First 4 lb. Brisket = 9 hours?

craigs720Member

Being a complete newbie I need some advice from the experts here!

I attempted my first brisket yesterday in my new Amerique. The brisket was a 3.93lb. choice flat from the local supermarket. I followed a recipe from a BBQ book I bought, injected the meat with a low sodium beef broth, beef cube Worcestershire mixture then used more Worcestershire sauce on the outside and Cookshack Brisket Rub.Set the Amerique for 225 degrees and used the meat probe set to 195 degrees.By the seventh hour the brisket had only reached 170 degrees. I turned the heat up to 235 and at eight hours the internal temp reached 192. That seems awful long, no?

Thinking that perhaps the temperature of the Cookshack is not accurate, this morning I turned on the smoker (nothing in it) and using a Maverick ET-732, the temp reading is 239 degrees on the Maverick with the Cookshack set to 225 degrees.

I'm confused. Which temp gauge is more accurate? And isn't eight hours too long for an under 4 lb. brisket to cook (would have been much longer if I had left the temp at 225)?

The brisket, btw, was tender but too salty. I guess that's the function of the beef broth, Worcestershire sauce and rub?

Thanks for your thoughts!

Craig

7/5/1211:11 AM

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maxqMember

In no particular order...

Set your Maverick probe as close as you can to the AQ probe after it's been running an hour at any temp you wish to dial in. Your temps will tend to match closer after a couple of cooks but remember to set your probe tip close to the AQ probe to compare apples to apples.

I'd suggest a brisket & pork butt cooking temp of 240...cuts down on time.

9 hrs is long for a 4 lb flat. Some briskets just take longer to finish. I find this especially true of flats. Perhaps the flat being a leaner cut vs a packer, has something to do with it.

The salty end result was due to injection + the worcestershire sauce + the CS brisket rub...all have salt and the extebded cook time resulted in a concentration of the various salts.

The best injection for my money is Butcher BBQ brisket injection or their Prime Injection.

7/5/122:28 PM

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Former Member

Yep, what Max said.
I have found that all of the CS Rubs are extremely salty for my tastes.
I make my own, and can vary my salt content.
Slap Yo Daddy has a great starter rub. It's the first one that I made, and I loved it.
All Purpose Rub

7/6/123:48 AM

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Former Member

Check your remote probe accuracy as well. Put it in boiling water and it should be close to 212 (depending on altitude). that way you have a valid start point.

2nd part is, "it's done when it's done". You can't go on set times and temps if it's one of the first ones you've done. You were in the plateau, and maybe because of the smoker temp, it was taking longer.

We'll help you learn, but that involves knowing what's happening and reacting to it.

You're asking the right questions.

I also NEVER recommend injecting if you haven't cooked a bunch of briskets. You'll have no baseline for flavor. Given what you've said, I can't tell if your taste buds are just sensitive to salt and which item provided that issue.

7/6/127:52 AM

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craigs720Member

Thanks guys for your helpful hints.

Smokin, I went ahead with your suggestion and using boiling water my Thermapen measured 212 degrees. The Maverick measured 216 degrees. That would imply that while the Amerique says it's 225 degrees, it's really 235 degrees. Of course, I could just be jumping to conclusions! Hahahaha
More work to be done.

Btw, this evening I cooked stuffed pork tenderloin for 1 1/2 hrs at 225 as the recipe indicated. It was just a bit too done @ 156 degrees internal temp.

Thanks again for all your help.

Craig

7/6/128:47 PM

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