Juicy Brisket

I have not done the foil thing and have had good results. I spray it with Apple Juice every 30 minutes or so. Maybe that is why. Wrapping in foil will help to retain moisture though.

Rich,

I haven't wrapped my briskets while cooking, and they come out fine. Here's a link to a recent brisket cook that I did, that I consider to be my best one yet. The meat was extremely tender and juicy, and just fell apart.

http://www.fearlesskitchen.com/2009/07/recipe-a-better-brisket-guest-post-from-fearless-grill-.html



A couple of things I did that may have contributed to the texture / juiciness of this brisket.

1) For the entire 18 hours of the cook, I didn't open the Egg until the brisket was ready to come out. I used my Maverick to monitor the temp so I wouldn't have to keep opening it to poke with my Thermapen. I didn't bother to baste it either.

2) When the brisket was ready to come off, I wrapped it in a double foil layer and a couple of towels, and put it in a cooler for a few hours. Resting it for some time (hours probably aren't necessary) seems to make for a juicier end product.

3) I put some water in my drip pan to add some additional moisture to the Egg. I started doing this to prevent drippings from burning, but I think it helps somewhat. The tradeoff is that the bark on the outside of the meat will be somewhat less crispy, but this will be better than if you foil it, which could make your bark somewhat soggy.

Hope this helps.

-John

Nothing wrong with foiling if that is your chosen course. I personally prefer the texture of the meat when I do not use foil. Foiling brisket makes it more like a roast, the braising makes it more fall apart tender.

I have better results (for my preferred brisket) without using foil. I do inject my brisket before and during the cook. Sometimes I mop, but generally prefer not to. I also begin checking for tenderness at 185* or a bit earlier. Once the majority of it is tender using the "fork test" (for which I generally employ the services of my thermapen - as Alton says, no uni-taskers), I pull it, wrap it, and let it rest a couple hours before slicing. I may put the point on for burnt ends, but I may just slice it along with the flat, Kansas City style, and serve up some seriously stacked brisket sandwiches with a handful of pickles on white bread.