9 Hour 2.65 lb Brisket ...?

BKRonline

I'm new to the EGG, BBQ in general, and this forum but have read a ton of threads here and want to thank you all for your awesomeness.

This is my first post, be gentle... on to the topic!

My wife brought home a 2.65 lb brisket and we thought it would be great to do our first slow and low on our LBGE (first ever actually). In a nutshell, it took 9 hours (thought it would take 4-5), was fairly dense and tough, and we have no idea why.

Setup

• Large Big Green Egg + nest + mate
• Big Green Egg Plate Setter, legs up
  
• Drip Pan, filled with water, large enough size for the meat (I'm not so sure about filling with water after this...)
• Big Green Egg stock grid
• Big Green Egg BBQ Guru DX2
  
• Big Green Egg Natural Lump Charcoal, filled to the top line of the fire box
• Big Green Egg Natural Charcoal Starter
• Hickory chunks spread around the parameter of the coals (Smoke generation was not plentiful, most of the time there was no smoke at all. I now know to layer them more in the center, not all the way out to the edge)
• ThermoWorks Thermapen, to test against the BBQ Guru when thought to be done

Our Thoughts

• Keep it simple
• Take the meat out of the fridge an hour prior to the cook
• Lightly score the fat-cap
• Liberal application of "Rub #67" on all sides (from Dr. BBQ, see below)
• Put it on the EGG fat-cap up at stabilized 225 grid temperature until internal meat temperature is 185 F
• Don't peek!
• At about an hour and a half per pound, this should take 4 to 5 hours
• When the internal meat temperature is 185 F, wrap tightly in foil and let rest for 1 hour
• Slice to pencil thickness
• Enjoy!

Rub

• ½ cup Sugar in the Raw
  
• ½ cup kosher salt
  
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
  
• 3 tablespoons paprika
  
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
  
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
  
• ½ teaspoon lemon pepper
  
• ½ teaspoon ground coffee
  
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

List of Events

• 1400 Take meat out and prepare
• 1415 Light and stabilize temperature on LBGE (no issues here)
• 1500 Put meat in LBGE and check BBQ Guru's temps once in a while
• 1900 Noticed a (stall?) at meat temp 171 F, searched on these forums, think it's normal, wait an hour and see
• 2000 Temp dropped to meat temp 167 F, raised grid temp to 250 F
• 2030 Meat temp raised to 171 F
• 2130 Meat temp fell back to 164 F, leave it alone...?
• 2200 Never mind having brisket for dinner, nuke some hot dogs and call it.
• 2330 Meat temp at 167 F, raised grid temp to 300 F
• 0000 Meat temp to 185 F, took off grille, wrapped in foil
• 0100 Sliced, surprisingly nice smokey flavor, fairly dense, tough, and chewy
• 0200 Put sliced brisket in fridge for lunch the following day... defeated!

Notes

• There was a lot of condensation down at the bottom vent that got in to the BBQ Guru's fan, I emptied that out a couple of times during the cook. This didn't seem to cause any issues, the grid temp was rock solid, amazing! I'm thinking the pan full of water isn't necessary and might be a hazard. I filled it with water after seeing a number of videos on successful brisket cooks, but their briskets were 8-12 lbs.
• I didn't get a lot of smoke, and the smoke wasn't continuous, most of the time there was no smoke at all. I only put a few fist sized chunks of hickory on the parameter, I now know to layer them more in the center, not all the way out to the edge. We did get a nice smoke flavor in the meat, and I understand that smoke doesn't have to be billowing to get the flavor.
• 9 hours?

Thanks for reading this far!

Where did I go wrong?

Edit, adding photos (sorry for the lighting):

New2Q

BKRonline said:

• 0000 Meat temp to 185 F, took off grille, wrapped in foil
• 0100 Sliced, surprisingly nice smokey flavor, fairly dense, tough, and chewy
• 0200 Put sliced brisket in fridge for lunch the following day... defeated!

Where did I go wrong?

Edit, adding photos (sorry for the lighting):

Sounds to me like you didn't cook it enough.  Tough and chewy is one of the signs of undercooked brisket (and ribs for that matter).  The general rule of thumb is cook to ~195 but the ultimate test of doneness is to probe several parts in the thickest part of the flat and make sure there's virtually no resistance to the probe.

buzd504

Is 2.65lbs right?  That's the smallest brisket I've ever heard of.  Maybe it was just the flat?

A flat is very hard to nail anyway.  I think you've identified most of your problems.  I think the water pan was the main one.  I also would think you want to go to 195 or even 200 instead of pulling at 185 (when it probes like butter through the thickest part). 

Little Steven

Water pan.

Ladeback69

I usually take brisket to 195 to 205. Did you use a tenderizer? It helps. Also did you remember to cut across the grain of the meat? If you cut with the grain it can be tough. Smaller briskets can be harder to cook. I like cooking the the whole packer or just the point if you can find it. The point is where the most flavor is. Don't give up, just try a point part of the brisket next time, you will like it and its hard to messup. That's just my 2 cents. Other's may have some other idea's. I have never used a Guru before and probably never will. I did a full packer cook starting at midnight on a Sat morning and took it into the next day. It came out great. It was about 14.5 and took 14.5 hours. Egg cooked at 230 to 260 over the cook. Good luck next time it will get better.

BKRonline

@New2Q

Got it, thanks!

@buzd504

2.65 lb is how it was labeled in our Commissary, the largest they stocked. Thanks!

@Little Steven

Got it, thanks!

@Ladeback69

Thanks for all of your comments.

It sounds like we had a 'flat', and I need to look up what a 'packer' and 'point' are.

Is it common to need to bump the temp to finish? (i.e. would I ever finished at 225 grid temp?)

Thanks everyone.

New2Q

BKRonline said:

It sounds like we had a 'flat', and I need to look up what a 'packer' and 'point' are.

Is it common to need to bump the temp to finish? (i.e. would I ever finished at 225 grid temp?)

Thanks everyone.

Yep, you must have had a flat.  The "packer" brisket is typically found in a cryovac bag and depending on where you live you might have to get it special order from a butcher.  Hopefully you can find one without having to special order it.  The packer is a combination of two muscles - the flat and the point.  The point has much more fat in the muscle and therefore it is more flavorful and juicy.

As for temperature and your question on whether it would finish at 225 grid temp the answer is yes but I would recommend doing when CenTex (a brisket expert) suggests and that is to run 250 grid temp for the entire cook.  There really is no downside to 250 on the Egg.  The finished product will be more moist and will get done sooner.  I've tried his method of using 250 for the whole cook and now won't do it any other way.

BKRonline

@New2Q

EGGcellent information, thank you!

Edit:

Come to think of it, when I did finally bump it up to 250 grid temp the smoke came back in full force, though my placement of the chunks wasn't ideal.

I'll try again this week!

Thanks again.

BYS1981

#67 rub is my go to rub. I really enjoy it.

SkinnyV

Something's off. I've done 6lb in that time frame with point.
Give it a shot salt and coarse pepper, 2 minute prep time throw it on @250. Good luck

BKRonline

@BYS1981

Great!

@SkinnyV

Thanks!

radamo

Little Steven said:

Water pan.

Just trying to learn... Are you saying that not recommended to use a water filled drip pan for brisket?  Should it just be an empty drip pan to catch the drippings?  

thanks...

Little Steven

The water will hold the temp down. It will create an extremely moist cooking environment.

radamo

That makes sense...thanks.

BKRonline

Yes thanks!

KenfromMI

Whenever I do just a flat I always inject it with the injection from howtobbqright.com, foiled it around 165ish, pull at 200ish, rest in a small cooler for 30 to 60 minutes wrapped in towels. I have never had a dry flat since using this method. I've done as small as 4lbr's this way with zero problems. 

BKRonline

@KenfromMI

EGGcellent, thank you!

KenfromMI

BK, that is enough injection for a Packer, you can cut at least in half for a flat. Also a bit of advice so you don't ruin your shirt if you are new to injecting......Place brisket in glass baking dish. Wrap saran over the dish and pull it tight. Push the needle through the plastic first and then into your meat. If you inject too quick it makes a great splash guard and saves your shirt LOL

KenfromMI

This is a 4 pound flat cooked that way, Ken

BKRonline

@KenfromMI

Looks great, can't wait to try it. Thanks for your advice!

It's great to see fellow Michiganders, I'm originally from Michigan.