72 Hour Brisket Finished And .....

Spring Chicken · December 2015

Drum Roll please...

ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta taaaaaaa

That was the tenderest. juiciest, most wonderful brisket I've ever eaten. Period...

Unless you have a sous vide immersion cooker, and happened to start your brisket in the sous vide 72 hours ago, and seared it on a really hot Big Green Egg today, I will lay claim to cooking the best brisket in America on this day, December 14, 2015.

Yes, I took both photos and video, and will be putting it together tonight to share with the world tomorrow.

But for now, here's a little teaser.

Pink all the way through. 131° internal, even after 45 seconds on each side for the sear. Probably the tenderest piece of meat we've eaten in years, maybe even 'ever.'

Judy likes it better with some BBQ sauce. I like it better without sauce, but the sauce makes it taste more like BBQ. Without it, it tastes more like a really good tenderloin, only better.

I said I won't be doing this again but maybe I will, and next time I will sear first and try to get some smoke in it. That was the only thing missing. Well, that and the smoke ring, which does nothing anyway.

So for ye doubters, you should'a been here. The sous vide process did everything the books said it would do.

Now you know. Look for the video tomorrow on both Forums and on Facebook. And probably on CNN after the word gets around.

Spring "Brisket Success At Last" Chicken
Spring Texas USA

SGH · December 2015

Glad to hear that it was a overwhelming success my friend.

SGH · December 2015

I'm not going to lie though, I was skeptical of the SV and brisket. Just doesn't sound right to my old ears.

Scottborasjr · December 2015

Looks freaking amazing. Nicely Done!!!!

bgebrent · December 2015

Awesome! Great work!! I think we'll be seeing a lot more SV brisket threads now.

YukonRon · December 2015

I can't wait 16 hours for a brisket. 70+ hours would freaking kill me. It looks awesome, I am glad it was so worth the effort and wait.
Excellent images too!

texaswig · December 2015

What texture would you say it was close to.

Hotch · December 2015

Way to go Leroy. This is how I like my steaks.
Nicely done sir.

bud812 · December 2015

You people ain't gona get me to spend all my retirement money on gadgets but you sure as hell are trying.

Spaightlabs · December 2015

well played sir, well played!

Thatgrimguy · December 2015

Did it eat like steak or like brisket? I mean where was the texture on that scale.

Mosca · December 2015

I have the sous vide, but I don't have one big enough for the 15 pound brisket in the freezer!

slovelad · December 2015

Looks like prime rib texture almost @texaswig

The Cen-Tex Smoker · December 2015

Nice Leroy! I would recommend to pull from the SV, throw in an ice bath to totally cool down then add rub and slow smoke over oak on yer BGE for a few hours. That will set the bark and give you the smoke/traditional brisket flavor you are after.

Jeepster47 · December 2015

Hey Leroy, where the hell did you go ... I've been hanging around the "8 hrs and 36 minute" thread waiting for the money shot. Geez.

Are you saying that 72 hrs at 131 degrees tenderizes the beef more than 16 hrs at 250 degrees?

This cooking stuff is like a great big vortex ... damn ... just bought the egg to grill a steak once in awhile. Now you've tempting me to cook meat with an aquarium heater. Great cook ... thanks for posting.

Spring Chicken · December 2015

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

Nice Leroy! I would recommend to pull from the SV, throw in an ice bath to totally cool down then add rub and slow smoke over oak on yer BGE for a few hours. That will set the bark and give you the smoke/traditional brisket flavor you are after.

Thanks. Great idea about the ice bath. I'll sure keep it in mind. I'm learning and a bunch of nice people are jumping in with ideas.

Spring "Always In Learning Mode" Chicken

Spring Chicken · December 2015

Thatgrimguy said:

Did it eat like steak or like brisket? I mean where was the texture on that scale.

I think it was like a nice filet mignon.

Spring "Not To Hard Not Too Soft Just Right" Chicken

Spring Chicken · December 2015

texaswig said:

What texture would you say it was close to.

Filet Mignon. But Judy thinks prime rib.

It was good.

Spring "Life Gets Better When You Learn Something New" Chicken

bgebrent · December 2015

Friggin awesome man!

caliking · December 2015

Spring Chicken said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

Nice Leroy! I would recommend to pull from the SV, throw in an ice bath to totally cool down then add rub and slow smoke over oak on yer BGE for a few hours. That will set the bark and give you the smoke/traditional brisket flavor you are after.

Thanks. Great idea about the ice bath. I'll sure keep it in mind. I'm learning and a bunch of nice people are jumping in with ideas.

Spring "Always In Learning Mode" Chicken

I have to try this some time. Thanks for posting the results.

Thatgrimguy · December 2015

Spring Chicken said:

Thatgrimguy said:

Did it eat like steak or like brisket? I mean where was the texture on that scale.

I think it was like a nice filet mignon.

Spring "Not To Hard Not Too Soft Just Right" Chicken

Definitely plan to experiment with my SV and some brisket.

hoofaloos · December 2015

Spring Chicken said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

Nice Leroy! I would recommend to pull from the SV, throw in an ice bath to totally cool down then add rub and slow smoke over oak on yer BGE for a few hours. That will set the bark and give you the smoke/traditional brisket flavor you are after.

Thanks. Great idea about the ice bath. I'll sure keep it in mind. I'm learning and a bunch of nice people are jumping in with ideas.

Spring "Always In Learning Mode" Chicken

Won't this effect the medium rare finished product? I would imagine a couple of hours at 250ish would bring the IT up to more of a medium doneness which defeats the purpose of sous vide I would think.

hoofaloos · December 2015

Is this a full packer or just the flat?

nolaegghead · December 2015

hoofaloos said:

Spring Chicken said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

Nice Leroy! I would recommend to pull from the SV, throw in an ice bath to totally cool down then add rub and slow smoke over oak on yer BGE for a few hours. That will set the bark and give you the smoke/traditional brisket flavor you are after.

Thanks. Great idea about the ice bath. I'll sure keep it in mind. I'm learning and a bunch of nice people are jumping in with ideas.

Spring "Always In Learning Mode" Chicken

Won't this effect the medium rare finished product? I would imagine a couple of hours at 250ish would bring the IT up to more of a medium doneness which defeats the purpose of sous vide I would think.

No. By cooling down the meat you can give it more exposure to smoke before you're back at the SV temp, which you have held the meat at for many days.

However, we're shooting for something that tastes good, not necessarily a medium rare brisket. One truth with temperature and meat is you denature the muscle protein and it holds less moisture when brought to a higher temperature. Despite the lovely color with a medium rare brisket, really medium...you have very little rendering of fat. So the flat isn't devoid of fat, much improved. The point can be a bit too fatty.

So if you use this technique, trim as much fat as you can on the point. And I would take it up in the post-smoke past 170F to render some of the fat.

I've done SV briskets many, many times and I've played around with different formulas. I've settled on 147F for 48 to 72 hours. You want to go longer if it's a large brisket. Larger cows are tougher. The connective tissue takes longer to break down. The reason I like this temp is because it does soften up the fat.

All that said, what I do is look at the meat and make decisions on how it's best cooked, my time frame, etc. For example, veal short ribs cook in half the time in SV than the large adult cow version.

On the up-side, it's difficult to overcook with SV. You will get a fatty "pulled" product if you do. Not unpleasant. But you have a lot of control with this technique and it moves in slow motion.

nolaegghead · December 2015

The real reason I say more "medium" than medium rare is because you can't cook SV for extended times below 130F. To me that is medium.

hoofaloos · December 2015

thanks for the knowledge, Nola.

72 Hour Brisket Finished And .....

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