Advice on Cooking Brisket?


 
Mark Barton

Mark Barton

TVWBB Super Fan
Greetings!

Well, I recently cooked brisket for the first time. Costco had some nice looking brisket flats for a reasonable price, so I picked one up. Overall, it was pretty good, but did not turn out quite as I had hoped. Texture was OK, and flavor was good but not great. Bark was just passable.

I know from reading many posts flats are a hard cook, and that a whole brisket is preferred. But I would like to get better, regardless. Any advice or suggestions would be much appreciated!

Here are the details:
1. Six pound USDA Choice brisket flat. Fat cap was already trimmed to about 1/4 inch, so I just cut off small bits.
2. Injected with 1/4 cup beef broth.
3. Applied 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt per pound (3 tsp total) for a dry brine. Wrapped and put in fridge overnight.
4. Used standard Minion/donut method with Kingsford comp charcoal.
5. One hickory chunk and three small chunks of apple wood.
6. Applied light rub of medium ground black pepper.
7. Placed on top rack of WSM 18.5. Water pan was replaced with foiled clay saucer.
8. Cooked at around 270° F for just over four hours. Brisket stalled at 155.
9. Foiled with 3/4 cup of beef broth.
10. Cooked for another two hours 270° F. Brisket temp reached 203° F, and probe went in and out smoothly.

Results:
1. Missing that beautiful knobbly textured, dark mahogany (almost black) bark.
2. Texture was good, but not great. Passed "bend" test, and pulled apart just OK. It could have been a bit more tender.
3. Had just the right amount of smoke flavor.
4. But... tasted too much like pot roast. :-(

Photos:
Brisket is trimmed. Looks pretty nice!
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Salted and wrapped, ready for the fridge.
20150703_091827_zps3amtknry.jpg


Fresh out of the smoker. Note the reddish, very light bark.
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Sliced. Meat seemed very moist/watery but was inexplicably "dry" when tasting. The fat rendered well.
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Bend test. Quarter inch slice bent nicely, but was a tiny bit too firm. Side Note: as you can see from the cutting board, there was a lot of water in the brisket, but it still had a dry mouth feel. Weird.
20150703_202047_zpswdyvnhs1.jpg



Thanks for looking! Again, any suggestions for improvement are welcome.
 
might need to cook a little longer. probe going in like butter.

i always struggled with flats as well and have been going with packers ever since...
 
brisket flats are really tough to master. That is the leaner side of the brisket and does not have as much fat to protect it from drying out. Once you pulled it off the smoker did you rest the meat? If you are going for a crispy crust wrapping in foil and adding liquid is not allowing that crust to set. I never add any liquid if I foil it makes the crust soft and mushy. Some people have success taking the brisket out of the foil for the last hour to all the crust to crisp up so to speak.

Everyone has their own methods but overall your cook looks good!
 
Small briskets, less than 11 pounds dry out too quick. I did one and at the end it was a brick. Select a bigger brisket under 13 #, it cooks longer (is that a word?) but will cook better especially if you don't trim it. Better yet, ask your butcher if he knows what a sirloin tip is, down here it's a roast that tastes as good as steak with zero waste.
 
When I lived back east, I could only find flats, so I did quite a few of them. Couple of suggestions: Use 50/50 salt and pepper for the rub; cook fat down; smoke with hickory or oak; use water in the pan; don't wrap; let it rest for at least an hour before slicing.

Foiling with 3/4 cup of broth essentially braises the meat, thus, pot roast.
 
J Hasselberger said:
When I lived back east, I could only find flats, so I did quite a few of them. Couple of suggestions: Use 50/50 salt and pepper for the rub; cook fat down; smoke with hickory or oak; use water in the pan; don't wrap; let it rest for at least an hour before slicing.

Foiling with 3/4 cup of broth essentially braises the meat, thus, pot roast.
Click to expand...


Yep yep to everything J just said.
 
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