Why is Brisket So Hard to Cook?

[Pat Trammell]

First, let me say that I was well into my third decade before I ever even tried brisket (last year). For me, and most people in our part of the world, barbeque is predominately pork. That being said, I found brisket to be excellent and I have enjoyed it ever since. Naturally, when one gets his WSM and feels like "going to the next level" a brisket is a good place to start. To date I have tried three briskets, and while pretty good, were certainly not memorable, and nowhere near as good as I have had on other occasions.

Several people that I respect very much have made the comment that a properly prepared brisket is not as easy as it looks. For those with experience and some expertise with brisket, please share what you believe to be the primary factors in properly cooking brisket that make it the most challenging of the barbeque meats.

Any and all opinions would be welcome.

Thanks!

 

[Jim Minion]

Pat
1st briskets are not all made equal.
The fact that you have a large lean muscle with a lot of connective tissue when dealing with the flat and only the fat cap on the flat to keep it moist through out a long cook. The trick is to not use up all the fat until the connective tissue is broken down.
One of the reasons you are seeing more cooks going to foil is you can take the drying effects of little fat out of the equation if done correctly.
These facts make brisket tough to hit.
Jim

 

[Pat Trammell]

Thanks Jim, Maybe a stupid question, but if that is so critical then why do we trim the fat cap at all? It would seem that based on what you're saying the fat content in the cap is critical to maintaining moisture, yet I have seen that everyone trims it down. Is this accurate, and if so, why is that?

Also, do the critical relationship between the fat and the cap also indicate that "low and slow" should be "lower and slower" where brisket is concerned?


Thanks!

 

[Bruce Cook]

I rarely trim a packer cut brisket. I usually wait until the meat is done to do any trimming. Personally I don't consider brisket to be that difficult. I think the key to brisket is patience. When we cook a piece of meat that size it takes a long time and it gets taken off too soon. Another tip is that after a brisket is in the 160? area for 3 hours or so, it needs checked every half hour to gauge its tenderness. When it goes waba waba its done.