Another 5-hr Brisket Report

TRex

Okay, here's another report on a 5-hr brisket. I bought an 8 lb whole trimmed brisket (the fat cap was about 1/4" thick), and I trimmed a lot of the fat off the point end. I covered with turbinado sugar and Dizzy Cow Lick, then put in the fridge overnight. Next day I took the brisket out, drained the juices, and recoated with same two rubs. I put it on the Egg with an indirect setup using platesetter, had a couple of hickory chunks mixed in my mound of lump. It took about 45 minutes for the Egg to reach 250, and I had put the brisket on from the beginning, at 1:30. At 4:30, the internal temp of the brisket at reached 150, and my dome temp had been stable at 250 (it was calibrated before I started). Took the brisket off, wrapped tightly in foil, then put back on the Egg, same indirect setup, but bumped dome temp to 300. Within 1 hour the internal temp went from 150 to 192. 45 minutes later the internal temp was at 207, so I removed the foiled brisket, wrapped with a towel, and put in a cooler, then headed to our friends' house.[p]The brisket sat in the cooler for about 1 hr 15 minutes, and when I took the towel off, the foil was still too hot to touch. I unwrapped the brisket, poured the juices into a bowl, then began to slice it. It sliced easily, beautifully, was very tender - more tender and juicy than any of the other briskets I've done the normal way. However, the flavor was a lot different - not so much of the grilled/smoked flavor, not really sure why, since it spent more time smoking than "steaming." Also, the "crust" wasn't very "crusty" - it wasn't soggy by any means, just not the bark that you would normally expect to see on a smoked brisket. [p]I will certainly do brisket this way again, I just need to play with the flavoring, and perhaps even do a sear on the Egg right before slicing, or something like that, to crisp up the outside. [p]Thanks Mad Max and Car Wash Mike for the encouragement and direction on this really cool method for doing brisket.[p]TRex

Unknown

Pictures to follow later - I took some with my buddy's camera and he's going to email them to me.[p]TRex

eggor

TRex,
By the way, I think I need to recant that the brisket did not turn out as well as I thought. Invited the inlaws over for lunch, put the brisket in the crock, and added some sauce. These are the kind of people that swear at the table and they thought it was very good, so I doubt that they would be nice just cuz I cooked. More than likely they would go to mcdonalds than put up with bad cooking.[p]Scott

Car Wash Mike

TRex,
I was just getting ready to post what I did today. 2 hours indirect at 225 with heavy smoke. Foil wrapped for 3 at 275.
Took brisket off let set for about 1 hour, no towel or anything to retain heat. It was at 210 when I pulled off.
Sliced very thin but not shredded. Put in an aluminum pan added the juices from the foil, covered again and let set on the egg at 200 for 1 more hour and it was great.[p]I had been using Cowlick but tried Coarse Grind DP and liked it much better.[p]I had given up on any kind of brisket untill I found this method.[p]CWM

drbbq

TRex,[p]The bark and associated taste of long cooked BBQ is like a roux. You just can't get that same caramel flavor and texture in a short time.
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Car Wash Mike

drbbq,
I'm kind of uneducated, what do you mean by roux? Caramel flavor and texture?[p]CWM

James

Car Wash Mike,[p]
From reluctantgourmet.com....[p]"roux A mixture of flour and fat that is cooked over low heat and used to thicken soups and sauces. There are three types of roux...white, blond, and brown. White and blond roux are both made with butter and used in cream sauces while brown roux can be made with either butter or the drippings from what you are cooking and is used for darker soups and sauces."[p]

Unknown

James,[p]Personally, I prefer blondes.

Car Wash Mike

James,
I looked up that and got the same thing. [p]CWM

djm5x9

paulH:[p]Thank goodness . . . I will gladly swap you my blondes for your brunettes and red heads . . . Deal?

drbbq

Car Wash Mike,[p]Yeah, I was referring to a dark long cooked roux. Often considered a two beer process. It's the base for gumbo and many other South Lousiana type dishes and just can't be rushed.
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Unknown

djm5x9,[p]Well, I don't have any spare blondes right now, but if you have any extra brunettes and redheads, just send them over, I'm sure the wife won't mind.[p](This epitaph will probably appear on my tombstone)

Car Wash Mike

drbbq,
I'm trying to learn, not be a smart ass. What do you mean by caramel and texture?[p]CWM

drbbq

Car Wash Mike,[p]Well the texture of a piece of meat cooked lo and slow is something to behold. The integrity of the cut stays intact and it stays moist and juicey. The same cut steamed will have a very different texture, it will separate at the fibers and get dry shortly after cooking. [p]Caramelization is one of the best parts of BBQing. It's the flavor created by browning the meat and again, it's very different when done in a long slow process as opposed to fast fire browning.[p]Hope that helps.
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Unknown

P.S. - I'm sure I'll roux the day she finds out about this post.[p]

Car Wash Mike

drbbq,
I'm just trying to learn, not compete.
Thank you for the explanation.[p]CWM

drbbq

Car Wash Mike,[p]No problem.
Good food is good food, at home or at a cookoff.
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Memphis

TRex, I think your lack of flavor and "crust" was do to the foil. I used to "3-1-1" my ribs but always felt they were missing - something. Then I looked at the juices when I opened up the foil and realized all the hard earned flavor,smoke and crust had steamed out of the ribs because of the "steam". Yes this produces a tender fall off the bone rid (or brisket) but I believe you lose a lot of flavor in those juices you throw away. I used to be a fan of foil - but no more. I think you get much more flavor texture and crust with out it. IMHO

Toy Man

I just cleaning out some old files and found a listing on the old BBQ list from 1998 that advocated 250 degrees for brisket. Small world...[p]Toy Man

mad max beyond eggdome

TRex,
glad it came out so good. .. brett and i tried to get the best of both worlds yesterday. . .brett laid on a 13 pound brisket at 4:00 saturday in my large egg, doing the overnight low and slow. .. yesterday morning, i put the grid extender in the egg, and threw on a 4 pound flat for the 5 hour method. . . what we ended up with was two very tasty briskets, one traditional and one the quick way (which absolutely was more of pot roast texture). . .but the benefit of the small brisket was the juices that we used for both briskets (the combination of the torbinado sugar and dizzy cowlick made for about a pint of fantastic juice that i put in a small sauce pot, heated up, and added just a little vinager and honey . . .many people at the party used this instead of, or in addition to, the bbq sauce that was also there. . .