Dry Brisket


 
M

Mark Goldstein

TVWBB Member
Well, my first smoke on the WSM is over and I met with mixed results.

The brisket tasted great and I got lots of compliments on it, but it was not as moist and tender as I would have hoped. I'm hoping it was because this was a trimmed flat (though it did have a very thin fat cap) and it was probably a bit too lean to really work well smoked. I guess this is one cut that you don't want to buy too lean, huh?

I had it on the cooker for 8 1/2 hours (4.6lb) and then with foil for another 1/2 hour. Rested it foiled for 45 minutes.

It had a great smoke ring of about 1/4" and tasted wonderful. I guess that's better than being inedible, right?
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When cooking brisket I cook packer cuts, the prime eating is that section of flat that is under the point. When cooking flats you don't have the protection and moisture from the point.
If you are cooking flats don't trim any fat all and cook fat side down if possible. An injection really helps a lot also.
The finish internal temp is very important, 185 to 190 is top end you want. Wrap and let set in dry cooler for a couple of hours. I believe you will notice difference in moisture.
You picked the toughest cook for the first one.
Jim
 
Yeah, Jim, I knew that going in. Normally I try to buy the cryovac whole briskets so they're not trimmed to death.

I'm going to be putting the WSM to work most weekends, so I'm going to get lots of practice. I loved the fact that I didn't have to add charcoal or mess around trying to maintain a temperature. Now I can concentrate more on the "art" of making great BBQ.
 
I cook flats almost exclusively. If you have one that doesn't have much fat, cook it fat side down. Then throw strips of uncooked bacon over the top (sometimes I slather mustard or some Country Bobs on under the bacon and I always put a heathy dose of rub on underneath). The problem is you will not get as much bark but the taste is great. When it hits about 190 I double foil and pack in cooler fat side up (bacon is now off), for 2-4 hours. If that hurts your time frame than I just foil it, bacon and all, at about 165ish and let it go to 190. Then I foil again, flip, and throw in the cooler for 2-4 hours.
 
I smoke untrimmed flats fat side down and resort to tricks to keep them moist. After a few hrs to absorb smoke and develop some texture, I'll coat the top with rendered pork fat or melted butter. Two or three treatments seem to seal the surface against interior moisture loss and adds a certain richness to the crust. Resting is still important (tented in aluminum), so moisture can re-absorb.
 
hey mark...just think .. this was your very first cook...cut yourself some slack you did a great job.. you didnt burn the meat or yourself..you had the wsm runing the whole time(though its not that diff, right)

and you made a very decent piece of meat...your seeling you self short....

good job....
 
I noticed that Mark's time was very long for such a small piece of meat. Almost 2 hours per pound. I had a small brisket this weekend too (3.7lbs). I pulled it early becasue I couldn't believe it was going to come out very good. Well, my brisket was moist, but not very tender.

So, somewhere between 1.5 hours and just under 2 hours per pound is the difference between moist tuff brisket and dry but tender brisket?

It would be very helpful and much appreciated if Jim and Susan could help us better understand when to pull a brisket. Also, how long they let it rest in foil after pulling.

Anyway, mine was edible too, but I hope to do better. I like a small brisket but I have had better luck with the couple I did that were bigger.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Jerry N.:
I noticed that Mark's time was very long for such a small piece of meat. Almost 2 hours per pound. I had a small brisket this weekend too (3.7lbs). I pulled it early becasue I couldn't believe it was going to come out very good. Well, my brisket was moist, but not very tender.

So, somewhere between 1.5 hours and just under 2 hours per pound is the difference between moist tuff brisket and dry but tender brisket?

It would be very helpful and much appreciated if Jim and Susan could help us better understand when to pull a brisket. Also, how long they let it rest in foil after pulling.

Anyway, mine was edible too, but I hope to do better. I like a small brisket but I have had better luck with the couple I did that were bigger. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I've done many o briskets and never had one go over 1.5 hrs per lb( i know Susan will disagree)
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. When foil resting the longer the better. If you can do 2 - 4 hrs that's perfect 4 being better and it will continue to cook. Doing the rest this long lets all the remaing juices go back through the meat. If you slice it too early all the juice runs out of the meat.
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I like a small brisket but I have had better luck with the couple I did that were bigger. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Many people have the same experience. Small briskets seem to be much less predictable and seem, as a whole and judging from many posts here, to take longer per pound than packers. I only do packers and they run 1-1.5 hours/lb; the flats available around me are not worth purchasing as every one is over-trimmed. The cool thing about packers though is that the point can be saved and pulled for sandwiches or turned into great chili or enchiladas or whatever. A definite bonus.
 
I myself would rather do an un trimmed flat than a packer because none of my family like the point/deckel. It's a texture thing with us.
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I wish I could find an untrimmed flat down here. Can't get packers from the supermarkets, only over-trimmed flats. Can't get anything other than packers from my butcher but at least I have him. There are times when I'd like to do a shorter brisket cook and an untrimmed flat would be just the ticket. But I like the point, especially for chili; mostly though, I like what the point does to the flat while cooking.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bryan S:
I myself would rather do an un trimmed flat than a packer because none of my family like the point/deckel. It's a texture thing with us.
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</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Tell you what's sad/funny, when I had my Brinkman, I did trimmed flats all the time and the family loved them. I haven't done but one since I had the WSM lol. Never did a whole packer.
Seems like with the Brinkman, we loved doing nothing but beef. Since the WSM, they can't get their fill of ribs, shoulder, anything pork. I guess if I want to enter any comps, I better get to smoking briskets again. (New Holland)
 
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