Brisket Q-view. Need tips

  • Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
SMF is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

larosa94x

Fire Starter
Original poster
Jun 22, 2015
43
10
Hey guys,
I took my first shot at a full packet brisket this Friday and I thought everything was going well until I cut into it and it was nice and dry! Here's what I did- maybe you guys can point me in the right direction and help me remedie what I did wrong.

So the brisket went in at 3:30 am and I did my best to maintain 225-250. The brisket cruised until it hit 160 IT, it actually dropped a couple degrees to like 158 and that happen around 11. So at that point I foiled it up and threw it back into the smoke until it hit 190 around 2 o'clock ish I pulled it pulled back the foul and did the toothpick test... Not quiet ready.. So instead of keeping it in the foil I figured it's at 190 it wouldn't take more than an hour to come a couple degrees up until it passed the toothpick test. I did this to firm up the bark in the meantime as well.. Well When I unfoiled it it dropped to 176!!! Wtf! So it ended up taking until 4:30 before it passed the toothpick test at 192 IT. I let it rest in a cooler until 7 and it was super tender but it was dry.. Not so dry that it wasn't edible but it was pretty dry.. And it also had no smoke ring..? Which was quiet perplexing.

Please help guys I thought I had this shit cruising golden but it was dry :/

http://s1343.photobucket.com/user/N...3-4290-B589-A6EC65D62E51_zpsub1ev3s9.jpg.html

http://s1343.photobucket.com/user/N...F-4510-9375-CEDE32157C74_zpsexvjaweu.jpg.html

http://s1343.photobucket.com/user/N...9-4948-9F9B-5BDCBB37CD8A_zpsykb5nx3s.jpg.html

http://s1343.photobucket.com/user/N...F-4B99-9017-FDCD3555171E_zpsxfuiljwk.jpg.html

http://s1343.photobucket.com/user/N...3-4DE2-95DE-C1CADD04184E_zpsukkevuhw.jpg.html

http://s1343.photobucket.com/user/N...8-4C6A-9CD5-817E16802C4C_zpsjirmaehm.jpg.html
 
Last edited:
It shouldn't have dropped like that just unwrapping.  Are you sure your therm was placed/calibrated correctly?
 
Yeah I've never had any problems with that thermometer. I'm using the maverick so it's not like I'm using a turd thermometer
 
What kind of wood did you use?

I used mesquite and apple wood


Looks moist on the cutting board! Maybe just a bad cow?

The moistness you see is from the juices I saved. I poured it back over the sliced brisket to try and save it.
The meat came from Walmart and was only a select as that is all they had.

Did u trim all the fat cap off?

I tried not to touch to much of the fat cap, I only trimmed off the hard fat
 
The cut didn't have a huge fat cap but it definitely had some far in it that I didn't touch. Could it have been the fact that I uncoiled it at the end for 2-3 hours
 
From looking at your pics my thoughts are that there's no fat to keep the meat moist!  Plus it could be from uncovering and cooking another couple of hours!  Do u have any pics from before you seasoned it?
 
Look into this thread a bit Larosa. http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/181613/lets-talk-brisket when I had problems with a brisket I dug around here for a bit before going at it again and learned a lot. But by looking at the picture of your slice it looks like the connective tissue didn't render and it was under done. My big lesson was tooth pick test trumps IT and I won't take off anymore unless it passes. All the old school brisket guys basically came back to that lesson. The juiciness comes from that connective tissue rendering more than anything else. When you look at pics of juicy brisket the meat accordions from that tissue being gone, the post has a good comparison photo.

I'm not sure about smoke ring, but another thread I started asked about when meat takes smoke and most agreed foiling reduces the chemical reaction and the beginning of the smoke is best time for meat to absorb. I'll send the link.
 
I like cooking my brisket @ 275. then at 160 I wrap it with butcher paper,and let ride till it hits about 200 - 205. Brisket can be a tough cook.
I agree that I don't think your brisket was cooked enough. If they are undercooked they will be tough & dry. Over cooked a little mushy.
 
Undercooked? Wow, really?
It did pass the toothpick test and that's why I pulled it. The probe went in and out of the flat almost as if I wasn't poking anything at all. That's why I pulled it when I did
 
Undercooked? Wow, really?
It did pass the toothpick test and that's why I pulled it. The probe went in and out of the flat almost as if I wasn't poking anything at all. That's why I pulled it when I did
Did you probe the thickest spot? That's where you need to be probing. But If you thought it was done then maybe it was.
One way to get better at brisket is cook a lot of them. If we could only afford brisket every week. :icon_wink:
 
Yeah I've never had any problems with that thermometer. I'm using the maverick so it's not like I'm using a turd thermometer
You do realize that the acceptable temperature variation of the Maverick is something like +/-5*? Will look for their email to verify this....
 
Last edited:
Did you probe the thickest spot? That's where you need to be probing. But If you thought it was done then maybe it was.
One way to get better at brisket is cook a lot of them. If we could only afford brisket every week. :icon_wink:

Yeah i poked the inner thicket part of the flat and it slid clean through. Yeah I know- I also feel like I have to have people over every time I do a brisket because it's so much meat. Haha

You do realize that the acceptable temperature variation of the Maverick is something like +/-5*? Will look for their email to verify this....

Yeah I remember seeing that said somewhere else. I've stuck it in both ice and boiling water and it checked out on both of them.. I also used a instant read thermometer to do the probe test and both thermometers matched in temps
 
I had the same thought with mine, but that's how pic looked? Maybe it was just that cut?but the pic looked under done.
 
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

Hot Threads

Clicky