Butcher Paper vs Foil vs No Wrap. You be the judge.

Chubbs

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

Booyowww. My man

The Cen-Tex Smoker

SGH said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker 

Mighty fine looking grub right there. What did that one weigh? 

it was 12 before I trimmed it down. Probably 10 after the trim. Didn't weight the trimmings this time. It was late and I was a bottle of wine in (and I'm being generous there)

The Cen-Tex Smoker

looks like a good one but took forever for it to give up the ghost. It was 210 in most parts when I pulled it. 

SGH

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

looks like a good one but took forever for it to give up the ghost. It was 210 in most parts when I pulled it. 

What grade is it? 

4Runner

Looks great.  

The Cen-Tex Smoker

SGH said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

looks like a good one but took forever for it to give up the ghost. It was 210 in most parts when I pulled it. 

What grade is it? 

coscto prime. usually done in the 195 range- this one was stubborn.

SGH

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

coscto prime. usually done in the 195 range- this one was stubborn.

I was going to faint if you said Waygu 210 is getting on the high side for sure. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

SGH said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

coscto prime. usually done in the 195 range- this one was stubborn.

I was going to faint if you said Waygu 210 is getting on the high side for sure. 

it still wasn't where I would normally pull it feel-wise so we will see. 80% of it was jiggly goo though so I'll get some good bites off of it no matter what. i've never gone to 210 on purpose but it did finally soften right at 208 or so. I think it will all come together in the rest. 

SGH

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:
I think it will all come together in the rest. 

I fully agree^^^^^^^^^^. I have seen some Choice grade that I knew beyond all doubt that was done but just wouldn't let go or turn all the way loose while still exposed to heat in the cooking chamber.   Just wanted to stay tight in spots. They always came around though during the rest. I can look at that one you posted and tell that's it's right. It will be money. Again, great job. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

SGH said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:
I think it will all come together in the rest. 

I fully agree^^^^^^^^^^. I have seen some Choice grade that I knew beyond all doubt that was done but just wouldn't let go or turn all the way loose while still exposed to heat in the cooking chamber.   Just wanted to stay tight in spots. They always came around though during the rest. I can look at that one you posted and tell that's it's right. It will be money. Again, great job. 

I've noticed the same thing on several in the past. This one was done right. It will come around. The whole back half if it was jello. It was just part of the flat that was a little firm in a few spots. 

SGH

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

I've noticed the same thing on several in the past. This one was done right. It will come around. The whole back half if it was jello. It was just part of the flat that was a little firm in a few spots. 

Question for you if I may. The spots that you speak of, were they roughly the size of a silver dollar give or take a little? I ask for a reason. On choice and select that I have noticed them on, they are always roughly this size, again give or take a little either way. I have yet to encounter this phenomenon with Waygu, Waygu Gold or top tier AK. If the spots are what I have hypothesized them to be, I'm actually surprised to hear that they show up in Prime grade. Not that I doubt that they did. But the fact that they did points toward the conclusion that my hypothesis is then wrong about what they are. 

xiphoid007

Thanks for your kind words @SGH. Those were my thoughts exactly about foil. For  relative novice to brisket, it seems that I have the best shot of hitting the mark with foil. 

SGH

xiphoid007 said:

Thanks for your kind words @SGH. 

My pleasure as always my friend. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

SGH said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

I've noticed the same thing on several in the past. This one was done right. It will come around. The whole back half if it was jello. It was just part of the flat that was a little firm in a few spots. 

Question for you if I may. The spots that you speak of, were they roughly the size of a silver dollar give or take a little? I ask for a reason. On choice and select that I have noticed them on, they are always roughly this size, again give or take a little either way. I have yet to encounter this phenomenon with Waygu, Waygu Gold or top tier AK. If the spots are what I have hypothesized them to be, I'm actually surprised to hear that they show up in Prime grade. Not that I doubt that they did. But the fact that they did points toward the conclusion that my hypothesis is then wrong about what they are. 

it was more a general area of the flat in the middle. This happened on my last CAB prime to and I pulled it at 200 and it never got tender. This was last week. I was pissed. That's why I wanted to do another one today. Back on the horse.

Hunter1881

@SGH since you and cen tex are discussing this I would like to ask. I have only done one brisket. And when I was probing had several spots that felt great. But it also had a few of these small spots that was tough. I cooked a little longer but they never did loosen up. Should you keep cooking til the tough spots are good or just pull it when the majority is soft?

SGH

Hunter1881 said:

@SGH since you and cen tex are discussing this I would like to ask. I have only done one brisket. And when I was probing had several spots that felt great. But it also had a few of these small spots that was tough. I cooked a little longer but they never did loosen up. Should you keep cooking til the tough spots are good or just pull it when the majority is soft?

What I have noticed is that they will never "let loose" while still under cooking temps without over cooking the rest of the meat. The reason for this would take volumes to explain. However to answer your question at hand, I go ahead and pull when the overall brisket feels right. Thus far, these spots have always turned loose somewhere around the 45 minute mark of resting. By continuing to cook the brisket, all you will do is over cook it. This has been my experience with both choice and select. I haven't got to cook many primes and as such, if brother Tex offers any insight on primes you should heed his advice in place of mine on prime. However I can say that for choice and select, what I said above applies across the board. Also you will not see this phenomenon with Waygu grade and higher in my experience. They have been consistent to date. 

Hunter1881

Thanks @SGH I want to get a few choice ones knocked out before I go to wagyu. I will remember this for next time. 

SGH

Hunter1881 said:

Thanks @SGH I want to get a few choice ones knocked out before I go to wagyu. I will remember this for next time. 

Let me say this. It's far easier to to cook a great Waygu than it is a choice or select. With just a few tips you can hit a Waygu out of the park. This is not sentiment my friend. It's absolute fact. I highly recommend that you try a Waygu. It will change your thought on cooking brisket forever. I say this sincerely, if you can cook a great pork butt you have a 95+ percent chance of cooking a good Waygu. Most of the things that cause trouble when cooking choice and select are not present with Waygu. 

Hunter1881

SGH said:

Hunter1881 said:

Thanks @SGH I want to get a few choice ones knocked out before I go to wagyu. I will remember this for next time. 

Let me say this. It's far easier to to cook a great Waygu than it is a choice or select. With just a few tips you can hit a Waygu out of the park. This is not sentiment my friend. It's absolute fact. I highly recommend that you try a Waygu. It will change your thought on cooking brisket forever. I say this sincerely, if you can cook a great pork butt you have a 95+ percent chance of cooking a good Waygu. Most of the things that cause trouble when cooking choice and select are not present with Waygu. 

Well I guess I will have to try it then. The one choice one I did was good. Thanks. And thanks again for helping me figure how to link posts. 

FearlessTheEggNoob

This one I pulled from the 225 degree Big Joe at 170 internal and went directly into the turkey oven bag. Finished it in the oven at 275 degrees to a 205 internal temp. I use plenty of oak to get to this color. (5-6 large chunks) Threw some sausage on the grill as I see no point in leaving it in the smoker once it got wrapped. (unless of course you don't want your house to smell like a brisket for a few hours)

When this picture was taken it had been resting on a cutting board covered with a layer of foil for 1.5hr. I learned an important lesson about being patient and letting a brisket properly rest...

You get a much better serving result letting the juices fully re-distribute before slicing, and that takes much longer than I realized.

That gash is the butchers fault.

SGH

@FearlessTheEggNoob -Looks good brother. How was it overall?

FearlessTheEggNoob

My best one yet. Very moist and tender inside.

I also learned I have been over seasoning to some degree. (from imitating too many videos I suppose)

I gave this brisket a one-time, rubbed-in, medium coating and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours to take hold. It had a much more noticeable beef favor and easier on the stomach too. My other ones had been coming out too spicy, almost like Pemmican beef jerky flavor brisket.

Foghorn

@FearlessTheEggNoob, I think you are on to something.  Franklin doesn't put the rub on very heavy in his videos and at his restaurant the rub tasted very oniony and almost sweet. 

EggHead_Bubba

@Foghorn... that surprises me about you tasting onion and sweet from Franklin's rub. Are you talking about his brisket? If so, that sure doesn't sound like his usual go-to of 50/50 salt and pepper.

SGH

EggHead_Bubba said:

 If so, that sure doesn't sound like his usual go-to of 50/50 salt and pepper.

Foghorn said:
at his restaurant the rub tasted very oniony and almost sweet. 

That causes one to stop and ponder for a moment doesn't it 

SGH

FearlessTheEggNoob said:

My best one yet. Very moist and tender inside.

Glad to hear this my friend^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

cazzy

SGH said:

EggHead_Bubba said:

 If so, that sure doesn't sound like his usual go-to of 50/50 salt and pepper.

Foghorn said:
at his restaurant the rub tasted very oniony and almost sweet. 

That causes one to stop and ponder for a moment doesn't it 

That is because the biggest joke in Central Texas BBQ is everyone uses just S&P.  It's a nicer response than "are you fvcking serious, you want my rub recipe????".

Foghorn

EggHead_Bubba said:

@Foghorn... that surprises me about you tasting onion and sweet from Franklin's rub. Are you talking about his brisket? If so, that sure doesn't sound like his usual go-to of 50/50 salt and pepper.

@EggHead_Bubba, yes I am talking about his brisket.  It surprised me quite a bit.

xiphoid007

SGH said:

If you can live with the price, SRF Waygu is certainly in a league of their own. Both the Waygu and Waygu Gold is about all a person can ask for. They are simply outstanding.  

Have you ever tried just the northwest beef brisket? Very hard to find packers in western PA. $80 cheaper for the prime northwest as compared to the gold wagyu. Just wondering if it's still worth it. 

SGH

xiphoid007 said:

Have you ever tried just the northwest beef brisket? Very hard to find packers in western PA. $80 cheaper for the prime northwest as compared to the gold wagyu. Just wondering if it's still worth it. 

I myself haven't. I think that both brother Tex and Cazzy have. If this is the case, they may can offer more on the matter. I'm willing to bet that it's outstanding though.