Accidental "pulled" brisket... (help!)


 
T

ToddF

TVWBB Member
I 'moked a pair of 13# briskets on Smoke Day V (details).

A very good overnight burn overall: a solid 230 from 3pm until my last check at 4am. Never opened the lid. About 8am she was running 170, but an ash tap got her back to 230-240. Meat off at 9:30am, foiled, probed (180), and into hot-bricked cooler. Probe read 170 at noon when I pulled one out. (Other stayed in until 3pm, still at 170!). Looked like a meteorite, which is good!
icon_razz.gif


Barked looked good, not great, but not well "adhered"--kinda slippery and came off (!) in places. I chalked that up to being foiled so long in a moist, hot cooler. (Am I right about that?) Fair smoke ring (had put 'em on straight from fridge, and was hoping for better).

Slicing the flat, however, was impossible. Sharp knife, cross grain--all I could get was chopped beef. Yes, it was great eatin', but no slices. Same with the point, but I usually chop that anyway. Fridged and later re-heated flat from second brisket in oven. Same thing. Wife sliced the point (!) while still cold, but that's not how I roll. I want my brisket hot, fresh, and SLICED.

I'm a recent ECB convert and never experienced that--I certainly don't want to debate ECB v. WSM (no contest, believe me!), just need to know how to get SLICED brisket with better bark from my WSM.

TMF
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dave Brewer:
Have you checked your thermometers in boiling water lately? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Not so much, but I was reading off the 22.5"-er's built-in lid thermo.

Either way, do you think I may have been burning too hot or too cool? I'm guessing you'd say too hot since the consensus is "overcooked". Tasted great, just a chopped/sliced issue. Still, for 13# at roughly 1.5 hours a pound, and considering I had two briskets on (not that that really matters that much I should think), I was thinking that an 18 hour burn at 230 may have actually been ever so slightly on the LOW side of things. Probed like butter and about fell apart as I took it off. Overcooked? I'm starting to think so (despite the math guidelines).

So does that mean lower temp/lower time, higher temp/lower time (which is what I'm thinking), or even lower temp/higher time? I'm all for tender, but I am used to my beef meteorite holding together as I remove it from the grill...
icon_wink.gif


I'm thinking of shooting for 250-255 next time, maybe only 16 hours. Thoughts?

BillM--thanks for the knife recommendation, what are the pros/cons of this one in your experience?

ClayCope--Yep, the wife was surprised when I refused my ol' trusty 'lectric. Told her I was on to Brisket 2.0 (meaning I'd left my ECB days behind lock, stock, and barrel!) and doing things right. Maybe 'lectric IS the way to go... I'll be trollin' around the knife threads next...

Overall, I think this was more of a cooking issue, not a knife one--though I have asked for a new knife for Father's Day!
 
Todd,

I agree that it was probably the meat, not the knife. I think you cooked your brisket too long. I'm usually done and in the cooler within 12 hours. I think you went for 18-1/2 hours. That might be a carryover from your ECB experience, where you couldn't count on consistent temperatures.

Your probe temps could make sense. If your WSM temp dropped to 170 shortly after bedtime, your meat temp could have dropped from 190-200 down to 180 by 08:00. Did you check meat temperature before you turned in for the night?

BTW - You own a WSM now. Go to bed at a reasonable hour. Your days of staying up overnight to monitor temps are over.

Jim
 
My guess is too long a cook and too much time in the cooler (still cooking) Oh, and my vote for the Forschner 14" slicing knife. I love mine.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by ToddF:
I 'moked a pair of 13# briskets on Smoke Day V (details).

A very good overnight burn overall: a solid 230 from 3pm until my last check at 4am. Never opened the lid. About 8am she was running 170, but an ash tap got her back to 230-240. Meat off at 9:30am, foiled, probed (180), and into hot-bricked cooler. Probe read 170 at noon when I pulled one out. (Other stayed in until 3pm, still at 170!). </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
That's a long time to hold meat, plus with the carry over heat, and hot bricks, I'm guessing the briskets continued to cook for quite awhile after they went into the cooler. And yes that's why the bark was coming off. First ditch the brisket is done at X temp theory. It's done when it's tender, not at X temp. When I need to hold a brisket for a few hrs in a cooler, I cokk just shy of tender as the carry over heat will cook/finish it while resting/holding. I use an old probe from my Neu Temp to check for tender or just shy of tender if holding. I always say the feel you are looking for would be like sticking the probe in a stick of room temp butter. Slightly firm but no resistance. HTH
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top