Briskett pron (what did I do wrong?)

[LuvDbbq]

I put my rub on the beef brisket. CIMG0344.jpg

Put it on the grill. CIMG0345.jpg

I cooked at 250 for 2 hrs. I checked temp and it was 150-165 inside.CIMG0347.jpg

So I pulled it out and cut it. CIMG0351.jpg

Now it tasted great but was tough and too much gristle. What temp should brisket be cooked to?

[Lazybones]

Didn't cook it for nearly long enough. You should pull it somewhere between 190-205. There isn't a set time or temp for it to be done, each brisket is different. When the temp probe goes in smooth, it's done. Imagine you're sticking the probe into butter.

Just as an example. I've had a brisket on my pit since 10:00 this morning and it's not done yet. It's a labor of love, you'll get there eventually.

[Ron_L]

There has been a few people lately who have been cooking brisket only to the 150s. I'm wondering if there is a site out there advocating that for some reason.

Peter's advice above is sound. Brisket is a tough piece of meat and it needs time for the internal fat and connective tissues to break down.

[El Ropo]

If there are leftovers, you could make some nice chili. Yeah way undercooked there. With a cut like brisket you need to go by probe tenderness, not temp. They're usually done between 190 and 205, then you should wrap in foil and let it rest in cooler for at least one hour or more before slicing and serving.

FYI, that's just a flat you cooked, not a whole brisket.

[BlueHowler]

Originally Posted by Ron_L

There has been a few people lately who have been cooking brisket only to the 150s. I'm wondering if there is a site out there advocating that for some reason.

Peter's advice above is sound. Brisket is a tough piece of meat and it needs time for the internal fat and connective tissues to break down.

I read cooking web sites as an obsession and have never seen any site recommending 150º. I think most people new to BBQ'ing equate a higher internal temp to being over done like in grilled steak.

They do not have the experience to know that sometimes brisket needs to cook to a higher internal temp even over 200º to be tender.

[Porky Joes]

I just bought my first brisket tonight and will be trying it on Friday. I have read all sorts of recipies but thought this would be good to ask for any first timer tips?

[LuvDbbq]

I sure appreciate all the help here. After I posted this I put the remainder back in and it helped but I'll know what to do next time.

[MilitantSquatter]

Originally Posted by Porky Joes

I just bought my first brisket tonight and will be trying it on Friday. I have read all sorts of recipies but thought this would be good to ask for any first timer tips?

Get a cold drink and start reading all the threads

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...69#post1578969

[Brewer]

[QUOTE=Ron_L;1859810]There has been a few people lately who have been cooking brisket only to the 150s. I'm wondering if there is a site out there advocating that for some reason.

....I sure hope not.

Cook it to 195+. I usually pull mine at 200-204 degrees depending on the type of meat (wagyu or CAB) I'm cooking.

[Dallas Dan]

Better for it to be under cooked than over toasted like I did my first brisket many years ago on my old gasser. I was a total newby at how to cook a brisket. My wife and I were newlyweds and had her parents over for dinner. I totally lost track of time and by the time I pulled it off the grill, there was barely enough edible meat on it to feed the four of us.

[Boshizzle]

BBQ is all about making cheap, tough cuts of meat tender and moist. That means, unlike a T-bone, or Ribeye, the meats have to be cooked until the tissues begin to break down and that takes time and the internal temp has to be higher than the internal temp of a Ribeye steak, for example. There isn't a tougher cut of meat on a cow than the brisket, so it needs special treatment to be its best.

While it may be done at 150F internal, it won't be tender. As mentioned above, you need to get into the 190 to 210 range for a tender brisket.

[LuvDbbq]

Sometimes a newlywed needs a burnt sacrifice. Usually not good if it was supposed to be dinner.

[bizznessman]

I agree that 150F (internal) is not nearly high enough to "finish" a brisket. We shoot for 200F to 215F (internal). And....we "rest" them for 2 hrs once they come out of the pit to allow the collagen to break down even more.

Now for a little science...

Meat is composed of three tissue types: muscle fiber, connective tissue, and fat. Connective tissue consists of the proteins collagen, elastin, and reticulin. (don't you just love technical terms ) Collectively, these proteins bind the muscle fibers together and help connect muscles to bone.

Brisket has an abundance of connective tissue, as do most muscles that work very hard. It's this connective tissue that makes brisket such a tough cut of meat. The good news is that muscles that work hard tend to be more flavorful than those that don't work hard.

Connective tissues made of elastin and reticulin (there's those dern pesky tech terms again) don't break down during cooking, but collagen turns into soft gelatin. It is this conversion from collagen to gelatin that renders the tough old brisket into the tender meat we enjoy so much.

Tough cuts of meat must be "cooked through doneness to tenderness." In other words, you don't stop cooking a brisket when it reaches the internal temperature associated with tender cuts of beef like a Porterhouse steak or even a nice roast. A brisket is not edible if cooked to 125°F or even 175°F.

In order to be tender, a brisket must be cooked to an internal temperature of 180-205°. This is because the conversion of collagen to gelatin doesn't even begin until meat reaches an internal temperature of 140°F, and is most efficient as internal temps approach 212°F. And we find that by "resting" them wrapped in a cooler for a couple hours allows the maximum conversion to take place leaving a product that is almost as easy to pull as pork butts.

"Low and slow" barbecuing at 225-250°F is ideal to allow this conversion to progress and, providing gentle heat over many hours, allowing the collagen to make its transition into gelatin. While some moisture will be driven out of the brisket as it reaches these high internal temps, the gelatin makes up for it and keeps the meat moist. Of course, the fat layer on the brisket also helps maintain moisture in the meat during cooking, too. (oh...and don't throw out those drippins....incorporate them back into the pulled/sliced meat if serving immediately or even if packing and freezing)

Experts with years of cooking experience say a brisket is done when it's "fork tender", meaning that a fork or a probe thermometer goes in and out of the meat with little resistance. The problem is that both a properly cooked brisket and an overcooked one will both be "fork tender". For most folks like us, it's best to rely on internal meat temperature to determine when a brisket is properly cooked.

What most everyone does agree on is that a properly cooked slice of brisket should pull apart easily, while still maintaining good texture. An overcooked slice will fall apart when picked up.

188°F and 190°F seem to be the most popular target temps. We use a variety of internal temps depending on whether we want an end result to by sliced or pulled or chopped.

Yeah....yeah......we're almost to the end......

How long will it take to cook brisket to 180-205°F (internal)? As a rough estimate, figure 1-1/2 hours per pound for a whole, packer brisket weighing 8-12 pounds or more after trimming any excess fat. Remember, this is only an estimate—it may take more or less time, depending on the thickness of the brisket, the amount of connective tissue that needs to be converted to gelatin (i.e the quality of the cut of meat), the temperature of the cooker, weather conditions, and the number of times you open the cooker .


I will add that using our BWS Pro Jr we have found we can produce a consistent product in a shorter period of time (approx 1 hour per pound), with packers, using a pit temp of 300F (where our normal pit temp for most other products is set at a max of 250).

THE END

[tmehlhorn]

Briskett is super tough cut of meat, to get it tender it needs to go to about 195-200.

[LuvDbbq]

Again, I am thankful for the help and vast resources of all of you.