Foiling and Coolering....

[Single Fin Smoker]

Ok gents I have a question. I'm cooking a 12 pound brisket today. Been on since 6 o clock (pst).
At some point I'll be foiling, and at another point I be coolering. My question is do you take the meat out of the foil before you put in the cooler, or even if you foil your brisket at all?

 

[Single Fin Smoker]

Oh yeah, how long do you cooler for? Can you over cooler?

 

[Puppyboy]

I foil my brisket at 185*. When it hit's 195*, I pull it off, leaving it in the foil and put it in a cooler. My last one was very very warm after 4 hours in the cooler. Make sure you put a beach type towel on the bottom of the cooler and cover the meat with another.

I have a small cooler I use just for Q. It's not too big so the heat is some what confined to a smaller space.

Self Edit: I just checked my notes. I last foiled at 165*.

 

[Sir Smoke A Lot]

I will put in my 2 cents. Yeah, I do foil my brisket. I usually put the foil on at about 160 degrees. If I need to cooler it to hold it, I leave the foil on. If you don't need to hold it for any length of time, you can leave it on the table,wrapped in foil for a half hour or so. Once you unwrap it, I would let it rest for another 10 minutes or more. Keep in mind, I am not a great brisket cook, but I am getting better!

 

[N8man]

Brisket Foiling

Two or so weekends ago I smoked a 15 pounder...Smoked @225* Foiled at 160*with addition of beef broth, took it to 195* and coolered for 6 hours wrapped in foil and towels to take up air space in cooler, leaving temp probe in to monitor temps. Never fell below 150*. Made the best pulled beef brisket I have ever had....

 

[Papa Hogg]

I never use the Texas Crutch on anything I cook, but after the brisket reaches 195* I pull it, wrap it tight in plastic wrap & then foil, put in a cooler with towels & let rest until ready to carve...

 

[DawgPhan]

My only advice would be to watch the coolering...If you are putting several large cuts of meat in a cooler and using towels and a good cooler you are going to keep on cooking the meat for a while. That brisket that was perfect 4 hours ago now might be overcooked and falling apart when you pull it out of the cooler.

I think that a brisket by itself is probably not going to cook to much more after putting it in the cooler, but if you toss in 2 briskets and 2 butts or something like that expect that they will all cook a little longer.

I tend to like to run my briskets right up until serving time...maybe have it done a couple of hours ahead of time and wrap it in foil and a blanket and just let it rest...then back into the smoker with a glaze and then rest to slice...that way I dont worry about over cooking it or anything.

 

[Porky]

I foil at 165 and pull at 190-195 and cooler until I am ready to slice. The only thing I do different than the other guys is that I put the meat in a aluminum 1/2 pan or appropriate size pan in the cooler and place the foiled meat in the pan just incase the foil leaks. This saves some time on clean ups.

 

[Countryhb]

OK, someone clue me in here. Why is everyone taking their brisket to such a high temp? Why not cooler at 130-140*. This is beef we're dealing with.

 

[Yakfishingfool]

Couple of things....One thing I am definitely learning is to smoke the meat, not cook to a temperature. That means looking at a brisket around 160ish, checking with a probe and foiling when hot knife through cold butter. My last one I way over smoked and foiled for several hours and was the best shredded brisket, but no where near competitive brisket. I recently smoked a hundred pounds of Pork shoulder and did each one differently, not by temp but by "feel, wrapped and coolered when felt right, not what probe said. Some of the best pp I've had. It was kind of weird in that it was a bit harder to shred, but to the bite was very tender. Good stuff. Scott

 

[Bigmista]

BRisket is a very tough cut of beef. It needs to be cooked for a long time at a low temperature. When the temps reach about 190 degrees, all of the connective tissue that makes it tough starts to melt. It also releases collagen. Collagen is that stuuf that makes the meat juicy and a little sticky. It's the reason you lick your fingers after you pick it up. Good stuff!

Anyway, if you don't reach these temps, the tissue doesn't break down and you end up with shoe leather. Same is true with pork butts and shoulders. The more connective tissue a piece of meat has, the longer you need to cook it and you have to take it to a higher temp.

By contrast, loin and tenderloins have very little connective tissue and don't need to cook as long and you can serve them at lower temps.

 

[Papa Hogg]

BRisket is a very tough cut of beef. It needs to be cooked for a long time at a low temperature. When the temps reach about 190 degrees, all of the connective tissue that makes it tough starts to melt. It also releases collagen. Collagen is that stuuf that makes the meat juicy and a little sticky. It's the reason you lick your fingers after you pick it up. Good stuff!

Anyway, if you don't reach these temps, the tissue doesn't break down and you end up with shoe leather. Same is true with pork butts and shoulders. The more connective tissue a piece of meat has, the longer you need to cook it and you have to take it to a higher temp.

By contrast, loin and tenderloins have very little connective tissue and don't need to cook as long and you can serve them at lower temps.

What he said...Shoe Leather!

 

[Countryhb]

BRisket is a very tough cut of beef. It needs to be cooked for a long time at a low temperature. When the temps reach about 190 degrees, all of the connective tissue that makes it tough starts to melt. It also releases collagen. Collagen is that stuuf that makes the meat juicy and a little sticky. It's the reason you lick your fingers after you pick it up. Good stuff!

Anyway, if you don't reach these temps, the tissue doesn't break down and you end up with shoe leather. Same is true with pork butts and shoulders. The more connective tissue a piece of meat has, the longer you need to cook it and you have to take it to a higher temp.

By contrast, loin and tenderloins have very little connective tissue and don't need to cook as long and you can serve them at lower temps.

Is this still true if you don't intend to shred/cube?

 

[backyardchef]

Is this still true if you don't intend to shred/cube?

Yes.

Brisket won't be where you want it until 180+ degrees. Some people will wrap the meat around 185-195 and then put it in the cooler to rest, but to also allow the heat to circulate in the meat and even out across it as much as possible which helps to tenderize the product even further.

But, regardless of whether your foil it around 160-175 to protect the color and moisture, or you're the type that cooks it unfoiled all the way, and only wrap while it's resting in the cooler, the only way to get a tender, succulent piece of bbq'd brisket, is to cook it past 180, whether using foil or not. The higher you go in temp (and foiling) the more likely you are to have something that falls apart when you cut it.....and possibly dry.

ETA: more and more these days, anyway, I go by how the bark looks and whether it is dry, glistening, etc...after a few hours. Sometimes, if it looks real purty, I might wrap it to protect it. Also depends on if it's a flat or a packer....but that's a whole other story.

 

[DawgPhan]

Is this still true if you don't intend to shred/cube?

going to go out on a limb and say that you have never cooked a brisket. You cant eat brisket like a steak or anything like that. You cant slice it thin @ medium and pile it on a sandwich...about the only thing you can do with it is cook it forever until it just about falls apart and cut it into slices. You can cube for burnt ends or pull/shred for a variety of different things like shredded beef sandwiches or my personal favorite, brisket nachos.

even if you cook a brisket to 180 you still are going to have a hard time chewing it even if you slice it really thin...

 

[Papa Hogg]

Think of it like Alchemy, as ancient philosophers were on a quest to change base metals to gold...pit masters are on a quest to turn a scrap/garbage piece of meat into the most succulent piece of beef you have ever put into your mouth :biggrin:

 

[Countryhb]

going to go out on a limb and say that you have never cooked a brisket. You cant eat brisket like a steak or anything like that. You cant slice it thin @ medium and pile it on a sandwich...about the only thing you can do with it is cook it forever until it just about falls apart and cut it into slices. You can cube for burnt ends or pull/shred for a variety of different things like shredded beef sandwiches or my personal favorite, brisket nachos.

even if you cook a brisket to 180 you still are going to have a hard time chewing it even if you slice it really thin...

No, I've actually cooked a few briskets. All of them have been removed at or before 160*. I have a few good friends from Texas who enjoy it so much that rthey equest i cook my brisket for them again and again. I slice it thin and pile it on wheat bread with pickles and onions. I guess it can actually get better, huh? That's good news. I'll have to try this high-temp thingy. I cook my pork like that, but never my beef. Thanks for all the info.

 

[backyardchef]

This isn't my favorite picture, but this is the texture I like to shoot for, which doesn't sound like what you're talking about.....

 

[DawgPhan]

No, I've actually cooked a few briskets. All of them have been removed at or before 160*. I have a few good friends from Texas who enjoy it so much that rthey equest i cook my brisket for them again and again. I slice it thin and pile it on wheat bread with pickles and onions. I guess it can actually get better, huh? That's good news. I'll have to try this high-temp thingy. I cook my pork like that, but never my beef. Thanks for all the info.

I guess...you could do it like that....anyway...cooking it to 160 is still north of where I cook the rest of my beef cuts.

Hey cook it any way you like...you might try cooking one till it is nice and fork tender one day though...you wont get the thin slices for sandwiches from it, but it is still good...I do the thin slice on bread thing with tri-tip cooked to like 135 or so...

 

[HB-BBQ]

I did my last one to 185F, wrapped it with foil and let it rest for two hours. It came out similar to the pic backyard posted.

Are any of you injecting Brisket before hand or during the cook? I was thinking of trying some beef stock but have never injected before. I usually just use a dry rub beforehand and put a little apple juice in the foil for flavor when wrapping.