Team TVWBB,
After several successful pork shoulders and one (somewhat) successful baby back rib cook on my 18" WSM, I decided to try my hand at brisket. Turned out pretty good. Tender, and the bark was great. Tasted good. But it was a little dry. The first few bites I had when I was carving were fantastic, but somehow it all seemed to dry out by the time it was served shortly thereafter. It wasn't bad, and no one complained--but I can't help thinking it should be better.
So...I'm looking for a little advice. Below I'm going to describe my procedure and then list some variables that I'm considering changing. I'd love to hear from folks who think that one (or more) of my listed variables would make a significant difference, or if anyone has any other ideas.
First, the cook itself: I started with a seven pound choice flat. I trimmed it pretty aggressively, removing probably about a pound of fat--I was trying to emulate what I read in Aaron Franklin's book. I know his method isn't the only way to achieve a great result, but I enjoyed the book and thought I'd follow his advice and see where it took me. The rub was salt and pepper. Wood was a mix of oak and cherry. Put the brisket on fat-side down, although there wasn't much fat left. My target temperature was 275 (again, following Franklin's advice), and I kept it in the neighborhood of 250-275 the entire time using my BBQ Guru. The bark set a bit later then I expected temperature wise, but looked good after four hours when the meat was at 169. At that point I started spritzing with a Worcestershire sauce and water mix. But I only got two spritzes in before it left the stall at the five hour mark; I then wrapped it in butcher paper when the meat was at 175. My goal was to pull at 203, but I ended up pulling at 197 at the nine hour mark after the meat went into a second stall; it has been holding close to 197 for about hour and a half. I then wrapped in foil and waited an hour before carving.
Next, here are some ideas I have for possible improvement:
Leave More Fat? I was aiming for 1/4 inch, but that was tough--probably was a bit less than that. Could definitely see mostly meat on the bottom.
Wrap Sooner? Advice seems mixed on when to wrap. My goal (which I executed) was to wrap when the meat was leaving the stall. But I know many seem to wrap sooner, for example at 150 or whenever the bark sets. Do folks think it would be moister if I wrapped sooner?
Rest Longer? I figured an hour would be enough--I've had good luck resting my pork shoulders for an hour. Does brisket need longer?
Target a Different Pit Temp? Does anyone think 275 is too decisively too high? I started out thinking I'd go 225 all day, all the way, for everything. But most people/recipes seem to suggest that as long as you keep it under 275 you'll be fine. I've bumped up my pork shoulders to a higher temp the past two cooks and had no ill-effects. Is brisket more sensitive to higher heat?
Target a Different Final Temp? Should I have just held out until I hit the 203 I was aiming for? Or should I have pulled earlier?
Inject? Seems to be mixed opinions out there on this. I'd be interested in hearing about the reasoning/methods of those in the pro-injection camp.
Different Meat? Does bigger necessarily mean juicer? How about doing a point instead of a flat? Do I need to find and pay for a prime cut? Do a whole brisket? I'm not crazy about going for a bigger, whole brisket. I've got plenty of leftovers as it is. But the butcher shop I bought from would sell me a point.
As always, thanks for listening and thanks for your advice in advance!
After several successful pork shoulders and one (somewhat) successful baby back rib cook on my 18" WSM, I decided to try my hand at brisket. Turned out pretty good. Tender, and the bark was great. Tasted good. But it was a little dry. The first few bites I had when I was carving were fantastic, but somehow it all seemed to dry out by the time it was served shortly thereafter. It wasn't bad, and no one complained--but I can't help thinking it should be better.
So...I'm looking for a little advice. Below I'm going to describe my procedure and then list some variables that I'm considering changing. I'd love to hear from folks who think that one (or more) of my listed variables would make a significant difference, or if anyone has any other ideas.
First, the cook itself: I started with a seven pound choice flat. I trimmed it pretty aggressively, removing probably about a pound of fat--I was trying to emulate what I read in Aaron Franklin's book. I know his method isn't the only way to achieve a great result, but I enjoyed the book and thought I'd follow his advice and see where it took me. The rub was salt and pepper. Wood was a mix of oak and cherry. Put the brisket on fat-side down, although there wasn't much fat left. My target temperature was 275 (again, following Franklin's advice), and I kept it in the neighborhood of 250-275 the entire time using my BBQ Guru. The bark set a bit later then I expected temperature wise, but looked good after four hours when the meat was at 169. At that point I started spritzing with a Worcestershire sauce and water mix. But I only got two spritzes in before it left the stall at the five hour mark; I then wrapped it in butcher paper when the meat was at 175. My goal was to pull at 203, but I ended up pulling at 197 at the nine hour mark after the meat went into a second stall; it has been holding close to 197 for about hour and a half. I then wrapped in foil and waited an hour before carving.
Next, here are some ideas I have for possible improvement:
Leave More Fat? I was aiming for 1/4 inch, but that was tough--probably was a bit less than that. Could definitely see mostly meat on the bottom.
Wrap Sooner? Advice seems mixed on when to wrap. My goal (which I executed) was to wrap when the meat was leaving the stall. But I know many seem to wrap sooner, for example at 150 or whenever the bark sets. Do folks think it would be moister if I wrapped sooner?
Rest Longer? I figured an hour would be enough--I've had good luck resting my pork shoulders for an hour. Does brisket need longer?
Target a Different Pit Temp? Does anyone think 275 is too decisively too high? I started out thinking I'd go 225 all day, all the way, for everything. But most people/recipes seem to suggest that as long as you keep it under 275 you'll be fine. I've bumped up my pork shoulders to a higher temp the past two cooks and had no ill-effects. Is brisket more sensitive to higher heat?
Target a Different Final Temp? Should I have just held out until I hit the 203 I was aiming for? Or should I have pulled earlier?
Inject? Seems to be mixed opinions out there on this. I'd be interested in hearing about the reasoning/methods of those in the pro-injection camp.
Different Meat? Does bigger necessarily mean juicer? How about doing a point instead of a flat? Do I need to find and pay for a prime cut? Do a whole brisket? I'm not crazy about going for a bigger, whole brisket. I've got plenty of leftovers as it is. But the butcher shop I bought from would sell me a point.
As always, thanks for listening and thanks for your advice in advance!
