1st brisket, yuk


 
D

DavidD

TVWBB Super Fan
I did everything according to the book, but that brisket is for the birds. I followed the process as outlined in this site and raised the temp to 188 but found the meat to be dry and chewey. It had a nice smoke taste from the hickory, but dry and tough proved very disappointing. I am going back to pork butt.

Ok, let me add more info based on the follow up comments and maybe you can help me figure out what happened. The meat was a small cut from Publix, choice, already trimmed to consistent thickness of 1.5 inches, thin layer of fat, 3.25 lbs. I pulled meat from fridge and rested for 45 min, put it on at 1:15pm and put probe in at that time, left it in for full cook. I expected appx 4 hours total cook, flioped at 2 hrs. At 3 hours, internal temp was only 147 and holding and i realized i wouldn't make dinner at this pace. I foiled at this time and temp rose to 187 during next 1-1.5 hrs or so. I left meat foiled and rest for 1 hr before serving. Temp dropped to 160 during this time. Smoker ran 235-240 degrees at the rack. Water in pan. No basting, no injection. I did use a Jaccard to pierce meat when i added dry rub hoping to tenderize it.

I am not sure why the temp took so long to rise, forcing me to foil and why the foiling didn't ensure juicy and tenderness as it does with butts. Pls advise, and thank you.
 
What was the temp of the meat when you foiled it? About how long did you cook it in the foil before a probe slid in without resistance?

You say the meat was at 188 - was there resistance when you stuck it with the probe?
 
Gonna need a little more info about the cook before anyone can help you.

All I can tell you from your post is that the temp of 188 means absolutely nothing. Cooking BBQ is a combination of Time, Temperature, and Feel.

Did you foil or no foil? Fork test,if so how did it feel? You say you cooked it "by the book" according to this site, does that mean you cooked it low and slow or high and fast? What grade of brisket was it, Select, Choice, Prime?
Baste? Flip? Rotate? Water or Sand in pan? Top rack? Fat up or down? Inject? Did you wear one green sock for the first 3 hours?

Consider all of the above and then add "sometimes it's just a bad brisket" to the equation.
 
First thing that comes to mind is you said the brisket was trimmed, that's not what you're looking for when you buy a brisket for smoking. You want a good amount of fat on it when you buy it and then you trim it how you like. The common home cook who is going to boil or braise the oblivian out of it doesn't want all the external visible fat that we want when we're going to cook the brisket low and slow.

Grade could have also been a contributing factor. What grade was the cut? If you got a trimmed select grade brisket, then you were doomed from the get go. I have cooked and still do at times cook Select Grade packer briskets that are cryovacked (untrimmed). This is an advantange, because you are buying a very cheap low grade piece of meat, but if prepared properly can turn out as good or better than a choice grade.

The important thing you need to do is not give up!! Check your store again and ask for an untrimmed brisket. If they do not have any, check BJ's or Sams. All their briskets are untrimmed and Choice Grade.

As the others have stated don't throw out the brisket. You can make chili, stew, pot pies, burritos, sloppy joes, etc, with it.
 
Davidd, don't give up. Brisket takes some practice to do well. You had a very small, trimmed flat which adds to the challenge. Use the advice in this thread and the rest of the forum and try again. I'm sure your next attempt will be much better.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">If they do not have any, check BJ's or Sams. All their briskets are untrimmed and Choice Grade. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Not necessarily - still look at the label. We have two Sam's here in Tulsa. One carries only Select briskets, and the other carries only Choice briskets. Both do have flats, of the same respective grades. Nobody has been able to tell me why the two stores differ like that.

Keri C
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Carl Harper:
My guess is that using the Jaccard allowed most of the juices to cook out. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Yes. A Jaccard shouldn't be used for dry-heat cooking methods if the approach will be low/slow.

Pubilx's brisket flats are over-trimmed. They are suitable for braising, as Larry notes, but not for Q. They tend to be too small and thin as well.
 
Generally, I find smaller briskets harder to cook. I try to find a brisket at least 7 pounds.

1. If the brisket is well trimmed, I'd cook with the fat side down during the whole cook. Then I'd put some slices of bacon on the top side to help prevent topside drying out (and add a little flavor. BTW I rarely flip my briskets).

2. I don't leave a temp probe in the brisket. It can be stuck in a hunk of internal fat and give a lower reading than what it really is. I learned that the hard way at a comp. Get an instant read and probe several different places of the brisket to get an average temp. While you are probing get a feel of the brisket. Is the probe going in hard or easy?

3. I usually foil between 160 - 165 degrees. When I foil I put the fat cap up. You could add maybe 1/8 cup of beef broth when you foil but I don't. Check the temp after about an hour. When your probe goes in easily, in various parts of the brisket, you are done. This could be as early as 185 degrees and as late as 200 degrees. If your avg temp is 200 degrees pull no matter what.

When you pull to rest add another layer or two of foil.

I'd suggest planning your brisket to get finish about 2 hours before you plan to serve. You can hold it that long in a warmed cooler. take up the extra space with towels or crumpled newspapers as insulators.

These are just my suggestions and ideas. You have to remember that there is no text book cooking in BBQ. Let me rephrase that. The only text book cooking in BBQ is the book you write yourself. Each piece of meat is different and cooks to its own timing.

Also, cut across the grain.
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My first brisket was a small one and I cut with the grain. Tougher than shoe leather. It hasn't worn out yet.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Keri C:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">If they do not have any, check BJ's or Sams. All their briskets are untrimmed and Choice Grade. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Not necessarily - still look at the label. We have two Sam's here in Tulsa. One carries only Select briskets, and the other carries only Choice briskets. Both do have flats, of the same respective grades. Nobody has been able to tell me why the two stores differ like that.

Keri C </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes Keri, you're right. We have two Sams too and they're the same as you stated, I forgot that's why I let my membership expire! LOL I'm pretty happy with BJ's, at least for the time being.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Davidd:
I am going back to pork butt.

. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Give up? I think not. Don't do it. It's a piece of meat, no more, no less, even though we all want ours to be award winners. Hang in there and give it another shot or two or three. I've done 5 flats since I got my WSM in July. The first 2 stunk without question. The 3rd was ok, nothing special. The 4th, I thought, was pretty good and the 5th was better yet. I attribute my improvement to understanding the cooker and how it works. My next one might yet stink, you never know. Brisket is tricky just because of the makeup of the particular cut. I find it all fun anyway, and no matter how, they all get eaten one way or another. It's another cut of meat to do giving your cooking routine some variety. You will do good ones and lousy ones as I have. I agree with others that using the meat, no matter how it comes out, in other dishes is a great way to go. You'll get it, stay with it and have some fun. You can always get a pizza delivered. I've gone that route too
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Dave
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I've done 5 flats since I got my WSM in July. T </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
You're a brave man... flats are much harder to get right than packers. One of the few flats that I've done is now referred to in our household as "the brisket that we don't discuss." The dog wouldn't even eat the slice I handed her.
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I stick to packers. They're safer (for me, anyway...)

Keri C
 
Connective tissue takes time to break down so the smaller the brisket (3 1/2 pounds) the less effective any time guide will be. Connective tissue just takes longer than 4 hours to break down and when it is not given the time needed the brisket will be dry and tough.
On a small brisket flat forget the 1 to 1 1/2 hour guide it will take longer.
Jim
 
Ok, as usual, i have learned a few good things. The reality is, my wife bought the brisket without telling me b/c it was on sale. I would not have gone through the time and effort of smoking a 3.25lb piece of meat. If i am going to go through the trouble, I want to make enough meat to justify the time and energy. however, she already bought it. I am more understanding of the problem i was facing, so clearly worth another try.
 
Davidd,
My first brisket cook turned out the best. It was a combination of temperature, temperature monitoring and testing for fork tenderness. One must be very diligent with brisket. My first cook was a hard cook to duplicate. I think people who cook consistently tender briskets are champs. There have been discussions on this forum about the small window of opportunity of a perfectly cooked brisket. Kevin Kruger has written a lot about this. Just search the site.
 
I must agree with Keri C.

Here in Ohio if you can find brisket it is usually the flat. I have 4 walmarts about the same distance from my house and only 1 carries full packers.

Sams only carries flats but I have seen packers there a couple of times last year. I asked several people at sams this summer at sams if they could order me a case of packers and I couldn't get a strait answer. It's like bozo is working the meat dept at my sams.

For brisket I reccomend 2 things. First do a full packer. I use the point for my chili. Second cook a butt over the brisket. That way you know it isn't going to dry out.
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I see. Ok. But there's one problem. Neither my wife nor I like the point, and we don't eat pulled pork.
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(heresy I know). From cooking my last flat, I found that using foil helps a lot with moisture. I also find that the high heat method works better for me. I do understand where you are coming from however, and I appreciate the information.

Dave
 
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