Second thoughts....

[Doug Crann]

Picked up a nice looked packer brisket yesterday. Stood there in the meat cooler, brisket in hand thinking...and put it back. Have tried cooking a brisket 4 times now....and each time was a failure. Dry....brittle....dry and brittle...just can't seem to finger that hunk-o-meat out. I know it is not a particularly easy hunk-o-meat to cook. And I probably have my expectations set a bit on the high side. How many others go thru this....

 

[pjtexas1]

my best advice is to take detailed notes on each cook. that way you can see exactly what you did. sounds like you are over cooking them if they are falling apart.

edit: don't give up...

 

[Rusty Kettle]

It's one of the toughest IMO to master.

I been there for sure. I have more failures in cooking than I can count. The trick is to stick with it and research it.

What kind of thermometer do you use? No not to temp but for probe tender. I have been told not to use a thermopen to test for probe tender as the probe is so sharp it makes it feel probe tender when it is not ready. Usually most people say it's not cooked long enough is the problem.

You will get it just keep your chin up.

Remember any details of your cooks?

If not get a brisket and a notebook. Write every detail down about the cook. What rub, injection if used, what the briskets weight is. The pit temp and what kind of pit. Take pictures. I know if your looking you ain't cooking but pictures of your whole process will help. Do you wrap or not? Any details you think may or may not be important write it all down then come back and post what you did. Then someone will be able to help you.

Search Bludawg brisket in the search box. Never tried his way myself but many brethren swear by his methods.

 

[BBQ Freak]

been there and I feel your pain but after wasting a lot of money I figured it out not to ruin them for me . I just smoke them for 4 + hours and then put in a foil pan with some kind of liquid content and they come out great and come out moist .

 

[blazinfire]

I'll say this. I'm not a professional I'm a guy that just started learning the smoking thing within the past 6 months. I've cooked several briskets each one better than the rest. You will learn from every one you cook. I've learned early on that you cook it til it probes tender. I have pulled my recent ones a little to early but still were great! I don't find it a hard piece of meat to cook. I have a harder time cooking chicken ha!

 

[mikemci]

Before finding this site, my briskets were not consistent. I was cooking them by time. The key to consistency for me was learning about the probe technique. You'll get it eventually, but you have to keep trying, keep records and only change one thing, with each cook. :thumb:

 

[blazinfire]

Before finding this site, my briskets were not consistent. I was cooking them by time. The key to consistency for me was learning about the probe technique. You'll get it eventually, but you have to keep trying, keep records and only change one thing, with each cook. :thumb:

Exactly what I wanted to say! Knowing early on to go by probing the meat has made every brisket before it even better. Including using differnt rub, until I perfected it!