Second Brisket Ever

[Memphis Que]

Here is a lot of info on resting brisket - http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt...ace-new-barbecue-truth-rested-meat-is-sublime

If you do decide to put it in a cooler you probably want to let it sit on the counter about 15 minutes first to stop any carry over cooking.

That's an excellent article on resting. Thanks for sharing it.

 

[marshallcooper]

After watching Franklin, he cooks at higher temps because: (1) his stick burner smokers are huge 1000 gal. tanks (15-20' long by 46" diameter) and meat can handle the higher temps in his big pits. Backyard pits will typically scorch briskets at higher temps, depending on your pit (2) Franklin is loading his pits to the max which produces lots of moisture in the cook chamber, absorbs and levels the heat and hot spots. So if you want to cook hot get to know your pit and how hot you can cook it without burning the top, sides and bottom of the brisket. Really depends on air flow and radiant heat. Every pit is different. If you cook too slow, sometimes that will dry briskets out, cook too hot and they'll burn, scorch and dry meat tough. Got to find the right temp your smokers runs best at.

Franklin cooks their briskets until they come out of the stall which is typically 180+/- and the brisket is tender enough to pass the poke test (poke it between the point and the flat with your index or thumb and if your finger sinks in about 3/4-1" it is ready to wrap. Keep cooking until the paper is saturated w/with brisket grease, it should be done then. Keep it simple.

 

[Memphis Que]

Meat temp was 183 at 4 hours so I went ahead and wrapped it in butcher paper. Took a pic and will post it if I can figure out how to do it from my iPad.

 

[Memphis Que]

Meat temp is 203 at 7 hours but not quite probe tender yet so I put it back on the pit.

Didn't experience the stall with this cook or my first one. Strange.

I've been very impressed with how the Chubby has handled the 275 pit temp. Piece of cake, but you have to refill the water pan more than at lower temps.

 

[Memphis Que]

Probe tender, off the pit, and in the Cambro at 211 degrees after a total cook time of 9 hours.

Thanks to everybody for your input. I'll let you know how it tastes when I serve it, but I can already tell it is going to be way better than my first brisket thanks to your help.

 

[mikemci]

Did you go directly from the pit to the ice chest, or did you open it on the counter for 15-20 min?

 

[doug93003]

If you wrap a brisket in foil you may as well cook it from start to finish in a crockpot.

Different grades of meat will probe differently when they are done. I've found select grade to be done at probe tender, but primes to be better when there's a bit of drag on the probe. The best test for done meat is to feel it. Pick it up and see how it feels.

You can use a probe as a guide but you will quickly find out that it isn't any more accurate than time to know when you're getting close.

 

[Memphis Que]

Did you go directly from the pit to the ice chest, or did you open it on the counter for 15-20 min?

I let it sit on the counter for 15 minutes as someone suggested.

 

[Memphis Que]

If you wrap a brisket in foil you may as well cook it from start to finish in a crockpot.

Different grades of meat will probe differently when they are done. I've found select grade to be done at probe tender, but primes to be better when there's a bit of drag on the probe. The best test for done meat is to feel it. Pick it up and see how it feels.

You can use a probe as a guide but you will quickly find out that it isn't any more accurate than time to know when you're getting close.

Yeah, I could definitely tell a difference in the feel when it was done. I am sure I will get better at judging by feel as I do more of these.

 

[Memphis Que]

Ok, here's the verdict. It was overcooked. The flat was pretty crumbly. Either I should have pulled it off the pit sooner or it overcooked from carryover heat in the cambro, or maybe it was a little of both.

All of the flat was probe tender after 8 hours except for the part about 4-5 inches from the end so maybe I should have pulled it then, but who wants a tough brisket in that area? Maybe I should have let it sit on the counter longer before I put it in the cambro or never put it in the cambro at all. There was only a couple of hours between the time I pulled it from the pit and the time I served it.

Also, I trimmed the first brisket I cooked pretty aggressively which I thought might have contributed to its dryness so I probably didn't trim this one enough. The fat cap on the point rendered down really well, but the fat on the flat hardly rendered at all which resulted in me losing some good bark on the flat slices. I will trim the flat down more on my next one.

My guests loved it, but they have never had good brisket before. The flavor was good, and the bark was awesome. Nobody could believe that I only used salt and pepper for the rub.

Overall, I was pretty frustrated with the whole thing because I am a perfectionist, but this only made me more determined to get it right the next time. I will probably try Bludawg's method on the next one. These darn briskets are a lot harder to cook well than a pork butt!

Thanks again to everyone for their help. I really appreciate it.