tough brisket

Timbo, welcome to the group.

my first thought is not enough heat, but 7 hours at 220 and 3 more at 200 should do it assuming you are measuring temp on the same level as the brisket, and that your thermometer is accurate.

next is how was it sliced? you want to slice against the grain, not as easy as it sounds, cuz the grain on a brisket will make many twist and turns. Ya gotta reorient it every now and again make sure you got it the right way.

I am sure others will chime in with there thoughts too.

good luck and welcome aboard.

mook

What part of Illinois are you from?

You did not say what size brisket? A large (12lb) brisket can take 12- 15 hours or more to fully cook. Also what was the temp of the meat when you took it off the smoker and when it came out of the oven?

2 cups of mop sounds like alot. Was it warm when you added it? If not it may have caused the meat temp to go down when you poured it on. The more liquid you have the more heat it takes to get your brisket up to temp.

Rule of thumb for brisket is hour to hour:15 per lb at 220. Your 5lber went 10 hours(2 hours/lb).

A 5 lb brisket sounds like a market trimmed flat. Assuming thats what it was, your times were definately on the long side. How thick was the fatcap on the slaB? id it was thin, you gotta lay some bacon or porkfat over the top. When u remove it, the internal temp of the brisket should be no less than 195.. i take mine to a few degrees over 200 internally, then towel wrap it and cooler it for a bit. Also, what were your expectations? A flat will never get buttery tender like the nose and point, it will always me a little more firm to the teeth.

Also, 2 cups of mop is a bunch!! When i wrap mine, i spray it down enough to be good and wet, but it sure aint swimming. Is it possible that you were overcooked and dried out?


When your cookin, you can do the fork test. Stick a for in it and twist it, if it twists easy, its done, if it puts up a fight, you got more to go.. but internal temps. Take out at 195-205, wrap in a towel and let it rest for an hour or 3.

hey... keep this in mind... for your first cook, you took on the most challenging hunk of meat. Birds and butts are more forgiving. Took me over a dozen full briskets probably close to 2 to get it to braggin rights. If ya really want to try a brisket again, try to get a full packer cut. Those trimmed points dont give you a lot of leeway.

Timbo,
Shucks, I thought I was going to get a chance to contribute, for once.
All the guys above hit it on the head!

My first Brisket was also tough (a bit). I cooked too fast (230-250 degrees).
Should have used 200-225 for beef.
I foiled at 160 degrees meat temp, then finished in oven at 250 oven temp. Should have been 225 or so in oven. Finished way too quick.
I pulled from oven at 195 internal temp, wrapped in towel and placed on counter while dropping to 160. Took an hour. Should have put in cooler to conserve heat and further break down "thingies" in the meat.
End result was a tasty (but chewey) brisket with a 1/4 inch smoke ring.
Not bad for 1st try--but not right!!!

2nd try--to die for!!
Got cooking temp down. Wrapped in foil at 170. In oven at 225 oven temp, removed at 200 meat temp, wrapped in towel and put in cooler down to 150 meat temp. Tender--Moist--1/2 inch smoke ring. I'll work at it, but gonna be hard to get better than this!!

Just my thoughts!
Enjoy.
TIM

Biggest rule, measure internal temp and do not pay attention to the clock.

parrothead said:

Biggest rule, measure internal temp and do not pay attention to the clock.

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Can't agree with parrot more. I learned that lesson this weekend. internal temp is very important.

Timbo,

The rest gave you the best information that you could have gotten. A couple of weeks ago I did 60lbs and about 10 pounds were unfit for humans, so I gave it to my son-in-law and his friends. They did get it down but not without alot of beer. Sometimes the meat is just too tough.

Graytwhyte said:

............ Well, I unwrapped the foil and the ends were tender, but the inside was still pretty tough. Not sure what I did wrong? Thanks for any input, Timbo.

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I had similar results with my first brisket. I won`t be able to help with suggestions to do another one (I have`nt tried another since). But, I can tell you to chop up your dried leftovers, put it in a sauce pan with taco seasoning and add some hot jalapeneo`s or habanero`s plus water. Let simmer for a couple of hours, keeping the mixture a little on the thin side.

The meat will rehydrate and you`ll have the best damn tacos/borritos you could imagine. I practically fell of my kitchen chair!

2nd try--to die for!!
Got cooking temp down. Wrapped in foil at 170. In oven at 225 oven temp, removed at 200 meat temp, wrapped in towel and put in cooler down to 150 meat temp. Tender--Moist--1/2 inch smoke ring. I'll work at it, but gonna be hard to get better than this!!

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Much better than I've ever done........Congrats!!!!!!!

try injecting through the cryovac bag with beer and meat tenderizer that contains papaya enzyme. Seal it and refrigerate for at least 24 hours. Works for me.

its a Tommy kendall thread.. one of his tricks is to try to bend the brisket. If you can touch it end to end its a keeper.

briskets are the toughest hunk of muscle to get tasting great all the time--I only have cooked packer cuts--cook at 225° 'till the flat temp is aobut 194°--then wrap in foil and let sit for a couple hrs(important)--but sometimes then they are still tough--I threw away more briskets than anything else when tring to figure out the bbq thing!! In fact the neighbors dog used to run and hide when he so me head his direction<LOL>

have fun

Buzz