Skip to main content

15 replies

Brisket woes....

FM Former Member
Looking for advice from the CS Oracles!

Im having a heck of a time perfecting Brisket in my model 55.. Chicken & Ribs have been done to perfection! Brisket, on the other hand... a bit dry.. and no smoke ring.

What have I tried.. Three Briskets so far, three different methods. Note that Here on the west coast it is hard to find whole briskets, you can only get flats.. the only flats i have found untrimmed are from safeway - the three i tried all had about 1/8" or so (sometimes 1/4" at thick parts) cap on the top.

Method 1: 3.9lb flat
Rubbed brisket with my favorite BBQ Rub (Modified version of cooks illustrated BBQ Rub). Let sit in fridge for 2 hours. Put in my model 55 at 225deg with fat side up

After 2 hours: 172deg internal. Wrapped in foil to finish.

after 3.5 hours: 200deg internal. placed in cooler with towels to hold

after 5 hours: Carved to eat.. Brisket was *DRY*.. edible with enough bbq sauce.. but not something i would want to serve to guests..

Method 2: 4.25 Lb brisket flat - better fat cap than method 1.. almost 100% covered in 1/8 to 1/4 fat.

Rubbed same as method 1, plus injected with about 8oz of beef stock. put in smoker at 225deg fat side up

2.5 hours. 170 internal. Flipped to fat side down

4.5 hours. still 170 internal (strange!) - wrapped in foil

5.5 hours. 190 internal - removed to cool. wrapped and put in cooler as above

6 hours. carved... moisture a bit better than method 1, but not as tender.. and still not up to snuff

Method 3: 6lb brisket flat. 20% coverage of fat cap 1/8". put thick slabs of bacon all over the top to try and keep moist and injected with about 10oz of beef stock

Rubbed as above with BBQ rub..
put in smoker at 225 deg fat side up
let her rip.

After 8 hours: 190 internal. removed brisket, wrapped in foil, and put in 140 deg oven to hold

after 10 hours: carved to eat.. DRY brisket..

Oh CS Oracles.. pls help me.. i am every so frustrated with brisket in my CS...everything else comes out SO GOOD! Am i asking too much? how moist should a brisket be? there is plenty of juice when i carve them.. it just is all over the carving board and not in the meat!

Thanks!
Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

T tomMember
Well,I try not too cook a lot of flats because Sam's always has choice packers.

I'm no oracle,but I'll tell ya what I'd try -'til one of them wakes up and jumps in.

All briskets are different and have a mind of their own.

It sounds like you have some juice,so maybe you are slicing to long before eating.

Sliced brisket dries like sand in the sun.

As to smokering,try tossin' about 3 kingsford briquets in, when you add your wood.

If that doesn't do it to suit you,next time try sprinkling a couple TBSP of Tenderquick evenly over the lean side and rinse off very well in less than a half hour.

Use whatever rub you like and put back in the refrigerator for a few hours.

Now you are likely gettin' choice ,or maybe even CAB,since they are grocery flats out there on the left coast.

These will probably cook up a little quicker than you think and get tender at a lower internal.

I'd cook at 225� to an internal of 160�,foil it with 1/2 cup or so good beef broth and a couple pats of butter.

I'd cook it fat side up.

At 180� try to stick your probe through the flat and see how much resistance you get.

If need be,try at 185�.
If need be try at 187-8�.
Try again at 190�.

If you are down to low resistance,lay out a long sheet of plastic and put the flat on it.

Add the accumulated juices,foil,and wrap with a towel.

Put in your small dry cooler, fat side down ,for at least two hours and probably less than four.

Slice it immediately before serving.

I make no guarantees,but this usually gets me decent eatin' flats.

Hope this helps a little, 'til some experts wander in.
FM Former Member
tom, of course, is one of the top experts that I have seen on here, so what he says holds a lot of juice!!

my goofball 2 cents is this: keep it simple. I have been doing flats from sam's on my smokette for 3 years and they come out great. what i've noticed:

always try for at least 5+ pounds and some decent fat on top. if it ain't got that, don't buy it.

I need to cook up to an internal of at least 195 or 200. if I grab it earlier (even 185 or 190), the brisket is still firm, and not much juice coming off it. At 190, I have found myself panicing and thinking "this thing is stiff and dry... oh no!" But then if I let it go a bit further then it becomes pliable to the tongs, tender to the insertion of the probe, and moist when sliced. Why is this: I think that you need to go as far as necessary until the collagen/fat breaks down completely. That temp point will vary with different briskets (as tom indicated). So you gotta let it go far enough, without going too far!! Just start poking the thing after it hits 190 or even 195, not before, IMHO.

I can either slice them right then, or wrap in foil for several hours in the cooler... either way, AOK.
FM Former Member
I'm sure no oracle, so I'll let others address the cooking questions. But I'm a left-coaster who has to get briskets from Safeway, too, so I can tell you what I do...

The best thing you can do is to get to know the butchers who work there. They may have trimmed and wrapped briskets out for sale, but they buy cryo-packed IBP boxed choice briskets that actually don't look too bad before the Safeway guys get their hands on them. At the store I shop in, they get deliveries every morning. If I show up early enough now, they'll let me paw through a couple of boxes and pick out the one I want.

If you're in a suburban area chances are you're the only person looking for a cut like this (seems like I am, living on the east side of the Seattle area). They'll assume you don't know what you're asking for. The first time I asked for a cryo pack brisket the butcher said "you know, you have to take the plastic off before you cook it.." Roll Eyes Also, when I told him I didn't want it trimmed, he knocked fifty cents a pound off the price! Unfortunately, now that they know me they don't do that any more. You may also have had the experience of them trying to sell you corned beef when you ask for brisket. Be patient and talk 'que with them some time when it's slow at the store; I've found they like talking shop with the customers when they get a chance. (see what you midwest and southern guys are missing!?)

They'll also special-order for you, but I've found that if you can get them to let you look through the boxed beef they have back in the cooler, it's not necessary.

Hope this helps;
gk
vernonvernonMember
I start with a packer brisket, and trim to about a quarter inch of fat all over the out side,(trimming is definetly optional and not required)then I season with a cookshack rub, that I spiced up abit, with cayenne and the like. Then place in the fridge for at least a couple days.(If I'm gonna cook Friday night, the brisket is "seasoning" on Wednesday evening by the latest. Since I am using the whole brisket I have had no dryness at all, but I always go to 190 degrees, on rare occasion 195. I only cook it with the point side(fat side) up, this way the jucies drain into the meat. As Tom mentioned,don't slice long before serving. I make the family sit before I slice, and I only slice what is needed for that meal. Once the brisket has been in the fridge for awhile and gets cold, it can be sliced much thinner cold than hot. My wife brought home so flats once upon a time, and they like you mentioned were a bit dry, but it seemed that I had my choice as to tender or juicey, what I wound up doing was slicing and (because for me tender is king)doucing with some beef broth before warming in foil in the oven. On the injection you mentioned, this is something I have done on turkey and pondered for brisket...
FM Former Member
So, lots of great advice. Oracles Tom and Woodburner have done well. Although TOM see my comment below Roll Eyes It's not often I catch you in one.

here's my 3 cents.

1. Don't do flats. Okay, had to say that.

2. Woodburner is right, if they're too small, don't buy them. But IF you do, here's a thought. Buy two. Smoke them for a while but don't inject with juice, it won't help. Wait about 4 hours so the briskets get a good smoke on the outside. Take them and wrap them up in foil BUT add some beef stock into the foil. Flats will dry out -- Period. You have to watch them like a hawk and if you don't, well you see the results.

3. About that smoke ring. Doesn't mean it's the sign of good BBQ, that's a myth we all grew up with. But if that's what you define it by, you need to learn what that really is. It's the outside of the brisket being cured (think Pastrami) by Nitrates either in the wood, or in a cure or other things. Now that being said, do a search in the forum for "smoke ring" and you'll see lots of input.

Tom, about the TQ idea, don't do it for a half hour. In the experiment, 3 minutes gave you a few CM of ring, a half hour would cure probably the whole flat...hey, let's make Pastrami Smiler

You guys are great. Think I'll go hang out on the contest circut for a week while you take care of the forum.
FM Former Member
sounds like brisket smoking is alot like..... rocket science. haha.. maybe thats why its hard to come by in the south. i am trying to figure out how to add it to my menu but have lots of questions. what would i call it? just sliced beef? if i preslice, will it dry out too quick? do i remove the fat after its done, or serve a little. ok, i have never tried it, but it sounds intresting. you guys teach me, and i will try it, but i gotta be sure what im doing.
FM Former Member
To ALL!

Thanks so much for the input/advice here... I have pretty much decided to give it at least two more tries... If I cant get something good after 5 tries.. i'm going to get depressed just thinking about how much $$ I spend of the experiments.. LOL (Just kidding)

Anyway... I'll definitely try the 'wrap at 160, broth, butter' approach.. and am also going to try and special order a packer cut..

So for those of you who are fortunate enough to get your hands on those puppies.... what is your best recommendation? Foil? No? or just season it and throw it in there?

I may also try a tri-tip roast... I can get those rather easy and Safeway has them on sale for $1.99....

anyone try one of those?

take care, have a great sunday.. and thanks again guys!
vernonvernonMember
I am not sure about the roast, never done one, sounds kinda expensive. I get choice packer brisket for between .95 and $1.25 per pound. Plain untrimmed brisket is .60 to .80 per pound. I would think a roast may not have enough fat to tenderize itself. That would be up to you the buyer to determine, also look for the marbling, make sure there is some as this helps in the tenderization process on the low slow method of cooking.
FM Former Member
I'm not certain, but I think that the tri-tips are lean roasts that should be cooked to about 130 internal, versus the fatty briskets which must be cooked up to 190-200 internal. With the tri-tips, you're cooking to med rare like a steak, versus the brisket which is tough and ornery and will only be good at the high temp after the collagen has broken down. Is that right, y'all california tri-tip experts????
T tomMember
As far as tritip goes,most folks really feel that a grill to sear them and get them off at 130�-135� internal -as woodburner says.

If you feel you must slow cook and you have a pretty good sized one,they are ok cooked at 225�-250�to an internal of about 135� and then sliced across the grain.

It is not to my taste,but because these are basically kinda tender,you could take them up as high as 160�-165�,slice thinly across the grain for well done folks.

Like any hunk of beef,you could smoke it awhile and then foil until pullable.

That will be good,but kinda expensive for pulled beef.

Add Reply

Post

Membership Required

We're sorry. You must be signed in to continue. Sign In or Register
×
Are you sure you want to remove from your Block List?
×
Loading...
×
When you block a person, they can no longer invite you to a private message or post to your profile wall. Replies and comments they make will be collapsed/hidden by default. Finally, you'll never receive email notifications about content they create or likes they designate for your content.
Note: if you proceed, you will no longer be following .
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×