really, really frustrated!

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maxwell7

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I've tried two brisq. in my smoker. Utter failure. This time I put two of the flatter sections ( about 4 # each)in a stainless Wolfgang Puck pot. It's been cooking in the oven at 245 for close to 8 hrs. When checked , it is tough , like rubber , and in 64 oz. of beef broth , and I suspect unchewable.what the %%%% am I doing wrong. I know I'm not smoking it , I'm that frustrated by brisq. to try this. My Mom has done brisq. in the oven for yrs. that could be chewed without teeth.I'm at a total frustrated loss.! I bought the flats at Walmart. Ours has some good looking meat. The dept. mngr. is a local , who ran a viable meat mrkt. , and is a legitimate butcher , and picky about the meat coming into our local Walmart supperstore. What can I do ?:doh:
 
Basically you gotta cook it till a probe slides in across the grain without resistance. You can get there low and slow, or hot and fast - but no matter what, the collagens inside have to break down. Forget what the internal temp is - these cuts come from animals, all of whom are different, so they'll be done at different temps. I did a packer yesterday and the flat wasn't tender until it got to 211 :shocked:. Not the juiciest piece of meat I've ever seen, but definitely tender. :thumb:

Good links from He Smells Like Smoke - check those out. Bigabyte's basic brisket tutorial is what helped me when I first found this site, and is actually why I started subscribing.

You will get there - just keep at it.
 
Definitely done when it's done. Sometimes I think it would be better to cook brisket without a thermometer; just cook until probe tender without that pesky temperature reading making you second guess yourself.
 
I agree with all that's been said. "Feel" is the true indicator of "doneness," not temp. I would think a 4-pound flat would be done in 8 hours at 245, but you never know. Maybe try a hot/fast, cook at 325-350 and see if that works better for you? Stick with it, because it will happen at some point and finally nailing it and figuring out YOUR process will be very rewarding. Good luck.
 
My first results sounded like yours and I got 2nd to last at the competition. I just didn't cook it long enough. Now I put my brisket in aus jus at 160 in an aluminum pan cover with foil and cook to 195-200 and test for doneness.
 
qnbiker said:
Sometimes I think it would be better to cook brisket without a thermometer; just cook until probe tender without that pesky temperature reading making you second guess yourself.
Click to expand...

Funny you should say that. When I'm cooking butts & brisket, I take that really expensive Thermapen out and slide the probe in, but I don't really look at the readout, just feel for doneness. In fairness, I will take a reading during the cook, just to gauge where I am. But when it comes to determining when to pull the meet off the cooker, I'm going by feel more than temp.

Cheers,
Braddog
 
frustrated

thanks to all. They finally came around at 8 + hrs. Thanks for the links guys.!:clap2:
 
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