Hot N Fast Brisket Attempt... PRON... and questions

[DirtyDirty00]

So after reading Pitmaster T's hot n fast brisket, and watching the video, i set out to make another brisket this weekend.

First ill show the pics... then ill discuss the results, which were kinda strange. needed input on the funniness that went down. (maybe the funniness comes with the funkyness of the method :thumb:)


so i got myself a nice 13.5 lb packer. and trimmed it down a bit
http://i318.photobucket.com/albums/mm438/dirtydirty00/Brisket%2011-26-11/IMAG0653.jpg



cut off a corner so i can easily tell at the end which way to cut so its against the grain.

http://i318.photobucket.com/albums/mm438/dirtydirty00/Brisket%2011-26-11/IMAG0654.jpg



rubbed it down with chris lilly's bare naked brisket paste recipe. i like to put a lot and clump it up on it nicely, makes the best tastiest bark ever.

http://i318.photobucket.com/albums/mm438/dirtydirty00/Brisket%2011-26-11/IMAG0658.jpg



covered a little part of meat that was showing through the fat cap by putting a little thin piece of fat from the trimmings over it.

http://i318.photobucket.com/albums/mm438/dirtydirty00/Brisket%2011-26-11/IMAG0656.jpg

http://i318.photobucket.com/albums/mm438/dirtydirty00/Brisket%2011-26-11/IMAG0657.jpg


I put it on the smoker for about 2 hours at 225-250. then i cranked it to 275-300. No foil. and i let it sit and sit. (more about the method i used in the results) then i pulled it, let it rest and carved it...



here is the flat after separating the point

http://i318.photobucket.com/albums/mm438/dirtydirty00/Brisket%2011-26-11/IMAG0660.jpg


some slices

http://i318.photobucket.com/albums/mm438/dirtydirty00/Brisket%2011-26-11/IMAG0661.jpg


cubed up the point and made another batch of the lilly paste. i smooshed the cubes aroudn in the paste and threw em back in the smoker for another 1.5 hours. results of the burnt ends were amazing. GREAT flavor and nice and moist and tender...

(pic was taken day later, cold outta fridge since i forgot to take a fresh pic :icon_blush:)
http://i318.photobucket.com/albums/mm438/dirtydirty00/Brisket%2011-26-11/IMAG0662.jpg



So here are the results and the funnyness that went down:

I cooked the darn thing from 7:05am... cranked it to 275-300 at around 9:30. i ended up taking off the brisket at 4:30 around. no earlier. for the good later half of the cranked up time it was cooking around 300-315. around 230 a measured the IT of the point and it was 195+. the flat was still around 180. probed decently but needed a little more time. (i felt)

45 min to an hour later when i checked, the flat was reading somewhere around 175-180. probed about hte same.

the times i have left my briskets on till about 200 IT and they probed like i was sticking the probe through a cotton ball they were so easy to stick it through. but those times they were overdone. crumbly, hard to cut without falling apart, and DRY.

The last hour of this cook the smoker was riding even higher. around 325. for about 15-20 min it rised to around 345.

when i checked it again, the meat was reading the same temp. around 175-180. which didnt seem possible. and probed about the same.

so i pulled it off. this is bc i didnt think it needed too much longer at 2:30, and here i was again at 4:30 reading and probing the same. i was afraid that all of a sudden it would jump up and be crumbly and dry.

the meat was NOT crumbly. needed a little pressure to cut, but was very tender. it didnt crumble when u tugged it, but did come apart with a tug. and it was not dry. to me this is the best brisket i have ever made so far. it didnt appear under cooked either. as it does come apart like it should, not like a piece of steak thats like elastic. it pops apart, but not crumbly.

but my question is, why on earth did the IT not rise in this thing after sitting in the smoker that hot for that long? maybe my thermometer is no good. but its been money so far so im not sure why now it would be giving my funny readings. :doh:


thanks all and thanks pitmaster t for the help and video!

[colonel00]

Good lookin' hunk-o-meat :hungry: No idea on your temp findings though. :noidea:

[Ole Man Dan]

I kinda like the 'Hot & Fast' smoke on a Brisket. I shoot for 325°, but will settle for 300° to 350° depending...
I just keep an eye on it when I think it ought to be getting close.
My last Brisket hardly had a stall and turned out just like I like em.

What kinda weather were you having when you did the Brisket?
Your in NY... was it cold,windy ect...

My smokes are influenced by the warmer humid Alabama weather
we tend to have...

[DirtyDirty00]

Was a beautiful day. Was bout 40 when I woke up but was in the low 60s after that. Not windy. Had a wireless probe right near meat reading the pit temp right at the meat. So I just couldn't understand that at 300+ and 325-350 for a half hour didn't raise the IT. When I do pork butts they shoot up to 200 IT when its that hot in there.

No complaints bc the brisket was actually delicious. But puzzling.

[Saiko]

The flat slices look perfect, not underdone or overdone at all from the looks of it. No idea why they flat temps stayed the same so long, you never know with a brisky.
I've found with hot-n-fast that the flat is usually probe tender around 200 or higher, it is rarely probe tender at lower internal than that.

Looks good bro!

[DirtyDirty00]

Thanks.

Ya I'm still getting the hang of probe tender. I did the night train experiment which yielded some great tender brisket. But by no means when probed did I feel it slide in like butter.

When I cook my brisket till it probes like butter (meaning the probe basically falls thru the meat if dropped) then it turns out dry and crumbly (overdone)

So I think I'm just still learning what that true probe feel should feel like.

[DirtyDirty00]

Also... This brisket probed more similar to the night train. Went in but I def felt the meat inside.

[Saiko]

Thanks.

Ya I'm still getting the hang of probe tender. When I cook my brisket till it probes like butter (meaning the probe basically falls thru the meat if dropped) then it turns out dry and crumbly (overdone)
So I think I'm just still learning what that true probe feel should feel like.

Exactly, that's the hardest part. You should feel SOME resistance, if it's just sliding right in with no resistance than it will be overdone, as you have experienced. The warm butter analogy is a good one, because if you slide a temp probe into warm butter it wouldn't just slide right in, you would have some resistance.

It just takes some practice, especially when you account for resting time. Your flat looks perfect, it looks like you really nailed this one.

[DirtyDirty00]

Exactly, that's the hardest part. You should feel SOME resistance, if it's just sliding right in with no resistance than it will be overdone, as you have experienced. The warm butter analogy is a good one, because if you slide a temp probe into warm butter it wouldn't just slide right in, you would have some resistance.

It just takes some practice, especially when you account for resting time. Your flat looks perfect, it looks like you really nailed this one.

Thanks. Ya this was best yet. Really was tender and juicy.

The probe thing I'm gettin a feel for its just the 180-185 IT that has me still stumped. Maybe I should invest in a thermapen

[mbshop]

i cook at high temps also. but my high temps are just under or over 300 deg. i've had my brisket plateau for differant lengths of time. some its just an hour and some over 3 hours. i just let it do its thing and then probe near 195 deg or so. been happy so far. you will just have to do more and then it will start to make sense.

[DirtyDirty00]

i cook at high temps also. but my high temps are just under or over 300 deg. i've had my brisket plateau for differant lengths of time. some its just an hour and some over 3 hours. i just let it do its thing and then probe near 195 deg or so. been happy so far. you will just have to do more and then it will start to make sense.

i completely see what ur saying. im just perplexed bc ive made undercooked brisket and ive made overcooked brisket. this one seemed just right even though it was only about 180-185. and it seemed to have plateaued around there. is this possible?

also to clarify, the brisket did plateau, but around the 160-165 mark. this was like a 2nd plateau.

[boogiesnap]

i think brisket laughs at us.

[Ole Man Dan]

Was a beautiful day. Was bout 40 when I woke up but was in the low 60s after that. Not windy. Had a wireless probe right near meat reading the pit temp right at the meat. So I just couldn't understand that at 300+ and 325-350 for a half hour didn't raise the IT. When I do pork butts they shoot up to 200 IT when its that hot in there.

No complaints bc the brisket was actually delicious. But puzzling.

I think you were 'Victimized' by a 'Slow Brisket'... I've had a few that for no particular reason, took longer, and I've had a few that smoked quicker.
I'm down to guessing on mine... if the fat content or age of the beef could contribute to smoking time.

Whoever first said 'It's done when it's done' must have had a Brisket, or Butt, smoke faster than usual, or go hours longer... :doh:

[landarc]

I think you are putting too much emphasis on the IT, trust the probe feel, the temps can fool you.