First Brisket on the Egg Questions

admiral21 · January 2016

Morning Guys,

Just a warning this is going to be long but honestly what else do you have to do?

Alright I will try to make as many notes as possible for some feedback. Unfortunately, I do not have any finished product pictures. I'll also preface this by saying that I've read everything I can get my hands on that there is to read about brisket but I know every cooker, cook and piece of meat is different and I was wondering if you guys have any input on my quest for the perfect brisket. I'll admit I'm a Franklin fanboy as I really appreciate keeping everything simple with perfect technique to turn out great product so I tend to follow his methodology. I'm also an engineer so I try to keep my perfect methodology at bay because I know brisket doesn't really follow any "rules".

Started with a 15lb packer cut
Trimmed to about ~1/4 of fat cap but it was really no uniform and some places was very thick and others was non existent then seasoned with salt and pepper only

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/1s/cs41fcd3me5l.jpg

The bald patch came that way from the butcher, but this was the best looking one they had.

I fired up the egg to ~290 dome temp (calibrate egg thermometer) and ~260 grate temp (maverick 722) with place setter legs up and a small coffee tin full of water on the left side of the grate and hickory chunks spread throughout the lump. I only put lump up the fire ring but it was <!0 deg F outside so I should have put more in as I burned through my lump batch after about 6 hours. I put the meat on Fat side up with the point towards the hinge.

Held at 260 GT or so about an hour then got a spike to about 285, I closed the vents and the daisy wheel some to get it back down but it took about 45 minutes to drop and when it dropped it settled around 250. IT was still climbing quickly but all in all looked good.

After 3 hours did a quickly color check and spray to any areas that looked like they were less moist than others, then went to catch about 3-4 hours of sleep. At the 5 hour mark everything looked and then I woke up an hour later and my GT was sitting at 205 and the meat was around 160. My lump was now a small pile so I pulled the brisket for about 15 minutes built another fire and quickly got the meat back on at a Grate temp of 260.

The meat charged through the stall in about an hour at 167 once I got over 170 I wrapped in paper (picture right before wrapping, it was exactly what I was looking for)

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/bt/d5dqc9oykhyi.jpg

and went on up to ~190.

This is where things got a little strange.

I was probing in the thickest part of the flat and when I hit 187-190 or so I started to check the firmness with my thermopen, Still really really tough, 30 minutes later let it rise to about 195 and it was still tough. The temp quickly climbed to 199 over the next 30 minutes and it was still tough. When I probed this time I checked the temp in the middle of the flat with the termopen and it was at 194 so I must've been in the deckle or something with my maverick probe. I moved the maverick probe a little further into the flat and it was reading 195 and the meat was still not probing softly.

Over the next 45 minutes the temp dropped from 195 to 192 and then stayed at 192 for about an hour. Gradually it climbed up to 196 and when I probed it again it felt great, the termopen slid right through. The problem was that the point was reading at 185, I went with the advice of check the flat and the point will always be good. I thought this was a little low but the brisket had a good feel so I went with it.

Wrapped in a towel, put in a cooler that I had warmed with boiling water, dumped the water and let it rest. This was about 9am and my guests were coming around 1:30 to eat at 2. I figured rest for 3 hours then put in a warming over until is was ready to serve. Done and done.

The brisket was just over 140 when I moved to the 170F oven and I started cutting about an hour later.

Cut against the grain, no problems there. The end cut was delicious and tender. Great bark! The flat cut nicely, passed the pull test but the fat cap didn't quite render and there was still some unrendered fat on it. Not the worst problem but also not perfect. Got to the point, turned 90 degrees cut it in half and it was really tough and chewy.

The very end of the brisket was hard as a rock for about 1/2" and the point meat really didn't look too good, I could fix the rock hard part by trimming it a little more. I cut it in thick slices but it just wasn't up to snuff. I think it definitely needed to be cooked a lot longer to get tender. Is this why people do burnt ends? Any Tips on getting the point and the flat done at the same time on the egg? I like to have Fatty and Lean brisket but will definitely concede to burnt ends if the flat cooks way before the point.

In the end, everyone ate it and raved about it and still talks about how good it was but I know I can do better.

Thanks for reading!

Stoogie · January 2016

What grade of brisket did you purchase? Choice? Prime? Was it CAB?

What you experienced with the IT's in the 190* range is a second stall, I'm guessing. I've often had a second stall, but I don't remember it happening above 190*, it usually happens around the 175*-180* range for me, if at all.

It sounds like your flat went flawlessly, which is great. For the point, though, that does sound odd to me and maybe someone with more experience can chime in, but I don't think that I've ever had a problem with the point when the flat has been done. I do probe the point when I probe the flat but that's only really for my own amusement, because as long as the flat probes "like buttah", I don't mind what the point feels like, and I've never had a poor point.

A couple differences in the way you cook vs. how I cook a brisket is that I've never wrapped a brisket nor do I have water in the Egg. However, I'd find it hard to believe that those differences are the reason for the point not turning out.

For those who wrap their briskets, does wrapping it have a different effect on the point? I thought that the purpose for wrapping it was to speed up the process, and get it to temps quicker. Correct?

admiral21 · January 2016

It was Choice from a local butcher in Philly. Just got my KCBS membership so I'll be going to RD from now on. I've done choice and prime before and really can't tell too much a difference.

lousubcap · January 2016

Sounds like a solid cook and result except as you note, for the point. I have not seen the point lag the flat in terms of finishing. And had you waited on the point you would have missed with the flat. I hate to just toss this to the cow, but I will. Hopefully @SGH or @cazzy may be along with more insights.
The water pan is not needed and acts like a heat-sink. Should it run out of liquid then your dome temp will rise as the energy to evaporate the water (constant vent settings) will now add to the BGE cook temp.
Great write-up. Time for the next one.
And regarding the wrap/no-wrap/paper or foil, here's a link to a Franklin test-draw your own conclusions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnRRDSYgdmw 

admiral21 · January 2016

I love the Franklin BBQ series and have watched each ep probably 4-5 times haha.

Yeah the more reading I do, the more I'm inclined to ditch the water. I'll skip it on my next cook. I have a spray bottle if it looks like any parts are getting dry.

Thanks for the input.

SmyrnaGA · January 2016

How did you position your platesetter? Is one leg pointing to the handle or one leg pointing to the hinge? Did you cook the point over direct flame?

My problem with the platesetter is it covers round things nicely, but, a 15 lb brisket is almost 18 inches spanning the entire length of grate. Unless you add a pizza stone (covered in foil) to cover one of the 3 open 'slots', you're either cooking the tip of the flat direct or the point direct.

I'll try to take a picture tomorrow with my setup. On my brisket cooks, I position the platesetter legs up with one of the legs pointed toward the back of the egg nearest to the hinge. The open slot in front of the handle, I cover a with a foiled pizza stone. Since the point can take more heat, I position that near the hinge over the narrow platesetter leg. The flat is protected by the pizza stone and the 2 platesetter legs to it's left and right.

blasting · January 2016

@admiral21 welcome to the forum.

SmyrnaGA · January 2016

Found a picture on my phone. If you look under the brisket, you'll see a lot of foil under the flat in the front and the smaller foiled leg under the point near the hinge.

Nature Boy · January 2016

SmyrnaGA said:

Found a picture on my phone. If you look under the brisket, you'll see a lot of foil under the flat in the front and the smaller foiled leg under the point near the hinge.

That is a great setup.
Chris

Nature Boy · January 2016

When the point is in the hottest part of the cooker, my point temp is 210 plus when the flat is 195, and that's a good thing.

admiral21 · January 2016

Nature Boy said:

When the point is in the hottest part of the cooker, my point temp is 210 plus when the flat is 195, and that's a good thing.

Yeah I will try that next time. I have it setup with 1 leg at the hinge and 2 in the front, but now that I looked at it again it is off center of the hinge and I cooked the part that came out hard Right over the opening. I would think with the 1 leg in the back that would be the hottest part of egg so not sure why the point was so far behind.

The best brisket I did was around those temps but it was on a traeger. Ideally my temps would be the point at 200-205 and the flat in the 190s. A pizza stone would be ideal for taking all of the brisket off of direct heat and controlling the hottest part of the egg. Will do next time and report back.

admiral21 · January 2016

SmyrnaGA said:

Found a picture on my phone. If you look under the brisket, you'll see a lot of foil under the flat in the front and the smaller foiled leg under the point near the hinge.

I love this idea, not only would it take all the brisket off of direct heat, but you are probably cooking at 10-20 degrees hotter at the hinge which would help the point cook faster.

Off to restaurant depot for round 2!

admiral21 · January 2016

blasting said:

@admiral21 welcome to the forum.

Thanks!

bhedges1987 · January 2016

I took a bbq comp. class from Rod Grey of pellet envy ( won more comps than myron over the past 8 years.) When he trims a brisket, he trims the point completely, that way it finishes the same time as the flat, and you don't have to put it back on the cooker to render more fat

MaC122 · January 2016

I found the best brisket depends on the meat. I can only find choice and it has to be floppy. Brisket is the bane of cooking

SmyrnaGA · January 2016

Here are more pix of my setup. The flat is positioned over the pizza stone.

First Brisket on the Egg Questions

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