Brisket methods and tips?


 

DavidD

TVWBB Super Fan
Have been a member for a long time but have not been around much over the last couple of years. I have smoked many butts over the years but not briskets. I've done two and none in the last 4-5 or more years. When I did, the high heat method was highly touted as the best way to do the brisket, at least that is what I recall. My experience with the method was excellent but have little brisket experience.

Question is, I picked up a brisket from Walmart, yellow tag sale down from 40$ to 27 and looking for feedback on the best way to cook it. I can and will do searches later when I have more time but any suggestions in the meantime are appreciated.

Also, butts free really well and make great leftovers but I'm less sure brisket will be as good. Thoughts? Like to pkg dinner portion in Tupperware or other wrapped and sealed containers.

Thank u
 
If you've had high-heat success -- don't mess. As my signature below notes, there is more than one way. What I would advise against is taking one step of the process from recipe A and one from B, and so on.

Brisket doesn't store too well when sliced, so keeping it whole or in unsliced chunks is more advisable. I have frozen sliced brisked and reheated it in a sauce pan with some beef stock with moderate success, but it ain't like the "just sliced" taste and texture. I usually end up chopping it for sandwiches or tacos.

Jeff
 
High heat is popular here. I started out doing 225 but I've found 250 to 275 depending on the brisket to be better. I have yet to do a high heat in the 350 range. I'm sure it works out great.
 
I'm still working on my Brisket technique

In my area, full packers seem to be a bit difficult to source, and the ones that are easiest to find are choice / prime = $$ (so, you REALLY don't want to screw them up too badly)

My attempts have improved - did one last year with just 50/50 K-Salt / Coarse Black Pepper at low heat for about 16 hours and was VERY good / tender
(Old-School with no butcher paper or anything else - used some Jack Daniels barrel staves for the smoke wood and thought it was pretty tasty / tender.
Prior attempts got a bit dried-out.)

If you are just cooking the flat and not "the whole banana" - then, I would probably go for the High Heat method
 
Yep. I agree with the other Members. Brisket from Wal-Mart can be Select or Choice or No- roll IME so HH is a what I would do also.

Tim
 
I prefer really low ... like 200ºF - 225ºF for great big fatty briskets (or beef shoulder clod for pulled beef) with the Texas crutch at 160ºF and some added liquid. Can't be beat IMO. Small lean briskets/pieces or smaller more lean cuts for pulled beef come out OK with high heat cooks, but it's really hard to beat the results from near or sub boiling temp low and slows with beef. Pork is more forgiving of HH cooks IMO.

-beef muscle seems to be leaner and more firm than pork
-beef connective tissues seem more firm than pork connective tissues

As such I think beef benefits more from lower, more gentle more moist cooking than pork. It benefits from more time at a lower temp. If you try to rush beef it just can't get as tender because it cooks through before getting as tender.

I don't know exactly how to say this but to me it seems cooking way over boiling point somehow boils the meat from the outside in. Friends don't let friends boil ribs right? Pork is just more forgiving than beef.
 
If you have had success in the past, continue to do it. I would suggest if you want to tweak your method, only change one thing at a time. Trying to change too many things, will not allow you to figure out what it was that went wrong (if it doesn't turn out the way you like it). What I do with some of the leftover "point" of the brisket after smoking the whole thing is grind it up to make some chili out of it. The smoky flavor of the brisket adds something to the chili.
 
I've always gone low & slow. I run between 225º - 250º. I've cut the corners off a short hotel pan and use it to catch the drippings during the first part of my cook. At about 160º IT, I drop the brisket in the hotel pan, add some liquid, and cover with foil until I reach 205º - 210º. So far, that method has never failed me.





BD
 
I probably should have mentioned for those who don't know me I rarely use my WSM any more but mainly my Keg kamado with dry pan. It's been years since I did WSM brisket. I've done in the tens of briskets, not hundreds and I've only tried high heat a few times like for brisket, pulled pork and pulled beef but I personally was never as happy with the results as longer and slower. Never ruined just in my mind not as good, and trying to make sense of my experience.
 
I use high heat and have been given numerous compliments every time I cook one. I like the results and the quick turn. For these reasons I'll probably never go low n slow again.
 
Mostly it's just me and my wife and she's been eating less beef (unless it's a burger) lately. So we have plenty of leftovers that I bag and freeze.

I separate the flat from the point before smoking because it cooks faster. When the point is done I'll slice it down the middle (as normal) for slicing.

I don't slice all the meat, only as I want it, vacuum seal and freeze whatever's left.

When I want some I just place it in a pot of cold water and bring it to a boil for 5 mins before poking the bag (through the top) and pull it out when it hits 170F. Cut the bag open with scissors...there are no leftovers a second time. ; ' )
 
Here's Aaron Franklin's take on Brisket. He goes low and slow on a small cooker, like the WSM, and 375 on the huge smokers. Interesting perspective. http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/crimes-against-bbq-brisket-aaron-franklin

I see what the article/author says about 375°F, but there's no way Franklin cooks briskets at that temp. Never ever. He recommends 275°F in his recent book.

Not criticizing Lew for sharing this article, but it's 5 years old and there are other more recent, more detailed interviews with Franklin, if one is interested. I've linked to many of them here on the forum, a search will reveal them, including hour-long audio interviews and videos on brisket trimming. And of course, the aforementioned book that tells-all about his process.
 
Aaron Franklin is an artist when it comes to cooking brisket. That said, he cooks using huge (by backyard standards) smokers that he builds himself. He is meticulous about building and tending his fires. He also cooks dozens of briskets at a time. It's a big leap to assume that 275 is the ultimate cooking temperature in a WSM because that's what Franklin does in his big cookers. He is not a fan of the WSM, since it doesn't have the open airflow characteristics of his stick burners. That's a fair observation. One of the main benefits of a WSM is its ability to maintain temperature over a long period of time with little or no human intervention. But the trade-off is that you have to be careful about over-smoking or bitter-smoking your meat. It's about learning to best use the tools at your disposal.

Jeff
 
I agree that there's not an "ultimate cooking temperature" in the WSM because it's proven that people have fun making delicious brisket at a variety of temperatures. If that's 225°F or 250°F or 275°F or 325°F or whatever, I'm all for it.

Speaking for myself, I used to go with 225-250°F for brisket, but the last few times I've been going with 275°F. It seems to get me through the stall easily. The fact that Franklin recommends 275°F is an added bonus. :) My friend and WSM competition champ Harry Soo likes 250°F for brisket and butt, but 275°F for ribs, chicken and tri-tip.

I will point out that in the audio interview linked above, Franklin says that the number one piece of advice he gives people about cooking brisket is that they need to cook it hotter and faster. I assume he gets this question from a variety of people with a variety of smokers, so it's a general piece of advice that he believes applies to everyone regardless of cooker.

A transcript of that portion of the audio interview can be found here: https://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?71602-Shawn-W-got-me-thinking&p=787824&viewfull=1#post787824
 

 

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