tough brisket


 
J

james milstead

New member
Hi folks,
A few days ago I bought a brisket from a local meat market. This market is not inexpensive, but the quality of eveything from bone-in chicken breasts to porterhouse steaks has been wonderful.
Wanting a good brisket I bought on from them, I think it was about 5 lbs.
I cooked it the same way I have cooked several other briskets ( I always got them at Sams) but this one came out tough.
I cooked it until the internal temp was 185, it only took about 4 1/2 hours which seems short, but 185 is the temp it's done as so I took it off. The only thing I can think of is I let the temp stay in the 250 range perhaps a little long. I guess I could has cooked it longer, but at the time that didn't make sense because the temp as showing 185. So what say you WSM nation? Should I go back to the bigger cuts to get the tender brisket I am used to? Did I cook it too fast?
 
Im far from a brisket pro. But here is what you are gonna hear:

Undercooked/Dont go by internal temp for doness go by tenderness.

And the bigger the cut the better!

The cooking temp was not the problem.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">but 185 is the temp it's done as so I took it off </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
No. It's done when it's tender and while I certainly prefer larger cuts, there is no reason why a smaller one can't be tender. Larger cuts are generally going to me more forgiving.
Every piece of meat is different and while temp can be a good guide, that's all it is, particularly with bbq. A small 5 lb flat like that I would of cooked to maybe 140-150 and then wrapped in foil (with a bit of liquid) checking periodically to see if it's tender.
 
My last brisket was a 6 pound flat bought at Sams. Cooking it at 225, it took forever to get to 160 which is the temp I foiled it. It stayed on what seemed forever until I finally slid the probe in like butter. It thermapened at 207 when it finally felt done. The whole cook was around 14 hours which seemed forever with such a small piece of meat.
The end result was rewarding, especially getting a call from my mom to say it was a superb brisket. Point is....it ain't done till it's done! Even a small cut can fool ya!
 
I had a similar experience - small brisket, seemed "up to temp" fairly quickly, tough as shoe leather. Ended up being ready almost 10 hours later, about 4am.

I wonder if some briskets simply plateau at a higher temperature, so when you think they're nearly done they haven't really even *started* the slow part of the cook ?
 
NO 5lb. "briskets" allowed in my cooker...only whole packers over 10 lbs, 12-15lbs preferred.

You'll find you get much better results with whole packers, and even if it's a squeeze for the 18.5" wsm, 12-15lbs are just fine, and give much more predictable results.

If wanting to cook fast, get a cheap "select" one and cook as fast as you want, wrapping in foil after smoking, once the IT of the meat gets into the 160* range. If you want to cook low-n-slow, buy a choice packer preferably since it has more fat to render, thus more time to cook is a good thing. If cooking at 250*, it'll should take around 1 hr/lb...but add a few hours for resting and in case it's a little stubborn.

Like other bbq cuts, it's done when it's tender, whether that's 188 or 198* IT.
 
5lbs is just a piece of the brisket. The one I have been ageing for this weekends comp is a little over 18 lbs. Anyway, if it is tough it needs more time to break down. Cook it until it is tender no matter how long it takes.
 
Gotta go with Dave. Just go by how easy the probe goes in, and don't worry about temps. I've noticed the flat tends to to read lower than the point. I'm guessing maybe the point having more fat holds the heat better. I start checking about an hour in per pound . Say for 9 lbs I start checking the 9th hour. I think that explains it better...lol.
 
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