Primo Water OVAL XL Owner's Manual page 25

First Use
Beef Brisket (continued)
Take the meat directly from the refrigerator and put it on the grill. You will
notice a small dip in the temperature gauge, but not to worry, your temp
should get back to normal within a few minutes. Cold meat seems to ‗take
on' smoke better than room temperature meat and it will give you a nice
―smoke ring‖, which is a coveted coup de gras for all barbecue cooks.
The general rule of thumb for barbecuing a Brisket is 1½ - 2 hours per
pound. The best suggestion is to use a probe type thermometer that will monitor
the internal temperature in the thickest part of the meat. This way there will be
no surprises when it's time to take it off the smoker.
The first couple of hours will find the temperature rising quite rapidly in the
meat. Around 150°F, or so, it will start to slow down and at about 165°F (+ or
-) the meat will be reaching the ―plateau‖ and may or may not stay in the\is
range for a couple of hours. The collagen is breaking down and it needs
this time to do it properly. Don't rush it, don't bump up the temperature
and don't get excited! Let it do it's thing.
When the Brisket gets to 185°F, you will want to start paying a little more
attention. For ―sliced Brisket‖ pull it from the grill at 190°F and for ―pulled
Brisket‖ let the temp get to 200°F. Whichever method you choose, you now
have another decision to make: foil or not to foil?
If you choose not to foil, pull the meat from the smoker to a platter and let
it ‗rest' for about 20 minutes and then slice thin against the grain for sliced
Brisket. For pulled Brisket, just cut the meat into chunks and then shred
with a couple of knives or your fingers.
Use the ―FTC‖ (foil, towel and cooler) technique for 30 minutes to an hour.
Double wrapping the meat in heavy duty aluminum foil, wrapping it again
in a plain old, but clean, kitchen or bath towel and then placing it into a
beverage cooler than has been preheated with a few cups of boiling
water. This allows the juices in the meat to redistribute completely, so
there won't be a pool of juices in one end of the meat. This is also a great
way to keep the meat warm for a few hours in case it got done quicker
than you planned on or if you want to transport it.
That's all there is to it!! Some folks like to prep their Brisket with plain
yellow mustard and them apply the rub. The mustard ‗disappears' during
the cooking and let's the seasoning create a ‗crust' of sorts. You will taste
NO mustard at all, just the rub that you put on. Others like to inject the
meat with liquid and seasonings, which allows more flavor to penetrate
the meat and also helps the meat to cooker quicker. Which ever method
you choose to use, the end result will be great.
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