First Brisket....FAIL!


 
D

Dennis S.

New member
I tried the high heat brisket at work today it's the first brisket I have attempted. Ended up with a 6 pounder...first mistake I think. Perhaps a larger one in the 10 pound range would have come out better.

Followed the directions basically to the letter...foiled it at 175... 2 more hours...rested it.

Results: bark was so tough I could not cut through it. Brisket fell apart into chunks, could not be sliced. Still tasted great...and my fellow firefighters enjoyed it. I was shocked at how little meat I got out of it... barely fed us all.

so did I overcook it as it was a small one? too much rub? (I really covered it). Thanks for any replies....

Dennis
 
Dennis, I wouldn't try smoking one that small, but also try foiling sooner next time, more like 160*.

Also, try to stay on the safe side and remember that you've got to check for tenderness quite often when cooking so quick, especially such a relatively small piece of meat.

Better luck next time!
 
Oh my friend - if you knew how much money i "wasted" on my first several brisket cooks. Let us say, I could have helped the idiots in DC balance the budget!!!!!

I have never done anything short of a full packer cut brisket (how else would i get me some burnt ends!!!!!!) and I have never foiled my briskets. I also try not to temp them either. When i think it is getting close to done i go out and stick in a fork and, as recommended on this site many many many times, when it slides in without much push SHE BE DONE. Once i quit fidgeting with them they got SO much better. Seems it AIN'T the meat but is instead the COOK that was messed up in my case!!! Who knew??
icon_biggrin.gif


Keep at it Dennis. And, further, you CANNOT say fail if you fed your FD buddies!!! I know a few firemen and they are all WELL versed in good firehouse cookin' - if they ate and enjoyed it it AIN'T a failure!!!
 
If it's any consolation, my first brisket (a full packer) was a great success, the second (a full flat, no point) was so-so, and the third (a small flat, same size as or even smaller than yours) was another fail. The small cuts seem to be a lot harder to get right.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">.foiled it at 175.. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Way too high a temp. For a flat - preferably a nice thick one - foil at 160-165 (I'd suggest 160). Cook till tender.
 
Foil at 160, huh ? I sure wasn't doing anything like that. Maybe I'll get brave and try another brisket now.

Thanks to all the great, helpful folks here !!
 
Beleive it or not I have been Q'ing/smoking/grilling for a good while. Cooked all kinds of food this way EXCEPT brisket. Did my first a few weeks ago. Followed the high heat method Mr. Kruger/others have posted for the most part except it was at 275-300 because I threw it in with ribs. I put the brisket in the lower rack of the WSM placed a foil tent over it to keep the rib fat from falling on it. I wanted to keep the flavors separate.

That said. I did follow the overall technique (recommended foil temp, etc). Came out beautifully. Got rave reviews, nice smoke ring. Even warmed up well after vac sealing/freezing. Just brought the thawed unsliced hunks up to 140 degrees or so in the vac bag in pot of hot water, pulled from the bag and sliced.

BTW used the cutting board on top as guide along with the slicing knife - great technique. Forget who posted that tip a long time ago.

All I'm saying is - read through the high heat compilation follow the technique for foiling, etc. And it all works fine.

I used "first cut" choice flat, untrimmed AFA fat. Basically a packer with the point removed. It was about 10lb or so and THICK.

So succesful that I've been asked to make two of these to take to the shore this weekend. Looking forward to the cook.

I did marinate, but probably not necessary.

Take a look at Chris A's tutorial on HH brisket on the resources area.

One of the reasons I love this site!

Fire control was key.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dan Kuhn:
Oh my friend - if you knew how much money i "wasted" on my first several brisket cooks. Let us say, I could have helped the idiots in DC balance the budget!!!!!

I have never done anything short of a full packer cut brisket (how else would i get me some burnt ends!!!!!!) and I have never foiled my briskets. I also try not to temp them either. When i think it is getting close to done i go out and stick in a fork and, as recommended on this site many many many times, when it slides in without much push SHE BE DONE. Once i quit fidgeting with them they got SO much better. Seems it AIN'T the meat but is instead the COOK that was messed up in my case!!! Who knew??
icon_biggrin.gif


Keep at it Dennis. And, further, you CANNOT say fail if you fed your FD buddies!!! I know a few firemen and they are all WELL versed in good firehouse cookin' - if they ate and enjoyed it it AIN'T a failure!!! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Great advice.
 
Did my first brisket. Started 7:30pm Aug. 2nd. Kept temp 225-250 (I have an Auber ATC). I used a whole packer 15 lbs; wrapped it when it got to 180, pulled off the WSM when it hit 190. Let rest 2 hours.

The flat was tender but dry (to me.) I was measuring temp in the point part of the brisket. I also question the accuracy of the Maverick thermometer I used...the BBQ probe was consistently 10-15 degrees higher than the probe for the Auber's probe, and they were right by each other.

The point was a little dry as well, but the flat UNDER the point was excellent. I think I screwed up by putting the fat cap side down on the grate (this is Meathead's suggestion for cooking on the WSM) and I also use a foiled water pan with no water. I might have needed the moisture.

All still edible with BBQ sauce, but I rate this smoke a B-.
 
If using temp to gauge the cook measure in the center of the flat, not the point.

Fatcap down, imo, is the better choice.

Whether you use water or not is virtually immaterial.
 
I'm a high heat brisket man as well, have actually never done a low and slow one. I have also never temped one. I cook out of foil until I like the color, foil until I like the feeling of the probe going in, and then unfoil for maybe 10 mins to firm up. As stated in the original high heat thread, they come out at the 3:45-4:00 hour mark every time, regardless of size. I'm thinking with your brisket being on the smaller side, it was way overdone. Don't be afraid! Get another brisket and let 'er rip!
 
I've only done low and slow but want to do high heat. I smoked at 250 degrees and pulled at 190 or doneness. Great bark and nice smoke ring, a little dry as I did not foil at 160(didn't know). Next time I do brisket I will do low & slow with foil at 160 to see if its juicier then I will try high heat.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by James Jacobson:
Did my first brisket. Started 7:30pm Aug. 2nd. Kept temp 225-250 (I have an Auber ATC). I used a whole packer 15 lbs; wrapped it when it got to 180, pulled off the WSM when it hit 190. Let rest 2 hours.

The flat was tender but dry (to me.)...

...The point was a little dry as well, but the flat UNDER the point was excellent. I think I screwed up by putting the fat cap side down on the grate (this is Meathead's suggestion for cooking on the WSM) and I also use a foiled water pan with no water. I might have needed the moisture... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Water in the pan isn't gonna keep your point or flat from drying out, and I'm surprised that the point was a "little dry", since it's typically so marbled with fat. Anyway, added humidity only slows the evaporation of moisture on the outside of the meat, inhibiting/slowing bark development to a good degree, and not keeping the inside of the meat moist. Even cooking til tenderness, but not overcooking are key there, and foil will definately help....especially if you wrap during a good portion of the cook, or even if you just use it to protect the end of the flat from the higher heat past the pan. Fat down is best for sure, since the heat source is below the meat.
 
I'm NOT a competition smoker, or Pitmaster, but in my opinion, it was cooked too long and dried out. Briskets have enough fat in them to stay moist, but there again, I prefer "Low and slow".

That's a very small brisket and I just think it was way over-cooked. Even as a newbie I have not messed up anything, but I will tell you "You have not messed up anything", you are just like everyone else on this forum, you learn EVERY SMOKE YOU DO. None of them are going to be exactly alike. The meat DOES have some bearing on how it turns out. DO NOT BLAME YOURSELF, just read and read and smoke and smoke.

Good luck.
 
I've done 5 briskets on the WSM, last one was a week ago at 12#. Never been happy with any although my last was the best of the worst. Tried fat up, down, turning, basting to no avail. I've now decided that brisket will be smoked and then made into a stew like meal after the first few slices.

The one thing I will mirror from the above is that the temp probe should go in horizontally through the fattest part of the flat. The point is fatty enough to hold its own.

Personally, I last used a modified wet rub on brisket to get the outer char I want. It's harder to apply but you get a better crust. That said, foiling will lessen the crustiness regardless.

I'm all about the less traditional BBQ food now. White fish, pork loin, prime rib etc...

JDH
 
I would not give up on it so easily. There are many ways to gets you there. My preference is high heat. Very consistent results from cook to cook, and much more consistent results in the meat - from tip of flat to the end of the point.

As for the bark, I use a dry-over-paste approach routinely. I am not one that cares much about crispy bark texture on briskets - but that is easy to restore after the foiling phase if one is cooking high heat.

I just probe vertically - once, in the center of the flat. But horizontally works well if you are not used to the feel.
 
i will never give up! i got my wsm on craigslist from a couple that tried twice and decided it wasn't for them... their loss is my gain!!!!!! got a great deal on it and have been loving it. thanks all for the great responses!

Dennis
 
I've cooked 3 flats and a packer since getting my WSM. I've done all of them around 275 with water in the pan and foiled them at 165. My first flat was simply perfect. It was also devoured by my extended family in 5 minutes flat. Everything I've done since then has been screwed up in some way by me. My last one, I foiled at 165, except that I had the thermometer placed wrong and foiled it at probably 145.

I've learned a lot through this process but the most important lesson yet is that BBQ tastes good no matter how much I screw it up.

Happy Smoking
Adam
 
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