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Too-dry first brisket - help!

Unknown
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
I tried to post this earlier but didnt see it_ so I will try again. Can anyone help me with a suggestion on cooking a smaller brisket. We are newbies with the BGE and are having lots of fun cooking steak and chicken - they came out fantastic! Now for the challenge: we tried brisket yesterday and thought we used the right technique pulled from the various techniques we researched, but the brisket came out very dry. Here is what we did:]
5.5 lbs, flat cut brisket
Dry rub overnight
let it sit for 1 hour before placing on the gril
place-setter (ceramic pizza stone inverted) under the brisket
placed it fat side up after scoring it (saw bpth fat side up and down suggestions so just picked)
cooked it at 225-250 using a remote thermometer
it took 10 hours to get to 188
removed it - but noticed it wasnt fork-tender yet
it was very tasty but definitly drier than it should have been

Did we do something wrong? The butcher at our BGE dealer said to place PLASTIC wrap (never saw this before) and aluminum foil apx 2 hours before done.

Not sure when to judge the last 2-hour mark

Any help is appreciated ! Thanks, Deb

Comments

  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,657
    i dont cook small briskets because the larger ones are just easier to cook. anyways, use the finish temp as a guide only, fork tenderness is more important and a higher finish temp may have been what that brisket needed. from what ive read about smaller briskets you may have been better off wrapping that brisket in foil at about 165 and finished cooking it in the foil with maybe a little liquid added. brisket seemes to do better with a longer rest in the cooler, 2 to 3 hours as well. some other things that seem to help is to cut and serve immediatly, i would do it at the table, and there are ways to cheat, adding a watered down bbq sauce drizzled over the slices helps.
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • Mike in Abita
    Mike in Abita Posts: 3,302
    If I could suggest cooking it till 165 internal then wrapping in foil. add about a 1/2 cup beef broth to the package and cook till 190 internal. unwrap and check for fork tender, if not quite there the wrap it up again and cook to 200.

    Flats IMO are a little different to cook because of the amount of fat trimmed from it. Leaving it prone to drying out.

    Everything else I read sounds good. One last question? Have you calibratd your dome thermo. Being off as little as 20 deg will lead to faster and ultimately drier cooks.

    Check out the links for some good brisket info.

    http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/03/brisket.html

    http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/brisketselect.html
  • Briskets can be confusing. No two are done at the exact same temp. You cannot use temp only as the defining factor. I usually start checking mine for tenderness around 185 - 190. It depends on my cooking temps. Small flats that are really trimmed can dry out easily. Another trick you can do is to put it in a foil pan with some liquid at about 165*. You can then put the liquid from the pan through a seperator and pour back over the sliced brisket. I don't like bbq sauce on mine, so I save as much juice as possible. Also a 2 -3 hour rest in towel lined cooler does not hurt. make sure you fill up all available space in the cooler. You can use towels, blankets, old pillows or even news paper.
  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    For the one you cooked you can vacuum seal the slices in sauce, freeze and reheat in hot water. They will be more moist.

    Steve

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • Slotmercenary
    Slotmercenary Posts: 1,071
    Greetings,
    there are as many ways to cook a brisket as there are cooks offering advice. Personally i don't do the foil routine on ribs or brisket. when doing the smaller flats it is important to remember that there is no fat cap for basting so you need to substitute. I personally like the flats and the way i get them to come out is i cover them with bacon and discard it after the cook as follows.
    DSC_9746.jpg
    DSC_9753.jpg

    DSC_9758.jpg
    remember practice makes perfect.
  • Egg-N-Tino
    Egg-N-Tino Posts: 157
    Your method checks out OK with the exception of getting the internal temp to 195 - 200. The 5 - 6lb flats are what I mainly cook and have not had any dry issues. The final step (as mentioned within the thread) is to wrap it in foil. Some add liquid some don't. I am part of the "don't" crowd. If you wrap it tightly in foil when the temp gets to 195, then wrap the foil package in a towel, you should be ready to eat in an hour (or up to 3 -4). My flats tend to come out juicy and very tasty.

    Good luck on the next one,
  • hi Slot Mercenary - thanks for the tip - i just saw the same idea on Good Morning America today! Wow!
    Will try that next time. Debbie