 hours. The bigger piece will cook in 6 hours. This is using a cooking temp of 275-300 degrees. You will notice a big difference between the two pieces of meat. I use foil when cooking brisket. This helps in reducing cooking time and keeps the brisket moist. I hope this helps. Let me know if there is anyhting else I can do for you.
On brisket try our marinade also. The two together create a great flavor on beef.
Here are a few tips:
> choose choice versus select
> season liberally with our Head Country Championship Seasoning and then dizzle the marinade over the top of the seasoning and massage into brisket.
> preheat smoker to 275 degrees, place brisket fat side up and cook for 3 hours, then wrap fat side down in foil (pour 1/4 cup marinade in foil) and cook for 3-3.5 more hours.
> pull brisket when intenal temp reaches 200-203 degrees. Let rest for 20-30 minutes before slicing.
> have your favorite selction of Head Country BBQ Sauce ready to enhance the fabluous brisket you just cooked.
I like to cook a packer trim both ways: At home I cook the entire brisket whole. I will season heavily, drizzle the marinade on the seasoning and massage into meat. I place brisket off to the side and let warm to room temperature for 45 minutes. This allows the meat to absorb the spices. At competition I part the point/deckle away from the flat. I will trim all the fat off the point. I do not season the point very much at all. It will be too salty if too much seasoning is applied. I cook at 275 degrees. I also have two shelves in my smoker. I place the point on the top shelf which is cooking about 75 degrees hotter then the bottom shelf. I don't cook it longer then the flat. I can cook the brisket in 6 hours. Internal temp should be 200-203 when pulled. After removing from the smoker, allow the brisket to rest for 20-30 mintues before slicing. I try to let the strong beef flavor with our seasoning and marinade to stand alone. If some one wants to put bbq sauce on it they can so I put it on the side. I do agree with you though that the point mixed with our bbq sauce is fabulous. I don't like to cook it in the sauce but rather cook until finished, cube it and then mix sauce with it.
I enjoy cooking brisket. When done right it is an enjoyable piece of meat. I have addressed some of the steps in the previous email. One thing I have always liked to do is cook hot and fast. Your finished internal temp should be 200-203 degrees. It is difficult to get it to that temperature cooking at only 205-240. Try cooking at 275 degrees and higher, if you can without burning the meat. You can use foil to help prevent the burning. By cooking like this you will get good bark on it too, Total cooking time should be 6-6.5 hours. I hope this helps. Let me know how it turns out.
On the brisket you will have to cook at 275 degrees to get the meat to breakdown and get tender. I season rather heavily with Head Country All Purpose Championship Seasoning. I place fat side up on the smoker and cook for 3-3.5 hours. At this time the internal temperature should be at 150-155 degrees. I then take a double layer of foil place the brisket in the foil fat side down and pour a 1/4 cup of Head Country Premium Marinade in the foil. Seal the foil tightly and put back on the smoker. If possible boost the temp of the cooker to 300 and cook for an additional 3 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 195-200 degrees. Once it reaches this point remove from cooker, open foil slightly to allow the brisket to begin to cool. After 20 minutes of rest slice across the grain. Remember try not to open the cooker/smoker very often. The more you open it the more heat you lose.
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