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Cows suck. Continual beef fails.

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GoolsbyMD

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Pork i can do, whole shoulders, Boston's/picnics, bellies, spares into St. Louis style and cook them good too. Beef on the other hand is my weak point.

Beef ribs last two times were extremely chewy and my sauce you couldn't taste over the beef flavor. Today i tried my first ever brisket. A beautiful 14lbs Prime packer with a thick flat. Rubbed her down with bovine bold and stuck her on the wsm at 275 around 9am. Waited till about 3Pm and started to probe, not butter yet. Kept waiting and proving every hour or so. The point is done very soft, just gotta wait on flat, another hour and still a 3" strip not butter soft. I finally pulled it off at 6pm. 9 hours at 275. Never wrapped and let it sit foiled until a few minutes ago, prepare to slice against the grain and....smoosh flattened down, couldn't do anything with it. The bark was so dried out and hard I couldn't cut it and it smushed my brisket, all i could do is makes pulled brisket that has no flavor. Very mad at this cook. Guess ill try again after a pork cook. :mmph:
 
try wrapping in foil or butcher paper after 4 -5 hrs next time. at 275 should be 6-8 hrs total then let it rest atleast 1 hr - 2 hrs is better.

What was your rub? I've read a cpl places that Prime is not good for Hot n Fast because of too much fat/marbling to render out- they say Prime is best for low n slow at 225* - I dunno I smoke Selects and occasional Choice and Hot n Fast has been better for me. 275*-300* around 6 hrs total.
 
Plow boys bovine bold. It was the last time i jump in that deep of a pool, no more prime for a long time.
 
I struggle with brisket at times as well. If the brisket does not have really good marbling, I foil it after about 4 hours. Only way I can get it good and tender, juicy, and still have good flavor. If it is a select brisket, with good marbling, I skip the foil until rest time.

Just my experience with some briskets.
 
OK...

Step away from the brisket.

Deep, calming breaths :-D

I cook prime briskets at 275 regularly with no problem, and I use Bovine Bold.

What were you cooking in? The WSM? Water in the pan, no pan, something else?

Fat cap up or down?

How did you measure the temp and where in the cooker?

At 275 my briskets go about 45-60 minutes per pound in my FEC-100 as a reference.
 
Ron_L said:
OK...

Step away from the brisket.

Deep, calming breaths :-D

I cook prime briskets at 275 regularly with no problem, and I use Bovine Bold.

What were you cooking in? The WSM? Water in the pan, no pan, something else?

Fat cap up or down?

How did you measure the temp and where in the cooker?

At 275 my briskets go about 45-60 minutes per pound in my FEC-100 as a reference.
Click to expand...

WSM water in pan. Fat cap down. Measured temp with bbqguru digiQ2 and a maverick et732 while away from smoker doing yard work. Pit probes were 3" away from brisket placed over the water pan 3 degree diff between the two pit probes. I used my thermapen to probe and was hitting around 205-207 all over the flat 210ish in the point.
 
Cook Fat cap down. You only need to probe in the thickest part of the Flat that is the last spot to get tender. I suggest some butcher paper
 
Next time you get a beautiful 14 pound packer send it to me.

I'm a little confused about this comment
GoolsbyMD said:
Beef ribs last two times were extremely chewy and my sauce you couldn't taste over the beef flavor.
Click to expand...
What flavor are you looking for?
 
Was trying to copy the brown sugar, parkey, tiger amd honey recipe that i normally use on the pork ribs, wasnt strong enough to taste. But that's another topic.
 
GoolsbyMD said:
prepare to slice against the grain and....smoosh flattened down, couldn't do anything with it. The bark was so dried out and hard I couldn't cut it and it smushed my brisket, all i could do is makes pulled brisket that has no flavor.
Click to expand...

GoolsbyMD said:
I used my thermapen to probe and was hitting around 205-207 all over the flat 210ish in the point.
Click to expand...

Simply based on these points, I'd say that it was overcooked. It shouldn't smush like that. It's hard to tell without seeing it, of course. You may just have to calibrate your sense of feel. It's hard to describe and takes some experience.
 
I like the smaller briskets like under 12#.
Everyone has a similarly different technique and IMHO that's because they know their individual cookers quirks like they know the beer aisle.

I use my Pit Barrel Cooker for brisket. It will take the cut to 160 then I wrap in foil and place on the grate till 200 or probe tender. Remove wrap in a couple towels and rest for 2 hours. Never been disappointed yet. Usually takes About 7-8 hours total.

Regardless of type of cooker you use, pit barrel cooker company has great 3-4 minute videos on their website that shows prepping and cooking the most popular cuts of meat.

The prep method will work fine in any cooker
 
GoolsbyMD said:
Pork i can do, whole shoulders, Boston's/picnics, bellies, spares into St. Louis style and cook them good too. Beef on the other hand is my weak point.

Beef ribs last two times were extremely chewy and my sauce you couldn't taste over the beef flavor. Today i tried my first ever brisket. A beautiful 14lbs Prime packer with a thick flat. Rubbed her down with bovine bold and stuck her on the wsm at 275 around 9am. Waited till about 3Pm and started to probe, not butter yet. Kept waiting and proving every hour or so. The point is done very soft, just gotta wait on flat, another hour and still a 3" strip not butter soft. I finally pulled it off at 6pm. 9 hours at 275. Never wrapped and let it sit foiled until a few minutes ago, prepare to slice against the grain and....smoosh flattened down, couldn't do anything with it. The bark was so dried out and hard I couldn't cut it and it smushed my brisket, all i could do is makes pulled brisket that has no flavor. Very mad at this cook. Guess ill try again after a pork cook. :mmph:
Click to expand...

Kinda confused. You state all you could do was pulled brisket that has no flavor. I make mushy pulled brisket all the time. Flavor should be the same based on your seasoning. The only difference is the texture. Sliced vs pulled. My family prefers pulled by the way.
 
GoolsbyMD said:
Was trying to copy the brown sugar, parkey, tiger amd honey recipe that i normally use on the pork ribs, wasnt strong enough to taste. But that's another topic.
Click to expand...

IMO S&P is the way to go with beef - maybe a little garlic, maybe a little onion powder - maybe a little heat - maybe to all that - just let the beef and smoke shine. Pork is a little more amenable to sweet flavors. I have had short ribs with some sweet on 'em and they are really dang good, but the sweet is subtle on those.
 
gtr said:
IMO S&P is the way to go with beef - maybe a little garlic, maybe a little onion powder - maybe a little heat - maybe to all that - just let the beef and smoke shine. Pork is a little more amenable to sweet flavors.
Click to expand...

I agree with this completely. Sweet and beef don't seem to go together as well. I put no sugar in my beef rub (I do like a bit of garlic and onion in the rub), and make up a sauce that is all tangy and spicy - not sweet. Completely different flavors than I use on pork.

Alex
 
I stopped reading when I saw "I couldn't taste my sauce over the beef flavor".

It sounds like you should stick to pork though.

FYI, 6 hours at 275, I doubt it was even close at that point. I'm guessing internal temp was around 160ish and the stall was just beginning when you started poking that meat. Oh and a 3 to 4 hour rest is always better than 1.75 hours.

Check bludawg's thread for brisket simplicity.
 
Unless my thermapen is 40 degrees off it was all around 205 etc.

Should be guess more appropriate would be I suck at beef! Lol
 
IMO, 205-210 internal is WAY overcooked. I usually pull my briskets at 198-200. To get the briskets from 195 to 205/207 requires a LOT more cooking time. Def overdone. Actually did the SAME thing at a contest. I cooked till 205, pulled the brisket off cooker, kept cooking, went to cut and went everywhere. I FREAKED.
 
Jeff, you have to keep in mind when cooking at higher cooking temps, the final finished temp tends to be higher. I think most people who have made the switch from 225 to 275-325 can't quite wrap their heads around that. Which is the exact reason we all say "when it probes tender, it's done, don't pay attention to internal temp, except as a guideline to start checking with your probe like device."
 
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