fast brisket success...

texasAUtiger

having done 2 briskets the low and slow method, today I wanted to experiment with the faster technique trumpeted by LawnRanger, thirdeye, fishlessman, ClayQ, and others...

I rubbed the brisket yesterday morning and injected with Dr Pepper ($1 to LawnRanger). 250 dome indorect for about 3.5 hours (about 150 internal), then I double wrapped it in foil, cranked the dome to about 350 and put it back on for about 1.5 hrs til it hit 200 internal. At that point, I took it off the egg, wrapped in another layer of foil, then into the cooler with towels for about a 1.5 hr rest.

Voila---moist and juicy!



The real difference was more of the fat stayed put (usually cooks off more), but that is easily trimmed when served. The result was super moist and juicy---much juicier flat than ever before for me.

I do think the foiling sacrifices some of the bark, so next time maybe I will go to 165 (a la thirdeye recommends) to get more of it on there before the foiling stage.

Grandpas Grub

 
Thanks for posting, that looks great.

Did you end up tasting the Dr. Pepper in the meat when done?

Did you do a whole brisket or just a flat?

Nice looking eats. Hopefully one day I will be able to post a brisket picture that looks that nice.

GG

texasAUtiger

GG,

I don't think we could taste the Dr Pepper per se, but I think the addition of the liquid (maybe 20 oz?) did make a difference in moistness.

That was a whole brisket from Sam's, about 8 lbs.

I encourage you to give this method a shot. The results sure beat the ol' 19 hr method (IMO)...

thirdeye

Nice. Now those are point slices in your photo, right? I'm glad you noticed a difference in the moistness on the flat, that is one of the advantages of a higher temp cook.

On one hand, I've been toying with adding a crisp up step on my Fast Cook page, similar to the one I do on my barbecued prime rib. It would be concentrating on the fat side only, most likely a direct cook fat side down for 5 or 6 minutes. I have seen first hand the way people like a little brisket fat. It might also firm up the bark on the inside face.

On the other hand, if the meat is moist and well seasoned, I like to serve some slices from the flat and some of the fattier point (maybe as-is or as burnt ends), then it's not necessary to inprove the focus on the fat. We shouldn't be eating that much anyways.

texasAUtiger

The thre slices on the right are point (and not cut perfectly on angle, I corrected that after my initial, overly excited slices) while the three on the left are flat. I don't know if the pics do the flat slices justice, but they were pretty juicy---but not limp---which was perfect for my tastes.

I would be interesting in trying a crisp up stage, so let me know if you come up with something. It is fun to tinker, even when there isn't anything "wrong"!