Shrinking brisket

[scottm4300]

Took my first shot at a brisket this weekend. Everybody loved it, but I was a bit disappointed. It was just a 3 1/2 pound gret brisket flat. I rubbed it up with pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and oregano, put it on the top shelf of the SKD above the butt I was cooking at the same time, and cooked it to 190. It was nice and tender, but the thing shruck up like crazy.

Having never cooked a brisket before, I have no idea if this is normal or not. Is this what I should expect? Sorry - no pics.

[jsmoker]

The briskets I have done always shrink a bit. I think I even remember reading somewhere where it said you can lose up to 50% of the pre-cook weight. I don't know about 50%, but I always plan at least 1 lb of raw meat per person when I'm doing a feed.

Out of curiosity, how did the moisture do at 190? I usually stop my beef at 170 and foil/cooler (recent step added since I began listening to the bretheren!) for a few hours.

[roknrandy]

Scott, I have mine in the smoker today It will be done in the next hour and I will let it rest for 2 hours. I've probably lost about a third of mine. Here's a before picture and I'll post an after when it's done.

[Bill-Chicago]

yep, third sounds about right.

I get the Costco flats only up to about 7 pounds. Always end up with more like 5#

Looks good Randy

[roknrandy]

Thanks Bill, Ok I just slide it off and put it on a postal scale I use (it has pounds and ounces) took the weight and put it back in the smoker. I started with 3lb 4oz and it is now 2lb 14.5 oz. It appears to have pulled in from the sides but is a little taller now.

[icemn62]

Maybe I am ready to give brisket a try, It is not that high a cost of meat per pound, if I can get it done right, then that is Good Eats.

[Arlin_MacRae]

Maybe I am ready to give brisket a try, It is not that high a cost of meat per pound, if I can get it done right, then that is Good Eats.

That's the thing about brisket, Ice -- if you fark it up you didn't lose much!

[Jorge]

Maybe I am ready to give brisket a try, It is not that high a cost of meat per pound, if I can get it done right, then that is Good Eats.

That's the thing about brisket, Ice -- if you fark it up you didn't lose much!

....and if it isn't a success there are lots of ways to salvage the meat to make something at least edible. Chili, chopped with sauce for sammiches etc....The only brisket I've ever tossed is the one I forgot about in the cooker and found 18 hours later.......Too much help, and liquid nutrition mod.

[roknrandy]

I did something wrong somewhere. This brisket came out tasting like ham and was the consistency of ham :? :? It was sliceable but didn't turn out really tender. If you notice, there is no smoke ring either :shock: :? I will defiantly have to try it again to see if I can get it to come out better.

[Jorge]

I did something wrong somewhere. This brisket came out tasting like ham and was the consistency of ham :? :? It was sliceable but didn't turn out really tender. If you notice, there is no smoke ring either :shock: :? I will defiantly have to try it again to see if I can get it to come out better.

It almost looks like it was cold smoked like a ham. What temp and how long did you smoke it?

[roknrandy]

The finished weight was 2lb 14.1oz. I used a rub and kept spraying it with water every hour and had 2 pans of water below it and the temp stayed at 230-240 the entire time. I took the meat temp to 190. If anyone can point out what I did wrong I'd appreciate some pointers.

[roknrandy]

It went on at 8am and was pulled at 4pm (foiled at 1:30) and rested for 1 hour

[Jorge]

Just guessing here, but does it have a good smokey flavor? My basic math says you cooked it for 8hrs, and it started out a little over 3 lbs? I usually figure 1 1/2 hrs/lb. for a ballpark and then work from there. But always exceptions to that rule. The pink color I see, and it may be my monitor, and your comparison to ham made me think about it being cold smoked. Have you checked the temp in the cooker with more than one thermometer?

[roknrandy]

Jorge, I always run a probe along with the unit gauge. I had a slight Smokey flavor. Its pink just like a ham would look like. I was trying to get the temp to 190. Is that too high?

[Solidkick]

Just wondering.......do you think maybe you did more steaming than smoking?

Maybe not enough air flow under the meat?

[Solidkick]

Just wondering.......do you think maybe you did more steaming than smoking?

[The_Kapn]

Jorge, I always run a probe along with the unit gauge. I had a slight Smokey flavor. Its pink just like a ham would look like. I was trying to get the temp to 190. Is that too high?
Randy,
I may be confused--normal for me. :oops:
Were you measuring air temps at the cooking grate or relying on the built in gauge???
If I had only one probe, I would stick it through the meat (or through a potatoe/onion/block of wood to see exactly what the temp there was. Then mentally adjust the cooker's built in temp reading by adding or subtracting to know what "indicated" temp on the cooker thermometer actually gave me the proper cooking temp at the meat.

Until you verify the actual air temp at the cooking area, it is impossible to know what is happening with temps.

I am with Kick in guessing here. Looks like a lot of steam and low temps at the meat, resulting in a steamed product, not a smoked one. Long cook time seems to add to the "guess" here.

Let us know if you figure it out for sure.

TIM

[Trout_man22]

It looks like a corned brisket to me.

[Trout_man22]

I just checked another thread http://www.bandera-brethren.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&p=78633&highlight=#78633

and sure enought Randy did indeed smoke him a corned brisket.

Trout

[jgh1204]

Trout, that was my first guess. Looked like corned beef to me.

[The_Kapn]

I just checked another thread http://www.bandera-brethren.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&p=78633&highlight=#78633

and sure enought Randy did indeed smoke him a corned brisket.

Trout
Trout--BINGO (probably) on the corned beef.
My one and only smoking of a corned beef to make pastrami did produce pastrami, but not a ham flavor as described.
Also, I had a smoke ring and a smoked flavor to go with it.

Probably a combination of things at work here--still just guessing!

Looking back at Randy's set up in the Silver--I see lots and lots of water which appears to be acting as a water cooled baffle (do not know how to describe it bettter). That would result in lots of moisture, steam, etc. It might also probably cause low temps (right above the pans) and really long cook times.
Do not know if the "smoke" wrapped around and really had a chance to work on the meat.
It just seems logical to me that all of this may add up to a "steamed type product" that is consistant with the pics and description provided.
Starting with a corned beef brisket would make it even more so!

Still just guessing, but the parts seem to fit that way, at least for me :lol:

May just be one of "life's little mysteries" unless Randy re-does it with a real brisket and less water :lol:
I would be tempted to do that set-up with wood chips instead of water in the pan--but then I like to experiment--just me :oops:

TIM

[roknrandy]

Scott, maybe in the next week or so we can both try again.
Trout and Tim, You may be correct. The only "brisket" I can find in the stores are "corned beef" and I did add some water to the pan to keep the temp at 230. I have a probe in the grill and a gauge so I know the temps are correct. I use another probe for the meat. Air flow was good and smoke was good (I used some mesquite for the first time). Any way, I'll have to see If I can get the butcher to order a brisket for me and I'll try again. Thanks for all the help from everyone.

[BBQchef33]

Know im late.. but thats definatley a Corned Beef. Need to soak that thing for at least a day in plain water(with water changes) to get some of the salt out and even then, its still not gonna give u a real brisket.

If you have a costco or BJ's wholesale, or Sams club near u, you can get either trimmed flats up to 7lbs or sometimes get 12-15lb full packer cuts there.

[Bigmista]

Looked like Turkey ham to me!

[Trout_man22]

Randy,

The OL is gone this weekend I can meet you in say Lynchburg with brisket(s) if you would like. Give me a call and let me know.

[roknrandy]

Trout Thanks for the offer, Let me see if my local butcher can get one and if not I may be taking you up on the offer.

[Hoorenga]

I took one look at that picture and thought to myself "looks like my attempt to cook corned beef brisket". But then I thought, "nah that couldn't be". I tried doing a corned beef brisket a couple of weeks ago. Soaked it in water for three days, changing the water numerious times. Soaking it did pull some of the salt out but it was still salty and it still came out tasting like pastrami. The dog was impressed with it, he's still getting it mixed in with his regular food.

[Ron_L]

Hey Randy... Go out and buy some dark rye, swiss cheese and sourkraut, slice that baby nice and thin, and make yourself some pastrami reubens! Great stuff! A little hot mustard and you're in heaven!

[BigAl]

Signature Brisket

[roknrandy]

Well, I went to my butcher and told him what I was trying to do and if he had any other brisket besides the corned beef one's. He said that's all he could stock.

[Hoorenga]

What kind of butcher is that? You should be able to find one. Just keep looking. It's that time of year and people will be wanting them. It isn't a popular cut of meat because it takes a little know how to cook it unless you boil it which part of why corned beef brisket is popular. I saw some in Safeway the other day for $3.75 a pound. It's gone gourmet on us. Hope it doesn't catch on or we will be paying top dollar for it everywhere just like we do for that pile of bones we call ribbs. Ever buy pig's ears or any other animal byproduct chews for you dog? Ever calculate how much a pound you are paying for something that used to be almost worthless? They can get more per pound for rawhide chews than for the best cut of steak. Figure that one out.

[roknrandy]

This is the one down the street, there are several more around town that I'm going to try in the next week or two and see if I get a different answer

[Trout_man22]

Randy,

Up this way we have Wally worlds 5 miles apart (state law, WalMart cannot be more then 5 miles apart and can/must be on historic land) the meat department can and will get packer cut briskets I just picked up a case of them (8 each) @ 1.28# but you do not need to buy them by the case.

Trout

[roknrandy]

On this side of the state we've got three of them 4.5 miles apart, I'll give them a try. Thanks.

[Trout_man22]

Lowes-Home depot can't be more then 2.25 miles apart in any given direction.

[BigAl]

If it looks like ham and tastes like ham, then it might just be a ham with a brisket label! Hard to get good help these days at $8.00/hr. Maybe that had the greeter working in the meat shop.....

[Hoorenga]

My 2 cents is that it tast like ham because of the high salt content. I'm pretty sure you got a corned beef brisket.