Competition Brisket Suggestions

The Giggler said:
Anyone have any suggestions on competition brisket? We're just not happy with what we've had for turn ins. Time to experiment, maybe even get radical.

If anyone has anything they would be willing to share, we sure would appreciate it. Its three long years since we got a call in brisket.

Sincerely,

Mike
Giggling Pigs BBQ Co
Click to expand...

Maybe it's time to look back at what you used to do, what did you change to not get the calls, and rethink, "Am I still doing as good as I did?"

Sometimes it's best to stay with the basics and not try to go with so many different changes too fast.... I did, and went back to what I was doing and then made one small change at a time until I found what I wanted... And remember, if you get a fantastic one, and you do the exact same thing to another one, they may not come out the same.... brisket is stubborn...

Bill
 
ique said:
  • Turn up the heat. Try Cooking at 275-300
  • Put the fat cap between your brisket and the heat. For a stickburner that probably means fat down.
  • Wrap it in foil with a cup of flavorful liquid after ~165* internal or good bark has formed
  • Pull it at 188*
  • Rest in a cambro for 4 hours, wrapped in foil, fat cap up
Click to expand...

So... Just how far is it safe to go just to get some good bark? I never seem to get any bark near the 165* mark. Maybe I'm cookin' too low (300* initial/225* after the first hour or two...)
 
Got the brisket trimmed, seasoned, and on the cooker @ 7:30. Fat cap down. Will foil wrap with liquid @ 165. Pull to rest @ 185. Will post the results. Appreciate everyone's input.
 
Eric - Yup, we're going. Wouldn't miss it as it is currently the closest one to home. Looking forward to seeing you and Ray. This year will be a little different - NO VENDING (WHOO WHO!)

Here's the result:

Got fire in the pit @ 7AM. Skipped the Fab B injection (expensive, and have enough left for OINK, and Ohio Smoked Meat Fest if Steve calls me back....) Used Dave Klose's Championship Brisket Rub. 7:30 AM meat on fat side down @ 225 (never flipped it). Left it til 10:30, then basted with veggie oil mixed with rub. Continued to baste every hour until it hit 165. Separated point from flat, wrapped in triple foil with flavorful liquid (Lipton Onion Soup Mix). Put point back on w/o foil, flat in foil, till the flat hit 188. Stored in hot box for two hours. Scraped onions off meat, and sliced @ b/t 3/16-1/4". Did not sauce, and served.

We had a small party and bonfire. Most everyone is used to sampling, and knows to pull the slice apart to check tenderness. Overall, I felt like the meat was cooked well, had excellent flavor, and was not dry at all. A fellow Pig, thought his piece was a little on the dry side (appreciated his honesty). The feedback was pretty positive, and I couldn't believe that it wasn't a piece of shoe leather with the fat cap down.

Kept the crown/point for lunch this week - it was good too.

We're going to try another one this weekend, and vary the rub and flavorful liquid. Thanks again for all the input. The judges will have their say @ Oinktoberfest.
 
The Giggler said:
Thanks for the suggestions. We do inject with Fab B. I saw a post about an alternative product comparable to Fab B being marketed by a Brethren, and can't seem to locate it now. Any info available is appreciated.

I will be cooking one this weekend, and will pull @ 185, triple wrap, n' rest. Fat cap down, injected, and rubbed. For finishing, we're going to try a couple different concoctions. I'll report how it turns out, and if I can figure it out - post some pictures.

We've got 4 more weeks of trial and error. Its a good thing we like brisket. Thanks again for all the responses.

Mike.
Click to expand...

I don't know if he is a Brethren, but David with Butcher BBQ has a similar product which is doing very well. Merl took 1st in Brisket in his second contest using it. Others have done well with it too.

His number 405dash205dash3270


BTW, I cook on the same pit as you. Fat side down is for sure the way to go.
 
The Giggler said:
The problem I have is that even following the recipe to the T - the cookers are different, and the stick burner keeps turning out a bone dry result (from which I can deduct that its a dryer environment)..
Click to expand...

ok boss...

Sorry, but thew old addage "its the COOK not the COOKER" floats both ways.

Stick burners dont dry out briskets. I got 6 top 3 calls in the last 8 contests(not including my DQ for being late). Some were cooked in my BYC, others in WSMs.

Tell us how u cookem, do u foil? what temp, or feel do u pull them? Whatcha doing?
 
I really don't like the flavor the Fab B gives the meat either.
 
BBQchef33 said:
ok boss...

Sorry, but thew old addage "its the COOK not the COOKER" floats both ways.

Stick burners dont dry out briskets. I got 6 top 3 calls in the last 8 contests(not including my DQ for being late). Some were cooked in my BYC, others in WSMs.

Tell us how u cookem, do u foil? what temp, or feel do u pull them? Whatcha doing?
Click to expand...

PooBah,

You are right - its the cook not the cooker. I am not at all saying that a stick burner will dry out a brisket. Any cook is capable of that. The method that I learned at a class, did not yield the same result on my Klose vs BWS. The only variable being the type of cooker.

All the other ingredients were the same, EXCEPT I did cook fat side up and dried that puppy out. The results were much better cooking fat side down this weekend. Didn't follow the class recipe to the letter, but cooked to 165, wrapped, back on till 188, rested 2 hours, sliced, and served. Never flipped it.

Still looking for the WOW factor, and will continue to play with some variables. The texture/tenderness was much better than what we have cooked in the past. Most likely will do the class recipe for comp - it has so many wins for "The Professor."
 
BTW, I cook on the same pit as you. Fat side down is for sure the way to go.[/quote]

Jeff Hughes,

Cool. Dave Klose really puts out a great product. Gets a lot of attention where ever we go, especially when getting a yank from the 52 Ford. I really like the versatility of the slide out grill, and upright. For comps and catering, it really offers some nice space to cook.

Are you using a charcoal basket? Or straight logs? I have a charcoal basket, and haven't really spent any time using it. Lump or Briq?
 
Last edited:
I got a couple questions guys. When adding a flavorful liquid how much do you add and how much do you end up with at the end of the cook? Also do you wrap it in foil or put it in a covered foil pan? When I do mine, I put the brisket in a foil pan with about a half a beers worth of liquid and loosely cover with foil. It seems to end up swimming in juice by the time it hits 190*. I feel like maybe its screwing up the bark as it comes out soggy. They have been coming out dry after slicing it too. Any ideas?

Jason
 
The Giggler said:
Jeff Hughes,

Cool. Dave Klose really puts out a great product. Gets a lot of attention where ever we go, especially when getting a yank from the 52 Ford. I really like the versatility of the slide out grill, and upright. For comps and catering, it really offers some nice space to cook.

Are you using a charcoal basket? Or straight logs? I have a charcoal basket, and haven't really spent any time using it. Lump or Briq?
Click to expand...

I use mostly logs(pecan is cheap around here) in the waking hours. I use my basket to get some sleep at comps. I can get a 5 hour burn at 250(using lump and small splits). I put my butts and brisket on about 1am, and let the basket do it's job while the pellet heads and I get some sleep. I start running logs when I get up.
 
jtfisher63 said:
I got a couple questions guys. When adding a flavorful liquid how much do you add and how much do you end up with at the end of the cook? Also do you wrap it in foil or put it in a covered foil pan? When I do mine, I put the brisket in a foil pan with about a half a beers worth of liquid and loosely cover with foil. It seems to end up swimming in juice by the time it hits 190*. I feel like maybe its screwing up the bark as it comes out soggy. They have been coming out dry after slicing it too. Any ideas?

Jason
Click to expand...

I added about 2 cups of liquid. In the case of the trial this weekend, it was Lipton's Onion Soup Mix. Added the water to the mix, and dumped it in. The bark was well formed, but not tough. I think the liquid softens things up a bit, but didn't kill the flavor. It did seem like it was swimming laps in the liquid, but it wasn't diluted at all. My guess is that more of the fat rendered, which made the amount seem larger than what I put in.
 
Way more liquid than I add. I usually just add some of whatever I used to inject the brisket. Maybe half a cup. End up with more than that and i use that to brush my slices.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

A
hello... again..
Replies
4
Views
195
cowgirl
cowgirl
C
Kingsford rethinks startegy on charcoal price hikes
Replies
10
Views
994
cardman
C
Fatback Joe
Recent Brisket Cook
2
Replies
26
Views
2K
Fatback Joe
Fatback Joe
D
1st (Brisket) Cook of 2022
Replies
13
Views
714
DefTaker
D
R
Frist brisket on the Lone Star
2
Replies
27
Views
1K
Chett. L
Chett. L
Back
Top