How NOT to cook a brisket

[Rockinar]

Brisket is highly subjective and it's hard to do it wrong. Unless you're a BBQ restaurant owner, executive chef and BBQ culinary instructor from San Antonio Texas named Brian West.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYfaFYqND8U


I give this 4 Face Palms out of 5.

 

[toymaster]

This hurt my head to watch....I wasn't this clueless on my first brisket when I didn't know what I was doing.

 

[Corky]

Wow. [emoji15]

 

[SirPorkaLot]

So...I’m curious
Where’s the issues with his methods?

 

[mattmountz94]

Aside from the bark looking alittle tough i personally think it looks pretty good. I like my bark more on the soft side. I may be cutting off a decent amount of fat while eating but o well.

 

[jakel]

I get a better smoke ring with my Yoder YS-480 .....and at the end it looks like he’s cutting with the grain :shocked: :tsk: Seems it goes against everything I’ve learned from lurking in Q-Talk...

 

[Baychilla]

I thought it was very nice of his mom to appear at the start of his video.

 

[SirPorkaLot]

I get a better smoke ring with my Yoder YS-480 .....and at the end it looks like he’s cutting with the grain :shocked: :tsk: Seems it goes against everything I’ve learned from lurking in Q-Talk...

Yea.. he could’ve done a better job of slicing for sure

 

[Demosthenes9]

Also, he says to use "science" and wrap at 160. Then he proceeds to talk about all the reasons to use parchment paper. Basic gist is that he's wrapping so that the color doesn't change. You do that precisely the way he said not to, which is by look.


Then there's the "come to room temp" thing. First point: That brisket isn't going to go from <40 top room temp in the 2 hours that he gives it. 2nd point: meat takes on smoke better when it's cold, so you want in in the smoker for those 2 hours. Third issue: What is faster ? Bringing the temp up on a 70 degree counter for 2 hours ? Or putting it in a 250 degree smoker for 2 hours ? All the "room temp" thing does is prolong the overall time.

Last point. He again used "science" to establish a target temp of 205. As most of us know, depending on a number of variables, a brisket could be "done" at almost any temp over 160. Again, depending on variables, by 205 it might very well be seriously over cooked.

 

[SirPorkaLot]

Then there's the "come to room temp" thing. First point: That brisket isn't going to go from <40 top room temp in the 2 hours that he gives it. 2nd point: meat takes on smoke better when it's cold, so you want in in the smoker for those 2 hours. Third issue: What is faster ? Bringing the temp up on a 70 degree counter for 2 hours ? Or putting it in a 250 degree smoker for 2 hours ? All the "room temp" thing does is prolong the overall time.

Yea.. the room temperature thing is definitely bogus.
A piece of meat that thick will take far longer than 2 hours to get to “room temp” sitting at room temp

That’s a good way to encourage good poisoning.

 

[pitbossJB]

That obviously wasn't the same brisket before and after, TV magic!

 

[SyraQue]

I think this is another case of a professional attempting to dispelled the "myths" of an art using "science" to make it seem more approachable to most people.

It seems to have been happening a lot over the years since the foodie craze kicked off. While I appreciate more people cooking for themselves, there are some things that just take time and experience to get decent at.

 

[Rockinar]

Aside from the bark looking alittle tough i personally think it looks pretty good. I like my bark more on the soft side. I may be cutting off a decent amount of fat while eating but o well.

You're joking right? Look again. Thats not bark. Its burned and the meat is dry as a leather shoe. None of the fat in the point is rendered out at all, he sliced it wrong so its stringy, and its topped with inedible hard yellow fat. I'd give you a $20 if you could eat a slice of that and not gag. That point is literally 75% fat. And for some reason the meat is all pink. It looks like corned beef.

 

[Nuco59]

I'm not someone who usually chucks rocks. But he's in Texas, by God- he should know better.

At least it was "just brisket"- could have been bad if he was posing as an airline pilot or a surgeon.

 

[Texas409]

Meh. BBQ is all subjective. Despite his methods we don't know how it tasted which is what matters in the end.

 

[Smoking Piney]

So...I’m curious
Where’s the issues with his methods?

I agree with his rub method. I don't rub anything until I start getting the cooker to temp. I see all that water that forms hours after rubbing as just a steam barrier to smoke, and moisture pulled from the meat. As far as layering the salt, I've never tried it, but I might.

He never went into trimming, which is pretty important.

I almost agree on wrapping. I wrap on color, not IT.

Slicing? Completely disagree with this guy, but I'm not serving and portioning for a restaurant business.

Brisket is the Holy Grail of Smoke for lots of folks that cook in the smoke, so opinions tend to be loud and proud. :-D

 

[SirPorkaLot]

I agree with his rub method. I don't rub anything until I start getting the cooker to temp. I see all that water that forms hours after rubbing as just a steam barrier to smoke, and moisture pulled from the meat. As far as layering the salt, I've never tried it, but I might.

He never went into trimming, which is pretty important.

I almost agree on wrapping. I wrap on color, not IT.

Slicing? Completely disagree with this guy, but I'm not serving and portioning for a restaurant business.

Brisket is the Holy Grail of Smoke for lots of folks that cook in the smoke, so opinions tend to be loud and proud. :-D

I also agree with not applying the rub until T -0, as well with not foiling and if you gonna wrap, wrap for color with paper.

I tend to immediately dismiss someone that lays claim to an “Expert” title as a bit of a self promoter, typically lacking in substance.

Most good professional cooks will also disavow the self proclaimed title of “Chef”.
Same concept

 

[EyeBurnEverything]

He makes some good points. Mainly about water on the surface preventing smoke ring/smoke flavor. I have proven numerous times that a naked dry surface produces a better smoke ring then a surface that is wet and covered in rub. I find the best results are to smoke dry/naked for an hour then apply your rub and when it hits 160F wrap in BP till probe tender. I am all about scientific approach, but you can't just say "when it hits 205F" because it all depends on how long it took to reach that temp. I could hold a brisket at as low as 185F for 20 hours and that brisket will probe tender as long as it was wrapped and had a moist environment.

 

[Smoking Piney]

I tend to immediately dismiss someone that lays claim to an “Expert” title as a bit of a self promoter, typically lacking in substance.

Most good professional cooks will also disavow the self proclaimed title of “Chef”.
Same concept

Agree.

The title of "Expert" is a red flag for me. Anyone can proclaim themselves an interwebz, youtube "expert". It usually translates into "attention whoring, inflated ego". I've met some great cooks and every one of them has been modest about their art.

As for "Chef", I've met only a few in my time that actually deserve the title and served as real chefs - developing recipes, sourcing the ingredients, teaching the sous chef(s) and line cooks the recipe, briefing the wait staff on the dishes, coordinating the timing, and watching every plate as it goes out. It's a brutal, demanding job performed in a high heat and high stress environment for much less pay than most people think.

The simple act of cooking does not make one a "Chef".

 

[Hoss]

No opinion really.To each their own,he has a restaurant to run.Time will tell.Famous or broke? We shall see.Aaron's 15 minutes are fading fast,just watch.