smoking brisket

I am finally going to try my hand at smoking a brisket again. I know I haven't been posting in a while but work (which is good) has been keeping me away from the computer. Anyway... I have a 9lb brisket in the freezer that I want to smoke this fall. As some of you know, I have a simple Brinkmann electric smoker which I like and figured how to manage very well. I tried brisket before and it didn't turn out great, it was good at best. I have the rub but I need to know how long do I smoke it? I was thinking 9 hours. Also what temp should I try to maintain? 180 is what my smoker gets up to but I could probably get a few more degrees with some "insulation". River Guy and Kodiak, you know what I can do and have helped me before. But any help is welcome. Thanks

I get home from Travel this next Friday, I have one "wet aging" should be the Friday / Saturday project. I did one a few weeks back, I had planned on doing it in my Bradley Smoker but the heating element bit the dust about an hour into it. I tried finding a replacement heat element locally (entire Denver area) but no one seems to carry them. I found that a bit surprising especially for dealers of the smoker, somewhat disappointing. The smoker was relatively new and should not have failed. Bradley was accommodating and sent a warranty replacement. I had to scramble and move the Brisket from the Bradley to my Big Green Egg, which requires more attention, but it still turned out very well. Lesson learned and advise to others... If you have an Electric Smoker you may want to invest in a replacement heating element so you have a back-up when you need it.. I now have Two ...

i had one the the best briskets ive ever eaten,this memorial day weekend. just sharing

Finally found the pictures.. The BA Brisket didn't fit so well when it started out, so I had to bend it..

Right! Only thing wrong with it is when there isn't any. LOL

Fair enough ./. Cheers (Nothing wrong with food porn)

No better validation than that, Dave. Remember though, if there aren't pics, it didn't happen. hehehe

I took it to the church dinner last night and was working on the Church sound system that had a catastrophic fault on Friday night, the Wife heated it up and sliced it up and put it out. The hungry herds had at it before I could take some photos. The feedback was awesome, Four people said it was the best Brisket they have ever had, several said it was fantastic and so on. It went over very, very well. It was gone before all the Turkey and Pork Loin was gone. I will mark that down as a huge success.

Hey Prop, could I be so bold and ask for your recipe for the brisket cheese potato soup. New Years is coming and I have some leftover in the freezer. We spend the holiday in Delavan and would like to impress the family with something different. You can always PM me. Thanks

Nice job Dave. that looks amazing. I told myself I would wait until after Christmas to buy a smoker because I am redoing my bathroom. But we were at Bass Pro today and they had a Masterbuilt on sale for $179. I couldn't pass it up and brought it home. It is also digital, they had an analog one for $130 but I thought this would make life easier. Looking forward to breaking it in. Maybe a pork butt or some ribs for a first time.

Opps.. I will have to take pictures when I put it out. I made burnt ends with the point. I used John Henry's East Texas Brisket Rub: http://www.fredsmusicandbbq.com/John_Henry_Foods_Texas_Brisket_Rub_Seasoning_13_p/jhftbrs-13.htm I basted the Brisket with a Butter / Rub / Bourbon (Maker's) sauce during the last four hours. Good smoke ring, but I personally would like more smoke favor, I smoked it with Mesquite and Apple for about the first four hours. That might be fine for a smaller flat, but if I do a big one like this I am going to up the smoke time. So for tomorrow they will have Brisket Slices, Burnt Ends, and I chopped some of the point and flat up for sandwiches (a small part of the flat was done a bit more than what it should have been. Overall pretty happy, but could improve... Try Try again..

Good lookin bark, Dave. Look forward to pics of the innerds. What kind of rub you concoct?

Coming out of the smoker, 22 hours, the smoker was between 200 and 220 degrees most of the time. The meat came out at an internal of 195 degrees and poked nice and tender and it was still very moist. FTC'd (foil, towel, cooler) to rest for an hour or two. Plan to cut some later to make sure it is good to go, should be good for the church feed tomorrow afternoon.

LMAO, Dave! Lookin' good...keep the pics coming...will be doing a brisket after Christmas, and Nik7 and I gonna pick up some slab pig and make a pile of bacon.

Mr. Brisket in the smoker bent, Once it shrinks I should be able to flatten it out

15lb Brisket, trimmed and rubbed... Lower left corner cut off to indicate the grain on the flat, I am probably just going to bend it to fit in the smoker.