Brisket help please!!

Hi all! yeah .. newbie here.. but not new to the ways of the charcoal. I can hold my own with just about anybody on a rack of pork ribs. I can get em commin off the Q tender and juicy and falling off of the bone. I make my own BBQ sauce and am happy with that, but love to try others recipes. So.. here is my problem.

I got a nice lookin Beef brisket a while back.. made myself a marinade and let bathe in that for a good 36 hours. Its a marinade I have used successfully on other cuts of beef. I have never done a brisket before tho I have enjoyed some really fine brisket on many occasions. I started a good fire .. oh.. I use mesquite charcoal almost exclusively and sometimes throw in various fruit woods or nut woods for smoke. I have a drum Q very much like the one in the attachment.
I had the temp at about 225-250 in the cooking area. I put the brisket in fat side up and let it go for almost 12 hours. keeping an eye on it and basting .. but..... well...... I coulda used it for a pitchers mound for the neighborhood game. I sliced it thin and it tasted great.. but boy howdy was it tough!!! smoke penetration of about 1/3 " all the way around .. you get the picture.. so.. what do you suppose went wrong? Ive had briskets that melted in my mouth.. nice and juicy ..HELP!!

Most people don't baste - all that opening and adding liquid would slow down the cook. Just put it on and leave it alone. THen, use a thermo to judge when it's ready to come off, not the clock. Sounds like it may have needed a little more time.

Depends on what was in the marinade too. If there were acids, like soy or citrus, alcohol, etc. these can tenderize in short time frames but also cook and dry-out the meat, particularly beef.

I'm with the folks who put their brisket on smoke for about 3- 6 hours and wrap it with some mop, baste or glaze - and finish cooking that way. All that dry air coulda been the culprit in combo with the other issues.

Like to cook mine (full packer) 4 hours without opening the lid and then check if if looks nice (I like a dark bark). If it doesn't look dark enough I'll go another hour and check and then wrap in foil with some kind of liquid (broth or concoction) and cook to 200. We like how it comes out...

Benindavis..........-

Brisket is a finicky cut of meat. By that I mean you need to let it do it's thing and cook slowly. I take the "raw" weight and multiply it by 1.5 to get the approximate time it will need to "break down" all the collagen and fibrous tissue within the muscle.i.e. a 10 lb. Brisket will generally take 15hrs. to get there.
I don't like to mop my meat,I put it in and let it set in the heat for as long as I can.Then when you get close to your calculated time(1 to 2 hrs.from finish),I'll see what it's doing;everytime you open the lid you lose heat and extend the cooking time.
Brisket is done when it's done,no wat around it. Whether you do a high heat sear and lower to cook,or start low and slow-say 200*F to 225*F.I like to go real low and 200*F is my target.
It sounds like you did all the right things except for the timing thingy.Next time let her do her thing;Ladies don't like to be rushed-remember"DUDE"?
Have fun and better luck next time:
Stan aka Old School BBQ-

I can tell you where your screwing up. But view this video first and tell me if this is the end product you want before I tell you how. Just PM me.

http://www.roadfooddigest.com/post/2008/09/Taylor-Texas-BBQ-Video-ndash3b-Bobby-Mueller-Clips.aspx


Pay close attention to when he slaps that puppy down. You want brisket like that or do you want to slice it 1/8 inch or less and still have it pull?

barbefunkoramaque said:

Just PM me.

Click to expand...

No PM, I want to know how to do a brisket like that in 4-6 hours also. Share, please.

Great video!!!

Thanks for sharing that Funkman!
A whole lot of Texas right there.

Weiser

barbefunkoramaque said:

I can tell you where your screwing up. But view this video first and tell me if this is the end product you want before I tell you how. Just PM me.

http://www.roadfooddigest.com/post/2008/09/Taylor-Texas-BBQ-Video-ndash3b-Bobby-Mueller-Clips.aspx


Pay close attention to when he slaps that puppy down. You want brisket like that or do you want to slice it 1/8 inch or less and still have it pull?

Click to expand...

Heat is the answer that you are looking for.

Kreuz, Cooper's, the Taylor Cafe and some others are doing what we would consider
hot and fast.
I tried this method for the first time the weekend before last
with a 13lb. packer. I almost soiled myself with the results
as did the folks from Houston. One of the best that I have ever done.
I'll never tend one 18 hours again, it isn't necessary.
Mine was on for eight but I was having trouble maintaining the higher temp.

Weiser

JamesTX said:

No PM, I want to know how to do a brisket like that in 4-6 hours also. Share, please.

Click to expand...

Weiser said:

Heat is the answer that you are looking for.

Kreuz, Cooper's, the Taylor Cafe and some others are doing what we would consider
hot and fast.
I tried this method for the first time the weekend before last
with a 13lb. packer. I almost soiled myself with the results
as did the folks from Houston. One of the best that I have ever done.
I'll never tend one 18 hours again, it isn't necessary.
Mine was on for eight but I was having trouble maintaining the higher temp.

Weiser

Click to expand...

What sort's of temps are you talking? Closer to 350?

My average was around 370* I would guess.
The wind was blowing at a steady 35 mph all day. Temps
ranged from between 320 and up to 400.

I just rode it out till the internal temp reached 190*

Weiser
None of it is garbage, just ask my Dog.

JamesTX said:

What sort's of temps are you talking? Closer to 350?

Click to expand...

Weiser said:

My average was around 370* I would guess.
The wind was blowing at a steady 35 mph all day. Temps
ranged from between 320 and up to 400.

I just rode it out till the internal temp reached 190*

Weiser
None of it is garbage, just ask my Dog.

Click to expand...

Did you cook at that high temperature for the entire cook or did you start off slow for the first 2 hours, then ramp up to the 370 degree range?

Weiser said:

My average was around 370* I would guess.
The wind was blowing at a steady 35 mph all day. Temps
ranged from between 320 and up to 400.

I just rode it out till the internal temp reached 190*

Weiser
None of it is garbage, just ask my Dog.

Click to expand...

Thanks. I'm going to give it a shot next time.

Put it on at 350* and didn't touch it all day.
Temps fluctuated a bit but there was little I could do about it given the weather.

Oh, I did stick a 4" 50CFM fan into a funnel and directed that
into one of the intakes. At 275* it was good for a 100* increase.
Looked rather Redneck but it worked.:mrgreen:

Weiser

Bull Run Smoke said:

Did you cook at that high temperature for the entire cook or did you start off slow for the first 2 hours, then ramp up to the 370 degree range?

Click to expand...