Brisket help

[Gravyhound]

Kowabunga Muchacho's! I am sure this has been discussed and beaten to death- however my goal is to produce an excellent brisket- You see, I LOVE brisket, possibly my favorite meat. The issue is I have not been able to cook one to my liking. Let me paint you a picture of the last one-
BEAUTIFUL USDA PRIME Full Packer- brined, rubbed, trimmed. I couldnt keep my eyes off the ole gal. However, when I went to put her in my vertical smoker, alas, she was tooo LONG so I bent her over a brick and well yeah it was down hill from there, stall hit I panicked, called my therapist, e-mailed Alton Brown, and scrolled through 15 youtube channels. It was that day that I made a vow to the Prince of Prime BEEF. Never would I ever try and cram a full packer brisket into a vertical smoker. Im thankful to say that I have kept my word and now that I have upgraded my cook equipment, ambition has taken over me and I am ready to give it another go! So here is the plan-

50% Salt
50% pepper (Ground black and green)

Cook fat cap down 225 degrees. Will be pulling at an IT of 195- then will hold in a cooler for 2 hours packed with Towels

What I want to know the ultimate age old question
To wrap or not to wrap???

Does this seem correct?

 

[pharp]

If you pull at a temp you are setting yourself up for failure. You need to pull when it has a good probe feel. Everyone has different opinion of what "probes like butter means." For me I like to probe when I can feel there is something their, but not noticeable. If it goes in with 0 resistance too far, if you have to force it in at all you need to let it keep going.

Lots of opinions on wrap. IMO the only time you need to wrap is when you are cooking so hot the outside will get burnt before it is done, which will not be the case for you at 225, so I would say it is more of personal preference.

Good luck!

 

[pjtexas1]

Pharp has it covered. Solid advice!

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[Hoss]

Ahhh yes.Chasing the "Unicorn".Good luck my friend.Briskets are a lot like women.Every one of them are different, but they are all the same.Solid advice above ^^^.Good luck.

 

[Gary Tomato]

And if you decide to wrap, will you wrap in foil or paper?



Never ending questions ... there's a good video with Aaron Franklin and John Markus where they test three options 1) paper 2) foil 3) no warp watch here; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DOWH7bSHak

 

[Gravyhound]

thanks for the advice- If i do wrap i will be using foil. Thanks for all the advice-
Ill post pics and let you all live vicariously through me as I smoke meats all friday!

 

[SonnyE]

You are just going to have to keep trying.
I spent an entire winter trying to make a good pot of coffee on my wood stove.
All were good, but one was perfect.
Point being, every one is different. Hoss hit on it with womenfolk. All is good, but all is different.
So as you narrow it down, you'll just have to compromise.
You could cook 100 briskets, and each will be different.
Because just like women's, each brisket is a different piece of meat, so you have to handle it different.
There simply is no hard and fast rule.
Sorry to pop your bubble. It's Bar-B-Que. If you don't like it, apply more beer. :wink:
(Works for women, too.)

 

[ssv3]

Practice, practice, practice!

I learned through my trials that there is no need to brine, salt and pepper only, probe tender at the thickest point of the flat. Wrap isn't necessary unless you you're cooking at higher temps as mentioned or you want to speed through stall. Cook at 275* minimum.

Doing all the steps above I still lacked until I figured that REST is key. When probe tender, take it off the smoker, open her up if she's wrapped and let her "breathe" for about 10 mins or until there is no visible steam. Wrap her back up and rest for at least 2 hours upwards of 4+ hours. REST is the key ingredient in stellar brisket IMHO.

Good luck and most importantly POST your cook.

 

[robertm]

Lots of good advice here. I've found the best briskets are the ones you keep simple. Salt/pepper and post oak smoke. That's it.

I cook 225-250 until it's got a good bark on it. Takes about 4-5 hrs and it also when it hits stall. I like to wrap in butcher paper. No wrap takes an eternity and can end up with too much dried out bark. Tin foil makes bark to soft. Butcher paper seems the happy medium.

Pull when the meat probe goes through the meat with no effort at all (once past the bark). I've found it's almost always over 200 degrees. I start checking about 195 but only brisket I've ever cooked that was ready that low was a wagu. If I have to error, I'd rather a brisket just a little overcooked than one that's still chewy. As long as it's wrapped you don't need to worry about it being too dry.

As stated above, rest time is key. I usually rest at least 3-4 hrs. More out of necessity but I wouldn't cut until it's sat minimum 2 hrs.

All that's my personal preference of course. Everyone does it different. Unlike pizza and sex, I have had bad brisket. But just like pizza and sex, I'll never forget the best ones I've ever had!