Unsatisfying brisket


 
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Mike Horn

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i've had great success doing ribs, chicken and even pork butt on my old reliable weber kettle grill, but i decided to take the next step into the world of bbq. so, i talked my lovely wife into getting me a weber bullet for my birthday.

i've done ribs and chicken with results at least as good as the kettle. my problem stems from my first attempt at brisket.

i virtually followed the midnight cook found on this site. it was a 10.5# choice with a good fat cap which i trimmed down. it ran about 12 hours to fork tender and 185 internal. had a great smoke ring and it was tender and fairly juicy.

i started the cook with a new polder dual element that i figured was the cat's meow for q'ing, but it crapped out on me and started reading anywhere from 290 to 375 even though my temp at the lid was steady at 235-245. we had the equivalent of 1 raindrop per square inch, but that's the only thing i can think that would have screwed it up.

anyway, i pulled the meat off the smoker and rested it in the cooler from 11 am till we got back from boating (time was slightly unknown). as said earlier, the meat looked great. however, it had an unusual aroma as i took it out of the cooler and the bark was a little bitter or possibly too smoky. other people said it was wonderful, but i thought it could be a little moister and definitely a better outside flavor.

after going through my notes, the one thing that i did differently than the suggestions was putting the meat on the smoker immediately after putting the smoke wood on. the temp was about 175 and didn't get to 235 for about an hour.

can somebody give me the benefit of your experience, since i would really love to do a GOOD brisket for my son and family this weekend.
 
For brisket, as many others will tell you, the internal temp is not as relevant as simply inserting a probe into the flat section. If it glides in smoothly, like a knife through soft butter, it is done. I just got back from a fair where we cooked about 100 briskets over 10 days and that is the method I used for determining doneness.

As for flavor, you did not mention wood used or how much or how long. I generally use 1 chunk of mesquite and 2-3 pieces of oak or hickory (or any nut tree). That lasts about 4 hours (as far as visible smoke) and after that, I let the charcoal do its thing.

Thermometers for measuring cooking temp can be a challenge--they may be right the first time and after that, it all depends on moisture, if you dropped it etc. I usually try to calibrate (either iced or boiling water works equally well in my opinion) before cooking. Also, I run 2 of them at the same time and if the temps are significantly different (greater than 5 degrees), I calibrate or get a third probe going)

Hope this helps

Dale
 
as Dale asked, what wood are you smoking with?
Your problem is normally from bad smoke or over smoking.
What charcoal are you using?
Jim
 
thanks for the comeback. i used four oak, one cherry and one apple, all about 2" square--just thought it sounded good. i still wonder if the meat took too much smoke because i failed to get the cooker up to temp before putting the meat on.

i did fork the meet about an hour before i took it off, and it was pretty easy to insert, even though the temp was just a little less than 180. is it possible for a brisket to be done at that temp? probably the newbie error of lookin at temp vs. tender.

one other question. in my experience of eating brisket, i think i have only had the flat. the point on this brisket was so marbled and/or tender that it was almost soft and squishy. more like fat with a little meat in it than the other way around. is that the way it's supposed to be?
 
jim,

i used a fresh bag of kingsford. the smoke coming from the cooker always smelled really good, if that counts for anything. i did notice a brownish deposit on the outside of the lid on the side where the polder cable went in.
 
oak is stronger than the fruit woods but it goes well with beef, I will say that it was more wood than I would have used but that is just a personel taste thing.
I cook putting the meat on at the lower pit temps and let pit take it's time climbing. At 175 going to 235? in an hour should not have caused any problems.
Don't soak the wood (you didn't say you did), it may have been more oak than you may care for.
The point has more fat and is as you described.
Pulling at the internal temps you stated is a little early for most brisket I have done, normally 188 to 200?+ to get the thenderness I look for.
Jim
 
OK, i've come to the conclusion that i just oversmoked the brisket.

since originally posting, i've reheated some of it and it's very good, but still a tad bitterish (very little). the meat seems even moister than when we first had it. don't ask me why, i'm just a newbie.

anyway, thanks for the input and, trust me, i'll keep getting better! my goal is to compete and if any of you vets can give a little start up advice on that subject, i'd greatly appreciate it

thanks again.
 
Getting started in competition is not that diificult but it is hard work. Back in April I took the Paul Kirk class. It rained all day and I was so sick the next week the doc put me on Zythromax. I cooked every competition I could get to which took time, money, effort and a few sacrafices from the whole family who backed me 110%. My wife and daughter and I are the team. I asked a lot of questions and did a lot of experimentation on my own. 16 weeks and 8 competitions after the Paul Kirk class I won my first qualifier /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif The one thing I learned is everyone has an opinion, verify advice before using it in competition. Try getting one meat right at a time. I'm just now working on getting Brisket where I like it.

Come on in the water is fine and the WSM is a fine cooker for competition.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Mike Horn:
[qb]I did notice a brownish deposit on the outside of the lid on the side where the polder cable went in.[/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>That's normal. You'll see a lot of that around the lid vent and access door.

Don't be discouraged by your brisket. Each one is a unique creature and you may cook 10 of them and get 10 different results. I'm not sure I've mastered it...but its fun trying!

Regards,
Chris
 
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