My dry brisket


 
K

KenP

TVWBB Pro
I did a high heat brisket for the first time yesterday and it was dry. Man was that a disappointment.

I wish I'd have taken pics because the smoke ring was great and the bark looked nice. But it was dry.

Isn't that from overcooking?

I also didn't trim enough fat because when it was finished there was a huge thickness of fat still on the point. Even after cooking it an extra couple of hours for burnt ends I threw it out.

Maybe I just didn't read enough about it. I should have studied it more, but it seemed easy enough.

Disappointment abounds.

One positive is that slathered in a bunch of mayo it's ok on sammies.
 
Dry is usually from overcooking: dry, chewy/tough = undercooked; dry, stringy or dry, tender/chewable = overcooked.

I don't see the need to trim at all. I have--once, the last cook--simply because of the huge thickness of fat along one side, but I usually don't. Craig takes the knob out between the flat and point. Seems worthwhile but I don't bother with the briskets I get. The last one was weird though.

What temps did you cook pre-foil? When did you foil? When and how did you determine done? How long total? What size brisket?
 
Okay. Ignore the questions. I just read your blog.

"The brisket was 6.56 lbs [...]

About 8am I got the Weber Smokey Mountain (WSM) going and up to about 350* at the lid. [...]

After about two hours on the cooker the brisket was at 170* so I wrapped it in foil with a baste I made using some of the rub, beer, Sriracha and sugar. It definitely had some heat.

Approximately 2 hours later the brisket was getting tender so I removed it from the foil and put it back on the cooker to firm up the bark. [...]

Sixty minutes later I removed the brisket from the cooker, cut the point off and foiled for about an hour to let the meat relax and the juices return to where they belong. I returned the point to the cooker."

A few point: You didn't cook a 'brisket', you cooked a flat. If it was thick and nicely fatted you would foil at 165; if thin or overtrimmed then 160. 170 is usually too high.

When did you next check, was it 'approximately 2 hours later'? If so, too long a wait. My guess is that it was on its way out of tender. It is possible I am wrong here, I'd really have to have been there but if you maintain 350 the whole time I do not see this cook going 4 hours, not a flat taken to 170 before foiling.

Then again, if I am wrong--still, if it was 'getting tender' then the sixty-minute return to the cooker was too much. If you didn't check it 10 or 15 min after returning it to the cooker then therein lies the problem. If you did check it earlier than when those 60 min were up and it was not tender then i would go with my original assessment: the flat overcooked before being unfoiled and return to the cooker.

Skip the return thing for now. Get a handle on cooking to tender first. And if you are going to do flats then foil sooner.
 
Thanks Kevin. Somewhere I've gotten myself confused. Since the flat had a flap with fat going through I thought it was a brisket vs a flat. I thought a flat wouldn't have that.

It's clear I over cooked it before returning it to the cooker.

As for the fat, it was so thick and nasty I couldn't eat it.

Thanks for the info, it'll be put to good use on my next cook. I gave you props.
 
Did I read that correctly, you cut the point off after it was cooked then returned to cook more. If this is true never cut the meat and let it rest. Let it rest then cut. You loose alot of juice by cutting it then cooking more.If that is what you did maybe that was part of the dryness problem.
 
Yep, I did that too.
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I don't recall reading where people let it cool, then put back on.
 
Fast or slow, brisket is a tricky beast. Once you find a good method that produces a nice brisket - keep doing it! Make only minor tweaks to improve but for the most part stick with the winning approach. I have read alot of posts and talked to alot of people who make awesome briskets and most of the time they do it different ways. Find your niche and stick with it.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Robert Oleksak:
Did I read that correctly, you cut the point off after it was cooked then returned to cook more. If this is true never cut the meat and let it rest. Let it rest then cut. You loose alot of juice by cutting it then cooking more.If that is what you did maybe that was part of the dryness problem. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Usually that would be true with most any other cut, but really doesn't apply to a packer brisket. Since the flat and point are joined by a thick vein of fat, you're not cutting into the meat, just a big vein of fat. I always seperate the two and foil the flat and make burnt ends out of the point. So much fat in the point that you'd have to really cook the bejesus out of it to get it dried out. On the other side of that if not cooked/rendered down enough, would be quite nasty/gross to chew through all that fat and connective tissue. HTH
 
Ken,

One other point/suggestion if I may; the external fat that you didn't care for should just be trimmed prior to eating. Some use it as a heat barrier and thus cook their briskets fat side down.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">As for the fat, it was so thick and nasty I couldn't eat it. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Beef fat doesn't render down like pork fat, nor is it as tasty IMO. As Kevin states, you can leave it on, but I'm betting he trims it when serving a sliced flat. I don't eat it either.

Give it another shot, you'll get it down.

Paul
 
Yes. I trim before serving. The thinner areas of fat get left alone (I like fat) but the thick stuff gets trimmed of (very easy once cooked) and the dogs get that (I don't like it that much).
 
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