What constitutes a good brisket?

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Joey

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I have read so many posts on this site saying that brisket is delicious and a tough (skill-wise) piece of meat to cook but sooo worth it. I started thinking that I will cook a brisket as soon as I get some more smokes under my belt. However, in the meantime, I thought I would find a BBQ joint and try some. So I went to one of the few BBQ places up here and tried brisket for the first time. My experience was underwhelming.

The meat was a gray color (like well done steak)and it was very dry but not crumbly. The thin slices I had held together which made me think this is the way brisket should be. But I had to take pieces of the brisket and slather it in my side of baked beans to make it go down easier. I didn't see any smoke ring either. The pictures in the "Cooking" section on this site look like the brisket is gray and leads me to believe that it is somewhat dry. So I start thinking, "this can't be the way brisket should be, can it?"

Granted, I live in Massachusetts so there aren't that many BBQ places up here that I know of. So, what should I look for in a good brisket?

-- Joey
 
Some briskets turn out dry no matter how they are cooked.

As far as eating out w/brisket, dry is pretty typical....and not very good IMO.

If you try to do a brisket, I've found that the whole briskets (packer cut) are more consistent than flat cuts. The thickest part of the flat that connects with the point is where the best meat is. That alone is worth the attempt.

For me, they are the most difficult thing to cook regarding getting good results. Try and find a choice cut, read the links on the board and most of all experiment.

As a worst case scenario in the event you do not like the results, the meat has many other uses in other dishes.

Give it a whirl.
 
Brisket is hard to hot hold for commercial Q. We use Chuck Roll or Shoulder clod unless a customer asks for Brisket. What's funny is a at least one world famous Texas BBQ Joint cooked clods and they cooked them hot and fast.
 
I have turned more brisket into shoe leather than I care to imagine. I posted here a while ago and asked about smaller briskets ( flats) see the comments under Poe. I did another one and followed the at 160 take it off and foil. put back on and cooked till it hit 180.. it was by far the best I have done.. and I am now cooking one for my neighbor. hey give it a try it is a staple in Texas..
 
Buy Prime Briskets and do not let it go over you chosen finished temp. Your will get residual cooking time once foiled and resting so keep that in mind as well. Some people foil during the end of the cook, I have not tried this.
 
I like prime brisket and Kobe brisket is best. A select grade brisket cooked right can beat a prime brisket cooked right in competition.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Konrad Haskins:
Brisket is hard to hot hold for commercial Q. We use Chuck Roll or Shoulder clod unless a customer asks for Brisket. What's funny is a at least one world famous Texas BBQ Joint cooked clods and they cooked them hot and fast. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I thought that might have been the case. That it was sitting around for a while and dried out or something like that.

Please excuse my ignorance but, clod? What's clod?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by K Kruger:
Shoulder clod--a big section of the shoulder sub-primal. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Kevin's not joking about big. I've seen both Chuck Rolls (not roasts) and Clods run 15 to 30 pounds. If you have a foodsaver and a real minus 20f freezer they are a great buy at under $2 a pound. Cut them into butt size pieces and cook just like butt.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Sheldon:
Joey,

Have you tried Blue Ribbon in MA? They've got very good brisket and burnt ends, their pork ribs are good but not great. It's a tiny outfit, good traffic at both lunch and dinner time.
http://www.blueribbonbbq.com/menubody.htm </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

You know, I used to live in the Newton area but that was a little while ago. I always wanted to try their BBQ but something always came that caused me to do otherwise. Next time I am in the area, I will give them a shot. Thanks!
 
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