Ok boys — here’s how I did it and it was the best brisket I have ever done or had.
Bought an 18 lb USDA choice brisket from a local butcher – buckled it into my backseat (not even kidding – I have a photo for proof)
Let her sit out for 2 hours, then started trimming
Trimmed it down to about 16.6lbs – saved the best fat for rendering and tallow later
Used worst-than-your-sister sauce as binder and only the slightest bit on each side
Set my Traeger Ironwood XL to 200 degrees and then set my brisket on top rack and let her roll; one temp probe in the fattest end of the flat
(5:30pm Saturday she went on the grill)
Realized after an hour that “200 degrees” on a Traeger means “220-230 degrees” in reality which was driving me nuts – so I knocked my temp setting down to 185….which kept the actual temp around 200-210…I find that interesting…I’ll look into that later. Let cook boys
(8:00am Sunday – outdoor temp ~45 degrees all night)
Temp on brisket at this point was 160. I needed to speed this the hell up…bumped up temp to 225 degrees
(10:00 – hits 170 degrees)
Pulled brisket off, wrapped in unwaxed butcher paper and spritzed paper lightly w/apple cider vinegar
Put brisket back on top rack and turned up grill to 265 degrees
12:15pm – brisket hits 205 on highest point of flat – probe tender all over – pulled off and set on butcher block inside my house – temp indoors 70 degrees
Let stand until 1:45pm – temp got down to 150/149 degrees – couldn’t wait any longer – had fam over and waiting to eat (I wanted to wait until 140 degrees…oh well)
Sliced into it and it was so perfect. Not even kidding…all of the fucking videos and websites…years of reading and learning…I finally did it.
Let me tell you – this is my 11th brisket – 10 previous briskets were on my 22” kettle grill and manual love and labor every 2-3 hours all night long…and fucked every single one of them up in some way….
This brisket had such a nice smoke ring – smoke flavor – and soooo much flavor naturally. I am so happy with how this turned out – hiit me up with any questions too – I want us all to succeed!
(Also, I’m currently straining my tray of rendered brisket fat through a coffee filter)
by zippypocket
3 Comments
Hey! It looks like you posted an image!
If this is a photo of one of your cooks, maybe share the recipe and techniques
used, as it’s almost guaranteed one of the first questions you will be asked!
*What seasoning did you use?
*How long did you cook it, and at what temperature?
*Did you use any special tricks or techniques?
Traeger on!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Traeger) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Wow looks awesome. Trying my first one next month and looks like you followed the Meat Church episode on pellet grill episode?
If so I plan to do the same. My only problem is bought the Fremont model which has an upper rack that is too narrow. So going to need to figure out how to modify to keep elevated
Did you consider putting a water pan underneath to help shield the brisket from heat and to add humidity to the cook chamber?
If you had more time to wait until dinner would you consider holding it in a cooler or oven?
Looks good by the way … good job