Smoking a brisket.....???

Question

My husband is smoking a beef brisket for tomorrow. How is the meat supossed to look when done? Is brisket red inside? How do we tell it's done cooking?

Answer 1

It will be pink inside, even at meduim well. Make sure it's 165 degrees inside.

Brisket rocks.

Answer 2

With brisket one of the most sought after effects is the "smoke ring". This is a thin red ribbon of meat just below the crust. In competition you can forget about winning if you don't have the smoke ring.

I never 'cure' my briskets because you don't have that much time in competition. Typically, I marinate my briskets for a day (not during competitions) in a stock that is intended to increase the beef flavors.

To do this go to your local grocery store and look for brisket marinades in the BBQ sauce aisle. Also, get a couple of packets of dry beef marinade and prepare them with half the water (you want it to be concentrated). After the marinade cools add your brisket marinade to it and pour into a large freezer bag (if you are cooking a large brisket, they now make over sized freezer bags) and squeeze out all the air. I will sometime add some Worchestire sauce.

I usually smoke my briskets for 1.5 hours per pound. So a 12 lb brisket will take 18 hours. I use an electric water smoker because the temperature remains constant throuout the smoke. Typically, I use a combination of hickory and cherry wood chunks.

After about 4 hours of smoking I spray the brisket with apple juice and then repeat this every 2 hours.

Answer 3

To smoke a brisket you need to smoke it 6 to 8 hours at about 250 degrees. Or longer as needed. If you cook it to fast or at high temp it will be tougher than old shoe .You can buy a brisket already smoked at most grocery stores and all you have to do is follow the instructions and your done in 2 hrs. before carving let sit for about 15 to 20 min. that way when you cut it the juices wont run out,it will not be dry. If you decide to get a smoker make sure it has a water bowl I smoke my briskets about 10 hours.

Answer 4

The best way to do it is "Texas Style". The best tool to smoke a brisket is an offset smoker, one with a firebox to the side of the cooking area and the chimeny on the opposite. You could probably do it with a water smoker but you will be refueling the fire often. I found a great recipe at link below, which involves a rub 24 hrs in advance, a mopping sauce to add periodically during the smoking, and a dipping sauce for eating. Good Texas style brisket will take 20+ hrs to cook. For the fire I start with a base of Kingsford briquets and smoke with apple wood. To keep the fire going I periodically add a big chunk of Mesquite charcoal which will keep the fire warm for 3+ hrs. I want the fire so that when I place my hand on top of the cooker that I can only hold it there for at least 2 seconds, but no longer than 3. Yes you will have to get up several times in the night to restock the fire. You can keep smoking for a few extra hours if you need to wait till the party.

Forget the foil, browning, liquid smoke and other cheater methods. If done right, it will be tender and succulent. Good luck.

Answer 5

Fresh beef brisket can be smoked and cooked just like a steak-- rare to well. I marinate mine for 4 or 5 days in a spice mixture with a cure used. The cure will make the meat stay red even its cooked well done.Of course it will be a dark colour on the outside from the smoke.