1st SRF Brisket

[pharp]

Hey everyone. I cooked my first SRF brisket this weekend and it did not go well. It was a gorgeous brisket and was very happy with how it looked, and I know people win a lot with them so the problem in this instance was definitely the cook. Has anyone found that the SRF need to probe more tender than a lesser grade of brisket? What I am thinking is that when I probed the brisket it seemed tender (temp was 207) but I was comparing the probe feel to what I normally cook from the grocery store. I hope my question makes at least some sense. I would like to test my hypothesis by cooking another one but I can't afford to practice with them too much. Thanks in advance for all the help.

 

[Qbert60]

Normally that is the case. Also, depends on cooking method. On my cans, those probe tender from 208* to as high as 215*.

 

[DR]

I don't cook waygu but i have seen some guys that do and a couple of them cook to 203*

Just my 2 cents

 

[pharp]

I don't cook waygu but i have seen some guys that do and a couple of them cook to 203*

Just my 2 cents

Thanks.

 

[JS-TX]

I was under the impression these cook faster than standard briskets. But then again if these are highly marbled then maybe they need more time to probe "tender" and get all that fat rendered out just right.

 

[pharp]

I was under the impression these cook faster than standard briskets. But then again if these are highly marbled then maybe they need more time to probe "tender" and get all that fat rendered out just right.

That is what is puzzling me. It seemed to probe tender at 207, but I am thinking that maybe it was such a nice piece of meat that it seemed probe-tender relative to what I have been cooking, but in actuality it needed to be "more tender." I am not sure I am making any sense!

 

[DR]

So you said it probed tender. WHen you sliced it, was it tough?

 

[pharp]

So you said it probed tender. WHen you sliced it, was it tough?

Yeah, and the cubes I cut out of the point were very springy...I think I am just going to have to bite the bullet and order another one to practice with and see if taking it up a bit does the trick.

 

[tduffy]

I go for the same feel regardless of the grade I'm cooking.

 

[Blanton]

There is a difference between the " probe like butter feel" that you will hear quite often vs the tenderness KCBS judges are looking for.

 

[Burnt at Both Endz]

Reminds me of the first Waygu I cooked, I was a little afraid so I also cooked a Creekstone too. I pulled both at the same feeling I always did. The Creekstone got a call that day, dang Waygu had a great taste, but it was nowhere close to being done.

 

[charmcitycookers]

Reminds me of the first Waygu I cooked, I was a little afraid so I also cooked a Creekstone too. I pulled both at the same feeling I always did. The Creekstone got a call that day, dang Waygu had a great taste, but it was nowhere close to being done.

The same happened to me this past weekend at a comp. it looked and felt good but when i sliced it was tough still. got quite a low brisket score

 

[srfannella]

I think I am just going to have to bite the bullet and order another one to practice with and see if taking it up a bit does the trick.

Sorry to hear this one wasn't exactly what you were looking for. There are a lot of folks here who cook them and can suggest temps, feel etc...but they do cook a little differently - and pull temp is different depending on how you cook it as well. I've cooked a lot of them and usually pull at around 202 but have had to take a gold up to 214. If it helps...this week we have a rockin' deal on black grade briskets. Give us a call we'll get you set up!

 

[Jason TQ]

Yeah, and the cubes I cut out of the point were very springy...I think I am just going to have to bite the bullet and order another one to practice with and see if taking it up a bit does the trick.

It does come down to practice. All the tips here are great, but you simply won't really know until you do it a few times. One is not a big sample size. Heck even 2 or 3 isn't either. Comps are not an inexpensive hobby unfortunately :loco:.

When we didn't know what we were doing Wagyu helped scores a little, but it isn't a magic bullet. You still have to cook it correctly. The only cooking difference I see between SRF black and a choice is the wagyu almost always finishes at a higher temperature.

I'm not saying this is the magical temp, but for me and the technique/temperature I cook at I don't even look at my brisket until 204 and it has never been done before that temp in my last 50+ cooks. Cooking temp can dictate finishing temp (higher cooking temp for me means higher finishing). Just giving you more information to possibly be confused about :becky:.

I guess a good question that I didn't see an answer to already is how much brisket have you cooked in competitions? If you haven't been scoring with a choice packer then I'd suggest practicing more on those before switching to Wagyu. The feel I look for in Wagyu and non-Wagyu is exactly the same.

 

[bam]

Yeah, and the cubes I cut out of the point were very springy...I think I am just going to have to bite the bullet and order another one to practice with and see if taking it up a bit does the trick.

SRF is having a sale better luck on your next one.

 

[JS-TX]

The feel I look for in Wagyu and non-Wagyu is exactly the same.

So if you can cook a prime or choice just fine, I should be able to do the same with a Wagyu? Typically I go for the "butta" test. I don't even bother with a temp probe, I use a wooden skewer to check for doneness.

 

[bpeyton89]

best advice I ever got was "get to where you can't screw up a prime or choice, then step up to wagyu" to be honest I've never cooked a wagyu for practice. They're too expensive I only use them for competition. If I want to practice brisket I get a prime from costco

 

[Burnt at Both Endz]

best advice I ever got was "get to where you can't screw up a prime or choice, then step up to wagyu" to be honest I've never cooked a wagyu for practice. They're too expensive I only use them for competition. If I want to practice brisket I get a prime from costco

I've cooked them for family gatherings, guess we have a lucky family....:laugh:

 

[Jason TQ]

So if you can cook a prime or choice just fine, I should be able to do the same with a Wagyu? Typically I go for the "butta" test. I don't even bother with a temp probe, I use a wooden skewer to check for doneness.

I do not understand the butter test and have no idea what people think that feels like since putting a hot knife into a stick of butter feel zero like a thermapen/probe into a brisket............to me (maybe some people probe with a knife :loco. All I know is people like to say the word butter with various misspellings for comical effect :becky:.

Wooden doesn't feel like steel to me and I've only tried that twice. So if you use a wooden skewer (and depending on that skewers thickness) I'm not sure what you feel. The skewers I used were not "finished/smooth" so there was definitely more drag than a steel probe. This is the challenge with people trying to describe what they feel as it doesn't translate easily to others.

Here's a portion of a full cook video I did where I'm literally showing what I'm feeling. Not sure if this helps more or less than just typing words describing what I feel. This was a choice brisket. There are other indicators such as cracking that I look for and also describe in the video. The first time I checked it wasn't done and this is 30mins later when it was perfect.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veKCtZomzrw"]YouTube[/ame]

So I'm not sure what you mean by "So if you can cook a prime or choice just fine, I should be able to do the same with a Wagyu?" In theory yes, but how well have you done with Prime or Choice? I didn't make the switch until I was consistently scoring in the top 10 at each event with a standard choice.

Sorry if this is more to think about :-D

 

[TroyA65]

Sorry to hear this one wasn't exactly what you were looking for. There are a lot of folks here who cook them and can suggest temps, feel etc...but they do cook a little differently - and pull temp is different depending on how you cook it as well. I've cooked a lot of them and usually pull at around 202 but have had to take a gold up to 214. If it helps...this week we have a rockin' deal on black grade briskets. Give us a call we'll get you set up!

Love that deal, got one arriving tomorrow!!