post-brisket questions

[Nate L]

After dozens of butts and ribs and roasts I tried my first real brisket ... with decent results but a couple questions as well. The brisket itself was huge, at least 18lbs, and I had a series of adventures trying to launch the project. I had planned a midnight smoke but we got a big wind storm (the edge of the northeastern storm that played havoc with southern New England last weekend) so I had to start it in the morning, in the rain. It gave "midnight brisket" a new meaning: that's when it was ready (!). Or maybe not--maybe it was ready a few hours earlier or later; that's one of my questions.
So: 1) I had a small butt and a big brisket. The temperatures in the wsm were noticeably lower than usual; even with it wide open and some wind, it stayed 200-230 for the first 5 hours or so. That's fine, but usually I have to keep the vents nearly closed. Is it possible that the cool meat would keep temps down that long? 2) The brisket seemed fine if not unbelievably delicious. It had a nice smoke ring, didn't pull apart, and was reasonably moist. With sauce, it was good. I went by the "butter" test, even though most of the temps were over 200. For most of the time the thermo or probe would be grabbed by the meat, so I held off. So here's my second question: I did it fat-side down, on the lower grate; the temps were mostly low except for one temporary *high* spike over 300. When it came off the fat side had turned into a very hard--like carmelized--network of stringy fibers, maybe 1/4" or more thick. It tasted good but was too hard to even cut, so I just cut it away, leaving the flat intact. Is that normal? Is that a sign that I over (or under) cooked the meat?
I think I'll try brisket again, but may go back to butts for a month or two, just to feel solid ground again...
thanks!

 

[Dave Russell]

It's my experience that if the THICKEST part of the FLAT reaches 200, it WILL be a little dry. Because of this, take the brisket off the cooker and wrap in foil when it reaches 190 or so, EVEN if not as tender as preferred. Next, you want to wrap in foil for a good "steeping." Residual cooking will help achieve a little more tenderness, while the foil holds the brisket juices so they can be reabsorbed some after the temp drops while resting. You could add a little hot water or something else to the foil, but you don't need to. Juices will continue to run out of the meat with residual cooking, and then after it stops cooking, some will be reabsorbed. This takes a while, and Ray Lampe, aka Dr. BBQ, says to keep in a cooler surrounded by crumpled newspaper for at least 3 hours, and up to 6. It will stay plenty hot, especially if it's a decent cooler and you preheat it a bit with some hot water.

Keep in mind that the above advice is based on a traditional smoke where the brisket doesn't touch a pan or foil until after pulling from the cooker. Also, keep in mind that most folks don't cook briskets this way anymore since it takes so much time and you still can end up with a brisket that's a little dry in the flat. Personally, I think that foiling at 160 is a better benchmark for a beginner brisket cook. Just don't cook too long and it won't be like pot roast. You'll get plenty off smoke flavor, don't need to cook overnight, and you don't have to worry about it ending up dry. Just remember not to go by temps if you take the foil route. You DO go by tenderness in that case, and the temp should end up being 200 or more.