Brisket smoke in progress; would like your thoughts


 
D

Drew Kiesling

New member
All--

Hope you're enjoying St. Patrick's Day, and that your weather is as gorgeous as ours is in Minneapolis.

I currently have two briskets on the bullet; one is very lean, about 2.5-3 lbs; the other has a solid fat cap and decent marbling, almost 6 lbs. I used a dalmatian rub on both.

My issue is with the smaller one. I put them both in around 7:30 this morning, the larger on the bottom to start. After about 1.5 hours, the internal on the smaller read 165, but now, at 10:45, it's actually dropped back to 154. The smoker has stabilized between 240-260 F.

I've read about, and have a little experience with, briskets plateauing as the collagen and connective tissue denature into gelatin. However, I've never seen a cut's internal temp drop in a fairly stable environment. I'm wondering if anyone has thoughts on this: could it be that, because the smaller flat is so lean and has a heavy membranous layer on top instead of a fat cap (it's apparently grass-fed, and I'm smoking it as a favor to a friend) that there's an abundance of connective tissue that requires lots more energy to denature?

I always thought that denaturing was analagous to a phase change, but is it endothermic (I haven't read anything about that). I'd really like peoples' thoughts on this, especially if you have any info on how this might affect cooking length (getting through "done" to "tender") compared with the larger flat.

Thanks in advance!

Drew
 
Welcome, Drew.

How are you checking temperature? A probe or gauge which stays in the meat? The reason I'm asking is that checking different places will yield different results.

Second thing is you're apparently cooking brisket flats, not packers; for the former, I foil during the stall--let's say 165 or so. Then, I check at about 45 min intervals to ensure it "probes tender." Should feel like the probe is going into butter, i.e., minimal resistance.

Keep your eye on that smaller one. It's sounds itty-bitty.

Good luck and please report results!
 
Monte,

I'm using a Maverick ET-73. I've tried foiling before, but get more preferable bark without foiling. I'll give it another hour, then check it with a temp probe for temp and texture.

What's throwing me off is that the smaller guy got over 160, then lost temperature even though the cooker temp was sliding slowly up to 260 from 250. Very strange.

Thanks for you thoughts! Any from others?

Drew
 
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