Brisket questions?

jack040806

jack040806

is one Smokin' Farker
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So I have made brisket three of the last four weekends and I am kinda disappointed with the results. The meat is tender and has good bark but the inside is just not getting any flavor, I have been cooking on my wsm, fat side down and I did try injecting with a basic beef broth. So I was thinking about going fat side up this week and possibly poking it with a fork to provide a path for the fat to drip down into the meat, any thoughts would be really helpful, thank you.
 
No fork poking!

I use low sodium beef broth with Bovine Bold in it. Heat the broth, dissolve the rub, strain and inject.
 
Cool, thanks Larry, and is fat up the way to roll on the wsm? I'm still learning this thing. I know how to get some good eats on the drum but I need to perfect my new cooker.
 
Well Jack I can only tell you how I would do it on the WSM. Don't know about others...

On my WSM I use a 14 inch clay saucer in the water pan. (No water). I put the fat cap down on my WSM and UDS.
 
Not quite sure what you mean by "not getting any flavor". Are you talking smoke flavor, rub flavor? I don't think fat cap up or down is going to make any difference in what you are looking for, it's probably more a factor of what your expectations are.
Personally, I think a properly smoked brisket tastes like beef, smoke, and then a salty/spice flavor from the bark. What is your brisket missing?
 
So does that provide somewhat of a barrier for the heat and yet leave you with dry heat as opposed to getting a moist heat with the water? It seems to me that the moist heat is somewhat responsible for the loss of flavor when cooking on the wsm vs. the uds, also probably has something to do with the flavor of the food dripping straight into the fire.
 
Saiko said:
Not quite sure what you mean by "not getting any flavor". Are you talking smoke flavor, rub flavor? I don't think fat cap up or down is going to make any difference in what you are looking for, it's probably more a factor of what you expecations are.
Personally, I think a properly smoked brisket tastes like beef, smoke, and then a salty/spice flavor from the bark. What is your brisket missing?
Click to expand...
I'm hoping to be able to pull out somewhat of a salty beefy smoky flavor throughout. What I have been ending up with lately is a really good flavor on the outside but the inside tastes like a very bland pot roast. I know this isn't the worst thing ever, I have eaten every last bit of all three briskets. I just figured if anyone knew how to pull out more of that flavor throughout the whole of the meat it would be incredibly helpful.
 
I have no idea! I just found that using the clay saucer allowed me to have far more control over the heat. I doubt very much that moist heat has anything to do with the flavor inside the brisket.
 
Saiko said:
Not quite sure what you mean by "not getting any flavor". Are you talking smoke flavor, rub flavor? I don't think fat cap up or down is going to make any difference in what you are looking for, it's probably more a factor of what your expectations are.
Personally, I think a properly smoked brisket tastes like beef, smoke, and then a salty/spice flavor from the bark. What is your brisket missing?
Click to expand...

Saiko makes a very good point here. To me a brisket is not a particularly "strong" tasting cut of beef. Is it possible your expectation is a little high?
 
Cool. Thanks Larry, your insight is always appreciated and I think I have a clay saucer in the garage. Do you wrap it in foil for easier cleanup or anything?
 
jack040806 said:
I'm hoping to be able to pull out somewhat of a salty beefy smoky flavor throughout. What I have been ending up with lately is a really good flavor on the outside but the inside tastes like a very bland pot roast. I know this isn't the worst thing ever, I have eaten every last bit of all three briskets. I just figured if anyone knew how to pull out more of that flavor throughout the whole of the meat it would be incredibly helpful.
Click to expand...

Taka a read through Barbefunkoramaque's brisket threads...

Beyond the funk, there's a ton of quality information regarding the importance of salt as a carrier of flavor and the need to pay attention to ratios

I believe he got it right.
 
jack040806 said:
Cool. Thanks Larry, your insight is always appreciated and I think I have a clay saucer in the garage. Do you wrap it in foil for easier cleanup or anything?
Click to expand...

Double wrapped. I wrap the saucer and then put in the bowl and wrap the whole thing again.
 
BBQ Grail said:
Saiko makes a very good point here. To me a brisket is not a particularly "strong" tasting cut of beef. Is it possible your expectation is a little high?
Click to expand...
It's very possible, my pops asked the same thing. I know that once it is finished cooking there are a ton of different ways to get that added kick on flavor that I'm looking for and I may have to content myself with that. I just have had some briskets on my uds that had more of a salty smoky flavor throughout. This could completely be just one of those things though that the direct heat of the uds provides a slightly different flavor profile than the indirect on the wsm.
 
jack040806 said:
I just have had some briskets on my uds that had more of a salty smoky flavor throughout. This could completely be just one of those things though that the direct heat of the uds provides a slightly different flavor profile than the indirect on the wsm.
Click to expand...

I think you hit the nail on the head here. With a UDS without a heat deflector, all the fat drippings fall directly on your charcoal bed, resulting in a more intense flavor. Some people think it tastes better, some people don't.

That brings up the age old cooking question, do you prepare food the way YOU like it or the way other people do. If you prefer the flavor profile of a UDS smoked brisket over a WSM, then just go with the UDS. I'm like you, I love an intense smokey flavor, but I've been happy with the briskets I've produced on the WSM.
 
I hate to admit that I have not used my WSM since I made my drum. I made plenty briskets on the WSM. They had great moisture, rings, and smoke flavor..............but the Drum adds that one flavor profile that the WSM doesn't. It adds that "smoldering beef fat" smell and flavor. The briskets even have that smell that you get when you grill a steak with a good amount of fat on it. The smell can't be mistaken for the smell of wood smoke. So, in the end, you get that extra flavor profile.
I know what you mean about the internal flavor. But personally, I like that balance of the "plain" beef flavor on the inside and then you get hit with the bark, the smoke, and the kinda salty/fatty flavor from the fat dripping and burning on the coals. Another way to get some flavor is to serve it or put in back in it's own foil drippings once you slice it up.
Consider this.......beef broth is very weak, salty foil drippings basically.

One thing I do is save foil drippings. The fat and all. I strain it. Then, those drippings become my injection for future briskets, not all the time. I simply heat it up and inject it as is, no diluting. That makes for some killer flavor.
 
jack040806 said:
So I have made brisket three of the last four weekends and I am kinda disappointed with the results. The meat is tender and has good bark but the inside is just not getting any flavor, I have been cooking on my wsm, fat side down and I did try injecting with a basic beef broth. So I was thinking about going fat side up this week and possibly poking it with a fork to provide a path for the fat to drip down into the meat, any thoughts would be really helpful, thank you.
Click to expand...

Are you wrapping it at all? If so, perhaps too early? I know others will probably disagree with me, but I find if I wrap too early, it affects the smoke taste greatly and leaves me with a pot roast tasting brisket.
Just my .02 cents. :-D
 
4TheLoveofBrisket said:
Are you wrapping it at all? If so, perhaps too early? I know others will probably disagree with me, but I find if I wrap too early, it affects the smoke taste greatly and leaves me with a pot roast tasting brisket.
Just my .02 cents. :-D
Click to expand...
I have been wrapping it and maybe I will try and go without tomorrow and see what happens, I am not getting it burnt or anything so I don't think I need to wrap to protect that, just to let it marinate in its own juices and perhaps just the time that I cooler it for would be enough for that. Thanks for your advice.
 
Im going to go out on a long limb here and say its the meat itself. Odds are you are selecting, well SELECT cuts. To me most of the good flavor you are looking for is in the fat, most importantly the marbling, or lack there of on a select piece. I have dont lots of smokes with cheaper pieces of meat only to be disappointed over and again. When i use the equivalent piece in choice cut BAM, just what i was missing. I have a select brisket on the smoker as we speak, and ill test my theory. Last week i picked up a costco choice cut brisket flat and it was to die for. This week i found a whole packer on sale at the local grocery store that was select. Just my two cents(im going to need this back, im broke)
kris
 
I smoked a brisket on the drum last weekend that was injected with Butchers and rubbed with Bovine Bold. Damn it was good!
 
Smoke it in a pan, save all the wonderful juices and then put some of the juices back on it AFTER slicing.
You will have the flavor of your rub in those juices AND on your Brisket.
Plus, NO CLEANUP!!!!!
This is how I do it, but I don't know Jack Didley!!!
 
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