What is yours? I did a brisket that finished yesterday. 12 lber from Smart and Final with a nice even fat cap and the thickness of the flat was even too. 225-250 on an overnighter Fat Side DOWN went for 14 hours. 185 internal took out and put in a cooler for 3 hours. Unbelievable and may have been the best brisket No it definitely was the best I have ever done. Now I am wondering if I could have pulled it off at 180 degrees. Would 5 degrees less make a difference? Or do you check for doneness with a toothpick poked in the flat?
Brisket Technique
- Thread starter jeff lowe
- Start date
K Kruger
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
I check with my finger and a fork.
Could 5 degrees make a difference? Maybe. It would depend on the particular piece of meat, it's original fat and moisture content, how much fat rendered, how much moisture evaporated, etc.
All things being equal (which they aren't always, of course), I find that once a brisket hits 180 I can err on the 5 degree under side of the equation, but not necessarily 5 degrees over.
Could 5 degrees make a difference? Maybe. It would depend on the particular piece of meat, it's original fat and moisture content, how much fat rendered, how much moisture evaporated, etc.
All things being equal (which they aren't always, of course), I find that once a brisket hits 180 I can err on the 5 degree under side of the equation, but not necessarily 5 degrees over.
Al Silverman
TVWBB Pro
As many others have said and I tend to agree, it's not the actual temp. that the meat reaches that determines the "doneness". It's done when you can stick a fork in it and the fork comes out without lifting the brisket. This method works on slow smoked meat, on oven braised meats and on boiled meats like corned beef.
Al
Al
Charles Howse
TVWBB Wizard
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">It's done when you can stick a fork in it and the fork comes out without lifting the </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Ohhhhh...good one Al. I'm saving that one.
Seriously, that's a really good method of testing doneness.
Ohhhhh...good one Al. I'm saving that one.
Seriously, that's a really good method of testing doneness.
Joe McManus
TVWBB All-Star
Hey Jeff,
When I was starting out, I posted a similar question in the following string.
fork tender brisket
There are some pretty good comments about what "fork tender" means. Check it out.
I'm still learning the nuances of cooking brisket (and ribs, and butts, and chicken for competition). They've been sticking forks in brisket for a long time, so there must be something to it.
When I was starting out, I posted a similar question in the following string.
fork tender brisket
There are some pretty good comments about what "fork tender" means. Check it out.
I'm still learning the nuances of cooking brisket (and ribs, and butts, and chicken for competition). They've been sticking forks in brisket for a long time, so there must be something to it.