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Brisket-K.I.S.S.Help Needed

NJ-Professor
NJ-Professor Posts: 86
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Looking to cook a brisket using excellent packer cut (Humphreys lump) this week. Want to start at 6AM for 7PM dinner.

Trying to keep it as SIMPLE as possible. Past attempts yielded poor results (too dry, weird texture).

Requirements:
1-Crispy outside, moist but not too rare inside.

2-Avoid all (as much as?) Carbs, sugars, gooey stuff as possible.

3-Simple to prepare and egg to avoid drama of repeating if it comes good.

Please keep in mind that I'm an egg novice.

Thanks to ALL in advance!
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Comments

  • nj-professor,

    Some very knowledgeable guys are doing them hot and fast with a long rest and getting great results. Thirdeye and Vidalia 1 come to mind. Thirdeye may have the method on his site.

    Steve

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • loco_engr
    loco_engr Posts: 5,759
    aka marysvilleksegghead
    Lrg 2008
    mini 2009
    XL 2021 (sold 8/24/23)
    Henny Youngman:
    I said to my wife, 'Where do you want to go for our anniversary?' She said, 'I want to go somewhere I've never been before.' I said, 'Try the kitchen.'
    Bob Hope: When I wake up in the morning, I don’t feel anything until noon, and then it’s time for my nap
  • Hi,

    Here's a link to a writeup of a good brisket cook I did a while back. It provides step by step instructions. The only thing I would do differently now is to check for final doneness by feel. By this I mean putting a probe (Thermapen, fork, etc.) into the meat, and when it goes both in and out without resistance, it's done. I start to check when the internal hits 190.

    http://www.fearlesskitchen.com/2009/07/recipe-a-better-brisket-guest-post-from-fearless-grill-.html

    6a00e5502e1c01883401157148b605970c-800wi

    In terms of your specific requiirements:

    Timing: Brisket takes on average about 1.5 hours per pound, cooking at 250 degrees dome. The way to calculate start time is to determine what time you want to eat, and work backwards. So if I have a 12 lb packer, and I want to serve dinner at 7pm, my actual cook time will likely be about 18 hours (90 min *12 lbs). To this, add about an hour to light the egg and get your temp stabilized (if you don't know how to stabilize your temp for a long cook, let us know and we can tell you), and at least an hour to rest it in a cooler after it's done. I usually add at least one more hour for 'wiggle room', since I'd much rather have it done early than late if I have guests coming for dinner. It will stay warm for up to 4 hours wrapped in foil and a bath towel, and put in a cooler. This also gives you the opportunity to clear the main course off your Egg a couple hours early to allow you to cook sides or appetizers. So for our hypothetical 12 lb packer, I'd need a total of 20-21 hours, so I'd be lighting my Egg at 10pm, and putting the meat on at 11pm.

    1-Crispy outside, moist but not too rare inside: A brisket can't be 'rare' since you're cooking it till 190-200 degrees. You need to cook it low and slow like this to break down the collagen and make the meat tender enough to eat. The 'crispy' outside is called the 'bark' and develops from the rub and exposure to the heat over the long cook. If you don't foil your brisket during the cook, it will end up this way.

    2-Avoid all (as much as?) Carbs, sugars, gooey stuff as possible. If you don't want sugars, don't put them in your rub, which I wouldn't generally on beef anyway. The one in my example did have sugar in the rub, but I got it from a book and used as-is. Find a recipe for a low sugar beef rub and use it. I can track one down for you if you need. In terms of 'gooey stuff', I assume you mean sauce. A good brisket doesn't need sauce, though some people will like it, so slice and plate your brisket without it, and serve a sauce on the side.

    3-Simple to prepare and egg to avoid drama of repeating if it comes good. This is really a simple cook. The key is getting your fire stabilized and then leaving the Egg the heck alone for the next 18-20 hours. If you stabilize at 250, let it cook till the internal is 190, then probe test for doneness, you can't really screw it up. The other key is to let it rest at least an hour in foil, towel, and cooler so the juices 'reabsorb'. Not sure why this works, but if you slice it right away, it will end up much dryer than if you rest it.

    Check out Thirdeye's site for more brisket info. He has a great writeup there as well.

    Good luck!

    -John
  • BigA
    BigA Posts: 1,157
    New member again???
  • BigA
    BigA Posts: 1,157
    so your saying that you have failed here in the past?
  • nj-p

    I followed your other threads, but didn't participate because you were getting enough expert advice.

    However, your current bravery troubles me a tad. You are embarking on one of the most difficult cooks there is. I would hate to see you get further discouraged if the brisket doesn't turn out very good. Pulling the brisket before it is past it's plateau will give you a tough, dry piece of meat.

    Having said that, good luck with your cook. Since you are smoking a packer, I think you will need to cook at a higher temperature than 225°-250°, since you're only giving it 13 hours (includes rest time). My last packer (15#) took 22 hours, half at 225°, half at 250°. (It took 18 hours on the one before that).
    __________________________________________

    Dripping Springs, Texas.
    Just west of Austintatious


  • Hello, Mr. Tweeve.tip,

    I see that you’re a Newb to the forum. Welcome !!! I am sure you will enjoy it here. The forum is full of wonderful people eager to help others from their vast experiences. Many have also become personal friends from going to Eggfests. We all hope that you will join us in future Eggfests too.

    Regretfully, we have had one insurgent who practically ruined the forum. I believe his is banned now, so we should pray that he takes the hint this time. He not only had an “I’m better than you” attitude, obviously hiding an inferiority complex, but was also rude and obnoxious to some of our nicest people. The unforgiving aspect of his personality though, was his mockery and ridicule of relatives of our members with special needs. He took great delight in that. Can you imagine? I am sure you will join us in ignoring future human excrements that may try to invade our little corner of the internet.

    I’m sure you will have questions about cooking on the Egg. Just ask. That’s why we’re here.
    __________________________________________

    Dripping Springs, Texas.
    Just west of Austintatious


  • CBBQ
    CBBQ Posts: 610
    You forgot that the insurgent couldn't/hadn't actually cook. He was just a "micro google" that changed his name constantly so you couldn't haunt him with his own words.
  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
    Just as a by-the-way...

    Last Sunday morning, long time Texan Egger, Spring Chicken, who admitted to cooking many many briskets, and getting some decent results during his life, was very pleased by a brisket made by Lake Conroe Egger. He noted that L.C.E. did not use any tricks, just a perfect technique that he had spent years refining.

    So, if your results are less than stellar, understand that well practiced Texans spend years getting better than just good.
  • i think brisket is almost universally regarded as the most difficult meat to 'properly' (a word whose meaning is also debatable) cook.

    i had brisket at MainEgg's place, and although we arrived a little late (lots of stop lights in Florida :blush: ) it was perfect. I asked her what she did, how she did it, etc. I think maybe it might have even been her first one.

    I tried to replicate it at home... got her input, same size brisket, same temps, etc.

    ...it was nothing like hers.

    But i ain't done tryin'
  • Thanks....that's the big brisket controversy it seems here on the forum and on the web in general.....long and slow or quick to go. I have to study up a bit on the websites you sent; they both look great....thanks!
  • Great site and information. Have you tried it? It would be great if it produced what I'm looking for because the prep time is cut down considerably (and for me) that's a VERY good thing.

    Thanks again!
  • "New"? No.....Where did you hear that? Are you talking about my self description: "egg novice"?

    Because of my crazy schedule, travel, non-bbq life and especially middling results (often at great effort)I hadn't cracked the egg much since I got it almost 2 years ago.

    Now that I have more time, I'm going to try one more once. With the support, knowledge and generosity of egg heads I hope things turn out better.
  • nj-professor

    The last one I did, I followed Bubba Tim's method. It was as good as I have produced before if not better. Don't inject the meat indoors :laugh:

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

    Steve

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • nj-professor...
    you are reading the forum in flat view, and can't tell who is replying to who... BigA was replying specifically to someone else.

    most of us (many of us, more accurately maybe) use "classic view"
  • Phenomenal information (description, links, etc.) ....GREAT photos!

    Now I have to decide if I should go slow or quick as some others make an excellent case for.

    Thanks again!
  • yo fearless. nice write up. you might want to jump on all those spam comments though. "vibram fingers" seems to have a thing for you. and the costa rican investment company may not be entirely top-drawer :laugh:
  • More cojones than brains I guess......

    Full disclosure: One of the reasons my family finally endorsed my egg purchase was because of all the pictures, videos, blog entries that I showed them especially about brisket......

    I think I'm ready to take at least a swing at it.....famous last words.....

    Thanks for the info.
  • I have to weigh all the information and at some point walk about from my pc and crack the egg.....might check out his video though.

    Thanks
  • I'm not sure who MainEgg is but it sounds like they got the touch.

    Like you, I have to keep trying. The motivation is there!

    Thanks....
  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
    The only advice I, a brisket novice, can offer is that there seems to be a small range of perfect temperature. The best I've made I pulled at 196. Another at 200 was dry enough that it really needed sauce. At 190, still very chewy.

    The point, being quite fat, is often double cooked for "burnt ends." I've been happy with those.
  • Which method did you try A, B or C?
  • Sorry,

    Didn't realise there were three. Method one.

    Steve

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • tjv
    tjv Posts: 3,830
    it's a pork butt cook in beef's clothing for low and slow method.

    tom
    www.ceramicgrillstore.com ACGP, Inc.
  • Helpful info....thanks.....time to use my Thermapen for more than a doneness probe!
  • Tom,

    Ya but I have never produced a dry butt.

    Steve

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • Thanks. Spam comments on their way out. Must have missed those. You could leave a real one. :)

    -J
  • ok, here is as simple as it gets and still gets you

    a. bark on the outside
    b. moist on the inside

    its a whole packer brisket right? . .trim it up as much as you can especially around the point (there is enough fat in the point already that you can take all the fat off from the outside of the point and still promise moist meat)....remove all that hard fat from between the point and flat but just leave them barely attached so that the point will 'protect' the flat while cooking. . ..leave a thin layer of fat on flat side. ...

    prep. ..simply rub the brisket good and heavy with your rub of choice .. .i like dizzy cowlick (and from our placings lately so do the KCBS judges)...

    set up your egg with a full load of lump and some nice big chunks of hickory placed through out (maybe a chunk of cherry too, but not required). ...get it to 250 dome temp and put your plate setter in with a drip pan on the plate setter ( i simply use a sheet of aluminum foil with the sides folded up)

    put the brisket on with the point on top. . .

    let her go that way until the brisket flat is in the plateau stage (readings are in the 160s....now take your brisket and wrap it in a double layer of aluminum foil and put it back in the egg ....let it continue cooking until it reaches an internal temp of 190....start checking the 'feel' of the brisket now to see if the meet is tender. ...pull it when it feels 'right' to you...it should 'give' when you poke it with a temp guage or fork regardless of whether its 190, 195 or 200....make sure you don't poke a hole in the bottom of the foil. . .you don't want to loose the juices that have accumulated down there, they are really good for serving back over the sliced brisket or mixing in wiht your bbq sauce. ...

    if the point isn't quite done when the flat is, you can separate it from the flat and return direct to the grill, paint it with sauce and let it continue cooking at around 300 degrees or so till done. .it will be nice and crispy for you for burnt ends ....don't let it get over done though.. .it should still be nice and moist inside as well...

    while the point is continuing to cook, just keep the flat well wrapped in foil until you are ready to slice it....it should be fine...bark on the outside, moist and tender on the inside. ...

    this was our second place brisket from new holland PA. . .done exactly that way . . ..

    IMG_0506.jpg

    good luck....
  • Max.....If it's as good as your turkey, now an American classic, I'm on board.

    BTW, I'm assuming I have a Packer brisket since I bought a big piece from a wholesale meat joint....any field guide to brisket to know for sure?

    Thanks!