meat temperature problem

hi guys,

so yesterday was my first attempt at smoking a small brisket (2.25#). i started small just in case i would ruin it. it smoked for about 3.5 hours with the lid temp between 240-270F but the internal meat temp would not go over 162F. the brisket turned out dry because i think it was already cooked for too long.

weird.

today i bought an oven thermometer from a restaurant supply store for $4.50. hopefully it is accurate.

Couple of things.

I wouldn't try to do one of these 'micro briskets'. What you are usually are getting is just a very closely trimmed flat instead of the whole brisket. These are very difficult to cook properly as they have very little marbling for moisture. Also, your heat ran a little high in my opinion. I prefer to run brisket at no more than 235.

The other thing is that brisket (and butts) will 'stall' at roughly 160 degrees for a while before finishing out. This is normal. You can break it out if you need but normally you would want to let it finish the stall on it's own.

Russ

Brisket reaches a point in cooking - usually around 162, give or take a degree or two - where rendering connective tissue and fat causes the temp to sit in one place for a while, or even drop several degrees. We call it the 'plateau'. Patience is required; the temp will move up after some time.

2.5 lbs is just a small piece of a brisket. For best results I'd highly suggest getting something twice as large, preferably even larger. The greater mass of meat increases the odds of a successful cook. Small pieces are often overtrimmed, cut badly, or both.

3.5 hours shouldn't be too long, not even for a 2.5 lb.

I agree with everyone else, those small pieces tend be void of fat to keep it moist during the cook.

Like Kruger said, that plateau can last for a couple hours. You need to let it go to 190-205, depending on how you want your brisket.

As far as temps, I'd try to keep it down a bit lower, but you were by no means way off the chart.

Jason,

I noted in your rib post you only started with a single slab also "in case you ruined it". That turned out well, so think about if you had done 2 or even 4 racks.

As most people said, a 2.5lb brisket is just a piece and is usually cooked by braising (crock pot, oven etc...). These small meats aren't really for smoking.

Go grab a full pork butt around 7lbs and cook it up. It's pretty tough to ruin this past being edible. If you aren't comfortable doing an overnighter, get up really early (4am) and put it on by 5am. Cooking within the Smoke Range you should be finished by dinner.

Once you've cooked a bigger hunk of meat and been happy with the result you"ll be more confident with more traditional amounts for future smokes.

Good Luck,

James

Jason,to tell you the truth, my dogs swear that I can not ruin meat, no matter what I do. It gives me great confidence knowing that they will enjoy every bit of meat I cook. Now human consumption is another matter. Bottom line, always have a dog or two around.

Mark

Jason,

As the others have written, a larger brisket or a whole brisket can make the cook easier. What you most likely purchased was a 'flat'. This is the leaner end of the brisket. Those are typically trimmed of their exterior fat. The interior marbling is still there and will provide moistness to your meat if given sufficient time to render. If you want to try another one of these, you might consider your same set up, but after about 2 hours, foil the brisket and then continue to smoke it until either the internal temp of the meat reaches around 200 or you're able to stick a thermo probe easily into the meat. Either way, checking for tenderness is your key. When the probe goes in with no resistance, then the brisket is done. You wrote it was dry, was it tough as well? Most likely it was still undercooked.

Paul

thanks for all the replies!
i will definitely try a larger cut of meat. im going to try to pass a local butcher on my way home from lunch and see what they have available and pricing. ive never been to a butcher shop before.


<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by James Harvey:
Go grab a full pork butt around 7lbs and cook it up. It's pretty tough to ruin this past being edible. If you aren't comfortable doing an overnighter, get up really early (4am) and put it on by 5am. Cooking within the Smoke Range you should be finished by dinner.

Once you've cooked a bigger hunk of meat and been happy with the result you"ll be more confident with more traditional amounts for future smokes.

Good Luck,

James </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

4-5am is when i go to sleep. lol


<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Paul K:
Jason,

As the others have written, a larger brisket or a whole brisket can make the cook easier. What you most likely purchased was a 'flat'. This is the leaner end of the brisket. Those are typically trimmed of their exterior fat. The interior marbling is still there and will provide moistness to your meat if given sufficient time to render. If you want to try another one of these, you might consider your same set up, but after about 2 hours, foil the brisket and then continue to smoke it until either the internal temp of the meat reaches around 200 or you're able to stick a thermo probe easily into the meat. Either way, checking for tenderness is your key. When the probe goes in with no resistance, then the brisket is done. You wrote it was dry, was it tough as well? Most likely it was still undercooked.

Paul </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

yes it was pretty tough. i pulled it out of the smoker at 162F because it wouldnt go any higher. the meat had already been in there for 3.5 hours so i thought it would get even more dry if i left it in there for longer.

so i went to two butchers today.

first stop was alex's meats. the brisket is $3/lb and pork shoulder is $2/lb. he said pork they usually have in on fridays and saturdays and brisket they have to order in which usually takes about 2-3 days to arrive.

second place was the village grocer. its a small high-end grocer with a small meat counter. pork shoulder is $4/lb and couldnt give me a price for brisket. said everything has to be ordered in.

i think im gonna start going to alex's. i also picked up a 6oz bottle of bone sucking sauce. gonna try it out tomorrow on some ribs.

Evidently your area just doesn't stock brisket that often; it's a regional thing. In my town, whole briskets are sold everywhere. You might check out Famu. You don't need Wagyu grade beef, but it appears they sell other grades as well. They appear to be a top notch butcher shop and might be worth a visit. It would be worth ordering the whole brisket (whole packer). It will yield quite a bit of meat, but if you have room, it will freeze and reheat very well. Also, there's a lot on this site that deals with left over brisket. Don't give up!

Paul

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Paul K:
Evidently your area just doesn't stock brisket that often; it's a regional thing. In my town, whole briskets are sold everywhere. You might check out Famu. You don't need Wagyu grade beef, but it appears they sell other grades as well. They appear to be a top notch butcher shop and might be worth a visit. It would be worth ordering the whole brisket (whole packer). It will yield quite a bit of meat, but if you have room, it will freeze and reheat very well. Also, there's a lot on this site that deals with left over brisket. Don't give up!

Paul </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

im not sure about their prices because im not familiar with all the different cuts of meat but they look pretty expensive.

They most likely are higher priced than your local neighborhood grocery store. The old adage applies; you get what you pay for. A trip to this type of butcher shop could be just for special occasions when you'd like a particular cut of meat or a higher grade of meat. Just a visit might prove beneficial as I'm sure they would be very helpful with any questions you might have about beef. In my town, we no longer have dedicated butcher shops like this. They've all gone out of business and the large chain supermarkets have taken over. I wish I at least had the option of choosing between the 2...

Paul

Brisket in Ontario is VERY hit and miss. You either need to find a packer and buy it by the case or order through a butcher.

Jason, at 3/lb that's probably the best you're going to find up here. Most stores up here only sell flats and they are typically trimmed beyond use. If I was to cook one, I would say foil would be a must or you will end up with a boot. For whatever reason, my local butcher always has "point" for sale but packers are 5+ per pound... and that's not exactly a cheap cut.

Definately order one from that butcher and see how you like it. We get some odd cut briskets so try one and see. I'm actually toying with ordering a case from Norwich Packers. I hear good things but it means a pretty long drive (especially from your part of town).

Try Walmart, Sam's club or any big discount grocery. Brisket, pork butt and such are just not prissy enough for most of the boutique grocery stores. They take up too much space and the dollar/lb is too low.

Jason,

You may want to foil the brisket to complete the collagen breakdown process (tenderizing) which is what's happening at the stall or plateau stage of the cook. I have watched internal meat temps sit still FOREVER and they seem to never move. Bingo, then they advance from there. Beware that temps zoom up from refrige temps to about 150. Then it takes half of the cook to move from there to the done stage.
IMHO brisket cooking is a bit more of an advanced process than perhaps a butt would be. Additionally, brisket costs a bunch while the butt may be a dollar (USD) per pound on sale.
Regarding your cook time, competition teams often cook trimmed out brisket flats for up to 14 hours. Try cooking at 225, go low and slow and maybe experiment with injecting the brisket with a beef based soultion containing a tablespoon of your rub.
You may have pulled the beef wayyyy short of doneness vs overcooked. Just my .02.