Not happy with my first brisket :(

[Willie (Green Bay)]

Did my first brisket this past weekend and I was extremely disappointed to say the least.

Setup:
I used a 18.5" WSM with a full water bowl. I used Kingsford blue setup with a snake arrangement and lit one end of the snake with hot coals from the chimney. I have a Fireboard 2 Drive ATC with a Pit Viper fan and WSM adapter. Bottom vents were all closed minus the one for the Pit Viper and the top vent was wide open. I used a couple small sticks of Oak Whiskey barrel and some small bits of cherry wood for smoke. Initial pit temp was set to 225 F.

Meat:
Bought a whole USDA Prime 16.5lb brisket from Costco for $3.49lb. It was pretty well cleaned up from the store but i trimmed more of the fat off per Aaron Franklin's YouTube video. I took maybe another .5-1lb of fat off. I rubbed the meat with some coarse ground pepper and NoSalt.

I kicked off the smoke around midnight and had the meat on around 12:30am. Temp held steady until a storm hit around 4am which i suspect the wind caused the pit temp to rise to 240 F. I opened the side door and checked on the coals around 8am and immediately closed it back up as i was plenty good on those yet. The first time i opened the top cover was around 10am when i hit 170. I pulled the brisket and wrapped it in pink butcher paper. I also knocked the ash off the coals at this same time. Around 11am i bumped up the pit temp to 240. Finally around 530pm i pulled the meat when the temp was at 200F as it felt good and the probe went through it like butter.

See the photos below for reference.

Results:
The brisket tasted like it had no smoke flavor and like it was a big pile of fat. The first things my wife and son both said was that it tasted like a roast. I was still excited about completing what looked like a great brisket so i was ignoring their comments, but after i a few bites i too agreed. It was stringy like a crock pot roast which i don't know if it's something related to how i cooked it or how i sliced it.....i feel like i sliced it at the wrong angle. After we all forced down a couple pieces i took a cut off the point. I cut a slice of the point going going parrallel to the length of the whole brisket. I was amazed at the amount of fat here. It looked like a piece of swiss cheese whereas the fat is the cheese and the meat was in the holes.

So....what did i do wrong?? I don't think i've ever been so disappointed in something that i've smoked before. I'm so disappointed in it that i am seriously thinking of tossing all the leftovers into the garbage.

 

[Willie (Green Bay)]

My coal arrangement.



My rub.



When i pulled the brisket to wrap it. I squirted it with a bit of apple cider vinegar as well.



Ready for slicing.



First slices.



Look at all that fat structure in there



Snapshot of ATC details.

 

[Erik Tracy]

I feel your pain. Brisket is my bbq nemesis and can be kick to the arse in confidence.

Looks like you did it 'by the book'. I'll be watching this thread, too as I'm kinda sorta considering maybe possibly doing a brisket for my next cook.

Can you re-cook the leftovers in a crockpot to render out more fat and then use in a stew maybe?

 

[Lynn Dollar]

That fat your pointing to, appears to me to be the seam fat, between the point and flat. That's hard to get all that rendered. Your flat appears to be moist, its not undercooked.

I do a more aggressive trim. I smoked a 15 # brisket Saturday and I trimmed it down to 11#'s.

Here's some pics of my cook and the charts. It was on my Old Country Brazos offset. I can't tell ya exactly when those pics during the smoke were taken, probably early on, first couple of times I lifted the lid to spritz

I had a stall at 150 and a little bit of stall at 165. Its something different every time I smoke a brisket.

 

[Lynn Dollar]

I took it to 207*, the point was falling apart tender, but I wanted to err on the side of over cooked

 

[Lynn Dollar]

The cook chamber temps here are with a digital Thermoworks probe, which for the entire cook ran 20 to 30 degree less than my Tel Tru analog gauges. I cook by the Tel Trus.

 

[Jim C in Denver]

That fat your pointing to, appears to me to be the seam fat, between the point and flat. That's hard to get all that rendered. Your flat appears to be moist, its not undercooked.

Agree. Some folks (like Aaron himself) like that part. My family doesn't like it. If that's you, then a couple of suggestions.

I do an extra piece of trimming that removes most of the fat seam before cooking. As the video notes, that is a great way to set yourself up to make burnt ends out of the point. But I like that trim step even if I'm going to slice the point. More rub and more bark on the meat, less fat.

Some folks just completely separate and cook in two separate parts.

 

[Jim C in Denver]

Also, maybe you cut in the wrong direction?

Aaron shows how to slice beginning at 6:45. Start with the flat. Some folks cut a notch at the end of the flat to mark the direction you should start slicing. Then "Texas turn" the point by 90 degrees.

 

[Willie (Green Bay)]

Yeah, it's not the seam fat i'm referring to, it's all the fat within the meat. I tried to blow the picture up I posted earlier so you can see it better below. See all that translucent structure in the middle?

 

[Brad Olson]

Willie, I wonder if your smoke wood was too dried/seasoned to provide much flavor. I ran into this problem with a point I smoked; I thought for sure I'd used enough wood but there wasn't nearly the amount of smoke I expected.

 

[J Grotz]

I agree with Brad, I think you need better wood. Look for a local supplier so that it's not kiln dried.

I cook my costco briskets mostly the same way you did except I don't add fluid when I wrap in paper, I cook at 275, and I use local wood that's buried in the coals. You want the wood to smolder, not catch fire and burn up.

I'm fortunate the Woodshed, where Harry shot that video, is close to my office. Using that local wood has made a huge difference in my bbq.

I wonder if the vinegar had anything to do with the roast-like texture issue. Maybe wrap without any liquid next time?

Also, cooking at 225, then 240, it might just have been under done.

 

[Lynn Dollar]

Well, the close up pics give another perspective ......... and I'm just like you, I can't figure why that fat ( or connective tissue ) did not render.

There's nothing in your cooking charts that would give a clue.

I've never had a slice of point look like that. Mrs Dollar says it looks like its cold.

 

[Brad Olson]

Willie, how long did the brisket rest between the time it came out of the smoker to when you started slicing?

 

[Lynn Dollar]

We re-heated some of the point from the brisket I smoked Saturday. It was delicious and the reason I spent 11 hours feeding splits to a stick burner

 

[Lynn Dollar]

Willie, how long did the brisket rest between the time it came out of the smoker to when you started slicing?

Very good question.

I let my brisket set on the counter wrapped till the IT drops to 155.

 

[John K BBQ]

First off, Willie - it's your first brisket. It sucks to spend a lot of money on a brisket and miss the target but you'll have more ammo next time. Congrats for getting one under your belt!! I agree with keeping wood chunks fresh and/or finding a local source, dried out wood will not produce any flavor. There are lots of posts in the forum on that subject. One of my earlier rib cooks this summer was lacking smokey flavor and the forum helped me diagnose the issue. I'm pitching any chunks that I think are more than a year old going forward and stick to buying only local brands. I might even start putting my purchase date on the bags with a sharpie.

There can be a lot of variation in the meat itself, that being said, you'd think prime brisket from Costco would be pretty good. I've had good results with Brisket from Sams Club. Could be that you got a bad one. I saw a video where a guy said you should try to bend the brisket in it's package and buy the ones that bend easiest, and stay away of the ones that don't. Not sure if there's any correlation to the non-bendy ones and the fat problem you experienced but in the spirit of leaving no stone unturned I thought I would mention it.

I would't be scared to run the pit up to 275 or so after wrapping and getting to the finish temp a little faster so you can have a couple of hours to rest before carving. No telling if this would have helped with the fat situation but maybe the texture would have been a little different. I like Lynn's advice on resting until it hits 150 before slicing. If you finish too early you can always stick the brisket in a cooler so it cools slower.

Shake it off, and get back out there and try again!!! I wish my wife liked brisket a little more, so I can get more practice. I'm probably good for 3 or 4 briskets a year and that's it. Best of luck on the next one.

 

[MartinB]

Well, points are fatty. Especially prime points.
In my experience, a choice point comes out better. But the flat is less moist.
Pick your poison.

I don't think I've ever trimmed less than 3 or 4 lb of fat off a brisket.
Get all the fat off the outside of the point it doesn't need any protection. Then get salt and pepper on it so you get a bark.

Trim the fat cap on the flat fairly thin. Maybe a quarter inch ish. it's going to render partly and it's going to be something you're going to trim off when you eat it probably.

The deckle is the big fat same between the point and the flat. This can be a 1 inch thick seam of fat in places. I'll leave most of it alone but I separate the point in the flat before slicing the flat, and scrape most of that fat away first.

if the point looks like it still has gelatinous fat mixed in the meat simply put it back on the smoker for a while longer so it renders some..... Or make burnt ends out of it.

15 lb of meat is a lot of meat and can take a fair amount of smoke without it overpowering it. Try not to use little pieces of wood they burn away too quickly. For brisket i use about five fist size chunks and I'll put them on the grate, pour coals around. then I light 2/3 of a chimney , let it get ashed good, and spread it out evenly on top of all the coal's. Then let the ATC take over and get it up to 265 and hold it there for an hour or so smoke becomes not white..... Then put the meat on. When you get the bark you want probably in the 165 to 170 range, wrap it. Go back to bed.

To not get a bunch of little tiny pieces of wood buy split sticks , and saw them to size.
Sliced the flat across the grain on the point. That's going to be at angle to the length of it . just take one of those thin corners of the flat and cut it off across the grain before you cook it and then you know which way to start slicing when it's done. that really thin stuff at the end is going to end up too hard and over cooked to eat anyway if it's less than about 1 inch thick.

 

[KEhrl]

Hey Willie,

Two things I do differently. One, I think you can use a stronger wood, and more of it. I use 4 chunks of pecan or hickory for my briskets. Two, I like to spritz my briskets with an AC vinegar/water mix to promote a better smoke ring. I do this starting 3 hours in, then every hour after til I wrap.

I know it can be disappointing, but it’s a learning experience. You will do great on the next one!

Cheers,
Kyle

 

[Brad Olson]

Willie, how long did the brisket rest between the time it came out of the smoker to when you started slicing?

Very good question.

I let my brisket set on the counter wrapped till the IT drops to 155.

I didn't follow through with my thought that a brisket - especially a point - that comes off the fire at 200F, gets wrapped with foil and towels, and rests (preferably in a cooler) for 2 or 3 hours will continue to have a lot of internal rendering because of the retained heat.

 

[Lew Newby]

I didn't follow through with my thought that a brisket - especially a point - that comes off the fire at 200F, gets wrapped with foil and towels, and rests (preferably in a cooler) for 2 or 3 hours will continue to have a lot of internal rendering because of the retained heat.

+1 on this. Time in the cooler does wonders for a Brisket.