Second attempt at brisket

warwoman

Getting ready to start seasoning a 7 1/2Lb. trimmed brisket to put on Saturday for Sunday dinner at 2:00-3:00. In reading posts about cooking brisket, I've noticed no one ever mentions using meat tenderizer in the prep. I didn't use it on my first one, and although the taste was good, it was a little tough. Smoked it at 225 to the stall of 165, which took awhile to get thru, and took off at 195, foiled/wrapped/ice chest for an hour. Does anybody use tenderizer, or is that a capital sin?? (BTW, MODS, I still don't see the box around this post that used to allow me to post pics....go figure!)

lousubcap

I've never used a tenderizer so no help there.  A couple of observations, if 7 1/2 lb you may be talking about just a flat as opposed to a packer (flat and point).  Flats are a bit more challenging to hit the home-run with.  Also if you arun at around 260-280*F on the calibrated dome you can expect to see around an hour/lb cook time.  You may want to start early Sunday AM instead of trying to go with a low temp for an extended night cook.  FWIW-
And regarding posting pics-when you write in the comment box you should see a menu of letters and symbols just above the comment box.  One of the symbols should be a black "piece of paper with the corner folded".  Click on it for the pic posting options.   

warwoman

lousubcap said:

I've never used a tenderizer so no help there.  A couple of observations, if 7 1/2 lb you may be talking about just a flat as opposed to a packer (flat and point).  Flats are a bit more challenging to hit the home-run with.  Also if you arun at around 260-280*F on the calibrated dome you can expect to see around an hour/lb cook time.  You may want to start early Sunday AM instead of trying to go with a low temp for an extended night cook.  FWIW-
And regarding posting pics-when you write in the comment box you should see a menu of letters and symbols just above the comment box.  One of the symbols should be a black "piece of paper with the corner folded".  Click on it for the pic posting options.   

Thanks for the info. BTW, there ain't a folded black piece of paper box anywhere to be found as I write this. I know what you're talking about, because I have submitted pics before....there ain't any boxes!

cottonseed

I think wet aging could help you achieve some tenderness.

This would mean resting the brisket in its cryo-vac plastic seal for 30-45 days in the fridge.
An unattainable effort for you at this point I reckon.

A beef broth injection may be able to help some.

Flats smoked alone are always gonna be a little tough.

lousubcap

@warwoman- you may want to switch browsers and see if that returns the symbols to your comments box.  I have had random issues with IE but none with Chrome.  And that is the extent of my technical know-how