Night Train Brisket-FAIL..UTTER FAIL

Sounds like you are way overcooking it. At what temperature do you pull your brisket?

let's backtrack to the smoked brisket for a minute...A few questions that may help get you back on track

How are you cooking it (temps, any time in foil) ?

How are you judging doneness ?

Are you letting it rest ? If so, how long and in what holding device ?

How thick are you slicing it ?

^^^great questions from Militant Squatter. I'm really looking at the question of how thick/thin are you slicing it. I believe some of those TX fellers, T included, are slicing pretty thick (which I see as a good thing btw).

If briskets are too much of a pita, check out the chuckies. But, if you're anything like me, you ain't gonna let go until you kick its arse. :heh:

The night train experiment calls for a 5# brisket, so it seems you'd have an underdone rather than overdone brisket with an 8#er. Have you confirmed your oven temp is accurate?

Stupid question, are you slicing across the grain?

My guess is you've overcooked it a bit..

Your application of the ratio of hrs/lb may not be a perfect science... Nor do I know if Donnie's original intent was for the experiment to be so rigid in the cooking time.... Also remember, that ovens usually aren't a steady temp (ex. 275) , but at times could push even higher...several variables can affect your result.

I think you're closer than you think... don't give up on cooking it on the smoker just yet.

Bamabuzzard said:

How are you judging doneness ?- With this experiment I let it cook the time that I figured it would. The 5 lb brisket is to be cooked 4-4.5 hours. So I cooked my 8 lb 7 hrs.

Click to expand...

You never gave a meat temperature. Did you take it or did you cook solely based on time?

Cooking on time alone is a sure path to failure more times than not.

Interesting - I cooked a 5 pounder yesterday following the same directions and it came out fantastic. 275º for 4:15 let it rest for an hour, removed the juices and man was there ever some juices, then under the broiler for 10 minutes +/-
It was very tender, juicy and delicious

Like others have said I think you cooked yours too long

cooking it too hot. lower to 225

The timing is no linear in a braise. In the Nightrain experiment, you are braising and the amount of time it takes to get done will not track in a strict mathematical ratio due to the vagaries of how mass takes and transfers heat as well as the moisture content and shape of said mass. Oddly, the amount of time cooking the 8lb brisket roast would have been very close to the time for the 5lb roast. As you heat the moist environment in the foil, you are actually raising the temperature of the liquids inside of the roast at the same time. Given that the larger flatter shape is going to heat from all sides at the same time, and given the flat shape, the interior moisture is heating at about the same rate despite the weight difference. This means that the actual rendering of the connective tissue will begin to occur at about the same time, and the stall as connective tissue renders will be about the same. The primary difference being the total amount of connective tissue rendering.

In a smoker, this actually also applies. Hence, the mystery of how a 10lb packer and a 14lb packer can both take 12 hours to cook. Part of the problem with using time, versus feel, is that the individual composition of meat varies widely (hence the 22 hour pork butt). Heat penetration is influenced by mass and shape of meat. Oddly, mass of a given roast is determined by both density of tissue and amount of internal moisture.

The major difference in timing is actually in the composition of the meat, not the weight alone. You're more likely to have succeeded with a 5.5 hour cook time over an 7 hour cook time. I would give it another shot. This time with the shorter cook time. And a smaller cut of brisket to save a little money.

Bamabuzzard said:

I cooked soley by the time because the instructions said wrap it in foil and do not peek until the timer beeps. But it was user error (ME) and not the instructions for the brisket. It called for a 5 lb flat and I couldn't find a 5 lb flat so I bought the smallest one the store had which was 8 lb and cooked it 7 hrs in foil. Obviously it was too much.

Click to expand...

You do know that thermometers generally have a pointy end...and foil isn't bulletproff :-D

Some places call over-cooked brisket chopped brisket and claim that is what they meant to do. I recommend that method to you as well. :becky:

landarc said:

Some places call over-cooked brisket chopped brisket and claim that is what they meant to do. I recommend that method to you as well. :becky:

Click to expand...

Heck yeah, put the leftovers of an overcooked brisket in the crock pot the next day with some beef broth to re-heat and everyone will love your chopped brisket, makes it all moist again.

Marck said:

Heck yeah, put the leftovers of an overcooked brisket in the crock pot the next day with some beef broth to re-heat and everyone will love your chopped brisket, makes it all moist again.

Click to expand...

Yup, been there done that!

That " rule of minutes per pound" is more related to a mass of meat that is basically "round" ie. whole chicken, turkey, steamship round roasts, primerib roasts etc. Think of cooking a burger, a 1/4 pounder will cook at the same time as a 1/2 pounder if the thickness is equal.

chopped/pulled/shredded beef by itself on white bread wrapped kinda like a taco - nuthin' to be upset about there :thumb: