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Brisket Failure

disabled-Smoke In The Nole
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Well, my first brisket was not what I had hoped. I was prepared for problems after reading about the difficulty of this cook. I'm hoping that if I share the steps that I followed somenone can give help me achieve better results in the future.[p]I purchased an 11 pound choice grade full brisket from Sam's Club. I trimmed off some of the heavy fat, but left a nice 1/2" layer over the entire brisket.[p]I then rubbed with DP Cowlick and let it rest overnight in my refrigerator covered with foil.[p]I started a fire on my large BGE and let the Stoker get the temp settled at 250 dome with an inverted plate setter, a drip pan with apple juice and vinegar, and the BGE grate.[p]I placed the brisket on the grate with a temp sensor from the Stoker in the thickest part of the meat.[p]I cooked for about six hours, at which time the brisket reached 160 internal. I then removed the meat and wrapped it tightly in foil and returned it to the egg.[p]Within another three hours it had reached 190 internal. I then pulled it, left it in the foil, and rested in a cooler for an hour.[p]After removing it I discovered that it was VERY dry. Flavor was ok and it wasn't too tough, but bone dry.[p]It seems that the cook time was shorter than normal, but the brisket still seemed to be overcooked.[p]Thoughts?[p]Thanks!

Comments

  • RhumAndJerk
    RhumAndJerk Posts: 1,506
    Smoke In The 'Nole,
    First of all do not get discouraged , brisket is not easy to cook.
    You could probably cook at a slightly higher temperature for a shorter period of time and get the results that you are looking for. Until I started to use recipe below, I was not successful cooking brisket. You can either use the rub that Carl listed or Cowlick. I have used both with great results. However, I would not put the rub on the night before. The salt in the rub may have drawn the moisture out of the meat.[p]Hope this helps,
    RhumAndJerk

    [ul][li]Elder Wards World Class Brisket[/ul]
  • Smoke In The 'Nole,
    It sounds like you did everything right. 250 dome temp should be ideal. Yet you reached 190 internal in nine hours for an 11 pound brisket. At 250, it should have taken a lot longer than that. Perhaps the thermometer is off. Cooking at a high temperature is certainly one cause of a dry brisket.

  • Smoke In The 'Nole,[p]Experienced the same thing two weeks ago on my first brisket cook. Tender but very dry. My solution was to slice and throw it in the crock pot with some BBQ sauce. My guests seemed to enjoy and complimented me on the flavor and tenderness but most of them had never had brisket before or perhaps they were just being kind.
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,724
    Smoke In The 'Nole,
    did you go by temp or tenderness, i continue the cook alittle til its fork tender and then remove.temp isnt the best indicator for me. brisket is not going to be the juiciest cut, and it dries quickly after cutting. to minimize this i have everything on the table and the people getting seated before cutting and i cheat a little by having some sauce watered down (BBQ sauce watered down with some broth and drippings) fan out the slices on a platter and pour the sauce down the center just enough to keep it moist during serving. then the real sauce on the side for those that want it.

    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • Big Hoser
    Big Hoser Posts: 104
    Smoke In The 'Nole,[p]I just cooked a 13lb whole brisket this last weekend. It took about 18 total hours of smoking at 250 dome, foiled at 170 and then pulled at 190, double wrapped in foil, then wrapped in towel and put in an ice chest for 4 hours. Came out very tender, but parts of it were a little dry. I think the dry parts were where the beef injection missed (I used a beef broth based injection, kind of like what Dr.BBQ uses in his book Big Time Barbecue. I highly recommmend this book). Next time I will inject more throughly and I think that should solve the dryness issue (as fishless man did, I worked around this issue by throwing what I wanted to serve in a crockpot with a mixture of a bottle of QN4U bbq sauce and the drippings. Got rave reviews at the party on Saturday night). I tried out a different rub and came out great (used some hickory-smoked salt and Texas Rib Rangers Rosemary & Herb Rub which won "2004 Best BBQ Rub on the Planet". This stuff is incredible on brisket, chicken, etc. I think I found my new favorite rub. You can get this stuff at hawgeyesbbq.com).
  • fishlessman,[p]I went by temp alone. I guess that I'll have to modify my methods in the future. I did not use any type of injected marinade either.[p]Thanks for the response!
  • Smoke In The 'Nole, First, your handle is cool! Sounds like you had a great piece of meat and you have already gotten good advice below. From my experience, that thing cooked about 7-10 hours faster than one would at 250 dome on my egg. Also, I have never foiled a brisket during a cook and have had good to great results finishing at 200-205 internal. [p]Was your brisket cold when you put it on the egg? Mine always is.

  • EddieMac
    EddieMac Posts: 423
    I read your post carefully...and here are some random thoughts...I cook at least one whole brisket per month and sometimes more...And have yet to mess one up...Better lucky than good I guess...I read that you trimmed it before the cook..I can't think of a valid reason to do that..So I day say throw that brisket on with no trimming...[p]Prior to the cook...I cover lightly with Emeril's spicy mustard...cover generously with DP Cowlick...and toss it on..Using the indirect set up...I smoke at 275-285 dome..which gives you 250 - 260 grate temp and that's ideal...Have never smoked a 13 or 14lb. brisket for less than 16 hours...You're cook went awfully fast!...I also wrap mine in foil when it gets to 175 or so...It ramps up to 195 to 200 and then I take it off...[p]I've left mine in a Cambro hot box for up to two hours and they come out hot, juicy and ready to slice-n-eat...Each cut of meat is different..Maybe you got a brisket from an athletic animal with low fat content...not sure....[p]Don't give up..keep trying...you'll find the results you're looking for....I take it you're an FSU football fan...and my Hurricanes are playing the 'Noles this weekend...I usually get pretty amped up for the UM/FSU game and even have 4 tickets...But both teams are down right now and so is the fire between the two....that too will change....[p]Ed McLean
    Ft. Pierce, FL[p]

  • eddiemac,[p]Yep, I'm a FSU grad / fan. It's really sad to see how far both teams have fallen. Until recently this game had a significant impact on the National Championship race. [p]I attended MANY games in the 80s and 90s that were great, but Miami normally won. I learned to really hate the Canes, but now that they are down I realize that the rivalry made football season a lot more fun. Here's to hoping that both teams will be competitive with Florida and USF again soon![p]I'm definitely going to try again. I've had a couple of suggestions to not trim the brisket at all, so that's one of the things I'll try.[p]I'll let you know if the next one is better.[p]Thanks for the reply.
  • Scotty's Inferno,[p]Yep, it went straight from the refrigerator to the egg. I have read that the meat will develop a better smoke ring if it is cold, so that's what I tried.[p]I'm going to Eggfest this weekend. Hopefully I'll try another brisket the following weekend.[p]Thanks for the comments!