Cooking/Stephan's Brikset

Brisket prep and rub:

• trim meat down to 1/4" fat

• trim fat off of the bottom as it doesn't do much

• cover in salt and pepper ONLY (coarse grains, not fine grain) (if you want it spicy you could add a little cayenne pepper or something)

Smoker Prep:

• You want to smoke at about 275 degrees (F)

• Make sure you have a thermometer to watch the temperature of the brisket as that is key to cooking it. You have to know the temp of the meat

• Smoke the brisket with the fatty side up

• Fill a spray bottle with a little bit of vinegar (I like apple) and water (~ 10% vinegar). This will be used to keep the meat moist ("spritzing")

• Make sure you have a "water pan" in the smoker. Basically a metal container filled with water that will boil and keep humidity up in the smoker

Cooking:

• Smoke the meat at about 275

• After 3 hours go out and "spritz the meat" about every hour.

• After about 5-6 hours you should notice the temperature of the meat hit about 160 degrees and stay constant. This is called "The Stall" and is probably the most important part of the smoke. At this point don't open the lid at all. Just let the meat cook. You want to keep the smoker temperature as constant as you can at about 275.

• After the meat raises above 170-175 you are through the stall. Now you want to remove the meat and wrap it in tin foil.

• After the meat is wrapped in foil then put it back in the smoker. From here on out the amount of smoke is not that critical as you are just cooking the meat until the end.

• Once the meat is between 195-203 then it is likely done.

Post Cook:

• Once you are done cooking the meat DON'T open the foil

• Place the wrapped meat on the counter and let it "rest" until the temperature hits 140-145.

• After you hit 140-145 then you are done.

Cut:

• Make sure you cut the meat against the grain. If you cut with the grain it will be too chewy.