Brisket proves challenging for California boy

I've always wanted to try my hand at smoking a brisket, but in the Golden State, they are about as elusive as finding an honest politician.

We checked with our local butcher and he said he "always has them in stock" and I wouldn't need to call ahead. One weekend I decided to give it a try and stopped by his shop on Friday to pick up the meat. They were all out.

I stopped by another butcher that evening after work and he too said they usually have two or three per week, at most, and didn't have any on hand at the moment. He offered other alternatives (pork roast, etc.) but I had my heart set on the brisket.

"You know, you could try one of the pre-packaged briskets," he said. "It's just in a brine. Toss out the corned beef spices and you should be good. A restaurant in town does that frequently when they run out."
I picked one up and brought it home, ready to give it a try.

Since I hadn't had much luck with the Brinkmann Smoke 'N Grill, I opted to convert my Weber grill into a smoker. I'm more familiar with my trusty Weber and figured I could better control the temperature.

SET UP
Place a disposable roasting pan (or an old roasting pan you don't care about) in the center of the charcoal grate. Pour water in the center (to help regulate temperature, but it isn't absolutely necessary). Place lit coals on either side of the pan.

This is a good example of setting up the grill for smoking. Use a disposable roasting pan (or junky old regular pan) to separate the coals. I also use the space directly over the coals to roast veggies.

Place the meat, fat side up, directly over the roasting pan (which will act as a drip pan). Keep your bottom vent open all the way to help feed the coals.

Keep the grill's temperature to about 250 degrees (a nice medium heat). Place a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the brisket and place on the grill. The brisket will be done with the temperature reaches about 160 degrees (for medium) or 170 degrees (well done). According to the book, a 10-pound brisket takes about 8 hours.

I did my 5-pound brisket in five hours, so it went pretty well. Add charcoal and soaked wood chunks every hour.

The only drawback to using the brined brisket is the salty flavor. It worked OK for sandwiches with barbecue sauce, but by itself, the salt was too much.

The next time, I plan to get a real brisket from the butcher well in advance of my planned smoking day. I did not take photos of this experiment, so use your imagination.