Done with brisket!

oldpro1946 · Oct 18, 2015

I've attempted my last brisket. Made terrible brisket flats so I finally tried a packer to no success. Smoked it, 8 pd packer, for 5 1/2 hrs at 250 to 164, wrapped and let go til 195. Was done early so I wrapped the foiled brisket in a towel and put in oven at 100 degrees. Had to leave it there for about 3 hrs. Dry, dry dry. Falling apart but dry! Tried to follow Aaron Franklin's video and tried to use all the suggestions of people on this forum. Woke up at 2am had it on at 4am. Smoked for a total of 10hrs. A lot of work for lousy brisket. I"m done with brisket.

mike5051 · Oct 18, 2015

I feel your pain! Me and brisket have had a battle or two. Don't give up....you were so close. You say the brisket was done early, I assume that means it reached the IT you were shooting for. Wrap it in foil, rest it in towels in a cooler for hours on end. It will be spectacular! I am betting that the oven dried it out.

Mike

stickyfingers · Oct 18, 2015

Ya, don't give up! Just come back to it later. Sounds like the 3 hours in the oven dried it out. Agree with resting it in a cooler. I use a moving blanket.

mneeley490 · Oct 18, 2015

You were close. It was the oven, dude. Try again.

hamrhead1971 · Oct 18, 2015

I agree with everyone else. It had to be the three hours in the oven. Don't give up on it. Next time wrap in foil and put in an ice chest wrapped in towels.

gary s · Oct 18, 2015

I am sorry to hear about your brisket, The 3 hours in the oven probably caused the brisket to dry out. Also did you leave a nice fat cap on it?

Try one more, post pics as you go I'll bet you can turn out a good brisket. I do briskets all the time, and would never tell you they are all identical, They are not, Sometimes it just happens, You may have be unlucky and jut got one of those briskets.

Stick with it you will be glad you did

Gary

vwaldoguy · Oct 18, 2015

I held a brisket in a cooler, wrapped in foil and towels for 2 hours yesterday with no problems. By the time dinner rolled around, it was still steaming.

jcbigler · Oct 19, 2015

Last Thanksgiving I held a brisket (after an all night smoke) wrapped in foil and just some towels and a flannel blanket as we made a three hour drive across the state to my sister's house. Once we arrived it was another hour and a half, almost two before we sat down to eat. That was one of the tenderest and moistest briskets I have ever done. And still piping hot when we cut it.

It can be done. Hang in there. Brisket is the king of barbecue. Once you get it, you won't want to do anything else.

chef jimmyj · Oct 19, 2015

Another option is try just the Point. The greater connective tissue and fat content makes Points more forgiving. Besides Butchers have no trouble selling the lean Flats so they usually have no problem cutting them for you. Don't give up...Dry Brisket makes Juicy Chili...JJ

oldpro1946 · Oct 19, 2015

gary s said:
I am sorry to hear about your brisket, The 3 hours in the oven probably caused the brisket to dry out. Also did you leave a nice fat cap on it?

Try one more, post pics as you go I'll bet you can turn out a good brisket. I do briskets all the time, and would never tell you they are all identical, They are not, Sometimes it just happens, You may have be unlucky and jut got one of those briskets.

Stick with it you will be glad you did

Gary

I thought the oven being at 100 degrees would act as a cooler, not cook it more but keep it warm. I trimmed a litle but tried to leave about 1/4" cap, per the video with Aaron Franklin. Does everything else sound ok. Since it was my first I didn't know if the 8 pounder would take 8 hrs or 12 hrs and wanted it to be done by 5pm because grandchildren were coming and they can't wait to eat. They want to eat when they want to eat. Would the brisket stay warm in a cooler for, say, 4 hrs? My family thought it was great but I KNEW it qasn't moist. Thanks.

oldpro1946 · Oct 19, 2015

Chef JimmyJ said:
Another option is try just the Point. The greater connective tissue and fat content makes Points more forgiving. Besides Butchers have no trouble selling the lean Flats so they usually have no problem cutting them for you. Don't give up...Dry Brisket makes Juicy Chili...JJ

I live in the Chgo subs and I couldn't even find unwaxed butcher which I wanted to wrap the brisket in. The butcher shops and meat markets I called do not butcher their own meat but get it in cryovac packaging. Thanks.

oldpro1946 · Oct 19, 2015

stickyFingers said:
Ya, don't give up! Just come back to it later. Sounds like the 3 hours in the oven dried it out. Agree with resting it in a cooler. I use a moving blanket.

Thought the 100 degree oven would act as a cooler and keep it warm for the 3-4 I had to leave it rest. Thanks.

oldpro1946 · Oct 19, 2015

Didn't know the cooler would keep it warm for the 3-4 hrs it had to rest. Didn't think the oven at 100 degrees would cook it more. STUPID! Thanks.

bmaddox · Oct 19, 2015

Did you probe the flat and the point for tenderness before calling it done? That was one of the hardest parts for me to get right. I would probe one spot and call it good. Now I probe 4 or 5 spots and will usually find some areas that are done and some that are not. The trick is getting it to the sweet spot where the flat and the point are both tender without overcooking the flat. Once you get it right you will be hooked on briskets because it is amazing.

krex1010 · Oct 19, 2015

It's amazing how long a cooler will keep a big slab of meat steaming hot. If it's going to be more than 2 hours or the cooler will be outside in cooler weather I'll often pre-heat the cooler but filling it a third of the way with hot tap water, shit the lid for 10 minutes, that thing will be nice and hot for when you empty the water and put the meat in.

gomez93 · Oct 19, 2015

Did you add any liquid when you foiled the brisket?

gary s · Oct 19, 2015

I don't

Gary

mneeley490 · Oct 19, 2015

If you have a good cooler, and you wrap well with towels, it will stay warm for a good while. I've had one rest for 12 hours once, and it was still at serving temperature.

oldpro1946 · Oct 20, 2015

bmaddox said:
Did you probe the flat and the point for tenderness before calling it done? That was one of the hardest parts for me to get right. I would probe one spot and call it good. Now I probe 4 or 5 spots and will usually find some areas that are done and some that are not. The trick is getting it to the sweet spot where the flat and the point are both tender without overcooking the flat. Once you get it right you will be hooked on briskets because it is amazing.

I did probe the point and I "thought" it was good to pull, probe went in very easy. Thanks.

falco78 · Oct 23, 2015

I always add about 4oz of Dr. Pepper inside the foil with my briskets and never had a bad one. I just recently started doing that with my ribs and wouldn't turn back

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Done with brisket!

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