Odd 1st brisket experience


 
Patrick F

Patrick F

New member
Tried my first brisket this weekend. It was a 14 pound choice packer from HEB. This was a strange smoke from the start. Got everything going around 11 pm Friday on my 18.5 WSM. Grate temp was about 250. Woke up at 2 am to find the smoker had died out. Grate probe was reading 160. I'm guessing this resulted from an unexpected drop in the outside temp, with light rain and high winds. Anyway, I got it going again. (I know I was taking a risk that my meat had spoiled, but I figure I was within the 4 hour range).

So, I cooked the brisket unwrapped, with temps hovering between 250 and 275 throughout the day. It went through two stalls - one at 160 and another at 180. Both lasted about 4/5 hours each.

My meat probe never got higher than 193 (I kept probe in thickest part of flat). This is after being on the smoker for 19 hours. Thanks to a lil pressure from the wife, I decided to pull it. I wrapped it in foil and let sit in an ice chest for another hour.

The results were kinda strange. The brisket, even though it was registering no higher than 193 IT, was very crumbly but still somewhat moist when sliced. It had a great smoke ring and flavor, but it was just super crumbly. It definitely didn't pass any pull test.

What suggestions do you guys have for remedying this? Should I try wrapping at 160? Should I have left it on the smoker longer? It seems that it was overcooked, so I'm just a bit confused by it all. I'm also not sure if I sliced it right.

Thanks for any advice y'all can give.
 

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Patrick, sorry that didn't work out the way you anticipated, it's always rough when you have to do an emergency re-light in the middle of the night!

Out of curiosity, did you get an internal meat temp when you found your pit at 160F? If you were over 140F internal, then you were already through the danger zone (40-140F), especially since the primary concern for a whole muscle cut would be any external bacteria and the outside of your brisket was certainly over 140F if your pit was running at 250 and never dropped below 160....

Dry and crumbly is a sign of overcooked brisket. Your post underlines the importance of not cooking to a specific temp. Every brisket is different, some may be tender at 195, some not until 205+, the only way to know is to use the probe test. If a probe inserted in several spots (usually the flat) goes in like butter, you are done no matter what the thermometer says. I typically start testing with the probe when I hit 195F.

Wrap or don't wrap becomes a personal preference. Try your next one wrapped in foil at about 170-175 degrees, and see how it differs. Try the next one with the pink butcher paper (a la Franklin), and see if you like that one better.

One thing I noticed in your first photo (sliced brisket) is that it very much appears to be sliced with the grain. If so, it's very important that you cut across the grain for best tenderness and mouthfeel when chewing. Now, that won't save an overcooked brisket, but you will enjoy it WAY more when you nail the next one. Since it can be hard to determine the direction of the grain after cooking, I usually do a small nip off one corner against the grain to show me where to slice after cooking.

Your brisket LOOKS great, just need to dial it in a bit. Nice job!

Rich
 
Check the probe for accuracy. Wonder if it was crumbly from slicing with grain or overcooked. 19 hours should be cooked. Any other temp thermometer after pulling? After bark is set you can wrap. As early as 158 or so sometimes. Your brisket still looks good. Second, what temp was the brisket at the relight. I believe you are safe.
 
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Tony-Chicago said:
Check the probe for accuracy. Wonder if it was crumbly from slicing with grain or overcooked. 19 hours should be cooked. Any other temp thermometer after pulling? After bark is set you can wrap. As early as 158 ir so sometimes. Your brisket dtill looks good. Sexond, what temp was the brisket at the relight. I believe you are safe.
Click to expand...
Brisket was 100 at relight. I'll try wrapping next time. Also, it was really amazing as leftovers.
 
I now wonder if the temp probe was off. Or maybe the meat probe was a bit off. But two long stalls maybe the grill temp was low.
 
Patrick... To continue with what Rich G said... When slicing, keep in mind the flat's grain direction is 90 degrees to the point's grain direction.
 
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