Brisket at high heat: Failed


 
G

Grant Narita

TVWBB Fan
ok, after probably undercooking my brisket when I tried it 3 times four years ago, I tried it for the first time using the High Heat method. It was an 11 lb packer, choice grade. cooked for about 2 1/2 hours/3 hrs then foiled and took off the smoker after a total of 5 hrs 10 min. After foiling I was testing by feel instead of temp ( probe supposed to go in like butter). unfortunately, the end result was it came out dry again. Before when I tried it years ago it was tough and dry. This time it was not tough, more crumbly, but still dry, so I figure I overcooked it.

At one point, when I tested the middle, it went in like butter like it is supposed to, but then I tested a thicker part and it didn’t go in like butter, so I left it in longer. now I am thinking I should have just taken it off when the probe went into the middle fine. I kept it in the foil on the counter for 30 more min before cutting.

Also, did not have a smoke ring and wished it had a smokier taste. not sure what I did wrong. used 6 chunks of pecan wood, filled completely with charcoal then started 24 coals and put those on top with the wood. no water in pan.

One stupid question: how is it best to handle the brisket when I move it to the foil pan and move it out of the foil or pan? I tried using a bbq tong and felt like I would drop it. also the tong was taking off a lot of the bark. should I be using something different?
 
As for the (not) stupid question, the best way to handle it is to pick it up with your hands. Get a good pair of gloves like these:
https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B075835CN8/tvwb-20

I've never tried high heat brisket, so I can't help you there. But Like you, I struggled with brisket for years and then gave up on cooking it for several years. Now I've cooked four in the last 9 months or so. They have all been tender and moist. I cook it low and slow with water in the pan. I watched Aaron Franklin's videos and read his book. I took Harry Soo's class and watched his videos. Harry's videos are all over the map; high heat, low-n-slow, logs in a WSM, injections, etc. Harry loves to experiment, and somehow it all works. But it can be confusing. I love the brisket I get in Texas when I visit my sister and her family. That's what I wanted to cook. So I picked out the Harry Soo videos that fit that bill.

Chris A. has a ton of info from his time earlier this year at Texas A&M Brisket Camp: https://www.virtualweberbullet.com/camp-brisket-2020-trip-report/

I'm sure others will chime in and it would be helpful if you added a little more information. Which WSM were you using? What temp were you running? Where were you monitoring the temp, grate or lid? Weather conditions? Temperature spikes?
 
>>I'm sure others will chime in and it would be helpful if you added a little more information. Which WSM were you using? What temp were you running? Where were you monitoring the temp, grate or lid? Weather conditions?<<


thanks for the info. those gloves look like it will make things a lot easier for my next attempt! I was using the 18.5 WSM, cooking between 325-350. monitoring the temp at the grate, and had a meat thermometer always in the nrisket that I found out was 30 degrees off. when it said it was 170, ai then tried a couple hand held ones and they said it was around 140. weather comditions, aroun 75 degrees.
 
J Grotz said:
As for the (not) stupid question, the best way to handle it is to pick it up with your hands. Get a good pair of gloves like these:
https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B075835CN8/tvwb-20
Click to expand...


How's the dexterity on those? I picked up a pair of these:

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B07QPPT117/tvwb-20

And the dexterity is just awful.

I've also seen a lot of youtubers get a pair of thick cotton gloves or the other fabric style grill gloves and just put latex gloves over them.
 
Lee Ingraham said:
How's the dexterity on those? I picked up a pair of these:

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B07QPPT117/tvwb-20

And the dexterity is just awful.

I've also seen a lot of youtubers get a pair of thick cotton gloves or the other fabric style grill gloves and just put latex gloves over them.
Click to expand...
I think the dexterity is really good. I had a 2 layer (silicone & nomex) pair of lobster claws for years, so these were a huge improvement. But I'm not going to be performing brain surgery with them. They provide a lot of protection for a little amount of time. You can pick up a hot CI grate and move it no problem. You cannot pick up a hot CI grate and hold onto it for minutes. I think getting the proper size is important.
 
Lee Ingraham said:
I've also seen a lot of youtubers get a pair of thick cotton gloves or the other fabric style grill gloves and just put latex gloves over them.
Click to expand...
I do this, thick cotton gloves with disposable nitrile gloves over them. You need to move quickly, the heat does penetrate if it's intensely hot, but they have good dexterity and work especially well when pulling pork. When my thick grilling gloves sprung a leak and bit the dust, I started doing the cotton + disposable routine and never looked back.

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00622Z2G2/tvwb-20
 
I think I'll start going that route when pulling pork. I like having the extra dexterity to remove the fatty and undesirable bits. With the gloves I had posted above I may as well have been doing it with some silicone lobster claws, however they do work extremely well for messing with the pizza pan I use as a heat deflector (like needing to remove it to give smoked wings some direct heat time) and giving my charcoal colander a shake to sift out some ash.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top