Stellar Hog’s Alex Cupp shares expert tips on barbecue and brisket

You say that brisket is the thing that really got you into smoking meats. What was it about brisket that spoke to you? At Adam’s, I started researching and asking questions; I got to work with Skip Steele a bit and started picking his brain and just really fell in love with smoking meat. The biggest thing that drew me to brisket is that people say it’s the hardest thing to cook. Immediately that gave me a challenge where I told myself that I am going to cook it better than anyone and figure it out. After reading about it, it didn’t seem too difficult, so I used my knowledge from my past cooking experience. The more I researched it, I started wondering why St. Louis wasn’t doing some of the methods I was reading about. I started trying them out on my own and realized that I liked the way it tasted so much better. I’d share it with people, and they’d tell me how good it was, so I realized that we could really start something with this. 

Brisket may not be difficult for you, but for us mere mortals, it’s quite intimidating. Break it down for us: What is everything one needs to know about smoking a brisket? There are three things that are really the most important when it comes to smoking a brisket: Getting good color on it (also known as bark), getting it to the proper temperature and letting it rest. I think the thing that people most often get wrong is not hitting the right temperature. I am a 200-degree guy; some competition people say you have to get it to 202-degrees, but I think that if you get it somewhere between 198 and 202, you are going to have a damn good brisket. That temperature is so important; you could throw a brisket in the oven, get it to 200 degrees and it will still be good, though it won’t have that smokey flavor. 

Talk to us about the stall. That seems to be where a lot of folks go wrong or get frustrated. There is a period when a brisket hits around 170-degrees that it stalls, meaning it just won’t get above that temperature for a while. The reason it does this is because there is enough water in the brisket that it comes off and creates steam; the steam is taking away from the internal temperature, so the steam has to be cooked off in order for the temperature to go up. That is frustrating for people that haven’t smoked a brisket before, because it will hit that stall and sometimes will just sit at that temperature for an hour. People who aren’t familiar with that will wonder what is going on and why it’s not getting hotter, and they will will crank up the temperature. You can ruin it if you are not paying attention. Another big mistake people make is that once it gets out of that stall, it will go from 170 to 200 quickly. Some people assume that because it is stalled, it will take another four hours or so and they will forget about it and overcook it. The stall is frustrating, but it’s part of the process.

What about wrapping the brisket? The reason you wrap brisket is that it will literally steam itself while it is in the wrap. You’re keeping the liquid in there, and it is steaming itself, not dripping to the bottom of the smoker. I wrap the brisket right after the stall. Really, I should say my rule of thumb is that I wrap it when I’ve got good color [bark]. If it has good bark, I am not overly concerned about it reaching a certain temperature before wrapping it. Usually, I would say that happens around 180ish degrees, so it’s not long after the stall. You can wrap it right after the stall, but typically that steam is preventing it from getting good color, so you want to make sure that the color is there before you wrap it. Some people use aluminum foil, but we use butcher paper because it allows enough steam out so it doesn’t ruin the bark. If you use aluminum foil or something that doesn’t allow steam to release, the color will still be there, but the bark won’t have that really good crispiness to it. 

What other things should people know about? Do you have any tips on prepping, seasoning, and resting? When it comes to trimming, I actually take a lot of fat off of it. If somebody from Texas saw me trim, they would be appalled, but I’ve found that, for the most part, people in St. Louis just don’t like it super fatty. In terms of seasoning, it’s a heavy salt seasoning—our recipe is not that far off from Lowery’s seasoned salt, with a little granulated garlic and black pepper. If you hear people from Texas talk, they will say they only season with salt and pepper. It’s a religion down there, and they swear that is all they use, but I found out that most of them are actually using seasoned salt, which is how they get away with it. When I say season it, I mean season it—completely coat it with as much as will stick. Don’t use binders; just do whatever will stick on the brisket. It’s so fatty that it will take all that seasoning just fine. The other thing I’d say is to know your smoker. I can’t repeat enough that you have to get great color, wrap it, and let it hit 200 degrees. And then rest it! I know that a lot of times when you are cooking at home, people want to eat right away. But please let it sit. If you can let it rest for an hour, that’s great. Two is even better, and three is even better than that. Let it rest as long as possible in its wrap and in a cooler or oven that can go as low as 150 degrees.

Any final words of wisdom for us who are making our first attempt, or an attempt after a fail? Don’t get deterred when you mess it up, because you will mess it up. If it’s too far gone, chop it up, and make tacos out of it. We have all been there, but at least if you are doing it at home, you aren’t ruining 10 at a time, so it’s a little easier on the mind. Just don’t get discouraged, and keep trying. You will get it.