sous vide brisket cook

theyolksonyou

Is anybody ever gonna eat this damn brisket!? The suspense is killing me!

johnnyp

theyolksonyou said:

Is anybody ever gonna eat this damn brisket!? The suspense is killing me!

That's what I was thinking!  I need some finished pics

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Ok- so here's the deal. It never "gave up the ghost" and got jiggly like a traditional home run brisket. I was really worried as it was very firm even after the smoke on the egg.  That being said, the point was pretty special. Like really, really good. The flat was dry and I would say worse than one of my normal briskets.

I'll kill the pink salt next time- the "smoke ring" was weird and way too thick even though I followed directions to a T.  

I think we all felt that the good bites were as good as most briskets out there.I guess i would say the whole thing was a mixed bag. Parts were as good as you would expect to find anywhere and others were pretty ordinary. Definitely something to build upon.  Now that I know what I know, I'll try again and build on the good parts. 

20stone

Do you think in needed more time in the hot tub, or more time on the pit?

I am with you on the "smoke" ring, and am generally anti-doping when it comes to brisket.

caliking

The point looks pretty damn good from here. But that smoke ring does look kinda weird. 

What about lo n slo in the SV... like 140° x 72hrs?

The Cen-Tex Smoker

20stone said:

Do you think in needed more time in the hot tub, or more time on the pit?

I am with you on the "smoke" ring, and am generally anti-doping when it comes to brisket.

Your profile pic is both perfect and disturbing. 

I think I'll  go 36 hrs in the bath next time. The point was really good. Flat was not so much. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

caliking said:

The point looks pretty damn good from here. But that smoke ring does look kinda weird. 

What about lo n slo in the SV... like 140° x 72hrs?

Good eye. Point was really good. Think ill stick with the higher temp and add 12 hrs. 36 hrs at 155 next time. 

The glaze and rub were solid. I'll build on that. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

We did kill some nice local brew and some Killer non-local Ruasian River Pinot Noir as well. 

lakewade

I thought it turned out good.  Flavor was excellent.  The point was perfect.  The flat was definitely not moist, though I wouldn't say it was "dry" in the conventional sense - it was just different.  The texture throughout was just a little different than a normal smoked brisket.  It was not tough at all but it was not juicy, or something like that,  especially in the flat.  That smoke ring was just abby normal though.  

Always fun visiting your brisket lab.

GATraveller

And another episode of Mr. Wizards World comes to conclusion.  

Thanks for the info and entertainment!!

Brisket_Fanatic

Did the pink salt maybe cure it too much so it was closer to pastrami texture than brisket texture. Cool experiment!

Raymont

FWIW, I've been getting excellent results on slightly different technique.- I can only get Flats and my local Costco, which I think we all agree is tough to get perfect on the egg. So I've been smoking until IT gets to ~160/get a bark and then SV for 18 hours at ~160. I'm been very happy with results. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

lakewade said:

I thought it turned out good.  Flavor was excellent.  The point was perfect.  The flat was definitely not moist, though I wouldn't say it was "dry" in the conventional sense - it was just different.  The texture throughout was just a little different than a normal smoked brisket.  It was not tough at all but it was not juicy, or something like that,  especially in the flat.  That smoke ring was just abby normal though.  

Always fun visiting your brisket lab.

Agreed on all counts. Thanks for the beer and the Pinot and thanks for leaving at a decent hour. I feel human today which is a slight upgrade from normal. I think we are starting to get the hang of this casual drinking thing. Good times. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

I think I figured out the smoke ring situation and it may have had something to do with the eerie flat texture. I pulled it from the brine and risked it real good and then put it back in the fridge for a full day before outing in th SV. I think the pink salt continued its work and created that super thick ring and firmed up the flat. Ill try again next week and go straight from the brine to the bath. I bet that's where I went wrong. I thought the point was really really good. We live to fight another day. 

SGH

The Cen-Tex Smoker 

Brother Tex, I have been following this thread with great interest since it first posted. I have read what you said about the flat and it brought something back to me. Don't know if it applies here but I thought I would share it just the same. The one that I finished in the smoker for Nola, I had to take it to 208 degrees in the flat before it let loose. Far higher than I normally take even crappy brisket to. At the time I blowed it off as a stubborn cut. But after reading your post I'm starting to wonder if the cures are effecting final pull temp. Hey I may be off by miles, but it seems to be the variable the two briskets had in common. I don't know jack crap about SV or cured brisket as I don't fool with either. But I thought I would share what I saw with the one. The four briskets sitting right beside the cured one pulled between 192-198. A far cry from the cured one at 208. Your thoughts?

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Raymont said:

FWIW, I've been getting excellent results on slightly different technique.- I can only get Flats and my local Costco, which I think we all agree is tough to get perfect on the egg. So I've been smoking until IT gets to ~160/get a bark and then SV for 18 hours at ~160. I'm been very happy with results. 

how does the bark hold up in a SV Bag?  Mine had a gallon of juice in it when I pulled it.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Brisket_Fanatic said:

Did the pink salt maybe cure it too much so it was closer to pastrami texture than brisket texture. Cool experiment!

Maybe. See my note above. I didn't cook it right out of the brine. I think that was the issue. 

SGH

I just looked in my data log and confirmed that the one did pull at 208. But that's what it took to make it turn loose. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

SGH said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker 

Brother Tex, I have been following this thread with great interest since it first posted. I have read what you said about the flat and it brought something back to me. Don't know if it applies here but I thought I would share it just the same. The one that I finished in the smoker for Nola, I had to take it to 208 degrees in the flat before it let loose. Far higher than I normally take even crappy brisket to. At the time I blowed it off as a stubborn cut. But after reading your post I'm starting to wonder if the cures are effecting final pull temp. Hey I may be off by miles, but it seems to be the variable the two briskets had in common. I don't know jack crap about SV or cured brisket as I don't fool with either. But I thought I would share what I saw with the one. The four briskets sitting right beside the cured one pulled between 192-198. A far cry from the cured one at 208. Your thoughts?

That is interesting and very possible. This one was rewarmed to like 170 when I pulled it. I just did it until the bark looked right. It never had the texture of a "regular" cooked brisket- it was always pretty firm in the flat. It was actually fork tender but not what you would consider a normal bbq brisket to be. I'll do another one next week with no rest period between the brine and the cook (note to self- do not start drinking before putting the brisket in the bath this time) and see how that turns out. I need to get a good baseline so I can tweak it from there. On the good side- it had plenty of good oaky smoke from the egg finish so this can be done. Just need to play with it a little. I really like the glaze and the rub. I'll incorporate both of those in to the plan going forward. I'll probably skip the liquid smoke and pink salt. You couldn't really tell there was liquid smoke on it but it got plenty of smoke from the egg. This experiment was for people who do not have a smoker so that's why they had to trick it up with all the liquid smoke and smoked salts. The smoked salt is great in the rub though. That is a winner.

Raymont

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

Raymont said:

FWIW, I've been getting excellent results on slightly different technique.- I can only get Flats and my local Costco, which I think we all agree is tough to get perfect on the egg. So I've been smoking until IT gets to ~160/get a bark and then SV for 18 hours at ~160. I'm been very happy with results. 

how does the bark hold up in a SV Bag?  Mine had a gallon of juice in it when I pulled it.

It's not crusty like you would get if egged the whole cook but it is also not dried out and is very tender.  I do not add any juice to SV bag. I recommend you try it out, I think you'll like it. If you wanted, you could  egg after the SV to crust up the exterior (maybe 400+ for 30 min), but I haven't seen a need and really like the results. Try it out on a small flat. I'd welcome the feedback and we can work together to fine tune the recipe for best results. 

nolaegghead

@SGH - The corning process typically reduces the amount of cooking required to tenderize the meat.  There are a lot of variables here, but time and the amount of salt is most beneficial to the reduction of cooking for tenderness.  The nitrite doesn't, in my experience, have any or at least a noticeable impact on tenderness.  It's in such a low concentration that you would expect that to be the case.  I'm sure it's equal to salt given the same concentration (it is a salt - an anion like chloride in sodium chloride).

That said, a long, salty corning process (never mind the nitrites) is most effective at tenderizing, and it will be salty as hell....UNLESS you remove the salt or much of it through a soak.  The effects of the salt will be done and will persist in the cook after a fresh water soak.  There is denaturing of the meat with the high concentration of salt that is not reversible when the salt is removed. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Raymont said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

Raymont said:

FWIW, I've been getting excellent results on slightly different technique.- I can only get Flats and my local Costco, which I think we all agree is tough to get perfect on the egg. So I've been smoking until IT gets to ~160/get a bark and then SV for 18 hours at ~160. I'm been very happy with results. 

how does the bark hold up in a SV Bag?  Mine had a gallon of juice in it when I pulled it.

It's not crusty like you would get if egged the whole cook but it is also not dried out and is very tender.  I do not add any juice to SV bag. I recommend you try it out, I think you'll like it. If you wanted, you could  egg after the SV to crust up the exterior (maybe 400+ for 30 min), but I haven't seen a need and really like the results. Try it out on a small flat. I'd welcome the feedback and we can work together to fine tune the recipe for best results. 

I'll give it a rip. I didn't add any liquid to my bag either. The brisket did all the work there. A full gallon.

SGH

@nolaegghead - I have no doubt that you are correct in your assessment above. I was merely taking a shot in the dark. As I stated earlier I had no idea how the SV or the cure would effect the end internal temp. However the one I finished for you had to go to 208 so I was curious did it play a part. Basing it on the info that you provided, it did not. I appreciate the clarification my friend. Now get a haircut

blind99

Awesome thread, love the writeup.  Man that "smoke ring" is creepy!  Reminds me of muppet lips

blind99

nolaegghead

Scottie - I should read the whole thread.  I read a little and it seems very interesting.  I do this kind of experimentation all the time.  I'll get back to you, busy with work.

mrw123

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

mrw123 said:

This is a fascinating idea that I wouldn't have considered. 

I'm wondering, though, if I could skip all of the instructions and just sv for 48 hours and then rub with my usual rub and smoke it in the egg at about 300 for a couple hours to get the smoke and bark.

Would that work too? 

give it a rip and let us know. 

Sv at 150 for 48 hours was done yesterday. I pulled out from the fridge today and it'll go on the egg at 275-300 shortly. 

My 4# point also gave up a lot of liquid. Just over two cups. Plenty of fat rendered out too.

JohnInCarolina

Bump.  Tried this approach over the last few days with an SRF black.  I did not brine the thing, just did the 24hr SV followed by the glaze/rub and finishing on the BGE for 4hrs at 300 to make the bark.  

It was as good as the best I've made.  I may try this with a few more briskets (perhaps of lesser quality) to see how consistent it is.  

blind99

@JohnInCarolina what temp did you SV at? What was the final IT after smoking on the egg? Also, did you reseal it in your own vacuum pouch or do it in the cryovac it came in?

JohnInCarolina

blind99 said:

@JohnInCarolina what temp did you SV at? What was the final IT after smoking on the egg? Also, did you reseal it in your own vacuum pouch or do it in the cryovac it came in?

I did not SV at as quite as high a temp as the recipe calls for.  I went with 64C instead of 68.  

I actually did not check the temp of the brisket on the BGE.  I just pulled it off once it had enough bark and was all jiggly.  

I actually ended up resealing it, because I wanted to cook it in the SV with the glaze in the recipe.  I had to cut it in half to do this, and also to fir it into the tub that I have.  It's not quite big enough for a 16-lb SRF.