What internal temp for brisket?


 

Rusty

TVWBB Member
What is the best internal target temp for brisket? 180, 185, 190, ?
Going to be smoking at 225-235. I want it to be very tender.
Thanks!
 
If you want it to be very tender (as well all do) don't focus on the temp. Though temp might correlate with tender, sometimes if not often, it does not cause it.

Inserting the temp probe will meet with much resistance in the beginning when inserted into the meat. This resistance will slowly diminish as the meat cooks. When the brisket is tender there won't be resistance. If you are temping, start getting a feel for the level of resistance when the meat hits around the mid-180s. No need to poke all over, get a feel for the meat in one spot - then continue cooking, checking every 30 min or so, till tenderness is achieved.

No need to cook that low - though you certainly can. I'd suggest bumping up your range by 20-30?.
 
I'm probably one of the least experienced here, having done 3 full packer briskets (flat and point). But I've done a lot of reading. The first two smokes produced somewhat dry, leathery briskets. I was pulling them precisely at 195.

Couple weeks ago, I cooked my third brisket near high heat, a majority of the smoke. I couldn't get my WSM to settle down. The WSM temp kept wanted to flirt with 300-325.

To make a long story short, I foiled the brisket around 160 and left for several hours. When I returned, the brisket was reaching 215 in spots, and above 210 everywhere. While the probe slid in "soft butter" smooth, I was certain I had overcooked the brisket. I anticipated a very dry and leathery brisket once again. To make matters worse, it was 2 hours before the chow time, so I wrapped in a towel and put it in a cooler, figuring this would further cook the brisket into oblivion.

Perhaps you can sense that this story has a unpredictable end? It did. The brisket was not only the best I had done, but I fear it may be the best I ever do! It was fantastic! I simply couldn't believe that it came out so well! Juicy, tender, flavorful. Simply wonderful.

So after reading it over and over again, I've come to the realization that temperature IS only a guide. To tell when your brisket is done, I would start looking at the temp about 180 and probe it every 30 minutes. It must have the "soft butter" feel when probed. That makes it difficult to prepare for any particular "eating time", but remember to let it rest. That should carry you into the dinner hour. It's also amazing how long they can rest and still be steaming when they come out of the cooler.

Your mileage may vary, that just my experience.
 
It doesn't really work that way.

If cooking a brisket at higher temps and including a foiling component (highly recommended at higher temps) the cooking dynamics change. At the temp range I use (325-350 at the outset; 350-375 after foiling), all briskets - irrespective of size; mine run 11-15 pounds - come in just about the 4-hour mark. At somewhat lower temps expect longer times.

It is not a matter of weight, it is a matter of thickness. Two similarly thick briskets (or similarly thin) will come in at about the same times, even if one is 11 pounds and the other 15.
 
I put my 10# brisket on about 7:30 am and took it off around 3:30 pm. Early in the cook, I tried to keep the temp down, but gave up around 1/2 way through just let it settle where it wanted, which was just north of 300.

I agree with Kruger...thickness is key. Try to get a brisket that is evenly thick (point and flat). Hard to find sometimes.
 
Kevin, Doug,

Thanks, so is it temp or time that determines foiling? And do you take the brisket out of the foil to firm up a bark?

How long to sit in the cooler?

I think I know the answer to these questions but in prep for the fourth I am considering a brisket and need to be able to time it--I've never done a brisket...usually do a chuck roast, when i want beef.
 
I'm interested in your chuck experience! I haven't had much luck with them.

Remember my first reply to you...I'm no expert. But, I'll sure share my experience.

My goal, right or wrong, was to foil near the "stall" temperature on the brisket. The temperature at which the brisket "holds" for awhile, as the magic happens (connective tissues melt). That temperature was around 160-164. I don't think that it's necessary to foil at all, but certainly not necessary to foil at an exact temperature. That was just my goal on this smoke.

As I said, I foiled the brisket at around 160-164 and left it in that same foil until I was ready to eat it. It finished cooking on the WSM in that foil and went into the cooler in the same foil.

The bark isn't as crisp this way. But it's my preference to give a little on the bark to get a tender, juicier finished product. I'm sure there are people out there that can do that without foiling...but I haven't been able to, in my limited experience.

As far as it sitting in the cooler, that's your "cushion" time. It's hard to know when the meat will be done, but with the resting period in the cooler, you know you'll have a cushion of "resting time" in the cooler as the eating time approaches. It's surprising how long you can keep them in the cooler. I've heard of people letting them sit in there up to 4 hours, if it's well insulated. I would recommend at least 30 minutes.

Hope that helps. Good luck!
 
Most go by temp to determine foiling, usually 165-170 for packers, 160-165 for flats. I don't bother with a therm at all and just foil by time - 2.5 hours in. Your choice.

I do not cooler HH briskets at all, usually. I take to tender, remove, drain some of the collected juices (for the slicing paint and the sauce), and rest, tented with foil, about 20-30 minutes. This is my standard M.O. If needing to hold I will do the same but rest just 10-15 minutes, tented, then will wrap and cooler (in my case I just shove it in the microwave with a towel wrapping).

I don't bother firming the bark - unlike butts, I am not at all particular about brisket bark - but have done so just to be able to post about it. For firmer bark you can return the brisket to the cooker unfoiled. For this, I recommend taking the brisket to just shy of tender while in the foil, rather than to spot-on tender. It doesn't take long at high heat - though this is determined by bark ingredients \and the level of firmness you seek.
 
Originally posted by Doug_B:
I'm interested in your chuck experience! I haven't had much luck with them.

I just do them like butts on the WSM with a clay pot instead of the water pan. I usually do them around 300. The last one I did...last summer...I foiled, wrapped in a towel and put in the microwave for a couple of hours to hold it.

If I do chuck this 4th, I'll do it the day before and grill brats and chicken on the Chargriller the day of.
 
I forgot to mention that the brisket I will be smoking is a flat and will be smoking it on my 18 WSM, bbq guru digiQ, empty foiled pan and saucer if this makes any difference.
 
Skip the saucer. There is no need for a heat sink of any kind when using a Guru. Go with the empty foiled pan alone.
 
Yeah..I had seen that. The chuck roll was the old standard 190-205ish, but just wasn't sure that's what he was doing. The one chuck I took to that temp was not good at all. Completely dried out. Perhaps it was too lean.
 
Chuck is not lean. Even trimmed of fat it still has plenty of connective tissue. Take it to tender, not a specific internal temp. Foiling helps many chuck cuts immensely because of the open, coarser structure of the meat. Foil ~165 or so.
 
I've been taking chuck roasts to about 200. I want to pull it just like a pork shoulder. I've never had one that came out particularly dry. But if you're worried about that, foiling it at 165 sounds like a good idea.

I always wondered why you couldn't pull brisket?
 
You can pull briskett, but it would be like meat spaghetti. The long muscle fibers would have to be chopped up to use on a plate or sandwich. I think the chuck lends itself to pulled beef much better.
 
I cook brisket at 275 grate temp and foil at the 4 hr mark no matter what the internal temp is. I'll start checking for tenderness about an hour after that.
 
Originally posted by DW Frommer II:
I've been taking chuck roasts to about 200. I want to pull it just like a pork shoulder. I've never had one that came out particularly dry. But if you're worried about that, foiling it at 165 sounds like a good idea.

I always wondered why you couldn't pull brisket?

I went to a BBQ restaurant that was highly recommended here in No. Calif. The owner was a member of CBBA and a former competition pitmaster. I was suprised to have been served pulled brisket. I really like the point and usually slice but chunks or pulled goes just as well. Wouldn't do the flat tho.

Mark
 

 

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