Still My Nemesis

ColtsFan

4th attempt at a packer. I just can't get to where I am completely happy with it. I think it needed to go more as the center of the flat wasn't nearly as good as the end. It read 205 in the thickest part of the flat with the Thermapen. 

Nevertheless, I'm set for brisket chili when fall comes in a few months.  

lousubcap

Looks great and a nice ring as well.  Don't know how it probed in the thick part of the flat but unless it is probing "like buttah" it needed more time.  That's the key to the brisket finish-line.  Sometimes not all of the flat will get with the program but if you get a great majority with the buttah feel, declare victory.  Give it around 15-20 mins on a cooling rack then FTC (at least 2 hours if time permits) until ready to slice on demand.  FWIW-

poster

I gave in and just sous vide 36 hours first. Always comes out great and i could care less if people say its not "real" bbq

ColtsFan

Thanks for the advice @lousubcap. I'll get there one day... Maybe. Never had something kick my a$$ so many times. Perhaps SV is the next attempt. 

Gym

How long on the egg after the sv bath?

lousubcap

@ColtsFan - always remember, "the friggin cow drives the cook."

tarheelmatt

Did you pull at 205 and immediately wrap in foil?

You use choice, prime,  or better?

poster

Gym said:

How long on the egg after the sv bath?

About 4 hours after 36@155 works well for me

ColtsFan

@tarheelmatt Costco Prime. Wrapped in paper at 165. Pulled at 205, FTC for 2 hours 

tarheelmatt

ColtsFan said:

@tarheelmatt Costco Prime. Wrapped in paper at 165. Pulled at 205, FTC for 2 hours 

Didn't answer my question.  

Did you immediately pull and wrap in foil for FTC?

GoooDawgs

Or.... a wise old sage once said to wait until the POINT is 205 and to forget the flat.   

Fyi - the brisket is my nemesis as well.

Dave in Florida

http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1141803/i-might-be-catching-on-to-this-cooking-brisket-flats#latest

pgprescott

Im a hieratic, I both inject with Butchers prime injection and I wrap them @155-160. Good luck. 

ColtsFan

tarheelmatt said:

ColtsFan said:

@tarheelmatt Costco Prime. Wrapped in paper at 165. Pulled at 205, FTC for 2 hours 

Didn't answer my question.  

Did you immediately pull and wrap in foil for FTC?

Sorry. Yes, immediately wrapped it in foil

lousubcap

@ColtsFan -  Think you answered a big contributor to your end product with the immediate wrap and pack (FTC) step.  With the mass of meat you will get carry-over cooking that leads to drying out the flat.  Give it 15-20 minutes on a cooling rack before you FTC next time-should make a noticeable difference.  FWIW-

ColtsFan

lousubcap said:

@ColtsFan -  Think you answered a big contributor to your end product with the immediate wrap and pack (FTC) step.  With the mass of meat you will get carry-over cooking that leads to drying out the flat.  Give it 15-20 minutes on a cooling rack before you FTC next time-should make a noticeable difference.  FWIW-

Ah...Rookie move.

Foghorn

ColtsFan said:

lousubcap said:

@ColtsFan -  Think you answered a big contributor to your end product with the immediate wrap and pack (FTC) step.  With the mass of meat you will get carry-over cooking that leads to drying out the flat.  Give it 15-20 minutes on a cooling rack before you FTC next time-should make a noticeable difference.  FWIW-

Ah...Rookie move.

No. That's part of the senior level brisket curriculum.  Not brisket 101. 

tonyled

pgprescott said:

Im a hieratic, I both inject with Butchers prime injection and I wrap them @155-160. Good luck. 

injecting with beef broth upped my game too and i still havent wrapped one yet

tarheelmatt

ColtsFan said:

tarheelmatt said:

ColtsFan said:

@tarheelmatt Costco Prime. Wrapped in paper at 165. Pulled at 205, FTC for 2 hours 

Didn't answer my question.  

Did you immediately pull and wrap in foil for FTC?

Sorry. Yes, immediately wrapped it in foil

Hope I didn't come off too rough. Didn't mean to. When I read what I asked, it wasn't friendly. 
Sorry about that. 

Appears you over cooked via FTC. Let that bad boy sit, in the open, on a rack a while, then wrap for FTC. I'll start to see when the IT starts creating down a bit then wrap. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

I will also throw in a little "Brisket 102" for what it's worth. As stated above, let it rest a bit before wrapping- especially if you are using foil. I stick it with a thermapen or whatever I'm using at the time and wait for the temp to start to come down a few degrees before the wrap and cooler phase. Just as important- let the brisket cool to 140 or lower before slicing. it will stay really hot in a cooler for many hours. I take mine out of the cooler and paper (foil if that's what you use) and let it sit on the counter until it's easy to work with bare hands. If you slice a cake or pizza right out of the oven, it all falls apart or the texture isn't right. It's actually the same with a large cut of meat you are going to slice (not pull or chop). It will really take on The right texture and feel if you just give it a little time to cool down.

Anothwer note about the "cow driving the cook" as the good captain noted above- I agree. There are many Costco loyalists on here and I am one of them. I will say however that I have never cooked a Costco brisket hat I was happy with. I haven't bought one there in years. I am a tweaker when it comes to brisket so take all this for what it's worth. It was probably the cook, but I have never cooked one of that I was super happy about. If you have access to other packers, try them and see if it makes any difference. It probably won't but give it a rip. I have said on here many times that I would cook the right choice brisket over a Costco prime any day and I still hold to that. Give me a CAB or a Meyer All Natural Choice brisket and I'm happy. 

ColtsFan

tarheelmatt said:

ColtsFan said:

tarheelmatt said:

ColtsFan said:

@tarheelmatt Costco Prime. Wrapped in paper at 165. Pulled at 205, FTC for 2 hours 

Didn't answer my question.  

Did you immediately pull and wrap in foil for FTC?

Sorry. Yes, immediately wrapped it in foil

Hope I didn't come off too rough. Didn't mean to. When I read what I asked, it wasn't friendly. 
Sorry about that. 

Appears you over cooked via FTC. Let that bad boy sit, in the open, on a rack a while, then wrap for FTC. I'll start to see when the IT starts creating down a bit then wrap. 

No worries

saluki2007

I would say you haven been graced with some excellent knowledge above.  I am in no ways saying give up on trying to nail a brisket (I'm still trying).  But to change it up and get that brisket taste give plate ribs a try.  A lot easier to nail those and you get a very close result as brisket.

lousubcap

Just to keep the friggin cow in the rightful place of control, I did a Costco prime last week (no access to any other quality grade packers around here that I have found) and it was one of my better outcomes.  Definitely nailed it and I have had lesser results with SRF Black.  
Now the disclaimer; I never track the adult supervisory beverages with a brisket (or any other cook) so there is an outlier variable that may have been at play.  Above all, back on the cow and have fun.

pgprescott

tonyled said:

pgprescott said:

Im a hieratic, I both inject with Butchers prime injection and I wrap them @155-160. Good luck. 

injecting with beef broth upped my game too and i still havent wrapped one yet

Good to hear. The professional injections have phosphates in them which are magic when it comes to retaining moisture. It's a kin to corn starch on chicken skin IMO. I am by no means an expert like some of the previous posters, just a hack for sure.

JohnInCarolina

saluki2007 said:

I would say you haven been graced with some excellent knowledge above.  I am in no ways saying give up on trying to nail a brisket (I'm still trying).  But to change it up and get that brisket taste give plate ribs a try.  A lot easier to nail those and you get a very close result as brisket.

This is a really good suggestion.  Plate ribs are just as much fun to do and much easier to nail.

lousubcap

@JohnInCarolina - you are definitely correct with the plate ribs and the brisket on a stick outcome with a much easier run to the finish-line.   As has been beaten to death, the variables of the brisket cook with every hunk of cow makes each cook a challenge to deliver the goods.  That's the most enjoyable part of the whole thing for me.  It's definitely not a guaranteed outcome.  I find working the cook to declare and deliver victory is much more rewarding.
Just an opinion and we all know what those are worth...    

Ozzie_Isaac

I have never cooked a brisket I was happy with.  Including two SRF blacks.  The SRFs pushed me off the cliff, mine were no better than Costco prime in flavor or texture (wife liked Costcos better)  I've decided to give up and move on.  No more briskets in my future.

Don't take this as a knock on SRF.  The brisket whisperers swear by them, so I am sure I just have zero clue as to what I am doing.

JohnInCarolina

Ozzie_Isaac said:

I have never cooked a brisket I was happy with.  Including two SRF blacks.  The SRFs pushed me off the cliff, mine were no better than Costco prime in flavor or texture (wife liked Costcos better)  I've decided to give up and move on.  No more briskets in my future.

Don't take this as a knock on SRF.  The brisket whisperers swear by them, so I am sure I just have zero clue as to what I am doing.

I've probably smoked as many SRFs as I have non-SRFs.  By far the best briskets I've done on my own were SRFs.  By the same token, I've also done some SRFs I really wasn't all that happy with.  So take it for what it's worth, which is not much.

I just think if you really want to get good at smoking briskets, you've got to just accept that it's going to require a lot of practice.   I think you also probably need to accept that the BGE is actually pretty far from the ideal device for these things.  

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Well said JIC. I do love the short rib idea. Done in 5-6 hours instead of 15+. Great beef bbq flavor and they just look badass when they are done. 

Brisket is a funny deal. If you don't live in an area that has a lot of good brisket, It's hard to know what to even compare it to. You have to do a lot of them and eat a lot of it at good places before you even know what good is.

Focker

Ozzie_Isaac said:

I have never cooked a brisket I was happy with.  Including two SRF blacks.  The SRFs pushed me off the cliff, mine were no better than Costco prime in flavor or texture (wife liked Costcos better)  I've decided to give up and move on.  No more briskets in my future.

Don't take this as a knock on SRF.  The brisket whisperers swear by them, so I am sure I just have zero clue as to what I am doing.

You do have a clue, and know what you're doing.

I have never coughed up the coin for a SRF, but after aging my first subprimal, came to the same conclusion in 2013. (my last documented brisket cook)

Never understood the forum fascination with SRF, or the terrible brisket cut as a whole?  I know it's a Texas thing, but why struggle making chicken salad, with chicken sh!t, beating your head against the brisket wall?

For less than SRF money, you can buy a PR, age it, and smoke roast.  Haven't looked back Oz. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

That is a great looking PR but it's just not the same. I don't eat a lot of brisket anymore but I still enjoy cooking them for others and I still very much appreciate the great bites I get at our local spots from time to time. Something magic about the perfect bark/salt/fat ratios and it's hard to do. I think that is where the chase lies with most. Telling someone to cook a prime rib with mashed potatoes because they can't nail a brisket is like telling someone to cook a pork chop with applesauce if they don't know how to do a shoulder.