One Response for "Brisket"

1. Jenn Beisser June 19th, 2008 at 10:34 am 1

   From Team ChefsLine - thanks to Jim, Kevin, and Ted the Butcher

   Option 1. Raleigh - I think your idea about switching the briskets out is pretty good. But to answer your question of “is it better to just smoke them on the charcoal smoker?” then the answer is YES! if you love smoked brisket AND have all day long to spend tending the meats.

   Concerned about tending your brisket all day?
   Are both briskets not going to fit on your smoker?
   Do you want the option of a non-smoked brisket and a smoked brisket to serve?

   Here are some options that I hope make sense for you.

   Option 1. Save smoking and cook time overall.

   Since you had success with doing a combo process - than let’s look at that. In my experience - you’d ideally sear on stovetop or grill then smoke them both AND finish in oven. You would not ideally FIRST roast in oven and THEN smoke because the smoke ring forms on the meat (cooked at 225 degrees max) at the beginning as it has spent a nice low and slow 4 hours in the smoker. But you CAN roast in oven and THEN smoke to impart some kind smoky flavor to your brisket (as you did last year!)

   So your idea of switching them out makes sense from an organizing perspective AND if you want the oven cooked brisket to have a smoky flavor too.

   So here’s the schedule:

   1. Rub night before. Bring to room temperature wee hours of morning.

   2. Sear “smoker” brisket on grill. As this is happening, get smoker going. Transfer brisket to smoker and keep going for the next 4 hours.

   3. Sear “oven” brisket on grill. Wrap and cook at low temperature (300 degrees or less) in oven in house for 3-4 hours.

   4. Make the switch but only when the “smoker” brisket has sent its long slow time.

   Option 2.
   Consider searing, them smoking both for about 4 hours, then borrow a neighbor’s oven to finish them. This saves you time and next year, folks will know to show up early for the smoking brisket part. Wrap them up tight and finish in oven set at 300 degrees for another 3 hours. Your goal is a final internal temperature of 175 with a meat thermometer.

   Option 3 - Have 8 hours? How about smoking one on your smoker and doing the other in the oven in a different style? Here is a grill-to-oven Texas style brisket recipe on ChefsLine from Dotty Griffith- LINK. This technique is not about smoking and more about tender brisket and can work really well for one of your briskets. The pro here is this way you will have a different taste and texture for the two large briskets and guests will have fun tasting and comparing. You can also enjoy working on your “smoker” brisket for the duration of the process (no worries about switching and all of that) until it’s done. Fact is - guess will enjoy watching the whole process.

   Be sure your ovens/smokers are tightly sealed!
   and with a good rub - then the meat will have that beautiful pink cast that perfectly smoked meats get. As you know your guests are still talking about last year’s party - so do not hesitate to call us if we can help with any last minutes questions or dishes.