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Brisket

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Unknown
Unknown
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
The other day someone explained the reason for cooking to high internal temp close to 200 degrees for a brisket is because of the plateau. As most recipes call for internal temps for beef around 165 to 180, my question is, if you hit the plateau at a lower temp, and then then starts climbing, should you still cook it til you get to the higher internal temp?
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  • Kelly Keefe
    Kelly Keefe Posts: 471
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    Tweeter and the Monkey Man,[p]I may be wrong here, and if I am someone please chime in and correct me, but I think you've got the concept of plateau a little skewed. The plateau is a "stalling" of the rise in the internal temp of the brisket. This is cause by the break down of collegen in the beef. It can happen at a lower temperature, a higher temperature or, as I've seen with pork butts, not appear to happen at all as no two pieces of meat are quite the same. By cooking the brisket to an internal temp of 200° you are making sure the collegen has, in fact, broken down.[p]Like I said, if I'm wrong someone please set me straight.[p]Kelly
    Jefferson City
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  • Salmon
    Salmon Posts: 146
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    Tweeter and the Monkey Man,[p]Don't know about all that food science stuff but I loved the Traveling Wilbury's song Tweeter and the Monkey Man, I could listen to it over and over again. You really have to to understand the story.[p]Rick
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  • Sigmore
    Sigmore Posts: 621
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    Tweeter and the Monkey Man, Wait for the plateau, yes. Wait for 200°, no. After the plateau, it's time for the fork test. If the fork twists with very little resistance, she's a ready to foil and rest. My 2¢.

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  • Unknown
    Unknown
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    Kelly Keefe, right, I understand all that, that is where my question comes in. I was wondering if they reccomended an internal temp of 200 to make sure the plateauing (if that is a word) had happened. If that is the reason, then if plateauing happened at a lower temp, can the brisket be taken off the egg at a temp more in line with regular recomended temps for beef.
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  • Kelly Keefe
    Kelly Keefe Posts: 471
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    Tweeter and the Monkey Man,[p]I would think not, but Sigmore has an interesting thought about it up above. I'd give his method a shot and see.[p]Kelly

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  • BajaTom
    BajaTom Posts: 1,269
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    Tweeter and the Monkey Man,
    Internal temps for brisket are just suggestions by people with a long track record of success. I have always gone by the fork test method. Sometimes a brisket might be ready at around 190 or 200. It depends on a lot of factors such as fat content, thickness of the meat, cooking temps, etc, etc. The comments about the plateau are correct. It is the breakdown of collegen that causes the plateau. That is different then the rendering of fat out of the meat. That continues after the plateau. I didn't mean to be so long winded. LOl,Tom
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