Brisket on Charcoal Kettle (Cook's Country)

medtran49

Well-known member
We just got done prepping the grill and a brisket to cook tomorrow. Started with a 17.67 pound whole brisket, but had to cut it down to about 11 pounds as we are going to try the Cook's Country snake method that needs a 10 to 12 pound brisket. When they did it on the show, it was the most moist piece of brisket I've ever seen, the juice just squirted out when the meat was pressed. So, we've got a small piece to grind up with a chuck cut for burgers and a couple of other pieces to do whatever with. Salt and pepper only for seasoning. It's been rubbed down and is in the fridge overnight.

Winn Dixie had brisket on sale a couple of weeks ago in vacu-packs. Got the above for $53, regular $105. Not bad.
 
Lit grill.

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Brisket on the grill.

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Light 10 briquettes in a chimney. Pour over the end of snake where the first chunk of wood is set at 4 inches from end. Put the cooking grate in and allow to heat for a few minutes, then clean and oil. Place the brisket on the grate fat side down with the point toward the gap in the coals. Place a temperature probe set for 170 F in the side of the upper third of the brisket. Place the lid on with the vent fully open and over the gap. Allow to cook undisturbed for 4 to 5 hours until meat reaches 170 F.

Once meat is at 170 F, remove the brisket from the grill using oven mitts, then wrap the brisket in 2 large sheets of foil. Wrap brisket with 1 sheet of foil, then turn 90 degrees and wrap with the other. Meat should be fully encased in foil, use an additional piece if necessary. Use a marker to mark the point of the brisket and the meat side.

Remove the cooking grate. Starting at the still unlit end of the snake, pour 3 quarts of unlit briquettes about half way around outside edge of grill over the gap and spent coals. Replace the grate. Return the wrapped brisket to the grill with the fat side down and point facing where the gap used to be. Replace the temperature probe in the point, cover grill and continue to cook until internal temperature of meat reaches 205 F, around 1 to 2 hours longer.

Once brisket is at 205 F, remove from the grill and place in a cooler, point side up, close and let meat rest for 2 hours up to 3 hours. Afterward, move brisket to a cutting board, unwrap, turn fat side up. Slice the point straight down in 1/4 inch slices against the grain. Once you reach base of point and muscle fibers change direction, rotate 90 degrees and continue slicing against the grain in slightly thicker slices, 3/8 inch. Serve.
 
We just hit 205 F, so it's out and resting. Didn't need 3 quarts of charcoal though, maybe half of that. There is lots of moisture in the packet. When I picked it up, a bunch came out, so looks like we just might have a really moist end product.
 
We just got done prepping the grill and a brisket to cook tomorrow. Started with a 17.67 pound whole brisket, but had to cut it down to about 11 pounds as we are going to try the Cook's Country snake method that needs a 10 to 12 pound brisket. When they did it on the show, it was the most moist piece of brisket I've ever seen, the juice just squirted out when the meat was pressed. So, we've got a small piece to grind up with a chuck cut for burgers and a couple of other pieces to do whatever with. Salt and pepper only for seasoning. It's been rubbed down and is in the fridge overnight.

Winn Dixie had brisket on sale a couple of weeks ago in vacu-packs. Got the above for $53, regular $105. Not bad.

Whoa, I don't think I've ever seen a brisket that big, Karen! Good deal!

As John said, I'm looking forward to seeing how you liked the snake briquettes technique for your brisket! How long did you have it on the cooker?
Did you have trouble regulating the temp?

Lee
 
The first cook to 170 was about 5.5 hours, but I caught Craig lifting the lid and yelled at him to put it back on and leave it alone. ? The second cook to 205 took about 40 minutes.

He's cooked brisket before, only twice on the grill, and I didn't like it because it was on the dry side, but then we went to a local BBQ restaurant and they had what they called wet and dry brisket. I got a piece of the wet on my combo plate and OMG my feelings about brisket did a 180. When I saw that episode of Cook's Country I told Craig we could give brisket a try again as long as it was done exactly like they had done it. He thought it had stalled at 159 and was going to add more charcoal when I caught him lifting the lid, but it hadn't, just needed a few minutes. It probably would have only taken 5 hours if he hadn't lifted the lid and let all that heat out.

We didn't monitor the grill temp and neither did CC on the show though I'm sure they did in their experiments. The precise way they did the charcoal gave them the temps they wanted for the cook. We used a ThermPro to monitor the internal meat temp.
 
I just realized I didn't post the charcoal set up and the brisket prep. Sorry about that. Here goes.

Using a 22 inch Weber grill, open the bottom vent fully and then make a charcoal snake of 29 charcoal briquettes around the outside edge of the grill, overlapping slightly, with an 8 inch space between the ends. Place an additional 29 briquettes in an inner ring, then place another layer of 29 and 29 on top of the previous layer. You will have a 4 briquette by 4 briquette snake when you are finished. Next, take 5, about 3 inches each, chunks of wood, like oak, cherry, pecan, etc, and space evenly along the snake, with the first piece being about 4 inches from where you will start the snake burning. Place a 10x13 aluminum pan in the center. This will be filled with water later.

Trim your whole brisket down as necessary so that it weighs between 10 and 12 pounds. Mix 1/4 cup each salt and black pepper. Evenly coat the brisket with the mixture, rubbing in lightly. Place brisket on a rack on a rimmed sheet pan, cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.

6 cups of water goes in the pan right before you dump the 10 lit coals noted in a previous post.
 
Can't see the juice coming out, but you can see it on the board. Moist, tender, but yet had the pull you want when pulling a slice apart.

We both think the pepper and salt should be cut down, maybe to 3/16 cup each, at least for our taste.

A fiddly technique, but it makes great brisket!

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The reduction in salt and pepper came out perfect. The end of the point got a bit overcooked and is nearly fall apart tender instead of having a little pull. I got the outer couple of slices, Craig got the next 3 and then it gets to where it should be as far as tenderness. We haven't checked the flat yet.
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The reduction in salt and pepper came out perfect. The end of the point got a bit overcooked and is nearly fall apart tender instead of having a little pull. I got the outer couple of slices, Craig got the next 3 and then it gets to where it should be as far as tenderness. We haven't checked the flat yet.View attachment 57489

The point is my favorite. But I'll eat the flat any day, too!

Nice job!

Lee
 
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