Introduction and a few brisket questions


 
J

JHermann

New member
Hi all-

My name is Jim and I am a new WSM user in Missouri. My wife recently bought me an 18 inch WSM and I love it. I have done a chicken, ribs, a pork shoulder---all of which turned out great. My wife really wanted me to make a brisket, so that's what I attempted today. I watched Andrew Franklin's 3 part series on the brisket. It seemed doable, but it was a disaster today. It was dry as a bone. I mean really bad. Here's how the process went, and I'd really appreciate any help or guidance. I'm not easily offended, so fire away with all the corrections that I need for next time:

1. I bought a 5lb brisket from a local butcher shop, but it was already trimmed. I noticed that there was very little fat on the brisket; much less than the 1/4 inch Franklin trimmed his to. But I figured they knew what they were doing when they trimmed it. It seemed like there were two 'flats', though. The high part of the brisket was in the center. It looked a bit different than Franklin's in that regard.

2. It was extremely cold and windy today in St. Louis, and I used the minion method but ran out of fuel after 4+ hours. I likely could have fit more charcoal in at the start, however. But I had to add about 12 pieces to finish the cook. The temperature fluctuated a bit between 200-250.

3. I figured it would be a 5 hour smoke. After 4 hours, I wrapped it in aluminum foil (i don't have butcher paper...yet) when the temp in two places reached 160. I pulled it off when the temp hit 190 in several places.

4. I let it rest for two hours, covered in foil, before we sliced into it. It wasn't juicy in the slightest and was virtually leather.

Any glaring issues from what I mentioned above? I'm thinking it should have had more fat on it, but I'm new to this. Thanks in advance for any help!

Jim
 
JH,

It might sound strange, but your brisket was dry because you pulled it too soon and it was undercooked. The connective tissues between the muscle fibers didn't break down and render which led to your brisket being dry and tough. Check out this post for a better explanation.

When cooking brisket, temperatures should only be used as a general guide. 190ish is a pretty good point to start checking your brisket to see if it is done. You do this by doing the poke/probe test. Get a temp probe or something similar and poke your brisket at various points of the thickest part of the flat. When the probe goes in and out with almost no resistance, like a knife through warm butter, the brisket is done. This might happen at 190, or 200, or 205 or even higher. All depends on a number of variables.
 
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Thanks for the reply and the link. That may explain why it was so tough, but it seems so counter-intuitive to think it was so tough because it was under cooked. The temperature probe definitely did not feel like a hot knife through butter.
 
JHermann said:
Thanks for the reply and the link. That may explain why it was so tough, but it seems so counter-intuitive to think it was so tough because it was under cooked. The temperature probe definitely did not feel like a hot knife through butter.
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You're welcome. It's definitely counter intuitive, but that's the way it is with brisket. Dry and tough is under cooked. Dry and crumbling is over cooked.
 
Hi Jim! Welcome! Sorry your brisket didn't turn out as expected for you. As everyone said, you pulled it off too soon. Use the internal temp as a guideline but the true test of doneness is tenderness. You can check it with the temp probe resistance or by doing the spaghetti spin method. Stick a fork in the meat and if you can easily spin the fork then it is done.
 
Hi Jim.

As far as running out of coal, I took some good advice from here & ALWAYS max out the charcoal ring with fuel.
I use the tin can method, and fill up the ring around it. What doesn't get burned I can use for grilling. (I always start a smoke with new fuel).
Good luck on your next venture.

Edit: Nice tip by Chuck Simon with the spinny fork test. I'll keep that one in mind.
 
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Hi Jim and Welcome!! Another tidbit, the same approach is also true for pork butte. That is how I did two of them for new years day and they were perfect. Wrapped them at the stall (165 degrees) then once they hit 195 degrees started probing with a fork. When they felt tender I twirled the fork to verify and they were perfect. Good luck next time.
 
JHermann - welcome! I just did my first brisket as well this weekend and ended up overcooking mine a tad. That pic Dwain posted is spot on - it's the best visual guide to see when your brisket has rendered all that connective tissue. One thing regarding your first post - I haven't watched those videos by Aaron lately, but I would think he's using a full packer brisket, where your grocery butcher will typically just put out the flat. The grocery butchers around here also seem cut off the fat cap - my GF's sister had to specifically ask for a brisket with the fat cap when she got my brisket as a gift.

The tips other are pointing out are also important - especially with brisket, you can't really go by time and temperature. You can "ballpark" the time so you can be productive while cooking the brisket, but you need to get yourself a good, quick-read digital meat thermometer (preferably Thermapen) and start measuring for temp and tenderness. I knew my brisket was done when I stuck my thermapen into the brisket and met almost zero resistance - it almost doesn't matter when the temp guage was actually registering at (it was 206*).

Experience will be key for us brisket newcomers. We'll get it right!
 
I think I bought the full brisket, but I cannot be positive. It was from a local meat shop rather than a grocery store, but again, I'm a rookie at this. I appreciate all the feedback. It'll definitely help me avoid screwing it up again as badly as I did.
 
Welcome to the group J. Do yourself a favour and learn to cook by sight, touch and feel. Don't get hung up on temperatures.
 
Can I get yalls opinion? Is this over or under cooked? I cooked at 250 for roughly 10 hours. I wrapped with foil at 165 degrees until it was done. It was a 9 LB flat. I didn't trim any fat cap. I started probing for doneness at 190 and it never really got tender. I pulled at 204 internal temp and rested for 45 minutes. It was dry and at some sides were a little crumbly. It wasn't bad but it was not good. Thoughts?



see left side of picture. very crumbly didnt slice right.
 
Tommy,
Looks a bit overdone on the left side, but the right side of it looks good. The flat was uneven so it makes sense, that one side may have overcooked a tad. It still looks fairly juicy though. Not that bad at all. Maybe cut it thicker when its that overdone and you probably need a sharper knife.
 
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Dustin Dorsey said:
Tommy,
Looks a bit overdone on the left side, but the right side of it looks good. The flat was uneven so it makes sense, that one side may have overcooked a tad. It still looks fairly juicy though. Not that bad at all. Maybe cut it thicker when its that overdone and you probably need a sharper knife.
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Yep, that would be my vote.
 
JHermann sorry about that first Brisket, but you have to crash and burn once in awhile to learn.
 
DaveW said:
JH,

It might sound strange, but your brisket was dry because you pulled it too soon and it was undercooked. The connective tissues between the muscle fibers didn't break down and render which led to your brisket being dry and tough. Check out this post for a better explanation.

When cooking brisket, temperatures should only be used as a general guide. 190ish is a pretty good point to start checking your brisket to see if it is done. You do this by doing the poke/probe test. Get a temp probe or something similar and poke your brisket at various points of the thickest part of the flat. When the probe goes in and out with almost no resistance, like a knife through warm butter, the brisket is done. This might happen at 190, or 200, or 205 or even higher. All depends on a number of variables.
Click to expand...

DaveW is right, and don't feel bad for the way your brisket turned out. I did the same thing you did with my first brisket and it turned out the same as yours. Took a couple more briskets for me to get it through my thick skull that, unlike a steak or a roast, it gets more tender as the temp gets higher - up to a point, of course.

Don't let that meat go to waste, even though it didn't turn out the way you wanted for eating on its own. Cube it up and put it in chili. I did that with the first couple of briskets that I ruined, and I've never made chili with anything else since then. In fact, probably 80% of the brisket that I cook goes into chili. Let it simmer in the pot for a couple hours and it'll be fall-apart tender.

Another use for brisket is chopping it up and using it for tamale filling.

Keep at it, Jim. You'll get the hang of it.
 
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