"right temperature for a brisket" --> to clarify, you mean the "right temperature to smoke a brisket", not the right temperature for the meat.
Brisket (whole, untrimmed) takes about 1.5 hours per pound at a cooking temp of 225-250F. You really get the maximum smoke up through the range of 125 through 150 or so as the smoke ring forms...it's all related to collagen breaking down. Past that, the smoke isn't doing much except producing a good bark.
Here are my tips if you're doing this:
* Use untrimmed whole brisket. Fat matters.
* Get a Weber bullet and learn to use it. Rock solid in terms of maintaining temperature once you learn it.
* Leave the brisket on until you get into the 185-195F range. This might take 1 to 1.5 hours per pound. I've taken 18 hours for a 12 pound brisket.
* Depending on the time you want to serve it, here's where you have to adapt to meet your crowd's needs. If you're ahead of schedule, let it slowly rise on the smoker to the 195-205 range. If you're still early, wrap in foil and pack in a cooler, hich can help you hold temp for a few hours. If you're behind then you'll want to foil wrap, oven finish (or just foil wrap and ramp up to 275 on the heat), but allow enough time for it to rest.
The briskets I've screwed up were pulled off too soon (internal temp in the 185 range). The better ones were the ones I let get up to 195-205 (usually oven finished because I went too slow) and rested before slicing.
The best part of a whole brisket is trimming off the point, cubing it up, foil-wrapping it with some sauce inside, putting it back on for burnt ends. It's often a pound or so of meat that makes for great sandwiches for a few days after on toasted Texas Toast.
There is nothing more delightful in the world than snarfing up the trimmings of a well-smoked brisket...
Brisket (whole, untrimmed) takes about 1.5 hours per pound at a cooking temp of 225-250F. You really get the maximum smoke up through the range of 125 through 150 or so as the smoke ring forms...it's all related to collagen breaking down. Past that, the smoke isn't doing much except producing a good bark.
Here are my tips if you're doing this:
* Use untrimmed whole brisket. Fat matters.
* Get a Weber bullet and learn to use it. Rock solid in terms of maintaining temperature once you learn it.
* Leave the brisket on until you get into the 185-195F range. This might take 1 to 1.5 hours per pound. I've taken 18 hours for a 12 pound brisket.
* Depending on the time you want to serve it, here's where you have to adapt to meet your crowd's needs. If you're ahead of schedule, let it slowly rise on the smoker to the 195-205 range. If you're still early, wrap in foil and pack in a cooler, hich can help you hold temp for a few hours. If you're behind then you'll want to foil wrap, oven finish (or just foil wrap and ramp up to 275 on the heat), but allow enough time for it to rest.
The briskets I've screwed up were pulled off too soon (internal temp in the 185 range). The better ones were the ones I let get up to 195-205 (usually oven finished because I went too slow) and rested before slicing.
The best part of a whole brisket is trimming off the point, cubing it up, foil-wrapping it with some sauce inside, putting it back on for burnt ends. It's often a pound or so of meat that makes for great sandwiches for a few days after on toasted Texas Toast.
There is nothing more delightful in the world than snarfing up the trimmings of a well-smoked brisket...