brisket flats keep coming out dry


 
Dave O (Alaska)

Dave O (Alaska)

TVWBB Pro
I have only cooked two briskets, one flat(4lbs) and last night a packer(10lbs).
My first one was the flat and I think i overcooked it.
yesterday I found a small packer at costco and bought it to augment our mother's day dinner as there was only one rib roast left and didn't think it would feed everyone.
So at 10:00 pm I put the trimmed packer (~9lbs) onto the 18.5 WSM with a full ring of KBB and full water pan, set the guru to 225 and went to bed after watching it for a couple of hours. The temps were stable between 230 and 245 for the time i kept an eye on it. At 7am it probed out at between 186 and 196 over a couple of spots and was fairly tender so i pulled it, double foiled and put in microwave. Work kept me busy until around 12:30 when i sliced it. The point was excellent. Tender and moist. the flat however was a little tough and fairly dry but still edible with some sauce. I didn't get up during the night to wrap the thing as i was still jet lagged from a recent trip. How do I get my flats to come out better?

thanks
Dave
 
Dave, can you get your hands on some butcher paper? If not, PM me and I'll mail you some. I have an idea.........
 
Cooking flats and packers are different.

I foiled my last flat and it came out good enough for me to try again. First time for foiling flat, I've had previous flat's that weren't successful.

"probed out at between 186 and 196 over a couple of spots" was this the point or the flat? As they cook at different rates, some separate the point and flat and cook separate until done.
 
Monty House said:
Dave, can you get your hands on some butcher paper? If not, PM me and I'll mail you some. I have an idea.........
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I saw on Aaron Franklin's YouTube series where he also does the same thing with butcher paper. Is this a better method than using aluminum foil? It seems to work well for him, but I wonder why many recommend this? The thing I can think of would be that it still protects it from heat and distributes it evenly while not allowing it to 'steam' and ruin the bark as much. Am I wrong about this?

A lot of people swear that 203 is the magic number...I have no idea.
 
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Bob Sample most likely is correct, ie undercooked. Quick question... when slicing the flat, did it's edges try to crumble or fall away ?
 
Monty, pretty sure i can find some butcher paper here, but I appreciate the offer.

Bob sample, If I cook it longer won't it dry out more?

Russel, I probed the point and flat in three different spots each, the flat actually temped lower.

Bob bass, didn't crumble and didn't pass the "pull test" when sliced
 
Longer time it is, I only cooked it an hour/lb and it was'nt as tender as I though it should be. Just thought the couple of hours rested in foil would finish the job
 
Bob Sample said:
Tough and dry = undercooked. You needed to cook it longer.
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This^ Brisket one of those funny things it tough and dry when its undercooked, when you nail it its moist & tender when you over cook it it more crumble. You just need more time in the smoker. Keep in mind this isn't baking temp is just a rough guide a brisket flat will be like a warm stick of butter when probed... can be 195 had them over 210 everyone is different. Good luck! and if you ever make it farther north PM more then happy to talk BBQ with you.

Clint H
 
"Russel, I probed the point and flat in three different spots each, the flat actually temped lower."

Cook until tender not to a specific temperature.
 
Dave as the meat cooks the fat fibres attached to the muscles break down and that's when your meat get tender and juicy. If it doesn't cook long enough the fibres don't break down so it is tough and dry. If cooked to long the fibres are completely broken down and juices released and gone so the brisket is dry and crumbly. This is my lay persons version of a scientific explanation I read which had all kinds of fancy words in it and was about a 1/2 hour read.

I like to cook my briskest till they are done cooking then rest them for 1/2hr to stop the cooking process before wrapping and holding warm in a cooler. Pulling early and wrapping in foil to finish cooking in the cooler is just too hit and miss for me. I found they were undercooked or overcooked as often as they are cooked to perfection doing it that way.
 
Thanks bob (as well as every one else) that clears it up for me and makes sense. I guess when cooking a packer my main focus needs to be on pulling properly for flat tenderness. It seems like the point is hard to screw up.
 
okay. next brisket goes to 203. its on you guys! Just kidding but why not give it a shot? I'll try and post the next cook no matter what happens.
 
FWIW, I take mine to 205 degrees, and I foil them about 170. Sometimes the point is not quite done, so I'll resmoke that later and usually make burnt ends with it. And for me, I look for the biggest one I can find, Restaurant Depot has Angus briskets from 15-20 lbs.
 
Bob Sample said:
I think the best thing I ever did was learn to cook bbq without using a thermometer.
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Bob... TWO Thumbs Up if there every was a post !!! Just wish more people would take it to heart !
People keep thinking a particular cut of meat is always the same, so same temperature.... wrong. Especially a brisket !!!!
 
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