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Brisket cook under way Temp ????


 
J

John Furdyn

TVWBB Pro
Put an 8.65lb whole brisket, I trimmed approx. .5 lb of fat off, on this morning at 3:05 now 5.5 hrs later temp probe (digital thermometer) reading 179 in the point. Brisket sat on the counter about 30 min before going on the smoker.

Lid temp between 250 & 260.

First time I'm using the probe just trying it out. Checked in ice water as well as boiling water 32 & 210.

Is it posible the temp could be 179 in the point after 5.5 hrs at the lid temps mentioned above ?

Maybe I don't have the probe located in the correct position ? Slide it in the point from the end and tryed to get it in the middle.

I will cook till it's done regardless, just curious about the temps etc.

Any thoughts

Thanks
 
Yes: Don't check the point. If you're going to temp, temp the flat.

Know your lid therm is accurate?
 
Kevin

Don't check the point. Is that because it's so fatty ?


Went out and repostioned the probe into the flat. Inserting the probe from the side of the flat ? Some resistance (just a little), insterting the probe into the flat. Temp reading 190 in the flat.


Thanks
 
Well, mostly it is because it is the flat that one focuses on in terms of getting it to tender.

Tenderness has little to do with internal temp. It has to do with time at whatever cooktemp is being used. You can certainly temp the internal and, conditions being as equal as possible from cook to cook, use temp as a guideline to determine when to first check for tender. Since it is the flat you will check it is the flat where temp should be monitored.

(Of course, on high heat cooks where foiling is involved I do not recommend temping at all after the brisket is foiled.)
 
Kevin

I will check for tenderness with the probe or a fork.

Just fiddling around with the themometer I got for a present.

While checking for tenderness in the flat. how about the point will that be tender enough or do we foil it in the cooler to soften up, or cook it some more ?
 
The point is usually tender but still fatty. Me, I just rest the whole thing, serve the flat, cool and save the point in the fridge or freezer for chili, enchiladas, point sauce, etc. Others prefer to separate after cooking, resting the flat and returning the point to the cooker for further rendering.
 
Kevin

I like the chili idea.

I guess after thawing the point, cube it up, and cook it a little while in the chili to soften it up somemore. Sounds good.
 
Looks real good. I haven't made chili in a while. I have a point in the freezer that I may have to break out.

As far as where to stick the probe. I agree with the others. The flat. I would suggest sticking it in different areas of the flat. I recently had an experience when the flat tapered a bit and that edge got hard giving a false sense that the brisket was not tender yet. After sticking into one side (I had to hold the brisket with one hand as I stuck it in) then I checked the other side and it went in like butter. When it was time to slice, the tough part just peeled off and it was fine. It appeared to be the edge that was slightly tapered. I just wonder how much longer that it cooked than needed. It still turned out great, but I feel that it could have been more moist.
 
That's one reason why I prefer to do briskets at high heat. One can easily overcook a thinner tapered end while the rest of the flat isn't yet tender (depends on how thin and tapered but some briskets are quite so, due to lousy butchering at the packer). With high heat it's not a concern as foiling evens the cooking nicely.

I'm thinking of doing a brisket this weekend just so I'll have point for chili. Been a while.
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I have yet to do a high heat brisket. I may try that on my next smoke. This particular brisket was a decent cut. The flat was fairly thick, but it still tapered a bit on one side. The last brisket that I did, i wrapped in foil at the 165 degree mark and ramped the heat up as high as it would go (only 275, I was using my old electric smoker that I gave to my Dad) The brisket had a thin flat but still it came out very tender and moist, maybe too tender by some standards. It was good though and everyone loved it. I have come to the conclusion that the faster you cook the brisket, the less chance you stand of drying it out. I went from 220 degrees to now cooking at around 250 to 275. Next I will have to try the high heat!
 
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