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Originally Posted by tupacboy
going to do my first brisket this weekend... any tips?
is it fat side up or down?
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Fat side up. There are a multitude of ways to prepare your brisket (dry rubs, marinade, etc). Pick one that sounds easy (I prefer a dry rub).
The trick and hardest thing about doing brisket for me is keeping the temp consistent throughout the entire smoke. 250ish is a good range to shoot for in the pit.
I good digital meat thermometer is your friend. I won't put my meat thermometer into the thickest portion of meat until well into the cooking process. Beef is technically done at 160F, however you will want to keep the cooking process going until that internal meat temp gets up to the 180F mark.
About half way though the cook I will flip the brisket end for end (fat side still up) so that it has a better chance of even cooking. There is also the question of wrapping in foil after several hours, or not. I have done it both ways and am not sure if it makes too much of a difference. This may depend on what wood you are using and how much smoke gets into the meat. I used oak last time without foil wrapping and it worked for me. Mesquite will impart a much heavier taste I believe, and wrapping may benefit the meat.
At 160F it is done, but will be tough. The last one I did was pulled at close to 180F, but it could have used some more time. It was moist and tender, but still didn't pull apart easily.
Brisket is about trial and error, but it cannot be rushed.