Question about Omaha Steak brisket

Spring Chicken · June 2018

I've had Omaha Steak before and decided to just buy locally when I see good meat at a good price. But a lot of people swear by it, not only for its predictable quality but also for its convenience.

But this is a first for me. My neighbor gave me a 12 pound 'competition' quality beef brisket from Omaha Steak. He asked if I would sous vide and smoke it for him on my Big Green Egg. It will be served at a surprise dinner.

I've done 24 and 48 hour sous vide briskets before with mixed results. I don't want to screw this up so I'm asking for advice from those who are experienced with sous vide cooking, especially with whole briskets.

I did the "search" thing and there really isn't that much on the subject. So any advice would be appreciated.

My immediate thoughts are that a competition grade brisket can probably stand on its own when cooking it on the Egg. I've done some pretty good briskets that way, the most recent one following Aaron Franklin's method. But this time I'm cooking for a neighbor who invested a lot of money in a chunk of meat.

I'm thinking I will lay on some rub and smoke it raised grid first for about 3 hours @ 225°. Then place the brisket in a Food Saver vacuum seal bag and into a tub of sous vide water holding at 140° or maybe 160° for 24 hours.

After 24 hours I will ice bath it to stop the internal cooking so that I can sear the brisket for a few minutes on the Egg in order to set the bark.

Then present it to my neighbor.

Any comments, suggestions, experiences would be appreciated.

Spring "Every Cook Is Different To Me" Chicken
aka Printemps Poulet
Covington Louisiana USA

johnnyp · June 2018

Killit_and_Grillit We recently discussed SV brisket, how did yours turn out?

Legume · June 2018

“Competition grade” sounds like marketing-speak to avoid industry standard grading terms. Any idea how this compares to prime or choice?

I’m no help with your questions on SV or Omaha in general, just an observation on the grading.

SSQUAL612 · June 2018

Not sure I would trust a place that claims a 12lb Brisket serves 48.

Ozzie_Isaac · June 2018

Why does your neighbor want Sous vide instead of traditional L&S?

Not saying it is a bad approach, just curious on the desired outcome.

Spring Chicken · June 2018

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Why does your neighbor want Sous vide instead of traditional L&S?

Not saying it is a bad approach, just curious on the desired outcome.

I told him about sous vide cooking. It sparked an interest. He later happened to be in Sam's Club and saw a sous vide immersion cooker and bought it. He has now cooked a number of different foods and likes it. So why not try a brisket? But he doesn't have a ceramic smoker. And he wants this to be a surprise. So I volunteered to cook it for him.

After some research I've decided to cook it sous vide first, followed by a three hour smoke in the Egg. It will be timed to be served precisely at noon on Independence Day.

Printemps Poulet

Ozzie_Isaac · June 2018

Spring Chicken said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Why does your neighbor want Sous vide instead of traditional L&S?

Not saying it is a bad approach, just curious on the desired outcome.

I told him about sous vide cooking. It sparked an interest. He later happened to be in Sam's Club and saw a sous vide immersion cooker and bought it. He has now cooked a number of different foods and likes it. So why not try a brisket? But he doesn't have a ceramic smoker. And he wants this to be a surprise. So I volunteered to cook it for him.

After some research I've decided to cook it sous vide first, followed by a three hour smoke in the Egg. It will be timed to be served precisely at noon on Independence Day.

Printemps Poulet

Good deal, always fun to learn new ways

Let us know how it turns out.

Killit_and_Grillit · June 2018

johnnyp said:

Killit_and_Grillit We recently discussed SV brisket, how did yours turn out?

@johnnyp That was weird. I didn’t get a notification. Just stumbled in here.

I did a few over the past couple of months in the Sous Vide. Varied results.

Mibd you this is theory but given the results I think this combo will be a solid solution.

The last one I did was 3 days (yeah, I was surprised as well). I want to say 145. I will dog back through and see.

Then pat dry, season, and set it in the fridge to rest and cool. 2-3 hours before ready to serve, toss on the Egg indirect until it gets up to serving temp with wood of choice.

I did the last one at this temp and time and the meat texture was solid. However, I was forced to cook 24 hours before serving and I think that was a mistake. I seasoned it before cooking and then let it sit in it’s juices in the fridge for 24 hours. It gave it a little bit of a pot roast flavor.

I did one at 36 hours but with the above mentioned suggestion on patting dry, cooling for a bit, and tossing on the smoker and the bark was great but the meat really hadn’t broken down to the texture I wanted.

Trim, season with just pepper and minimal salt, 72 hours (I think 145 I will check), pour off juice (you can save for a jus), pat dry and let rest in the fridge. Season. Smoke 2-3 hours until temped to serve, rest, slice, serve.

Be gentle with the smoke. Too much after being cooked can give it an off putting taste.

Killit_and_Grillit · July 2018

Ok @johnnyp I can’t find the temp we talked about anywhere. Do you remember?

Hans61 · July 2018

My best briskets are usually 4ish hrs in smoke then put in a pan cover and braise in the pan till done temps usually 275-300

this will be my approach tomorrow on a Costco prime packer :-)

johnnyp · July 2018

Killit_and_Grillit said:

Ok @johnnyp I can’t find the temp we talked about anywhere. Do you remember?

I did mine at 140F for 72 hrs. I was very happy with mine

SSQUAL612 · July 2018

Or you can try this method.

https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1138233/brisket-how-i-do-it

DMW · July 2018

You could try injecting it. I hear people in Texas are trying this now. I'm really not sure to make of that. To be honest I'm rather shocked.

Question about Omaha Steak brisket

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