Making a brisket chili, how should I pre cook the brisket?

[qposner]

Going to make a chili Saturday. I plan on smoking a brisket flat in my PBC and then cubing it up before putting it into the pot to simmer for 3 hours with everything else. Question is what temp should I bring the flat to in the PBC since it'll have 3 extra hours simmering?

Thanks!!

[Texstan]

In my world, brisket never has a first life as a chili ingredient. I cook them to eat as brisket, with chili giving the brisket a second life, if I ever get tired of brisket as brisket. I just put the meat in later during the chili cook.

[ooootis]

If I where doing this it would be business as usually. Temps hit 190 in the thickest spot let it go for 3 more hours wrapped, place it in a elevated wire roaster thingy and let the grease drip out. Slice and dice after its cooled a bit. To me for chili temp isn't the problem its the grease, certain amount is need for the flavor anything other than that is ruining the chili. Be light on the smoke as well, don't need it bitter.

[MountainMan]

I've done this several times and converted many folks to chili made with smoked brisket.

I usually (like the others) end up using my leftover brisket.

The one time I did a brisket just for chili I just cooked it as usual and cubed it up.

[Hotch]

Last month we did this for my wife's chili comp at work. Went hot and fast at 325 with s & p only for about 5.5-6 hours on the large BGE. (15lb Packer, netted 8 lb after trim). You should trim it lean as possible so not to have oil slicks in you chili!
If you are going to let the protein simmer for any length of time don't cook the brisket to tender. It will fall apart. Once done on the Egg, I put in the fridge over night. Next morning cubed it up with electric knife to 3/8" cubes.
Then put them in for the last hour or so of the simmer. Chili was done when the Brisket was tender.
Of course this is a Texas Red Chili. Just Brisket and gravy, no beans or veggies. She won both the Public and Judges First Place Awards. Had 38 entries.
Good luck with yours.

[Lowki]

^^^^^^^^^What seasonings were you using if it is not a secret? did you drop multiple bombs or just one spice pack?

[Hotch]

Cooking a pot of Texas Red is a process.
I have 4 drops/dumps in mine.

[TedW]

One of my favorite meats in beans was a slightly overdone brisket (I didn't set my alarm properly...) and pork Butt. Both had outer crusts that were a bit hard / dry. After cooking the beans with the cut up meat, the bark softened and fell apart, but major tasty. People went foolish for the beans (an apple butter base)

I've been tempted to reverse sear a butt or brisket specifically for beans to re-create that.

[padge31]

I use chuckies and just under smoke them. Then cube em and finish cooking in the chilli

[qposner]

Thanks everyone!

[Nuco59]

Cook the brisket just as if you were going to eat it all by itself. Trim, season, smoke- wrap or don't, rest a couple three hours

eat some

and use the rest for brisket - life is good.

[newtwoq]

When we use brisket in chilli, it tends to be comp cooks that didn't turn out right. I have one in the freezer now that was a SRF that never finished. It was prob still a good 15F off when we had to pull it off the cooker to do turn ins. It's going to kill me to throw that in chilli, but it's gonna be some damn good chilli.

I say all that to say, I would take your brisket up to 185-190F and pull it, chill it, and the next day cube it up for your chilli. Then throw it in when your doing everything else and let it simmer, will be good and tender with out falling apart when you're ready to eat.

[TedW]

So two factors- How much to cook it (internal temp), and what sort of bark do you want in the beans.

For giggles, I think when I try my next bean run (using 3 types of dried, no more cans - fingers crossed) I will use a small 1/2 brisket that's in the freezer, run it to 185, then quick do a little sear.

That way the meat isn't overdone, and the bark can add a little more. Maybe this will suck...

[Durangutan]

I've never made brisket chili so this is purely speculative. Our little community is having a chili cookoff the weekend after next. It so happens that I have a brisket in the freezer that didn't get eaten at a recent neighborhood BBQ and I just left it in the cooker with an eye toward chili to get a little overdone (dried out) with a really nice deep bark. It seems to me like that might be made to order for chili. I plan to use Wampus's recipe -thanks Wampus!- for the first time. I'll let you know how mistaken I am!:doh:

[TedW]

... I just left it in the cooker with an eye toward chili to get a little overdone (dried out) with a really nice deep bark.

See, that's where I'm at. I think a bean / chili sorta wants a little over-done bark. Nor burnt, obviously.

[redchaserron]

Labor weekend I cooked for a family reuinion and ended up with a leftover brisket. I vacuum bagged it and froze it, then a couple of weeks later I pulled it out and made a chili with it. The brisket had been cooked to tender as it was originally meant to be served sliced. I cubed it and made my chili with it adding the brisket when I would normally add any pre browned meat to a chili and cooked it for about 3 hours. It came out great. Some of the brisket fell apart but plenty still stayed in chunks. The parts that fell apart just meant that there was meat everywhere in teh chili. Honestly it was the best chili I've ever made and one of the best I've ever eaten.

[TedW]

I'm also not thinking the meat that falls apart is a detraction. It's chili / beans.

I'm sure it was killer chili

[Bob Ivey]

I am thinking that the brisket is fine in chili whether it falls apart or not. Even if it falls apart, I'm thinking it will only give better flavor to every bite. That sounds like a good thing to me. Just my 20 cents (adjusted for inflation).

[newtwoq]

Adding brisket to chilli gives the whole pot a nice smoky flavor, not overwhelming by any means, but the whole thing takes on that sweet smoke flavor.

[TedW]

I'm smoking a brisket tonite just to use for beans. I'm also soaking beans for the first time. Been doin' my research. I have a plan. Apple butter based, as I replaced the apple pie filling. Also some ACV.

[newtwoq]

Let us know how it turns out!

[TedW]

I'm gonna over-cook the bark a bit. Again, this cook is specifically for beans and I somehow feel the softening of the gummy bark in the beans over the hours of cooking is better than a perfectly cooked serving brisket.

We will see

[bbqwizard]

I Q it up as usual. After we have devoured what we could muster, then the leftover get chopped up and put in chili.. Seriously good eats this way!

[Durangutan]

This probably belongs in another or new thread but since I mentioned it here I thought I'd follow up.

Congratulations and a big thanks to Wampus for his brisket chili recipe! It won first place in our community fund raiser with over a dozen entries! By and large I followed the recipe to the letter with the only mod being in the heat department. I like spicy and we are in the southwest after all. Used only hot chili beans (un-drained), two jalapenos (seeds & all), upped the cayenne to 1Tbs, added our burger night apportionment of x-hot roasted green chilis (6-8, chopped), and used as much meat with bark on it as I could from both the point and flat. Definitely has some heat but not overwhelming. I figured it would be well received but certainly did not expect to win anything on my first attempt at chili that did not come out of a box. Thanks again for a great dish, Wampus!

[TedW]

All of that sounds great and congrats on that contest! You obviously modded the original recipe so give yourself more credit for the win!

I like the loads of bark. I over-did mine a bit for this bean test and I'm gonna keep pursuing this on a butt next time.

I REALLY like the roasted pepper addition. I think both the bark and that roasted pepper are flavors that would continue to mature over a few days in the fridge.

Nice job, and thanks a lot for checking back and telling us.

[hogzillas]

I just did an office party chili contest this morning. I used just plain brisket w/ S&P/smoke then my spices & tomato puree, diced tomato & paste. For a first run & still trying to fully develop the recipe, it was a good start - didn't win though. I think I had too much tomato going on & not enough spices & maybe too little water for that wow factor. It had just a little bite but not as much as I was really going for but I didn't want ghost pepper either as for any contest Remember you're cooking for what the judges may like & if they don't like game meats, you're not going to do well.

[thaifighter06]

Agreed with everyone. Cook it like you'd cook it any other time. Mix in both the point and the flat. It's amazing.