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So what is so great about Brisket

I just have to ask, I see all the threads on here and it has me wondering.  I hate brisket, it is way too dry for me and I can't stand dry meat, with the exception of Jerky....  I have not touched brisket since I was a kid.  

All that being said, now that I own a BGE, maybe, just maybe my opinion could be swayed.  Help a brother out...
Johns Creek, GA - LBGE and a some stuff
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Comments

  • berndcrisp
    berndcrisp Posts: 1,166
    edited April 2015

    Properly done brisket is tender and moist. Sounds as though your first tastes were way over cooked.

    Should you still find it too dry for your liking, the left overs work great for chile, enchiladas, pizza and so on.

    Hood Stars, Wrist Crowns and Obsession Dobs!


  • pescadorzih
    pescadorzih Posts: 926
    If done right, brisket is moist and tender.
    The first time I made it, I undercooked it. It was tough. Wife said, dont make it again. Fast forward 15 yrs, brisket from the egg us a family favorite. 
    SE PA
    XL, Lg, Mini max and OKJ offset
  • swordsmn
    swordsmn Posts: 683
    I may not have 15 yrs    lol
    LBGE, AR.  Lives in N.E. ATL
  • GATraveller
    GATraveller Posts: 8,207
    Go buy a Snake River Farms American Wagyu Beef Brisket from Patton's Meat Market and cook.  It'll be your new favorite.

    "Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community [...] but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots."

                                                                                  -Umberto Eco

    2 Large
    Peachtree Corners, GA
  • tfhanson
    tfhanson Posts: 219
    Pattons?  Is that the place over off of Peachtree Industrial and Berkley Lake?
    Johns Creek, GA - LBGE and a some stuff
  • tfhanson
    tfhanson Posts: 219
    st¡ke said:
    Not to be a complete dingus, but this is the same thing as "What is so great about sunny side up eggs? Every time I have them, the yolks are hard and dry"

    you have just been eating sh!tty brisket

    ROFLMAO
    Johns Creek, GA - LBGE and a some stuff
  • tfhanson
    tfhanson Posts: 219
    Ok, so lets say I just went a bought the world's best brisket form Patton's meat market.  What pray tell do I do with that bad boy?
    Johns Creek, GA - LBGE and a some stuff
  • Ladeback69
    Ladeback69 Posts: 4,482
    Brisket can be one of the hardest things to cook or quite easy.  I have not had any bad luck so far.  I suggest you start with a full packer at about 11 pounds or so.  A full packer is the point and the flat together.  The point has a lot of fat layered in it and it is hard to over cook.  My wife prefers me to make burnt ends out it, but I won't go in to at this time.  When you get the packer you can rub it with your favorite rub, but most people here just use salt, pepper and a little garlic powder.  To help make a good bark you could first rub on yellow mustard or olive oil.   It help the rub to stick better and you won't taste it.  I use cherry wood most of the time, but most nut or fruit woods are good too.  The cherry helps with the smoke ring and gives it a good flavor.  Get your egg stabilized at about 225 to 275.  I like 250 the best if you can get it to lock in there.  At those temps it can take 1 to 1,5 hours per pound.  If at 275 you are closer to the 1 pound per hour.  Put a meat probe in to the plat and monitor it.  when it gets to 195, start probing the brisket all over.  If it goes in like butter all over it is ready to pull.  When you pull it let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes like you would a steak and the juices will come back into it.  Also you want to cut against the grain on the flat or it will be tough.  If the grain of the meat is flowing down toward to one end, cut a little piece the opposite direction so you know where to cut when it is done.  Cut the flat thin as you can, it should kind of snap when you pull a slice apart.  The point is going to be juice and I think you will like that.  After you have done a few I can tell you how to do burnt ends.  I call them meat candy.  Give it a try, 
    XL, WSM, Coleman Road Trip Gas Grill

    Kansas City, Mo.
  • Legume
    Legume Posts: 14,602
    find a bbq place that knows how to cook a good brisket and try that first, then you have an idea what you're shooting for.  always best to have a target in mind.
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,167
    First up-welcome aboard and enjoy the journey. 
    Regarding brisket-cooked right (and the quality of beef going in has the biggest influence on the outcome, IMO) many prefer it to a good steak, clearly different flavor profile and texture.

    With regard to "what to do?" Below are some good links and other info:
     probably more than you will ever need- http://amazingribs.com/recipes/beef/texas_brisket.html; http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/03/brisket.html 

    and http://bubbatim.com/Bubba_s_Brisket.php 

    The Aaron Franklin brisket youtube series is full of great info as well.

    Several run at around 260-280*F on the calibrated dome thermo and figure about 1-1.5 hours /lb.  But aim to finish early as you don't want to be stressing trying to push the cook across the finish-line.  Each will cook at its own pace.  You can easily hold for around 6 hours in a cooler.

    Key finish indicator is when you can probe the thickest part of the flat with no resistance.  If going with the real high end cuts, start checking at around 180*F (and then every 30 mins or so) but it could run into the low 200's.  Also don't worry that the point runs hotter than the flat.  The higher fat content protects it just fine. I cook with the point toward the BGE hinge as that is the hottest cooking area (due to air flow characteristics). It will likely be 10-15*F (or more) hotter than the flat when you arrive at the promised land but don't worry about it.  And I'm in the slice and eat the point-not the burnt ends crowd. 

    Give the search function here a look as well.  Lots of brisket cook threads.

    FWIW-

    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
  • tfhanson
    tfhanson Posts: 219
    Thanks for that write up Ladeback, I'll give it a go.
    Johns Creek, GA - LBGE and a some stuff
  • THEBuckeye
    THEBuckeye Posts: 4,230
    Go buy a Snake River Farms American Wagyu Beef Brisket from Patton's Meat Market and cook.  It'll be your new favorite.
    Will Pattons cut one to size or is it all or none with the brisket?
    New Albany, Ohio 

  • GATraveller
    GATraveller Posts: 8,207
    All the SRF briskets I've seen at Patton's are cryovac'd direct from SRF like you or I would get if we ordered one online.

    "Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community [...] but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots."

                                                                                  -Umberto Eco

    2 Large
    Peachtree Corners, GA
  • tfhanson
    tfhanson Posts: 219
    Just went out to SRF web site to see, at those prices, it better be my new favorite.
    Johns Creek, GA - LBGE and a some stuff
  • tfhanson
    tfhanson Posts: 219
    I guess, pound for pound, it is actually cheaper than a good ribeye...  But as Legume said, not sure I want to try that the first time.
    Johns Creek, GA - LBGE and a some stuff
  • Legume
    Legume Posts: 14,602
    worst case, you screw it up

    or

    other worst case, you nail it and then are never happy with anything other than a $150 brisket

    true on the ribeye comparison, but I think loss of weight on the brisket during a long cook probably makes it closer if you go based on plated weight
  • NCEggSmoker
    NCEggSmoker Posts: 336
    Good brisket is awesome. Beefy flavor and moist. Over cooked brisket is like sawdust in your mouth. I'm no expert but everything I've seen is that choice or higher grade is more forgiving.
    Raleigh NC, Large BGE and KJ Joe Jr.
  • Ladeback69
    Ladeback69 Posts: 4,482
    tfhanson said:
    I guess, pound for pound, it is actually cheaper than a good ribeye...  But as Legume said, not sure I want to try that the first time.
    I been happy with choice and prime from Sam's Club or the Restaurant Depot.  If you get a $35 membership to the RD you can get brisket for about $3.69 a pound.  That's at least half the cost or more.  I don't think my wife would let me spend that much on one peice of meet unless it was a whole filet.
    XL, WSM, Coleman Road Trip Gas Grill

    Kansas City, Mo.
  • Check out the brisket at Foxx Bros in Decatur. Will make you a believer.
  • gamason
    gamason Posts: 406

    Im not big on brisket either. BBQ is pork, not beef. I know that will cause a lot of grief around here, but its JMHO. I cooked a brisket a few month back and it was perfect according to the standards of the brisket pros on this site, just not my cup of tea. I will admit it was better the next day as a sammich. Good luck!

    Snellville,Ga.

    LBGE

    Minimax

  • Legume
    Legume Posts: 14,602
    gamason said:

    Im not big on brisket either. BBQ is pork, not beef. I know that will cause a lot of grief around here, but its JMHO. I cooked a brisket a few month back and it was perfect according to the standards of the brisket pros on this site, just not my cup of tea. I will admit it was better the next day as a sammich. Good luck!

    I just did a quick check of urbandictionary.com to see if the definition of BBQ or barbecue pointed to beef or pork or both to help settle this.  I did see pig mentioned once, but I don't think the context was right, does someone else what to check?  @henapple maybe?
  • Jeepster47
    Jeepster47 Posts: 3,827
    What you like and what you cook and call BBQ depends a lot on the area of the country where you grew up ... yes?  I hear the folks in TX talk about brisket as if talking about the holy grail.  And, the south eastern folks talk as if pork is the only true BBQ food. Yes/no/maybe?

    Washington, IL  >  Queen Creek, AZ ... Two large eggs and an adopted Mini Max

  • johnkitchens
    johnkitchens Posts: 5,227
    edited April 2015
    Growing up in this part of Georgia when I was a kid BBQ meant pork and only pork. 

    We didn't BBQ in the back yard we grilled. I knew of no one that cooked brisket, and I had never tried brisket until I was grown. 

    I agree with @Jeepster47. Where you are from has a lot to do with what you define as BBQ. 

    Louisville, GA - 2 Large BGE's
  • Ozzie_Isaac
    Ozzie_Isaac Posts: 18,942
    BBQ in my mind is anytime you cook a poor cut of meat over some sort of combustion material for an extended duration in order to render the cut tender and flavorful.
    A bison’s level of aggressiveness, both physical and passive, is legendary. - NPS
  • BeerNBBQ
    BeerNBBQ Posts: 31
    I didn't realize Patton's carries SRF. A little too rich for my taste though...

    Braselton, GA.
  • tfhanson
    tfhanson Posts: 219

    Where I grew up in Northern California Barbecue was a verb, "going out to BBQ some meat".  Here, BBQ is either a noun or adjective.  

    The dictionary defines it as a Verb

    : to cook (food) on a barbecue : to broil or roast (meat, fish, etc.) over hot coals or an open fire

    Johns Creek, GA - LBGE and a some stuff
  • henapple
    henapple Posts: 16,025
    I don't like brisket. Centex eggs the best I've had but still prefer pork. Yes, I've had some Aaron Franklin. ..
    Green egg, dead animal and alcohol. The "Boro".. TN 
  • Ladeback69
    Ladeback69 Posts: 4,482
    What you like and what you cook and call BBQ depends a lot on the area of the country where you grew up ... yes?  I hear the folks in TX talk about brisket as if talking about the holy grail.  And, the south eastern folks talk as if pork is the only true BBQ food. Yes/no/maybe?
    I like it all, brisket, pork, chicken and some fish.  I probably do more pork and chicken because it is cheaper, but now that I have found Restaurant Depot I may do more beef.  I think I will do a beef strip loin this Friday. 
    XL, WSM, Coleman Road Trip Gas Grill

    Kansas City, Mo.