Second Holiday Brisket and Questions.

SciAggie

Okay, I'm looking for some opinions from the collective here. I cooked a packer brisket a couple of weeks ago. I did it at 225-240. Didn't wrap at all. It was a choice cut. It cooked about 14 hours and probed like buttah everywhere when I pulled it. I screwed up on the FTC as I had never done it before. I didn't rest the meat and went straight to the cooler.  Carryover heat overcooked the meat and it dried out some. So I learned a lesson there. Also the egg seemed to really want to run at 275 - I fought with it the whole cook.


So yesterday I cooked another brisket. All I could find was a select cut. When I loaded the egg I scattered 4-5 chunks of hickory throughout. I also threw 5-6 briquettes on top in the hope of getting a smoke ring. I ran the egg at about 250-275 for this cook. I put the meat on about 3:00AM.. Temps held pretty steady at 270-290. At about 9 hours the bark was about where I wanted it so I wrapped in foil this time. On the previous cook the bark got darker than I prefer. Temps were about 175 IT when I wrapped. I checked it about 1 1/2 hours later and the IT in the flat was 205-207. Holy moley! It was not probing tender but that high an IT spooked me. I was afraid I was over cooking again like the first so I pulled it. I let it rest this time for about 15 minutes before FTC. This meat had to hold a little over 5 hours. When I cut it the IT was 140 degrees - so all was good.  


The smoke ring was great. Bark was great. The meat was tender enough - but not buttah. The guests raved, but of course we look for perfection and try to learn from each cook. Question to you - would you have cooked longer to get tender and not worry about the IT? Do you think the difference in tenderness could be select versus choice? Or maybe just accept each piece of meat is different. My intuition says the difference was between grades of beef. Problem is, I have a nagging suspicion I may have panicked and pulled the meat too soon - maybe I should have ignored the temp and waited until it probed tender. I had the time. Tell me what you think. 

Sorry no plated picks of number two. I was at someone else's home and the crowd was ready to eat.

lousubcap

I have had too many eggsperiences with flat only cooks til the local Costco started carrying packers so I can somewhat relate to the temp vs feel conflict.  My opinion (and we all know what those are worth...) for the second cook you pulled it early based on the temp not the feel.  That said, here comes the politician part two answer-the grade of meat cut contributed not only to the texture but the high finish-line temp.  (Congrats on the great reviews on a select cut.)
The feel will eventually arrive (but not across the breadth of the entire flat at the same time) however, the window to catch the "feel" is quite narrow on a select grade cut.  And my experience is that sometimes you will not get the "feel" across entire flat.  That's when it's "time to declare victory" and finish the cook.
You definitely have the process down and know what you are looking for.  Sometimes the friggin cow just wins.  And the quality of beef going in has a great deal to do with the outcome.
There are many here with more brisket experience so hopefully they will be along.  BTW-brisket cooks are great fun with the BGE vs cow.

SciAggie

@lousubcap Thanks for the response. You know, talking about it also helps (me at least) hone in on the real questions. To recap - the brisket is wrapped in foil. IT is fairly high but the meat isn't tender. The meat however is essentially braising - will it in fact overcook if I let it ride or will it just start to fall apart? I think that's the real question I have. 

buzd504

FTC time helps with that "not quite probing everywhere" sensation.

lousubcap

The brisket will continue to cook in the foil but given it is not yet "loose" then that is a good thing.  Regardless of foil, butcher paper or nekked to the finish-line you are looking for the elusive feel.  
Once you get it-time to let the brisket rest to stop the carry-over cook, around 20 mins and then either slice on demand or go with the FTC.
Here's a Franklin video that may add to the mystery  :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnRRDSYgdmw   

SciAggie

@lousubcap Thanks my friend. That really muddies the water, doesn't it? 

lousubcap

@SciAggie - any time.  And the remainder of the Franklin brisket videos are full of excellent info.  Home-run for the next one-no doubt.  

SGH

Bump for farther retort when time allows. @SGH

ryantt

First let me start by saying I'm not an expert on egging briskets but here's what I've learned thanks to @cazzy and @SGH. Internal temp not that important, it's a guideline, but what counts is how it feels.  Secondly select vs choice vs prime all will cook a little differently. Higher fat aka better grade better marbling will finish at a lower temp than lower grades. Grade alone will not determine when a brisket will finish.  I cooked an angus prime and it finished at 203( aka had the meat jello wiggle). A similar brisket size and grade finished 12-15 degrees sooner.  I always wrap my briskets in foil, it's almost always around 160-165 that seems to be about the right color of bark for my liking.  I do not wrap tightly, allowing the steam to escape some.  Foil will make it rapidly increase in temp I've seen it jump 15 degrees in an hour.  When holding a brisket ftc style make sure to leave probe in it and look for i.t to start to drop before ftc.  If holding for long periods of time 6-8 hrs let temp drop, set oven to as low as you can (mine will go 160 ) and let it ride in the hot box.  Then for travel go ftc 

SciAggie

@ryantt Thanks for the feedback my friend. 

SGH

@SciAggie
I haven't forgotten you brother. Been real busy making goulash, tater tot casserole and experimenting with another sausage loaf. However I have read your concerns above and think that I may can give you some sound advice that will offer a solution to the dilemma at hand. With that said, after reading your writing above, I have a few questions that I would like to ask before I give a final summation on the matter. One that note, are you open to speaking on the phone? If you are, it will make it much easier on me. If you are not, I fully understand and will write my summation based solely on the info provided above. If you are willing to speak, give me a call tomorrow anytime between 11:00am and 11:00pm CST. My name is Scottie. Number is 228-627-5400. If you do not wish to speak, let me know and I will take a shot at writing it up for you tonight and posting it here my friend. 

SciAggie

@SGH I can see that you've been busy today. I can give you a shout tomorrow - that will save you a bunch of keystrokes. I appreciate the offer also. 

Tinyfish

@SGH way to help out a fellow member. 

SGH

Tinyfish said:

@SGH way to help out a fellow member. 

I try my friend. For better or for worse I give it a go. 

SciAggie

SGH said:

Tinyfish said:

@SGH way to help out a fellow member. 

I try my friend. For better or for worse I give it a go. 

We'll let you know on the next cook

SciAggie

@SGH You know I jest. I appreciate the time you took to visit with me. 

SGH

SciAggie said:

@SGH You know I jest. I appreciate the time you took to visit with me. 

My pleasure brother.