Brisket failure? HELP!!!!

jhill

I put a 6 lb. brisket wholepacker on this morning and maintained IT between 225 and 250.  I put a pan with apple juice on the platesetter and sprayed the brisket liberally every hour with apple juice to help keep it moist.  I pulled it off at IT of 185 and wrapped tightly in foil for a half hour.  I cut into it and it's tough and chewy.  My question is, did I undercook it or overcook it since the meat is tough?  Any input would GREATLY be appreciated!

Chris_Wang

Hmmm 185° seems too low. Did the brisket feel like butta when you checked the final temp with your thermometer?

Some may also say FTC (which it also seems like you only did the Foil of Foil Towel Cooler) for only 30 minutes is too short of time.

hapster

Temp likely too low for it to have fully rendered and tenderized... Most, not all, are in the 195 to 200 range for the "like butter" feel... I also wouldn't spray it as often or at all, YMMV...

Rockosteel

Did you pull it off prior to 11-12 hours. I cook mine about 2 hrs per lb. and during last 3 hrs I put it in a pan with beef broth about 1/2 way up the brisket covered in foil

Cm23

I would be concerned with opening the lid every hour to spray it

lousubcap

My vote-undercooked.  Brisket is one of those "by feel" finish-lines.  Most start checking for doneness around 190*F in the thickest part of the flat.  When you can probe both directions and it feels like "butta" then you are there.  What follows are some good reads for when you have time:

http://www.amazingribs.com/recipes/beef/texas_brisket.html
http://www.bubbatim.com/
http://www.nakedwhiz.com/recipes.htm
http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/03/brisket.html
All the info you will ever need. Enjoy the journey-

BTW-welcome aboard.  It is a game-changer.

NPHuskerFL

Slow and low. Temp and feel are key. The muscle takes time to breakdown the connecting tissues. Sounds either undercooked or cooked too rapidly to allow for the tissue to breakdown to become tender. I inject so I don't do the spray method + when I did do the spray method I wasn't pleased with my final product> meat wasn't as tender and the bark wasn't as thick or pronounced as I like it. These are discretionary. But,low and slow cook are key to get a great brisket in my experience. I rarely open the egg once the brisket is on. Pretty much set a timer and fine tune temp to 225F-275F and 45min to 1hr per# although I have went as long as 2hrs per# Briskets can be difficult until you do a few.

NPHuskerFL

This was a 15# packer. I prefer the flat because I don't have an army to feed and I tend to "go big or go home" (way too much food) :-D.

JRWhitee

Undercooked is my vote

jhill

Thank you all for the responses!  I've made lots of notes from your tips.  A shout out to lousubcap for the website links....awesome!   I'll definitely check them out.  I've cooked chicken, beef, pork, and even baked on my egg but I just can't get a brisket to turn out right yet.  I greatly appreciate all the tips and help.  Thanks again y'all!