How far ahead to season a brisket?

Jim6820

The Crazy Ol’ Basque!
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I’m going to be cooking a brisket this weekend and find myself in a quandary. We have some things going on that will cut into my normal prep routine. Basically, the two choices I have are to season the brisket about 12 hours before it goes into the smoker, or immediately before it goes in. I usually season my brisket 2-3 hours before putting it in the smoker.

My rub is a pretty simple SPOG with a couple of extra ingredients (smoked paprika and celery seed). Is 12 hours in advance too soon to season a brisket? Thanks for your thoughts.
 
I don’t know if it is the same thing or not but I dry brine ribeye steaks uncovered overnight (generally 18-20 hours).
 
Nah, I’d do it right before.
 
I do all of my briskets the night before, usually 8-12 hours. I find that it helps break down the collagen better and makes for a very tender brisket. You will get many different answers on this subject. I've been doing it that way for 30 years and it hasn't failed yet.
 
I have found better results applying the rub 12 hours before, but that may just be related to me also being pickier about my brisket purchases. With current brisket prices, I'm sticking to a plan and not willing to experiment too much on other techniques. A "dud" brisket would be pretty painful these days.
 
Thanks, folks. Looks like the consensus is longer is OK/better, so I’m going with that. I’ll season the brisket this evening (7-8 pm) and get it into the smoker about 5 am Saturday morning with a target done time (including a minimum 1-hour rest included) of 6 pm. My brisket cook times (@ 225F) usually run 11-12 hours, so I think I’ll be fine.

And, @Pacman, I completely agree with your thoughts regarding not messing up a brisket with the price of meat being what it is. This one is a 12-pounder from my favorite local craft butcher and I didn’t get much change from a 100-dollar bill. :oops:
 
An hour per pound?
Roughly, yes.

Update: I should have mentioned that I believe the smaller cooking chamber of the Trailblazer/RT-340 actually cooks brisket a bit quicker than the larger grills. A 12-14# brisket pretty well fills up the cooking chamber and I think concentrates both the smoke and heat in a smaller area. That’s just my theory; I haven’t any scientific data to back it up, however. YMMV
 
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FWIW, my last brisket was 1.05 hours per pound. 225 through the stall, then 250 to done. I've recently started logging my sessions with what I'm cooking and original weight after trimming in the Thermoworks Cloud app that is fed from my Signals.

Thermoworks Cloud
 
I season mine and then let it sit and get happy while the pit is warming up. I tried trimming one the night before and didnt like the look/feel the next morning. Also, when I used to season the night before I just had a gloppy mess the next morning.
 
I always marinate my briskets for a few days or at least overnight and then season in the morning before putting on but if I didn't marinate, I probably would at least season the night before and put on in the AM.

Good luck with your brisket and enjoy!
 
Either way works. I usually just season it and let it set it out for an hour or so until I'm ready to smoke (which is what most Texas BBQ joints do). Good enough for them, good enough for me.
 
Long winded and no paragraphs. Sorry.
I have been smoking briskets since 1994. I started with an offset stick burner. Bought a Bull when it first came out. I always seasoned and applied rub just before the cook. Did it that way for 10 years. I always had the smoke ring, the tenderness, the pull, the bend, beautiful bark, and was never dry. It just never had flavor all the way through. I tried injecting but that was a mess. Briskets leak. One day I was talking to one of my co-workers that fries turkeys on Thanksgiving. He probably does 30 all together. He said that if you are gonna fry Thursday, you inject and season on Monday or Tuesday. He let's it marinate in the seasoning for a long time. Made sense to me. I started doing mine the day before, eight to twelve hours total. After about six hours in your refrigerator, it starts to smell good. That is when the magic occurs. Salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. I like green Tobasco sauce for a binder. Gives it a little kick. The salt starts a process that makes the brisket "sweat" for a few hours. Then the process reverses. The brisket starts reabsorbing all that seasoning. That is when you can smell the goodness in your fridge. I also put the brisket on the smoker straight out of the fridge. That is the secret to a beautiful smoke ring. I smoke at 225, and will kick it up to 275 during the stall, till probe tender, which usually is 203 - 205. I have gotten alcohol involved and have gone as high as 210 and never a problem. I also trim "ALL" the fat off so I have more bark. 90% of people won't eat the fat anyway. I also separate the point and flat and stack them so they are uniform in size. I quit wrapping a couple years ago. Makes for a darker and crispier bark. I do pork buts the same way but with a sweeter rub. I love my Bull.
 
Long winded and no paragraphs. Sorry.
I have been smoking briskets since 1994. I started with an offset stick burner. Bought a Bull when it first came out. I always seasoned and applied rub just before the cook. Did it that way for 10 years. I always had the smoke ring, the tenderness, the pull, the bend, beautiful bark, and was never dry. It just never had flavor all the way through. I tried injecting but that was a mess. Briskets leak. One day I was talking to one of my co-workers that fries turkeys on Thanksgiving. He probably does 30 all together. He said that if you are gonna fry Thursday, you inject and season on Monday or Tuesday. He let's it marinate in the seasoning for a long time. Made sense to me. I started doing mine the day before, eight to twelve hours total. After about six hours in your refrigerator, it starts to smell good. That is when the magic occurs. Salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. I like green Tobasco sauce for a binder. Gives it a little kick. The salt starts a process that makes the brisket "sweat" for a few hours. Then the process reverses. The brisket starts reabsorbing all that seasoning. That is when you can smell the goodness in your fridge. I also put the brisket on the smoker straight out of the fridge. That is the secret to a beautiful smoke ring. I smoke at 225, and will kick it up to 275 during the stall, till probe tender, which usually is 203 - 205. I have gotten alcohol involved and have gone as high as 210 and never a problem. I also trim "ALL" the fat off so I have more bark. 90% of people won't eat the fat anyway. I also separate the point and flat and stack them so they are uniform in size. I quit wrapping a couple years ago. Makes for a darker and crispier bark. I do pork buts the same way but with a sweeter rub. I love my Bull.
Once you hit the stall you go to 275 degrees without wrapping brisket or butts to finish around 205 degrees?
 
Our Brisket goes on between 10 and Midnight
Have always have used just Salt, fresh ground Black Pepper, Hand ground Dehydrated Onion and Garlic
That goes on the night before and into the Frig for the night
OR, no later than 10 am that morning
Placed into the Micro or Oven an hour or so before going on the Grill
 
Thanks, folks. Looks like the consensus is longer is OK/better, so I’m going with that. I’ll season the brisket this evening (7-8 pm) and get it into the smoker about 5 am Saturday morning with a target done time (including a minimum 1-hour rest included) of 6 pm. My brisket cook times (@ 225F) usually run 11-12 hours, so I think I’ll be fine.

And, @Pacman, I completely agree with your thoughts regarding not messing up a brisket with the price of meat being what it is. This one is a 12-pounder from my favorite local craft butcher and I didn’t get much change from a 100-dollar bill. :oops:
I have put my brisket on at midnight on low. I usually wake up during the night and turn it up to 225. If it gets done early it will stay hot for a very long time in a cooler packed with towels. I have had too many not being done until 8 or 9 if I put on at 7 am
 
Long winded and no paragraphs. Sorry.
I have been smoking briskets since 1994. I started with an offset stick burner. Bought a Bull when it first came out. I always seasoned and applied rub just before the cook. Did it that way for 10 years. I always had the smoke ring, the tenderness, the pull, the bend, beautiful bark, and was never dry. It just never had flavor all the way through. I tried injecting but that was a mess. Briskets leak. One day I was talking to one of my co-workers that fries turkeys on Thanksgiving. He probably does 30 all together. He said that if you are gonna fry Thursday, you inject and season on Monday or Tuesday. He let's it marinate in the seasoning for a long time. Made sense to me. I started doing mine the day before, eight to twelve hours total. After about six hours in your refrigerator, it starts to smell good. That is when the magic occurs. Salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. I like green Tobasco sauce for a binder. Gives it a little kick. The salt starts a process that makes the brisket "sweat" for a few hours. Then the process reverses. The brisket starts reabsorbing all that seasoning. That is when you can smell the goodness in your fridge. I also put the brisket on the smoker straight out of the fridge. That is the secret to a beautiful smoke ring. I smoke at 225, and will kick it up to 275 during the stall, till probe tender, which usually is 203 - 205. I have gotten alcohol involved and have gone as high as 210 and never a problem. I also trim "ALL" the fat off so I have more bark. 90% of people won't eat the fat anyway. I also separate the point and flat and stack them so they are uniform in size. I quit wrapping a couple years ago. Makes for a darker and crispier bark. I do pork buts the same way but with a sweeter rub. I love my Bull.
Not sure what you mean by stacking, but I like the idea of separating the point and flat!
 

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