Brisket gurus... what did I do that was so wrong???

[Big Todd]

I never use a meat therm. Put a pit therm on 250ish and cook it about an hour per pound. use plenty of sop every 45 minutes and turn it about every hour and sop again. don't poke it use a glove to turn it keep the juices in.

[dbaio1]

Hey man if you want to eat a tough brisket at 170 go right ahead.. I like chopped beef too...

Hi Curt..

I'm following this along and a bit confused. If he never went above 170 how did it end up dry and burnt ? I totally agree 170 will be a tough brisket. What could he do to keep it moist ?

I'm leaning towards that thermo being very faulty. Just the 50 degree delta on the smoker alone would cause me concern.

[DNTRanch]

I'm really confused here, so at 170 and 12 hours the meat is hard and dry on the inside and it just (stalled) and so if he would have kept it on and left it till it reaches 190 it would come out juciy?????? I'm trying to learn how to do a brisket but seems to be common sense that if it was left in longer may come out like jerky, am I wrong??

[mjhaverkamp]

I will have to side with a faulty thermometer.

[cosmiccowboy]

I'm really confused here, so at 170 and 12 hours the meat is hard and dry on the inside and it just (stalled) and so if he would have kept it on and left it till it reaches 190 it would come out juciy?????? I'm trying to learn how to do a brisket but seems to be common sense that if it was left in longer may come out like jerky, am I wrong??

Brisket is a "tough" cut with a lot of collagen, which is the connective tissue that makes it tough. The collagen doesn't break down until the meat reaches 185. When the collagen renders it makes the juice on the inside.

I'm gonna agree with Smart. Briskets have a mind of their own and two apparently identical briskets can require very different cook times. I had two packers on the pit last summer side by side at the exact same distance from the firebox and within 6 ounces of being the same weight. One finished in 9 1/2 hours and one finished in 14.

[DNTRanch]

Brisket is a "tough" cut with a lot of collagen, which is the connective tissue that makes it tough. The collagen doesn't break down until the meat reaches 185. When the collagen renders it makes the juice on the inside.

OK, well that makes sense, I can see I have alot to learn

[cosmiccowboy]

As for the black crust, this is normal when you cook a brisket uncovered. I never use the Texas crutch (foil) I like my brisket to taste and cut like brisket and not roast. Although I like the black bark personally, when cooking for crowds I normally wrap the briskets in unwaxed butcher paper at about 8 hours when they are "pretty" as a compromise.

[scdavis50]

I have an electric smoker and planned to smoke a brisket over spring break. I went to Costco to buy a brisket, but all of theirs were way to big to fit in my smoker. I asked the guy at the meat counter if I could buy one and cut it in half so it would fit, but he did not recommend doing that. What do you think, can I cut a big brisket in half or do I need to find a smaller one? Would I lose a lot of the juices by doing this?

Yes, you can. Brisket has two pieces - a flat cut and a point cut and the grain of the meat changes direction in each cut. If you're new to cooking brisket ask for the point cut - it has more fat and will be more forgiving.

[GarGuy]

Maybe that brisket came off someones little 26 years old dairy bull. :}

[Texas8point]

7lb brisket, 12 hours...... really dry !

250 degree's, 45-50 minutes per pound. 7lb brisket is about 6hrs

[Smart]

Brisket gurus... what did I do that was so wrong???

Brisket is a "tough" cut with a lot of collagen, which is the connective tissue that makes it tough. The collagen doesn't break down until the meat reaches 185. When the collagen renders it makes the juice on the inside.

I'm gonna agree with Smart. Briskets have a mind of their own and two apparently identical briskets can require very different cook times. I had two packers on the pit last summer side by side at the exact same distance from the firebox and within 6 ounces of being the same weight. One finished in 9 1/2 hours and one finished in 14.

A mind of their own is a perfect description.....

Cosmo is a brisket cooking mutha. I've learned a lot through the years on his TBH brisket posts.

[Smart]

Brisket gurus... what did I do that was so wrong???

hmmm... if i had hit the stall...why was the meat so dry and outside crusty black? If it was truly at 170, shouldn't it have been more tender?

I will test the thermometers to see about accuracy when I get home this evening.

Test the thermos first. Personally I think they will be fine.

At 170 it is it not done so it is not going to be tender. It is just getting near the breakdown stage.

Second a black crust on a brisket is normal for a foil less cook. It is more commonly known as bark. Do a search for bark on brisket. Many folks will say that is the best part of the brisket.

Some pics I pulled off the net because I'm not at my home computer

[AtTheWall]

My last brisket stalled at 167 degrees. It sat there for about 3 hours before it finally went to 180. At 180, I wrapped it in foil and poured some Shiner Bock in with it, instead of sopping, and ran it up to 205 degrees internal wrapped before pulling it. Left it wrapped and let it cool down in my oven, with the oven at 125 degrees till it was time to cut and serve. Some wrap them in towels or newspaper and stick them in a cooler, I've got an oven and it's easier to simply cool it down and tender up more in an oven as I fix the rest of the dinner.

I use a Traeger wood pellet grill. It's a no brainer system. I stuck this 9 lb brisket on at midnight and smoked it till 6 am at around 180 degrees. The meat thermometer read 32 degrees internal temp at midnight, even though it was thawed out. At 6:30 am here, it's internal temp is 111 degrees. My pan of water with a shot of olive oil provides moisture during the slow smoke and cooking process.


At 7 am, I kicked the grill up to 225 degrees from the above photo. Here it is 6 hours later stalled at noon, internal temp is now 167 degrees. It stayed stalled here till 2:00 pm before it finally went up to 180 degrees
Stalled at 167 12 hours into the cook


At 180 degrees I wrapped it in foil and poured Shiner Bock into my foil wrap with a little more shake mixed in my beer. Let it run another 2 hours from 180 degrees to 205 degrees and then pulled it. Sat it in a pre-warmed oven at 125 degrees for about an hour as I worked in the kitchen preparing the rest of the dinner before slicing and serving here.
Tender, juicy and smoked - TASTY BRISKET! It's falling apart tender though and some may want it a bit more firmer? If you want firm, don't wrap and don't use beer as a moisturizing element.

[Smart]

One more series of pics with the brisket guru Aaron Franklin and his "dark bark" briskets.

[cosmiccowboy]

Actually, I fibbed a little. On a conventionally smoked brisket you have to take it to 185 to break the collagen out but there are other ways to do it. It's actually a combination of time and/or temperature. I did a brisket a couple of summers ago where I sous vide it for 48 hours at 132 (medium rare) and then flash seared it on a super hot grill with mesquite coals to give it a crust. It turned out super tender and cut/tasted like prime rib. Just really weird, though. It was nothing like you think a brisket would be like and it was medium rare / pink all the way through. I decided I liked my brisket to look/taste like smoked brisket, but I will use the sous vide method on big cheap roasts to make perfect medium rare all the way through tender smoked roasts.