Brisket problems

bluegrasstiger · January 2012

Maybe it's just me and briskets...we just can't seem to get along. Butts, ribs, steak, burgers, everything else comes our perfect...but not brisket.

Cooked at small 4 lb brisket flat from my local butcher today...certified angus and he's never let me down. Trimmed fat, put rub on, in refrigerator overnight wrapped in plastic wrap.

Low and
slow, indirect with a drip pan on inverted place setter. Ran at 225 grate for
a couple of hours then bumped it to 250 grate...7 hours total and the meat temp hit
195...not a long plateau, maybe a couple of hours...wrapped in foil and put it in the cooler...hit almost 205 in the cooler.

Nice smoke ring, beautiful bark, really nice taste...but can't get it tender. I've done several and read every post on the board...what do you think.

What do you think?

Mighty_Quinn · January 2012

Are you slicing against the grain?

bluegrasstiger · January 2012

Just for kicks we sliced some both ways to see if we could tell a difference. There was a small difference sliced against the grain, it pulled apart alot easier, but not much.

Lit · January 2012

You trimmed it which is bad and at 4 pounds you are cooking just the flat not the whole brisket. There is much more
Fat to keep moisture in a whole brisket.

Kentucky Wildcat Fan · January 2012

Have you ever cooked a whole untrimmed brisket? I normally cook a whole (point & flat) and do not trim any fat off. I'd try that if I were you.

Kentucky Wildcat Fan · January 2012

You beat me to it Lit! Fat is your friend with brisket.

egret · January 2012

Maybe it's just me and briskets...we just can't seem to get along. Butts, ribs, steak, burgers, everything else comes our perfect...but not brisket.

Cooked at small 4 lb brisket flat from my local butcher today...certified angus and he's never let me down. Trimmed fat, put rub on, in refrigerator overnight wrapped in plastic wrap.

Low and
slow, indirect with a drip pan on inverted place setter. Ran at 225 grate for
a couple of hours then bumped it to 250 grate...7 hours total and the meat temp hit
195...not a long plateau, maybe a couple of hours...wrapped in foil and put it in the cooler...hit almost 205 in the cooler.

Nice smoke ring, beautiful bark, really nice taste...but can't get it tender. I've done several and read every post on the board...what do you think.

What do you think?

Next time, when you get to 165*, wrap in HD foil with some liquid, then continue cooking until it passes the fork test (that will occur anywhere from 185*-205*, most likely around 195-200). At that point, double wrap in foil (one more layer than you already have), then put it in a dry cooler completely filled up with towels or wadded up newspaper for 3-5 hours. It'll fall off the bone......if it had one!

Kentucky Wildcat Fan · January 2012

Egret - Would you do that for flats only? I've never cooked just a flat because I love the burnt ends the point makes.

mazaman · January 2012

If your flat doesn't have enough fat on it, try draping bacon over the flat. Another thing I'll use is fat trimmings from rib eyes. I freeze the trimmings every time I grill some up. The rendering fat helps keep the flat moist.

egret · January 2012

Egret - Would you do that for flats only? I've never cooked just a flat because I love the burnt ends the point makes.

Absolutely! Works very well for the flats.......

bluegrasstiger · January 2012

Interesting comments about the fat. There was about 3/4 of fat on one side that I trimmed off so that I could get rub to the meat. I'll try and leave it on next time.

I chose a smaller cut and flat only because I was only cooking for three. And we had over half leftover after dinner....plus I'm trying to get it right before I invest in 10-12 lb packer.

The bacon idea is an interesting one as well.

I think we'll try foiling at 165 too...wife suggested that as well so I have to try that first.

Thanks for all of the comments...I won't completely give up on brisket yet.

Kentucky Wildcat Fan · January 2012

I'll try that if I ever cook a flat only. Do you wrap in foil fat side up or down? I normally cook briskets fat side down.

scooterq07 · January 2012

i inject mine with allegro and apple cider and it always turns out tender,u may want to try that then wrap and let it rest.

bluegrasstiger · January 2012

i inject mine with allegro and apple cider and it always turns out tender,u may want to try that then wrap and let it rest.

Allegro?

bluegrasstiger · January 2012

i inject mine with allegro and apple cider and it always turns out tender,u may want to try that then wrap and let it rest.
Allegro?

Allegro brand marinade?

Theophan · January 2012

I am NOT a brisket expert, just cooked my second one last week. But your description of your cook mentioned temperature, which is usually what we do for lots of cooks, but most of what I've read on this and the original forum specifically about brisket said to cook to tenderness, and the only way to know it's tender is to test it (poke it). I cooked a flat last week to 195, but when I stuck it with sort of a carving fork, it wasn't very tender. I left it in and stuck it again at 206 and it was obviously more tender, and I pulled it, wrapped it, put in in the cooler for a few hours. We all thought it was delicious and quite tender.

Please don't ignore the part in Egret's note about "the fork test."

Theo

bluegrasstiger · January 2012

Yeah, I made the mistake of pulling at 195 even thought when I stuck it I knew that it woudn't pass the fork test..I thought that putting it in the cooler for a couple of hours would work...but didn't.

Good advice Theophan.

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