Anyone else experience this with brisket and any good fix?

[Gambit724]

Hey everybody!

I'm new here.

My last brisket i wrapped in butcher paper at 165.. at 195 i started probing for feel.

i found that after making the holes in the butcher paper for the handheld probe (i already had one in there from my thermapro monitoring internal temp) I simply could not get the beef to 203. Not sure if the holes in the butcher paper could have been letting out that much heat.

I am not experienced enough to know perfectly when the brisket is ready.. there was not a lot of resistance on the probe after the butcher paper but i would have been more comfortable having gotten the meat to 203... im not quite sure if it was warm stick of butter soft.

1.) has anyone else experienced the brisket sticking at 198?

2.) if you are going to wrap in a cooler after to hold, do you pull it early?

Thanks all! =)

 

[BB-que]

You’re gonna get a lot of replies. Everyone here loves to talk brisket! It could be anywhere between 195 all the way up to 210 to probe tender. As far as when to pull and how to rest that’s where the art comes in. If it still has slight resistance you can wrap and cooler with a bunch of towels immediately after pulling it and it will continue to cook and finish up. If it’s warm butter when you pull I like to leave it out for 20 minutes to stop the cooking process before resting in the cooler. Just my .02. I can tell you I’ve overcooked a lot of briskets by cooking until warm butter feel and immediately wrapping and resting. experience and a lot of brisket cooks snd then you’re able to get a tender brisket consistently. My method is the moment is warm butter to stop cooking process by rest before cooler. I’m getting to the point where I can know when to pull when a tad tight still , and then immediate rest.

 

[Millberry]

Wow--hope I get that good BB-que. One day + lots of help from folks like you(which I am getting) and I will be there

 

[chef jimmyj]

You’re gonna get a lot of replies. Everyone here loves to talk brisket! It could be anywhere between 195 all the way up to 210 to probe tender. As far as when to pull and how to rest that’s where the art comes in. If it still has slight resistance you can wrap and cooler with a bunch of towels immediately after pulling it and it will continue to cook and finish up. If it’s warm butter when you pull I like to leave it out for 20 minutes to stop the cooking process before resting in the cooler. Just my .02. I can tell you I’ve overcooked a lot of briskets by cooking until warm butter feel and immediately wrapping and resting. experience and a lot of brisket cooks snd then you’re able to get a tender brisket consistently. My method is the moment is warm butter to stop cooking process by rest before cooler. I’m getting to the point where I can know when to pull when a tad tight still , and then immediate rest.

I COULD NOT HAVE EXPLAINED IT BETTER IF I WROTE THIS MYSELF!!! Fantastic Job!!!

Don't Sweat the Temps! The IT's are just Guide Posts, used to tell you when to Make a Change, like Wrapping at the Stall, or to Start Checking for a result like Tenderness. If your Brisket does not hit a certain IT, it's not critical. Every piece of meat will be different. Follow the Signs, +/- 10°F and you will get a feel for making great Brisket..JJ

 

[BB-que]

I COULD NOT HAVE EXPLAINED IT BETTER IF I WROTE THIS MYSELF!!! Fantastic Job!!!

Don't Sweat the Temps! The IT's are just Guide Posts, used to tell you when to Make a Change, like Wrapping at the Stall, or to Start Checking for a result like Tenderness...JJ

Haha, thanksJJ. I know you’ll appreciate this - I still have a 15lb A5 brisket in my damn deep freezer! Can’t really justify cooking it u til we can have a party! I picked a bad time to buy that thing.

 

[sandyut]

what chef jimmyj and BB-que said. they have you covered.

 

[normanaj]

Each one is different.I've had'em done as low 192 and as high as 209.

 

[Gambit724]

Wow you guys are amazing!

I love the idea of letting the brisket sit for 20 min before wrapping in order to stop the cook if its probe tender; thats really smart.

Question: I last wrapped my butcher paper in tin foil before going in my cooler. Ok to do or overkill? Does it also matter if the brisket could use a little more cook.

I.e; if the brisket is done done.. let sit for 20 to stop the cook.. and THEN wrap it.

but if the brisket needs some more cooking time.. wrap the butcher paper in foil right away?

Does that make sense?

thanks so much guys! =)

 

[chef jimmyj]

Question: I last wrapped my butcher paper in tin foil before going in my cooler. Ok to do or overkill? Does it also matter if the brisket could use a little more cook.

I.e; if the brisket is done done.. let sit for 20 to stop the cook.. and THEN wrap it.

but if the brisket needs some more cooking time.. wrap the butcher paper in foil right away?

The answer to the first part...Foil holds in the Juices that will otherwise leak all over your Towels, Blankets or Cooler.

Done Done? Rest 20-30 minutes on the Counter and Eat...Or...Place in a Cooler to Hold Hot until you Are ready to eat.

If the Brisket is almost done but not needed for several hours, it went Faster than expected. Pull when a Probe slides in with Some Resistance (Underdone) and give it a Cooler Rest until you are ready to eat...JJ

 

[Gambit724]

The answer to the first part...Foil holds in the Juices that will otherwise leak all over your Towels, Blankets or Cooler.

Done Done? Rest 20-30 minutes on the Counter and Eat...Or...Place in a Cooler to Hold Hot until you Are ready to eat.

If the Brisket is almost done but not needed for several hours, it went Faster than expected. Pull when a Probe slides in with Some Resistance (Underdone) and give it a Cooler Rest until you are ready to eat...JJ

so would you say if brisket is cooked fully but not needed to eat for some hours.. let sit 20-30 min and then wrap the butcher paper in foil to keep juices from leaking out? Or would you take out of butcher paper and wrap in foil?

Obviously if brisket needed more time to cook I take it you would wrap the butcher paper immediately in foil and put in cooler?

Thanks JJ!

 

[chopsaw]

My last brisket i wrapped in butcher paper at 165.. at 195 i started probing for feel.

i found that after making the holes in the butcher paper for the handheld probe (i already had one in there from my thermapro monitoring internal temp) I simply could not get the beef to 203. Not sure if the holes in the butcher paper could have been letting out that much heat.

Yes .
I had this happen with a chuck roast . Temp actually dropped after I probed it in 3 or 4 spots through the paper , and never did recover . Evaporating liquid caused the meat to cool .

 

[Gambit724]

Yes .
I had this happen with a chuck roast . Temp actually dropped after I probed it in 3 or 4 spots through the paper , and never did recover . Evaporating liquid caused the meat to cool .

How do you avoid this?

 

[chef jimmyj]

Or would you take out of butcher paper and wrap in foil?

Leave it in the Paper and Foil Wrap. No point in making a Mess of your work area with melted fat and meat juices. We want all the Good Stuff against the meat not on the Counter...JJ

 

[chopsaw]

How do you avoid this?

Don't poke thru the paper . When I wrap I do it so I can open it up easy . That being said , most times when I probe it's ready . I only had it happen once , and that was a chuck .

 

[tallbm]

Hey everybody!

I'm new here.

My last brisket i wrapped in butcher paper at 165.. at 195 i started probing for feel.

i found that after making the holes in the butcher paper for the handheld probe (i already had one in there from my thermapro monitoring internal temp) I simply could not get the beef to 203. Not sure if the holes in the butcher paper could have been letting out that much heat.

I am not experienced enough to know perfectly when the brisket is ready.. there was not a lot of resistance on the probe after the butcher paper but i would have been more comfortable having gotten the meat to 203... im not quite sure if it was warm stick of butter soft.

1.) has anyone else experienced the brisket sticking at 198?

2.) if you are going to wrap in a cooler after to hold, do you pull it early?

Thanks all! =)

Hi there and welcome!

You are getting great info from the guys.
I think the issue without you being able to get your brisket to 203F Internal Temp (IT) might simply be opening the smoker and checking multiple times. I don't check until 200F.
I put 3 temp probes aiming for the thickest yet centermost portion of the Flat muscle (never the point) and one of them usually hits the spot (one that reads the lowest) while the other two can be any manner of different temps hahaha.

So between the fact of how difficult it is to nail proper probe placement and opening the smoker to keep checking at 198F your brisket was just going to take longer to hit 203.
I find that me checking at 200F doesn't overcook a brisket if it happens to be ready and I personally rarely have one tender at 200F unless its a Prime brisket. This allows me to open the door fewer times and let the brisket do it's thing and become tender with minimal checking :)