First brisket on the FEC100

What didn't you like about it, just tenderness? Did you slice it cross grained?

190 is a little low for me.

Use a prob and poke it into the brisket and "feel" for resistence. With a little practice, you'll know when to pull it, without worrying about the temp.

Looks like Waywardson sliced it against the grain. I agree with Smokin, take it to at least 195*. When I slice brisket I always try to go against the grain and slice on a 30*-45* angle. You'll be amazed at what slicing at an angle does to a somewhat tough brisket.

Thanks for the comments. This was maybe the fourth brisket I've ever cooked, so I don't have a lot of experience with them. I did slice across the grain, but not at an angle. Will try that next time.

Fresh off of the pit it was pretty good...could have been a little more tender which I expect a little more time would have helped. I foiled it without liquid and held in the SM 150 for about three hours at which point it was a little dry.

Would not normally have done it that way as I was just trying out the Cookshack smokers. However my darling wife surprised me by announcing that she had invited several people for dinner about the time I took the brisket off. I ended up having to hold the brisket and pork loin longer than I would have liked, while having to push the butts a bit to make dinner time.

Chickens are on the agenda this coming weekend.

You didn't say whether your brisket was "Choice" or "Select," which could account for a substantial difference in tenderness.

quote:

Originally posted by Wheelz:
You didn't say whether your brisket was "Choice" or "Select," which could account for a substantial difference in tenderness.

No idea....bought it at Sam's.

Then it was Choice. Just not cooked long enough.

Sam's around here has both choice and select, well they used to, now the one closest to my house only sells select, the one farthest away "sometimes" gets.

Usually (just most of the time) choice will be better because it is supposed to have more marbling. but I've certainly cooked plenty of selects that came out amazing. The grading standard is a pretty rough estimate.

Key Wayward was to cook it a little longer and test it for tenderness before you pull it, regardless of grade.

FWIW, My Sam's sells briskets stamped on the cryovac "USDA Choice" and then the words "Angus" on them.

The general consumer thinks they are buying CAB (Certified Angus Beef) brand but not all Angus are created equal.

Anyway don't want to hijack the thread into meat quality but it's funny how much more frequently we see different markets just selling "Angus" now.

I've never understood the taste difference in beef. A fellow up in Montana told me they switched to Black Angus because they absorb more heat from the sun in winter. Don't know if he was just pulling my leg.

Personally (and from experience) I believe it's due to the marbling & intramuscular fat. And personally, I believe he's pulling your leg!

The last brisket I got from Sams was not as good as usual. I did not check the label, but suspect it was select. Results sound similar. I will be sure to look more carefully next time.

I appreciate all you good folks replies & look forward to doing my next brisket a little differently.

This weekends cook will be dedicated to chickens I think...so I am off to "Poultry" to start a how- to thread

Thanks for all the advice and encouragement.

Best........John

Keep in mind that all briskets are created to be contrary.

Think about the flat from a twenty year old dairy,or Longhorn bull that has been running hillsides and mountain tops eating sagebrush,or weeds.

Think about a packer from a two year old black and whiteface cross steer,weighing 1100 lbs,never been more than an acre from the barn/feedpen,eatin' alfalfa hay and 13% proein creepfeed,with lots of sorghum in it.

Reckon they might cook and eat different?

John,there is a world of info in the forums and the threads under the FIND,that might give you better specific ideas,than 1/2 doz of us just giving a quick answer.

My guess would be that it wasn't cooked long enough and then it wasn't sliced against the grain. the angle that you sliced it will make the meat a little tough. You almost have to go at a complete 90º angle, as that is usually the way the grain is running.... The birkset also looks "stiff", which tells me that it's not cooked enough... Not sure how to describe "stiff", except if you have cooked far too many comp briskets over the years.

quote:

Originally posted by Tom:
John,there is a world of info in the forums and the threads under the FIND,that might give you better specific ideas,than 1/2 doz of us just giving a quick answer.

Tom, I appreciate that and have been using the search function. You are correct, there is a lot of info here.

Nothing wrong with the 1/2 dz. in this thread though:-)

Scottie,

Will you be at Lakeland?

Ray is fixin' ribs and beans,and Barbara will have Orange Brownies,and I'd guess Ribdog will fix stuff.

Tom

I am really hoping next year Tom. With my RV up here, it would make a lot more sense for me to just leave it down in Florida for the winter...

As I am really itching to cook and there is no way I am firing up the FE's when the thermometer is reading -20 like it did today...

Yep,good or bad,there will probably be 15 qualifiers during the winter quarter.

--and if we don't win,the fishin' ,weather,and socializin' is always great.

It fell off to 48* last night and I heard Lampe was threatin' to wear long pants.

Of course it is 68* now,so he'll be safe.

Tom and Barbara

Hi Way,

After seeing the photo you posted I have one question.

When do we eat??? Man that looks great.

Frank Eriksen
Roaring Fork BBQ
Boulder, CO.

quote:

Originally posted by ZBO (Larry Jacobs):
A fellow up in Montana told me they switched to Black Angus because they absorb more heat from the sun in winter. Don't know if he was just pulling my leg.

When it's labeled "Black Angus" does NOT mean that it's actually a Black Angus Purbred. Just means the critter has "some black" on the hide. Pure Bred Black Angus are ALL black and have very short hair...We ran Black Baldy Cows {cows that are black with white faces}on our ranch and they would qualify for the "Black Angus" label. It's just a marketing gimick. I have had "grass fed beef" ( beef butchered right off the range) and the fat you don't dare eat. Cake fed beef (compressed cubes of proteins, alfalfa, grass and fillers like goose feathers...no kidding) a step above "grass fed"...then there's "Corn fed" and there ( in my humble opinion) is nothing finer. We would always feed the cow or yearling corn and lots of it to get the critter "fat" which gives the meat that fantanstic marbeling which adds great flavor to the meat. When we had the citter butchered we had the carcass hang longer than normal, this helped get the meat more tender...dont remember the actual time.

South Dakota knows what he is talking about. I was originaly from Iowa and did not even know there was something called select grade until I moved to Texas. I worked for a Butcher / Meat Locker in a small farm town through college. Corn feed with some silage was all I knew.

21 days was the normal hang time and some farmers requested longer. Of course the longer hang times only help if the meat is nicely marbled to begin with.

I recently found a choice brisket and what a difference it made in the outcome. I too, have seen that Sam's is mostly select grade briskets now.

My brother is a superviser in the USDA. He was in meat inspections; not sure what he does now.

He once told me that packing houses use canned bacteria to spray on the carcass to speed up the aging process.

One of the things I love about this forum is that we can agree to disagree.

All I eat (with the exception of brisket) is "Grass-fed" beef & given the choice, I would eat nothing else (when it comes to beef). If the rancher knows his stuff, grass-fed has more and tastier fat. I have worked with a grass-fed pioneer for the past 11 years. It's more than the grass; It's the land, the grasses grown, the minerals applied and fertilizer(s) not applied.

I have steaks with unbelievable marbling. Briskets are hard to come by, but the few I have had were magnificent!

The health benefits of Grass-fed vs corn-fed/grain-fed are untouchable.

I do websites for three grass-fed ranchers. I do their websites & in turn they keep my freezer full. Love it!!!

To each their own...

Addendum: It's very rare to find someone to hang a carcass 14 days, let alone 21 these days. You can find them but not many.

quote:

Originally posted by EZ Goin:
My brother is a superviser in the USDA. He was in meat inspections; not sure what he does now.

He once told me that packing houses use canned bacteria to spray on the carcass to speed up the aging process.

That's one advantage of a home-town abattoir vs feedlot & mass harvest & "butcher!"

quote:

Originally posted by fevoice:
Hi Way,

After seeing the photo you posted I have one question.

When do we eat??? Man that looks great.

Frank Eriksen
Roaring Fork BBQ
Boulder, CO.

Well, I did vacuum pack some of it. It's in the freezer if the kids didn't make off with it.

Come on over