Tough flat, oops I did it again... Help

[aawa]

Originally Posted by garzanium

Agree with all of the above. One thing that hasn't been brought up is brisket quality. I personally never had any luck cooking choice. Cooked about 10, Last few where good, but not great. Bought a select when it went on sale and was hooked! Now my Costco had prime and it's just as good it seems (only like $.30/lb at Costco so it's a no brainer). Just something to consider. .. I'm now also leaving more toward"bigger brisket=bigger cow=more fat" mentality vs "smaller=more tender" the last 15lb'er I cooked had tooons of fat, more than a waygu it seemed like based on the saturated bp and about 2 cups of drippings when I pulled it from the smoker. I met Franklin at his place when we went to eat there and asked him if he basted or spritz as I had never seen butcher paper saturated with so much fat In my cooking. .. it is the meat quality.

I have cooked select, choice, and prime grade brisket. I have made plenty of select briskets taste great and melt in your mouth. Until someone has gotten the basics of the technique they use, meat quality will play less of a factor than most people think.

If you have good technique you can make a select grade brisket taste absolutely dericious and be very moist and tender.

[Thespanishgrill]

I've said this before but I'll try again I'll let it go beyond and leave the temp Guage in the kitchen but to be honest I wasn't using the numbers just as a probe. I was looking at the read out just cuz.
Dammit know I gotta do another one :-)

[Bludawg]

Some of the absolute best briskets I have ever cooked have been graded Select it's technique + temp & time that win the day. When I pick out a packer the last thing I look at is the grade. I look a Price per lb, overall equality in symmetry,weight between 12-15 lb and a tail no thinner than a min of 1". Once I sort the likely candidates I look at the marbling and make the final selection. If it is a select fine, choice that is ok too. Never saw Prime in my life for sale and to be honest I would never spend that kind of money they bring to get one. BBQ at it's bare roots is all about taking the worst cut & turning it into the best cut. Some seem to forget that and compensate by buying a higher quality. Those that Can, Do, those that Can't, Cheat it.

[big brother smoke]

Originally Posted by Thespanishgrill

This particular brisket was a select due to I went to 4 smart and final and that was all they had.
When I picked this one it felt very pliable with decent fat.
I will try Fat side down in the egg next time but I thought the idea was to keep the fat aimed at the heat and I might be wrong but it seems the higher to dome the hotter it gets?
Any suggestions on where else to get packers in the Los Angeles area

This is part of the problem. Smart and Final briskets suck, IMO!
If you are cooking Hot and Fast, my experience is your temps are going to be at least 10 degrees higher than low and slow on finished product. However, do not use temp as a guide use feel. Temp is for tracking purposes only!

[landarc]

I also have stopped buying Smart and Final briskets. I have had some great cooks with them, but, also some bad ones. I prefer Angus of Choice from Cash and Carry for bargain briskets. They charge a little more than Jetro, but, no need to be a business and never a big line.

Probe tender is a hard standard until you nail one. When you think it is like poking a hot skewer through butter (or perhaps probing pudding), you start to understand. The probe should almost insert itself. I actually use a shish kebab skewer. Many use an ice pick.

The rule I use is fat cap towards the source of heat. In a cooker such as yours, that means fat cap down. That is not why the flat was tough though. I would also say, that meat that comes off of the heat will always be a little softer, and then it will tighten up. A brisket that is properly cooks tightens up just a tiny bit. If it is over cooked, it won't tighten up at all, as the collagen and connective tissues are so denatured, they cannot tighten up. A piece of meat that tightens up a lot after being removed from the heat is undercooked.

[landarc]

Something to note:
Meat temp: Reaction:
less than 125°F; Meat will not contract
Meat will be soft, it has not heated to a point where the internal fluids have cause the proteins to contract. It will not tighten up at normal room temperatures.

135° to 140°F; Outer layer of the meat will contract
The outer layer of the meat will tighten up, depending on the point in the temperature range, the internal meat will tighten variable. This is why, when you slice a rare to medium-rare roast, the middle of the meat seems to bulge as the roast cools. The inner meat has not gotten to the same heat as the outer layer of meat. Both parts of the meat contract, just that the layer on the outside heated beyond the point where the proteins remain relaxed.

145°-169°-all of the roast will contract;
As the internal moisture has all been heated to the point that it has activated the proteins. Now, proteins such as collagen are heat sensitive. When heated, they relax, when cooled, they now contract to the original state, but, you have cooked moisture out of the meat, and the proteins now tighten beyond their natural state.

169°-190°-Meat will harden
This is the range, where you find that the meat if hard, both on the cooker and off. It is at it's maximum heat level, prior to the collagen and proteins denaturing. Almost no meat will be edible in this range. The water based moisture has largely been driven off, and the moisture from fat and collagen has not been rendered.

And here is the trick with brisket, from 190°F and up until it is done, the meat will begin to soften on the cooker as the process of rendering finalizes. But, until the process is done, the meat will still tighten when/as it cools. This is another way of reading your cooked brisket.

[Okie Sawbones]

Originally Posted by aawa

I have cooked select, choice, and prime grade brisket. I have made plenty of select briskets taste great and melt in your mouth. Until someone has gotten the basics of the technique they use, meat quality will play less of a factor than most people think.

If you have good technique you can make a select grade brisket taste absolutely dericious and be very moist and tender.

Now here is the best quote of the day.

[grillinguy247]

Maybe let the brisket breathe for 15 or 20 minutes and then rest it in foil. This way it won't continue to cook as much while resting.

[SmittyJonz]

Originally Posted by garzanium

Agree with all of the above. One thing that hasn't been brought up is brisket quality. I personally never had any luck cooking choice. Cooked about 10, Last few where good, but not great. Bought a select when it went on sale and was hooked! Now my Costco had prime and it's just as good it seems (only like $.30/lb at Costco so it's a no brainer). Just something to consider. ..

Ain't Choice a better grade than Select with more marbling?

[Thespanishgrill]

Select, then choice then prime,
PS I did open it and let the steam out for 15,minutes

[Hawg Father of Seoul]

Originally Posted by Bludawg

Those that Can, Do, those that Can't, Cheat it.

Prime brisket ain't expensive. They all cook a little different. The best cook can cook them all well.