New smoker...disappointed and perplexed

[clhman]

Howdy, I'm looking for some wisdom.

I've been cooking for a couple of years now and have had great results. My starter smoker was an Oklahoma Joe's offset. I've really wanted to up my game and get into competition. I decided to build my own. I just finished it. It is an offset 115 gallon propane tank with an insulated firebox. I think it turned out well. I feel like I have a fairly good grasp on brisket...until last night.

I fired up the new smoker for a big cook. I cooked two briskets and three racks of babybacks. I was very careful and took good notes. Here are high points:

-Prime briskets, each 11 pounds, trimmed
-Cooked on Birch wood (best I can get in Alaska)
-Maintained 250-275F
-Hit the stall at 4 hours
-Brought it to 172F and wrapped it in pink butcher paper
-I monitored temp the whole time in both briskets - probe was in the fattest part of the point
-I pulled them at 11 hours and 202F
-I put them in my Yeti to rest for 1.5hr

Awesome bark, great smoke ring, but DRY as can be. The cooler had 2" of juice at the bottom when I pulled them out for the party. Also steam came out when I opened it.

I am always super meticulous when I cook. What did I do wrong? Was it as simple as I just overcooked it? Or did I kill it by letting it sit in the Yeti? I feel like every other part of the process was on point.

Overall I am happy with the temp control. I also ran a water pan. There weren't any hot spots and it cooked evenly.

I'd appreciate any advice you can give. Thanks for reading.

[Rockinar]

Sounded like you did everything right. Theres no telling without hearing fine details or seeing it in action. Only thing I can think of is you cooked to a temp not till tender. I don't think 202 temp would result in a dry death of a prime packer though. It should still be decent.

You also monitored the point, not the flat. Should have MONITORED THE FLAT. Always ignore the point 100%. Its doing it own thing and will be ready when the flat is ready.


I think this is pilot error. You monitored the point and then cooked it to a temp, not texture..

[Joshw]

That's why you shouldn't trust a thermometer, to tell you when to pull. 11 hours for a 11 pound brisket at 275 seems a little long to me. I would lean toward overcooked. How did the meat look? Was it falling apart?

[LYU370]

Originally Posted by clhman

-I pulled them at 11 hours and 202F
-I put them in my Yeti to rest for 1.5hr

Awesome bark, great smoke ring, but DRY as can be. The cooler had 2" of juice at the bottom when I pulled them out for the party. Also steam came out when I opened it.

Did you cook them to time or temp? Or did you probe them?

Did you put them in the cooler immediately? If so, they probably kept on cooking. Were they dry & crumbly or dry & tough? The first is over cooked, then second under cooked.

And as Rockinar said, ignore the point, you can cook the crap out of it and it'll still be fine. Always check the flat.

[clhman]

Originally Posted by Rockinar

I think this is pilot error. You monitored the point and then cooked it to a temp, not texture..

I think it is pilot error also.

Originally Posted by Joshw

That's why you shouldn't trust a thermometer, to tell you when to pull. 11 hours for a 11 pound brisket at 275 seems a little long to me. I would lean toward overcooked. How did the meat look? Was it falling apart?

It wasn't falling apart. The flat was flavorful, but very dry.

Originally Posted by LYU370

Did you cook them to time or temp? Or did you probe them?

Did you put them in the cooler immediately? If so, they probably kept on cooking. Were they dry & crumbly or dry & tough? The first is over cooked, then second under cooked.

And as Rockinar said, ignore the point, you can cook the crap out of it and it'll still be fine. Always check the flat.

I cooked to temp. I did put it in the cooler immediately. I have been thinking today that since the cooler didn't breathe that it continued to cook. Since it was done early, where should I have put it to let it rest?

I struggle to understand how to decide if a brisket is done or not. I have grown to rely on my thermometer. Should I test the flat by feel?

[smoke ninja]

it depends on if it held a slice or not.

you either pulled it early and it was dry because it needed more cooking. sliced would have had some tug

or

you didn't vent and it overcooked in the yeti if slices wouldn't hold together

[SmoothBoarBBQ]

Wrapping meat and putting it in a cooler can kind of achieve two different outcomes depending on how you do it.

#1. You immediately wrap the meat, straight off a hot smoker, and put it in a cooler. This will continue to cook for a few more hours at ~200°. For people who need a LONG hold this works well because you can cook the meat to almost perfectly tender, and then wrap quickly and allow the "hold" to finish tenderizing. I've talked to BBQ restaurant owners who utilize this method and have 8+ hours holds on all briskets.

#2. Pull the brisket out and let it breathe, unwrapped or opened up, for about 10-15 minutes to allow it to cool down. If you want you can be pretty precise with it and monitor the internal temp and wait until it gets down to about 165°. Then you can tightly wrap it and put it in a cooler to "hold" without any worry of continuing to cook. I've used this method and have held briskets for about 4 hours with no worries.

As others have stated the point really messes things up...it's probe tender when it's not quite ready because of how fatty the meat is. You really need to focus completely on the flat when looking for tenderness. Another great tip : whenever you think your brisket is finished, go ahead and cook it for another 20 minutes or so.

As for being done the probe test is my personal best bet. If your probe slides into and the flat with almost no resistance then you're good to go. If you have to force the probe in, at all, then you've got some more time left. If you want to practice it grab a jar of room-temp peanut butter, about 70°F, and probe it a few times to get a feel. While you're learning take that jar of peanut butter and set it right next to your brisket. Probe the peanut butter 4-5 times, then wipe off the probe, and probe the meat. Is it about the same? If the meat is too firm then let it continue cooking...with Prime grade flats I have no issue taking them to about 208°. Cooking temp will also alter the final finishing temp...if you're cooking at 225° most flats will be finished at about 195-200°, but if you're going 275-300° then you're more likely to have a final finished temp of about 205-210°.

Hope this helps and at least you can always make some awesome brisket chili with the meat. You said it was dry, but not falling apart, so that's very likely undercooked. I know it sounds strange but when a flat is dry (especially a prime) it's usually because the internal fats haven't been fully melted. If a flat is crumbly / falling apart then you've overcooked it and squeezed all of the moisture and fat out of the meat.

[Dr. Trout Bum]

If it wasn’t a misstatement that you were probing the point, then that was the issue. It’s the thickest part of the flat you are after. Since the point will probe tender much earlier, you under cooked it.

[morningwoodbbq]

What Trout Bum said. Probe the flat as if it is cooking all by itself to get that to where you want. Then separate point and flat and continue the point until that is where you want it.

[Rusty Kettle]

Originally Posted by clhman

I think it is pilot error also.



It wasn't falling apart. The flat was flavorful, but very dry.



I cooked to temp. I did put it in the cooler immediately. I have been thinking today that since the cooler didn't breathe that it continued to cook. Since it was done early, where should I have put it to let it rest?

I struggle to understand how to decide if a brisket is done or not. I have grown to rely on my thermometer. Should I test the flat by feel?

The only way to know is to practice until you get it right. People will tell you when it feels like a probe goes in like a hot knife through butter. You really don't understand what that means until you get it right.

I temp my brisket but only as a guideline of when to start testing with a probe. Thermometers have their place but in brisket only use it to figure out when you need to start probing for tenderness.

The stay in thermometer needs to be in the thickest part of the flat. I start checking around 190 degrees. When you hit 190 you should be checking. I typically cook choice brisket. Imo its more forgiving than Prime. It takes longer for choice to be done usually. This gives you a larger window for proper doneness. Imo choice is pretty consistent but with a much larger window to get it right. Prime is consistent but a very narrow window to get it just right. Very easy to over cook or under cook it. Prime cooks fast imo.
If you have any brisket left over that is junk, mix it with a can of beans, like busch's, some bbq sauce, and cover with shredded cheese and cook it in the smoker or oven until the cheese melts. Add your favorite dry rub to the mix too. Then it won't go to waste. I call it my Farked up Brisket beans. As in I done gone farked up the brisket.

[lastmajordude]

I haven’t cooked that many briskets but I’ve never had a bad one. Seems to me no matter how you cook it when it gets (as Franklin says “squishy”) when you squeeze it.....bingo. NO matter 195 or 215 temp wise......just my .02....

[Nuco59]

Friends don't let friends drive drunk

Brethren should not let Brethren cook briskets to time and temp.

Cook it until it's done- probing tender in the thickest part of the flat- then stop cooking it. (I know - it's not that simple- but it almost is)

[Mikhail]

My last brisket cook I was at 300 for a 12 lb trimmed prime. It was butter tender in 7 hours, no wrap. So yeah, I would say the problem is where you probed.

Still, it will make fantastic chili!

[Westx]

Like others have said your were checking temps in the wrong spot. Always check in the thickest part of the flat and only as a guide.

[Coat]

I don't understand how you got to the stall in 4 hours if you were running 250-275. I think either your cook chamber temp was off or your meat temp. and it sounds to me like it is the meat temp. that would explain an early "stall" and also explain why you were at 202 but the meat still hadn't become tender. If you had all that juice at the bottom of the cooler, i doubt you overcooked it, because you would have dried it out by then. I think you probably undercooked it (you said it wasn't falling apart, right?). Try probing just a little ways into the flat, with your thermometer turned off. You can use your thermo to get a feel for when to start probing for tenderness. But once you get past about 185, turn it off and only probe in the flat, just a little ways away from the point, and don't check the temp anymore. It'll just mess with your head. Wait til it's so tender in that spot that you can barely even feel the probe entering the meat. Then you're done.