Weekend brisket

onpoint456

9lbs choice beef brisket rubbed with course kosher salt and coarse black pepper for 30hours. Trimmed about a pound+ of fat, estimate it is high 7 - 8lbs. This is the first cook + using new pit controller (Signals+Billows).

So far so good, really happy with the controller. Put the meat on around 4:30am and then back to bed. Didn't have to worry about temp creep at all.

Smoke temp: 225°-230°

Wood: Pecan

Will post more pics when done.

lkapigian

Nice !

lousubcap

Great eats await!  Enjoy the ride.  

onpoint456

Is it unusual for the point too cook later than the flat? The flat is 20°+ behind the point. I think will have to pull and separate.

onpoint456

Well that was a spectacular failure. Brisket was bone dry and way too salty.

I suspect two factors caused this.

1. Poor quality meat. It was a choice cut with not a lot of marbling.

2. The meat was rubbed for too long. Due to an unplanned event, i rubbed the may Thursday night with a dalmatian rub. Didn't start cooking it until 4:30am the morning.

You know it's bad when your significant other says you need to redeem yourself.

lkapigian

Choice is not bad whatsoever , dry could even be undercooked....hard to overseason a big hunk of meat 

Jump right back in my friend and don't over think it

onpoint456

This is only my second packer, the first was a SRF black. That one cooked fairly evenly.

This one the flat lagged the point by 30°. I had to pull, separate and put the flat back on.

lousubcap

Here's a factor:  The point has a much higher fat content than the flat so it will cooker quicker (register a higher temp) than the flat and can easily handle the higher finish temp.  Thus with a packer the point is just along for the ride.  The key to declaring victory is when the thickest part of the flat probes smooth, like buttah.  FWIW-
Back on the horse!

brentm

Yep - the flat is going to finish sooner than the point.  When you arrive at that junction, the flat usually gets wrapped separately and placed into a thermal chest.  Then, I usually cube up the point and put them back on for a few more hours, checking every so often.  While cubing it, I'll pull the pieces that are unrenderable so that the burnt ends are just "meat candy".

Was it 9lbs untrimmed?  Or did you trim it to get to 9lbs?  It's a little small for a full packer.  It looks like you trimmed the blue skin off the flat....

Unless you're brining or injecting... I don't think you can tell if you season the brisket 30 hours or 30 minutes before cooking.  Seasoning on the outside of the meat isn't going to appreciably change the "juiciness" of the cook, in my opinion.

What temp did you pull the flat at?  What part of the flat were you measuring the temp?  I keep my probe in the thick center part of the flat.  Then a probe in the point.  I'll start checking with a thermapen for tenderness at 185-190.  I usually pull them around 200 degrees, but you know right away when you slide your probe in if it's ready or not.

Seasoning is personal preference.  I'd probably do about 1/2 of what you had.  You always start with the best cut of meat you can.  I've really been spoiled by the Costco prime briskets.  It's been hit and miss on briskets from Cash and Carry (mid grade). 

I usually try to get the fattiest brisket I can, then I trim it so that there's about an even 1/4" on the fat side.  Then I cut out that vein of fat between the point and the flat as much as I can without taking any meat.  Then the edges... trying to get a nice even layer of fat around the brisket but keeping the drippings to a minimum.

I'll wrap when the oil in the drip pan starts to smoke.  I run the egg at 200 for the duration (maybe bump it to 250 after wrap).  But eventually the drippings start smoking and turning into black foam.  You want to wrap before that, IMO, to prevent that acrid taste from being imparted on your brisket.  At 200 this occurs around 12-15 hours after the cook.  Running temps any higher than 200 and you get a lot of fat smoke which I do not prefer....

Fat side down for me.

Anyway... keep at it.  The brisket is the most rewarding experience I've had.... and don't be afraid to take some of it to pull and make enchiladas or something fun...

Enjoy, and hope this helps.  Other techniques are completely valid, your mileage may vary.  Terms and conditions apply.

onpoint456

Thank you all, not deterred at all, ready to hit it again. To answer some of the questions:

- it was 9lbs untrimmed, I would estimate 7-8 trimmed. Yes, on the lean side.

- didn't brine, just rubbed with salt and pepper about 30 hours in advance. The pictures above are just when I seasoned. IMO, it was way too salty. It was a 50/50 split of coarse kosher salt and coarse pepper. Each but was like licking the bottom of a pretzel container. Don't get me won't, I like salt, but it was over powering.

- pulled when the point hit 203°, flat was at 170°. Wrapped the flat and put it back on until it hot 200°. It probed easily.

- no need to worry, the brisket isn't going to waste. It is getting diced up and thrown in chili for tomorrow night. Just don't need to add any additional salt

brentm

You'll get the seasoning levels figured out in no time.  I overdid the rub once on a Superbowl brisket and that was frustrating.  Cheap tuition payment for me, I learned that one real quick

On the meat selection, you're on the right track.  You really want to get a brisket with some good marbling.  The flat of your brisket looks really lean.  I was looking back at some of my photos and found my Easter brisket, similar size.  I just took a photo of the label for documentation purposes, but look at the marbling compared to yours...    I wish I had a better picture of it before the cook.



I used to shop for briskets trying to find once with the least amount of waste (fat trimmings).  And to a certain degree, it is a factor.  But the juiciest briskets I've had came from well-marbled fatties.

Sorry.. I don't mean to belabor a point.  But my brisket game really changed once I switched to prime.  Redemption is just a brisket away