Brisket Flats


 
Status
Not open for further replies.
C

Chris Hart

TVWBB Member
Well my last two brisket flat attempts have been about good enough for the chili pot and not much else. One word: DRY.

Last weekend I layered a pound of bacon on top as the brisket had very little fat cap.

This weekend a bought a $5 picnic pork shoulder and positioned it on the top rack to act as a baster (it came out far better than the brisket). Also, the brisket I bought - per a post by Stogie - had a 1/8th inch fat cap.

I had high hopes this weekend as the pork shoulder had pools of fat laying on top of the brisket.

1st one was probably dry because the internal temp when pulled was 200.

This weekend though I pulled at 185 and let sit for about an hour. Tender but still dry. My temps were maybe high - average 240-260 with a few 275 spikes (same last weekend).

Should I bring my temps down to say 220 - 240. Should I let it sit more than an hour? Any ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks,

ChrisH
 
Buy whole briskets if you can and see what a difference it makes. I would go with 1/4" fat cap and use internal temp as a guide.
Once you reach the 180? internal, you can start to test for tenderness with a fork or a probe from a Polder, if for example the probe slides in easily in the flat it's done.
Briskets are dry because they are overcooked for the fat content they had.
You can't use one finishing temp for brisket, they are all different.
Jim
 
Hey Chris!

Jim is correct about the internals on brisket..I used to shoot for around 185-188? until I found that it just didn't work that well....now I just insert my thermo stem and check it that way. A lot will also depend on the flat..I try to look for one that is an even thickness throughout the entire flat....that is very hard to do! The brisket we made up in Minnesota had a small hump in the middle and we used that for turn-in as each end was overdone and a little dry.

I also strive for temps no higher than 230?...the results of our last contest, I believe, were because we maintained low temps in the cooker. I once met John Willingham and talked at length with him and his advice is too keep those temps no higher than 230?. He's been a pretty big winner over his life so I just try to keep those temps low.

Here is one other tip...many will think this is "cheating" but I am in search of the BEST Q and whatever I have to do to get there is OK by me......

Prior to wrapping in foil for resting, pour 1/4 - 1/2 cup of beef broth over the top. I have even used french onion soup! But, I try to stick with a good quality beef broth..Minors or LeGout make excellent broths and you can easily mix up a half cup.

Then wrap up tight and let sit for an hour. Hey! Call it whatever you want, I call it great brisket!! And don't think there aren't a few Texans who do this!!

Stogie

[This message has been edited by Kevin Taylor (edited 05-28-2001).]
 
Chris,
I think lower cooking temps and the Polder probe test are the way to go. At the PNWBA competition this weekend, I cooked two full briskets. Both weighed about 9 lbs. First one I cooked for 21 hours, with no water, at cooking temp of 210 (or less). Second was with water pan and cooking temp around 240. That one was done in 15 hours.

I sliced up both and gave some blind samples to the tourists and had them vote. It was unanimous for the slower cooked brisket, which I chose for my turn-in.

Result--honorable mention out of 27 teams.

The key to tenderness really depends on finding little resistance to sticking it into the flat of the meat. Jim Minion showed me that this weekend and it does work.

Dale

Stogie--beef soup? what does that do?
 
Hi guys, I came to read the advanced discussion and have a question. 2 weeks ago I bought an 11 lbs brisket and had my butcher split it in half, cooked the flat now the rest is in the freezer for later. Any tip for that part of the meat alone? There's a good 1/4" fat on it I made sure he didn't trim.
 
Ron
I would suggest that you not split them, the
piece in question has a higher fat content than the flat. Cook as you would a whole and
you will find that it easier to cook and will be more moist than the avg flat by it self.
Jim
 
Ron,

A few months ago I cooked a brisket. I knew that I was going to have a lot more meat than I needed for that day, so I sliced off the point (after cooking with the flat) and froze it. This weekend I unfroze it and smoked it for about 4 more hours in my first attempt to make a "burnt end". I chopped the meat and made sandwiches out of it. Talk about great flavor. I highly reccomend trying this approach at least once, to see if you like it. The only thing wrong that I can see is that my arteries are probably clogged as I was eating some of the crusty fat off the outside that normally would have just been thrown away!

Doug W
 
Thank you all for the tips. i`ll let you know in a few weeks how it turned out.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

 

Back
Top