Methods for retaining juices in brisket??

[Dakaty]

Last weekend I cooked 5 briskets (3 in one batch and 2 in the next). I cooked them all at 235 -250 degrees for about 6 hours in the pit to an internal of about 160 degrees. Then wrapped in heavy foil till they hit 190 - 195. Then they "rested" in the Igloo for a couple of hours.

When I went to upwrap them, all of them had a huge amout of juice in the foil. I saved almost a 1/2 gallon of pure juice, after removing the floating fat. Man, I wish all that moisture had stayed in the briskets.

What can I do to prevent that much juice from cooking out?

Should I use an injector and put it back in?

Thanks

 

[kcquer]

The only way those juices don't come out is if you don't cook the meat. As the proteins in the meat cook, they collapse (like a sponge) and expel the moisture contained in the meat. That's just what happens when you cook meat.

 

[we'll smoke u]

Very Well Put Kcquer.
When You Finaly Cut Into The Brisket Was It Still Moist Or Was It Dry. I Would Guess It Was Still Farely Moist.

 

[bbqjoe]

I don't let them get up that high, don't foil, don't cooler. Mine come out nice, tender and juicy.

 

[bigabyte]

Brining can help the brisket retain moisture, but then you have pastrami, not BBQ brisket.

 

[Jorge]

If you pull it a little sooner, rap in foil, and cooler you get most of the benefits. The brisket will hold together a little more but you retain more moisture in the meat. There is no free lunch, so to speak. Beyond the temp use a probe to check tenderness. An instant read thermometer serves both purposes. Trial and error for what works the best for you.

 

[Sledneck]

I don't let them get up that high, don't foil, don't cooler. Mine come out nice, tender and juicy.

What temp do you pul them out joe?

 

[bbqjoe]

What temp do you pul them out joe?

Angel on right shoulder: Tell em, tell em everything.
Devil on left shoulder: Shut up stupid, don't give away your secrets.
AORS: What harm could it do?
DOLS: Look dumdum there are others in the area serving crap BBQ, and at
least one other opening a joint.
AORS: So, why not help the others?
DOLS: Your not very smart are you, they could be in disguise on this board.
AORS: But Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.
DOLS: Yeah, well flatter this! *Whump!*

Me: Okay you two, go settle this somewhere else!!!!!!!

Someday.....maybe someday.

 

[Sledneck]

Didnt realize that temps were a big secret, sauce rub and method ok but temp? I could care less but your the one that brought up that ypou take them off earlier. Next time dont offer info if you dont back it up

 

[bbqjoe]

Didnt realize that temps were a big secret, sauce rub and method ok but temp? I could care less but your the one that brought up that ypou take them off earlier. Next time dont offer info if you dont back it up

Seriously, just having fun.
They usually come off at around 170*-180* put in steamtable, or let cool and wrap, refrigerate.

 

[smokincracker]

Seriously, just having fun.
They usually come off at around 170*-180* put in steamtable, or let cool and wrap, refrigerate.

OK Joe no disrespect but I expect at 170-180 you are still real chewy.

This is time consuming BUT
The trick is to rub and inject your meat! bring the meat up to 170-180 IST
Inject again and wrap with plastic and then foil.
Then bring the IST up to 195-200 ish all the while keeping the GRATE temp at about 225-230. I let my brisket rest on the counter still wrapped in a pan with a dish towel on top. I put in a probe and don't unwrap the brisket until it hits 150 IST. This takes awile!

This has worked real well for me in the past and is always real moist.

 

[Jorge]

OK Joe no disrespect but I expect at 170-180 you are still real chewy.

This is time consuming BUT
The trick is to rub and inject your meat! bring the meat up to 170-180 IST
Inject again and wrap with plastic and then foil.
Then bring the IST up to 195-200 ish all the while keeping the GRATE temp at about 225-230. I let my brisket rest on the counter still wrapped in a pan with a dish towel on top. I put in a probe and don't unwrap the brisket until it hits 150 IST. This takes awile!

This has worked real well for me in the past and is always real moist.

What are the odds on you sharing that injection recipe?:wink:

 

[smokincracker]

Yep

What are the odds on you sharing that injection recipe?:wink:

Injecting Brisket Thread about 15-20 threads down the list has some info you can use.

 

[Sawdustguy]

Fab-B works & I use some veg oil with it and inject the crap out of it.

I think this is what you are looking for Jorge.

 

[StLouQue]

This is great stuff, guys. Thanks.

 

[CarbonToe]

Man, I wish all that moisture had stayed in the briskets.

What can I do to prevent that much juice from cooking out?

Should I use an injector and put it back in?

Thanks

I never inject my brisket, I'm no sage but when I tried I thought the injection changed the texture of the meat more than the moistness and I prefered it without.

Don't think that the juices coming out of the meat will leave it dry, this is normal with cooking any joint of meat.

With all meat's I collect the juice, leave it to rest in a roasting style tin until the fat floats to the surface, skim the fat off and discard. The juice you have left can be used in sauces and gravy's or anything that requires beef stock. It can be frozen. It is worth noting that if you've used a spicy rub it can affect the flavour of the juice so it's worth tasting it before you use it in a 'delicate' dish.

 

[Rockaway BeachBQ]

Be careful with coolering to many items together. The carryover cooking can get extreme. I personally wrap with commercial plastic wrap if needed at the end and then wrap in multiple towels and maybe throw it in one of those foil bags. A cooler can provide to much insulation and continue to cook your items.

I personally never foil anything, and only occasionaly use a water pan, but I think that relates to the properties of a ceramic cooker. The cooking chamber is relatively small compared to offsets and more natural moisture stays in the air, in fact I have had issues with condensation forming on the top vent dripping on to my food.

 

[Sawdustguy]

Actually, we want it to continue to cook a bit. Most of us take the brisket off at 180* wrap and cooler so it continues to cook to 195* to 200*. The reason we do this is because we want to cook the last 20* without the drying effect of the smoker. The brisket will as juicy as heck and cooked perfectly.

 

[livwire68]

Ok this might sound different and I have not tried it yet, but what about re-injecting the saved juice??