Badly failed Brisket

PatrickJ117 · May 2020

Need pointers on brisket/smoking. 3.5 lb flat. Cut most of the fat off, seasoned with mustard then the rub Friday for Sunday cook. Wrapped in cling wrap in fridge.

Used full bag of lump charcoal. I put a small layer of coal into the BGE, then some wood chunks, then more coals. lit and waited an hour-heat at about 248. I then added more wood chunks, set the diffuser and grill, plugged the temp controllers into the meat and grill and let it rip. Added more wood chinks along the way (apple, oak and pecan mixed)

The heat stayed between 240 and 275...mostly in the 240-250 range. Stall hit at 150...let it go for a while (15 min) then crutched. Left it on until meat temp 203. Took it off the grill and let it rest an hour in the foil.

Opened foil--not a lot of bark and dryer than a popcorn fart! Really frustrating.

Please, give me ideas on how to improve...it was a beautiful day, had some cocktails while tending the cook, etc. But the end result was just nasty. Wife has about given up on smoking---she wasn't a fan to begin with and now...ouch.

I will appreciate and respond to any/all who take their time to give some advice.

Thanks

SciAggie · May 2020

Others with more experience will respond but here's my $0.02 worth...
A 3.5 pound flat by itself is an incredibly difficult cook. It doesn't have a lot of fat and that makes for a narrow window for proper doneness. I think most folks will advise that cooking an entire packer is the way to go. The large cut and added fat of the point helps with an already challenging cook.
I understand - that's a lot of meat for two... Vac seal some and freeze it or give it away.
Chalk this up to experience. Maybe your wife will be game for another try.

PatrickJ117 · May 2020

SciAggie-thanks for the feedback. I will agree on it being difficult. just so frustrating ...but while the Mrs. may be off the smoked stuff,n i will try some ribs next...thanks for taking time to get back to me.

BlueRidgeSmokers · May 2020

A couple generalities about brisket.

Brisket isn't cooked to an internal temperature, it's cooked to tenderness. Of course, it's hard to describe that tenderness in words, some might say it's done when it resists a Thermapen probe like cool butter - some resistance. But experience is the best teacher. I'll start poking for tenderness once the flat is ~195F or so, and sometimes the brisket doesn't "break" until 208F (!).
The reason to remove fat is to expose meat that can be rubbed and form bark. However, you want fat to cushion the meat a little from the heat, to provide moisture as it breaks down. I don't usually separate pre-cook, but when I do, I leave the full fat layer under the flat. On a packer, I'll cut out the large, hard 'knuckle' of fat next to the flat/on top of the point. I also remove fat and membrane to expose the point. I leave most of all of the fat between the point and flat and all of the fat under the flat.
If/when you wrap, go easy on added liquid, I often don't add any at all - the brisket will produce enough liquid by itself. You can poke through a foil wrap for tenderness (if you're in competition, make sure you don't leave a DQ foil chip behind). Once a wrapped brisket is close to tender, open the wrap and vent it so the meat cools down to ~170F, otherwise it will overcook in the wrap.

I've had good success cooking packers and flats - as long as the fat is intact. Before I had much experience, I tried cooking a couple of trimmed flats and never had good results - like @SciAggie says, it has a very narrow window of doneness. It's possible a high-grade trimmed flat (prime or better) is a little more forgiving but I'll never find out. So perhaps my best advice is don't cook trimmed flats, maybe grind them into hamburger

Dana

KiterTodd · May 2020

PatrickJ117 said:

Need pointers on brisket/smoking. 3.5 lb flat. Cut most of the fat off, seasoned with mustard then the rub Friday for Sunday cook. Wrapped in cling wrap in fridge.

Used full bag of lump charcoal. I put a small layer of coal into the BGE, then some wood chunks, then more coals. lit and waited an hour-heat at about 248. I then added more wood chunks, set the diffuser and grill, plugged the temp controllers into the meat and grill and let it rip. Added more wood chinks along the way (apple, oak and pecan mixed)

The heat stayed between 240 and 275...mostly in the 240-250 range. Stall hit at 150...let it go for a while (15 min) then crutched. Left it on until meat temp 203. Took it off the grill and let it rest an hour in the foil.

Opened foil--not a lot of bark and dryer than a popcorn fart! Really frustrating.

Please, give me ideas on how to improve..

The bigger brisket the better. That said, I understand it's pricey and sometimes a lot more than you need. Leave most of the fat on. You can trim for uniform thickness, but you cook it fat side down and that is good insulation from the meat drying out.

That seems like an awful lot of lump and wood. I fill the firebox for a long smoke, but have never come anywhere close to an entire bag of lump. So, unless you had a little 7 lbs. bag of lump, that's a lot. On wood, the meat only absorbs the smoke flavor at the beginning of the cook. So, place several big chunks in with your lump, but you don't really have to add more or overdue it. The burning wood is not your heat source on the egg. You just need it for flavor while the meat can absorb it.

I did a brisket in April. It was also a smaller one than usual (6 lbs.) I think. My stall lasted for about 2 hours. That was a long one, but 15 minutes was a far cry from leaving it on a while. You can let that go... that's where the magic happens.

Because you wrapped it so early, you did not let the bark develop. The bark occurs while the surface of the meat is exposed to the burning charcoal and smoke.

I'm not brisket expert, but I have cooked several. I'm 50/50 but they've all been edible. The "fails" are on the dry side but are actually typical of what most restaurants serve me. The successes are gelatonous chunks of goodness that ooze juice when I cut into them. Ahhhhh.... I think I'll make a brisket this week.

Stick with it. Buy a bigger one. Take your time. You can't rush the meat.

pgprescott · May 2020

No need to add soooo much wood either. Put some in and when it’s used up, just let it go. You risk eating an ashtray by over smoking. Keep at it. As mentioned above a small flat is likely not a great cut from the jump. It’s pretty
much impossible to improve a poor cut of brisket from the jump. Remember that fat (marbling) is your friend in BBQ. Run from lean looking cuts and buy the ones with inter muscular fat throughout. Cheers!

BlueRidgeSmokers · May 2020

KiterTodd said:

The bigger brisket the better. That said, I understand it's pricey and sometimes a lot more than you need. Leave most of the fat on. You can trim for uniform thickness, but you cook it fat side down and that is good insulation from the meat drying out.
That seems like an awful lot of lump and wood. I fill the firebox for a long smoke, but have never come anywhere close to an entire bag of lump. So, unless you had a little 7 lbs. bag of lump, that's a lot. On wood, the meat only absorbs the smoke flavor at the beginning of the cook. So, place several big chunks in with your lump, but you don't really have to add more or overdue it. The burning wood is not your heat source on the egg. You just need it for flavor while the meat can absorb it.
I did a brisket in April. It was also a smaller one than usual (6 lbs.) I think. My stall lasted for about 2 hours. That was a long one, but 15 minutes was a far cry from leaving it on a while. You can let that go... that's where the magic happens.
Because you wrapped it so early, you did not let the bark develop. The bark occurs while the surface of the meat is exposed to the burning charcoal and smoke.
I'm not brisket expert, but I have cooked several. I'm 50/50 but they've all been edible. The "fails" are on the dry side but are actually typical of what most restaurants serve me. The successes are gelatonous chunks of goodness that ooze juice when I cut into them. Ahhhhh.... I think I'll make a brisket this week.
Stick with it. Buy a bigger one. Take your time. You can't rush the meat.

Everything @KiterTodd says. Spot on.

Dana

lousubcap · May 2020

Good info above. If you want to go with a flat again give the search function here a look. Plenty of threads about how to get a solid outcome.
PM sent with info regarding a process for smoking packers. In the end game, always remember, "The friggin cow drives the cook."

The Cen-Tex Smoker · May 2020

I don’t have much to add other than to say if you don’t want to cook a whole brisket then cook beef short ribs instead of a small trimmed flat. It’s the same basic process as cooking a brisket but the meat is a lot better and way more forgiving than brisket flat. It’s basically the same type of meat As brisket point and that meat is full of collagen which turns the gelatin which leads to those unctuous bites of gooey goodness you look for in bbq. A flat is super lean muscle with no collagen to start with so you are already starting at a disadvantage when you are trying to cook a small flat. You will end up with 2-3 lbs of good beef bbq meat with a rack of shorties.

Also 3-4 chunks of wood is all you need for a low and slow in a bge.

Keep at it. Just takes practice.

carrda04 · May 2020

First, listen to @lousubcap and @The Cen-Tex Smoker. They are resident experts on smoking briskets. @Foghorn sent me his instructions on smoking packers before I did my first, and I had read many guides by the other two before I started. Trust and follow and you'll end up full-bellied and happy.

Second, forget about this one. I did a 3 lb pre-trimmed flat because it had been in my freezer forever and I wanted the practice. I had read enough posts about it being a bad cut to smoke that I had no expectations and just focused on working with fire management and trying to keep it moist and develop some bark. Worked out surprisingly well but only because I knew it was an uphill battle. I didn't expect to be able to leave it unwrapped long enough to get any decent bark, and that was correct. With a packer it's easier to let it ride until you like the state of the bark before wrapping. Once you do the bark is what it is.

Third, Cen-Tex is 100% right. Try some short-ribs and you'll get incredible results in a smaller quantity than a full packer but you'll get to try out the techniques you'd use on a larger brisket along the way. I probably smoked beef ribs a half dozen times before I tried the brisket. You'll start to understand what probing to tenderness is, maybe some stall, and you'll see what you want for bark, to some extent--all with much more room for error.

TheBigLeggowsky · May 2020

No need to season the meat two days before cooking. Salt will draw moisture out of it.

fishlessman · May 2020

with those flats go hot and fast like this. i go direct, and use split wood from the wood shed, really go big with the quantity of smoking wood. different from low and slow, more steaky, but still good, i keep the added juices to a minimum, under a 1/4 cup

https://youtu.be/w6Gst6R3R44

fishlessman · May 2020

heres a link to how iv had success in the past with flats, you need to scroll down to find the hot and fast. always get a smoke ring doing this as well. get a bigger flat as well if thats what you are cooking

http://olddavespo-farm.blogspot.com/search/label/Brisket

Badly failed Brisket

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