First brisket on my WSM 22 - how to improve?

[Buckeyes1995]

Hi all!

I've been a long time lurker, first time poster

I made my first brisket this weekend on my WSM 22" smoker. I followed numerous resources and advice on how to cook the perfect brisket. A few details below:

I picked up a 7.5lb Choice packer brisket from my local butcher. Trimmed it and prepped with with a salt and pepper rub.

I put the brisket on about 7:00am Saturday morning at 250F with 4 chunks of hickory (held that temp the whole time) and by 5:00pm it was probing about 186 degrees in most parts of the flat. Not wanting to eat at 10pm, decided to wrap it in foil (didn't have butcher paper) and cranked the heat up to 300 in the smoker. At around 7:30pm it probed "like butta" in all parts of the flat and was reading in the 205 range. I pulled the brisket, tightened up the foil, and put it in a cooler with towels until 8:30pm.

At 8:30pm, pulled it out and began slicing. Here are some observations and my request for 'help'.

- When I took the brisket out of the foil to move to cutting board, it was all I could do to keep the point from breaking off, it was so tender (similar to my pork butts). The flat had a good feel but did seem a little soft (not springy like I've seen mentioned as the desirable feel).

- The first 1/8 to 1/4 of the flat (from the skinny end) crumbled as I cut it. It was still juicy but could not slice. After that point I was able to cut into nice slices. The slices were a little moist to touch, but not where I cut into it and juice was running down the meat (live I've seen on BBQ shows).

- The flavor was incredible. Even better the next day as leftovers. The rub was amazing and the point was full of flavor. The flat seemed a tad dry to me but by no means bad.

So, my question is this: How can I do a better job and get that super-juicy meat? I did a lot of research, read forums, watched Franklin videos, etc.. the only theory I have on mine is this:

Did I overcook the meat by taking it off the smoker at 205 and then wrapping/holding in the cooler where it continued to cook for another hour? Would I have been better off taking it off the cooler, putting it unwrapped on the counter and letting cool down to 150F or so and then holding in a cooler until dinner time?

I was very excited and happy with how this turned out, but I want to do better (the first two briskets I did about a year or two ago did not turn out good).

Thanks! Looking forward to hearing from all you BBQ experts.

 

[Novass]

I have done the same thing. from what I have read I needed to vent the brisket for 15-20 minutes before I put it in the cooler. tried it and it did help.

 

[Jason TQ]

Smaller briskets can overshoot quickly and appear to be more susceptible to overshooting when wrapped up. On most briskets (15lbs or more with little trimming) I may vent for 5mins, but then hold for up to 4hrs and no issues/no continuing to cook/overcook. I think the venting road can lead people to tilting at windmills. I'd guess it was already overdone when before you put it to bed.

How much did you trim it? a 7.5lb'er is pretty small already. The crumbling on the end can happen to any brisket and again even more so on smaller ones.

 

[Buckeyes1995]

Smaller briskets can overshoot quickly and appear to be more susceptible to overshooting when wrapped up. On most briskets (15lbs or more with little trimming) I may vent for 5mins, but then hold for up to 4hrs and no issues/no continuing to cook/overcook. I think the venting road can lead people to tilting at windmills. I'd guess it was already overdone when before you put it to bed.

How much did you trim it? a 7.5lb'er is pretty small already. The crumbling on the end can happen to any brisket and again even more so on smaller ones.

Thanks for the reply. I was pretty conservative on the trimming. I trimmed out the hard fat deckle between the point and brisket, and trimmed down the fat cap a little. There was a still a very solid fat cap.

Interesting on being overdone. It felt right when I took it off and was around 203 to 205. Would it be advisable on smaller ones to take it off sooner (before the budda feel) and let it cook in the cooler, without venting?

Thanks

 

[RLinNH]

Am I doing it wrong? I pull mine off the smoker at 193-195, then I tent, in a cooler, for 45-60 minutes. Cut and eat. Always has, in the past, worked out for me. :icon_blush:

 

[dtyates]

Like mentioned above, it's best to vent or open the foil for 10 to 15 minutes before wrapping and placing in the cooler. This allows time for the meat to slow down and it won't over cook like your describing.

 

[Jason TQ]

Thanks for the reply. I was pretty conservative on the trimming. I trimmed out the hard fat deckle between the point and brisket, and trimmed down the fat cap a little. There was a still a very solid fat cap.

Interesting on being overdone. It felt right when I took it off and was around 203 to 205. Would it be advisable on smaller ones to take it off sooner (before the budda feel) and let it cook in the cooler, without venting?

Thanks

It really can be hard to tell without being there and seeing the whole cook. Sometimes smooth can be too smooth. That much crumbling and point about falling apart when you took it out says it was overdone to me before you rested........the reason I say this is because you only had it resting for an hour. That to me isn't a lot of resting and a properly cooked brisket should go from perfect to very overdone in that short of time.

 

[Cliff H.]

Letting the internal temp drop to below 160 before resting for a couple of hours has made a world of difference for me.

 

[Danny B]

I think if you do everything the same next time except use butcher paper and vent for 15 minutes before coolering you will improve your results.

 

[Gary Tomato]

My last brisket was a bit like that, not as crumbly though. I resolved to cut the flat from the point when the point gets to 205° as the flat was 5-10° cooler than the point. I've seen that done on Pitmasters a few times.

 

[Blanton]

Brisket juicyness (is that a word) is not like a juicy steak. Often times when you see picture of a brisket being pressed and what looks like the juice running out, is actually the liquid fat/grease from between the flat and point. There is fine line for the actual contecting tissue juice to remain in the flat before it is cooked out.

 

[Jason TQ]

Brisket juicyness (is that a word) is not like a juicy steak. Often times when you see picture of a brisket being pressed and what looks like the juice running out, is actually the liquid fat/grease from between the flat and point. There is fine line for the actual contecting tissue juice to remain in the flat before it is cooked out.

Very true words here. Took me a while to realize starting out a tender and juicy brisket is not the same as other cuts of beef. Jeff you hit the nail on the head for the description of the juices/liquid pouring out from a cross section cut where the point and flat are both there.

QVC features the masterbuilt smoker and they always showcase the brisket juiciness by cutting into it and then pushing down on top to show how "juicy" it is when really most of what is pouring out is from the fat between point and flat. Same goes for when they show some cooking machine that did a prime rib and how "juicy" the machine made it. There is so much fat in prime rib that it always pours out like that no matter what it was cooked in (assuming it was cooked correctly).

Anyways, properly cooked brisket is still juicy and you will see juices running from it, just not pouring like when squeezing all the fat between point and flat.