So what is so great about Brisket

tfhanson

To me, steak is king. A good ribeye, t-bone, porter house, tri tip or flat iron any day of the week, followed by chicken, but none of that dry white meat chicken.

hapster

st¡ke said:

Not to be a complete dingus, but this is the same thing as "What is so great about sunny side up eggs? Every time I have them, the yolks are hard and dry"

you have just been eating sh!tty brisket

You said "dingus"

DoubleEgger

Please don't show us your dingus again @hapster

SmokeyPitt

I think it is okay to not like brisket.  I like it fine but it is still not my favorite even in the beef category.  I would rather have chuck roast or short ribs.  Chuckies and shorties are about the same price as brisket in GA, and they are much more forgiving.  That being said I do plan to try a SRF brisket one day for a special occasion.  

cazzy

henapple said:

I don't like brisket. Centex eggs the best I've had but still prefer pork. Yes, I've had some Aaron Franklin. ..

Hard to compare the reheated Franklin brisket to what you're served fresh.  I didn't think it was that great when I ate it that day.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

I've had Franklin brisket reheated too. No bueno. Have to eat it right of the cutting block.

henapple

It can't be that much better than John's. ..it was great but brisket isn't my favorite. 

Lmidkiff

Nothing better than a well prepared brisket and not much worse than a bad one. The good thing if it's bad is you can still make great chili. 

DMW

Lmidkiff said:

Nothing better than a well prepared brisket and not much worse than a bad one. The good thing if it's bad is you can still make great chili. 

Yep, you got it. Brisket is nothing like pizza. Pizza, like certain other activities, is good even when it's bad.

Zmokin

tfhanson said:

To me, steak is king. A good ribeye, t-bone, porter house, tri tip or flat iron any day of the week, followed by chicken, but none of that dry white meat chicken.

I agree.  i made a brisket once on my egg and was not enthralled.  I then went to a hole in the wall BBQ restaurant and tried their smoked brisket.  Seemed the same as mine.  I've since discovered that smoking corned beef brisket to make pastrami is something I do like, so from now on, I only eat brisket when it's pastrami.

Nature Boy

A perfectly cooked and flavored slice of cow chest is moist, feels really good in your mouth, and has a flavor of BEEF like no other cut. When you achieve and taste that perfectly cooked slice, you know it is like nothing that exists in the world. Brisket is also one of those cuts where it needs to be consumed immediately after slicing. It does not hold well.

There are many people that do not get excited about brisket. My hunch is that a vast majority of them just haven't had a real good one. There is a reason the price of brisket keeps going higher.

Of course, as always, taste is highly subjective. 

Cheers
Chris

chrisc133

johnkitchens said:

Growing up in this part of Georgia when I was a kid BBQ meant pork and only pork. 

We didn't BBQ in the back yard we grilled. I knew of no one that cooked brisket, and I had never tried brisket until I was grown. 

I agree with @Jeepster47. Where you are from has a lot to do with what you define as BBQ. 

Same here @johnkitchens.  Growing up in West Georgia, pork is all we ate for bbq. And when we grilled out--it was hot dogs and burgers in the back yard. A few years ago, I spent a couple years in Texas for work and fell in love with brisket at Rudys bbq in South Texas. Some of the best brisket I've ever had--smoked over oak wood and half off for law enforcement. It couldn't be beat. 

Fred19Flintstone

In general, I'll take the oink over the moo just about every time.  A medium rare ribeye trumps the oink though.

Focker

Pork is king of Que. 

Brisket is ok for pastrami and grinding burgers. 

Anymore, I'd take a thick cut Berkshire chop over any cut of steak, even aged.

Nanook

tfhanson said:

To me, steak is king. A good ribeye, t-bone, porter house, tri tip or flat iron any day of the week, followed by chicken, but none of that dry white meat chicken.

If the white meat of your chicken is dry, you must not be cooking it on the Egg.

FlashkaBob

Nanook said:

tfhanson said:

To me, steak is king. A good ribeye, t-bone, porter house, tri tip or flat iron any day of the week, followed by chicken, but none of that dry white meat chicken.

If the white meat of your chicken is dry, you must not be cooking it on the Egg.

+1

NPHuskerFL

An average brisket can be awesome in the right hands. Respectively a SRF in the wrong hands can turn out like shoe leather. No different than steak, chops, chicken, fish etc. in that they can all be overcooked and dry. 

tfhanson

Nanook said:

tfhanson said:

To me, steak is king. A good ribeye, t-bone, porter house, tri tip or flat iron any day of the week, followed by chicken, but none of that dry white meat chicken.

If the white meat of your chicken is dry, you must not be cooking it on the Egg.

True, I am cooking the white on the BGE now that I own one, but I a still ain't touching it.  That goes to the wife and daugther, I get the juicy thighs and legs...

Ladeback69

NPHuskerFL said:

An average brisket can be awesome in the right hands. Respectively a SRF in the wrong hands can turn out like shoe leather. No different than steak, chops, chicken, fish etc. in that they can all be overcooked and dry. 

I agree with @NPHuskerFL, If you don't pay attention to your grill the meat will dry out.  When I cook chicken on the egg it comes out really juice, much so more then on a gasser.  My favorite part of the brisket is the point and it made into burnt ends.  I know a lot of people don't want to take the time, but the last 9 pound one I did were awesome, but I have never made bad burnt ends.  I have also made a whole packer into burnt ends before.  With the flat after I cube them I would add a little sauce to keep them moist when I put them back on the egg for another hour to get a little more char.  I guess I need to do a step by step process on how I do it.  I have also found by tenderizing the brisket with Jacquard helps to make it more tender.  I took a class from Chris Marks of Three Little Pig's on how to prep and cook a brisket.  Here he is prepping a full packer.  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3sgbX9Nxgs

Coastalcooker

I like corned beef and cabbage, and I'm not Irish. I had a good brisket sandwich once at a motorcycle rally in Johnson City. He sold out before I got another one the next night.
I have tried other places, but even if moist and tender, did not compare to a butt for taste. Let the Texans keep them.
Ready for the flaming to begin.

Bob

Ladeback69

Coastalcooker said:

I like corned beef and cabbage, and I'm not Irish. I had a good brisket sandwich once at a motorcycle rally in Johnson City. He sold out before I got another one the next night.
I have tried other places, but even if moist and tender, did not compare to a butt for taste. Let the Texans keep them.
Ready for the flaming to begin.

Bob

I take you have never had burnt ends before.  I like pork butt too, but BE's are my favorite when it comes to BBQ.  I call them meat candy.

SGH

This is just one man talking here, but to try and answer the posed question above: "What is so special about brisket"? For some, it's simply the challenge of taking the 2nd toughest cut of meat from the steer and transforming it into a delicacy. To do it consistently, or "at will" is a rewarding achievement for many. For people that just enjoy grilling occasionally, or that prefer other types of food over Q can't really relate to the thrill of victory that hitting a brisket spot on brings. For some it's the accomplishment more so than the actual eating. For folks that live to Q, short of whole carcass and splits, brisket and unseperated clod present the ultimate challenge due to containing different muscles and different types of fat. Clod and brisket are the World Series and Super Bowl of the Q arena. I cook quite a bit of food for friends, family and fund raisers. More often than not, no matter how good the chicken, pork or whatever else is, it's the big beef Primals that everyone marvels over. Why? There are more people out there who can not cook them correctly than there is who can cook them correctly. Most meats can can be cooked pretty good by simply following a simple recipe from a book or someone's instructions. This however is not the case for brisket and clod. There is a look and a feel that has to be achieved for it to be great. Learning that feel takes trial and error. There is very little redundancy in how individual briskets or clods will perform. For the record, there are things out there I like better to eat than brisket and clod. Not many, but there are a few. That said, they are two of my absolute very favorite things to cook for all the reasons listed above. One other factor that has help elevate brisket to Holy Grail stature in the last half century is the fact that cooking whole carcass has sadly fell out of vogue due to sheer economics reasons. That said, from a economic stand point, brisket is the biggest and most affordable challenge out there for most or the average home Q enthusiast. To wrap up my summation, for me it's the challenge, the thrill of victory if you will. More so than the actual taste of brisket. Anyone can cook a great ribeye or pork butt. But only a chosen few can reduce the big Primals to mouthwatering goodness time and time again. Brisket separates the heavyweights from the light weights. Those who can do it are referred to as the Brisket Gods. A very elite group. Those of us who do not walk among them can only keep praying for their guidance in hope that one day they will harken our call and bless us. Until then it's the constant battle of thrill of victory against the crushing agony of defeat.

tfhanson

   

SGH, I applaud you, I stand up and salute you, but now you have tossed down the gauntlet for me.  Dry meat be damned, I now will not rest till I have perfected the brisket.  In the future men will stand up and say Franklin, Lewis and Hanson in the same sentance........

Ladeback69

tfhanson said:

   

SGH, I applaud you, I stand up and salute you, but now you have tossed down the gauntlet for me.  Dry meat be damned, I now will not rest till I have perfected the brisket.  In the future men will stand up and say Franklin, Lewis and Hanson in the same sentance........

Cool, go for it.  If to dry make it into chili or one of my brisket leftovers is fajitas.  Looking forward to a new post.

NPHuskerFL

@SGH I concur with your summation. 

SGH

tfhanson said:

   

SGH, I applaud you, I stand up and salute you, but now you have tossed down the gauntlet for me.  Dry meat be damned, I now will not rest till I have perfected the brisket.  In the future men will stand up and say Franklin, Lewis and Hanson in the same sentance........

Glad to hear it. There is few things more rewarding than reducing a big primal to melt in your mouth perfection. If you enjoy both cooking and being challenged, then start cooking brisket my friend. The reward goes far beyond just good eats. I will be standing by to see your future brisket cooks with plate in hand. Good luck.

henapple

Nanook said:

tfhanson said:

To me, steak is king. A good ribeye, t-bone, porter house, tri tip or flat iron any day of the week, followed by chicken, but none of that dry white meat chicken.

If the white meat of your chicken is dry, you must not be cooking it on the Egg.

SmokinOutBack

Great thread.

JohnInCarolina

DMW said:

Lmidkiff said:

Nothing better than a well prepared brisket and not much worse than a bad one. The good thing if it's bad is you can still make great chili. 

Yep, you got it. Brisket is nothing like pizza. Pizza, like certain other activities, is good even when it's bad.

An entire nation of people who have tried Little Caesar's would beg to differ.  

DoubleEgger

Well put brother @SGH