Bad day for brisket

[jodowd]

New Masterbuilt chef with a lot to learn. Today was my second project, a 2.75 lb. brisket. I applied a dry rub last night and let the meat sit overnight. I set the smoker temp at 220 degrees and put the meat on at 11:30 this morning. Cooked the meat 5 hours and took it off at 4:30. Wrapped the brisket in foil and let it rest for an hour. Ate at 5:30. While the smoke flavor was good, the meat was tough and dry. I’m thinking the brisket was too small, and that I cooked it too long.

My initial effort the previous weekend was beef back ribs, which were somewhat better, but definitely not “fall off the bone” tender. I cooked them at 225 for 6 hours.

I thought the idea was to cook low and slow, but obviously I’m missing something.

Any ideas from you more experienced cooks would be greatly appreciated!

 

[noboundaries]

A dry/tough brisket is an undercooked brisket. Did it probe tender? What was the final internal temp? A 2.75 lb brisket at 220F will take forever to get to a tender stage, assuming your chamber temp was actually 220F. It may have been lower.

I once smoked a 2.5 lb chuck roast (close to the same cut as a brisket) at 225F for 8.5 hours. It never got tender.

It's a physics thing. Meat will only absorb heat based upon the difference between the meat and the surrounding temperature. The greater the difference, the quicker the meat will absorb heat. The smaller the difference, the slower meat will absorb heat. That's one of the reasons folks freak out when a brisket climbs to 165F in just 2-4 hours, but takes forever to get to a finished temp of something over 200F in a 225F smoker.

 

[jodowd]

No, it did not probe tender. The internal meat temp was only 155. So I should have cooked it longer?

 

[chilerelleno]

Undercooked is my guess, not tender due to lack of render of what little fats/collagens are there.
Brisket cooked low-n-slow needs much more time for the IT to get up there and to attain the desired tenderness.
With brisket there is a window of IT during which the brisket will probe tender, before that it is dry/tough, after that is dry/crumbly.
That IT range generally falls somewhere between 190°-210°.

Probe Tender, the point at which a probe slides into the meat like it is warm butter.
This is the KEY to brisket, butts and more, tenderness trumps any specific IT.
Never rely on time/cooking temp alone.

 

[noboundaries]

No, it did not probe tender. The internal meat temp was only 155. So I should have cooked it longer?

Yeah, 155F IT is not even close to being done. Meat is a muscle, and starts "sweating" (aka stalling) and cooling at a certain temp, usually between 150-160F IT, but it can be lower and it can be higher. It can also stall several times after the initial stall. Then the chemistry gets involved and the collagen (connective tissue) starts melting, which is what is required for any part of a brisket to get tender. If the collagen is not melted, dry and tough brisket.

Ever see gel in a cooked meat container? That's melted collagen. All meat protein has it and it melts at specific temps depending on the cooking method. Brisket (chuck cut) has a LOT of collagen.

 

[jodowd]

Excellent, thanks for the advice! And I thought it cooked too long!

I look forward to trying again!

 

[chilerelleno]

No, it did not probe tender. The internal meat temp was only 155. So I should have cooked it longer?

Yes, much longer at even 225° to attain the needed higher IT.
Stalls as noted can last several hours but they will pass.

And to complicate matters, at 2.75lbs, you're either cooking a Flat or Point not a whole Packer.
Flats alone are much more common cuts, so I'll guess thats what you had.
A whole Packer or Point is a bit easier and more forgiving due to overall higher fat contents.
A Flat is much leaner and trickier to get right.
Some crutched braising may be in order to make it easier and get it right, that or paper wrapping.

 

[tx smoker]

"No, it did not probe tender. The internal meat temp was only 155. So I should have cooked it longer?"

Brisket is not like steaks that are medium to medium well and somewhat tender at 155*. It needs to go to a minimum of 200* to 205* IT to be tender. At that temp the collagen is breaking down and rendering juiciness into the meat. Although an IT check is a good idea just as a baseline, the best way is to let the meat let you know when it's done. Get a toothpick or fork, probe the meat, and when either of the two goes into the brisket with little or no resistance, that will tell you that it's tender and done. I used to cook by IT alone, but each piece of meat is different. I learned here quite a while ago to listen to the meat. It is smarter than I am so I let it do the talking

Robert

 

[DustyJoe84]

Yeah, 155F IT is not even close to being done.

I will add to this that it may have been "done" as in you're not going to get sick if you eat it. But there is a difference between "done" and "ready." Ready means it's been taken to the appropriate temperature to properly render the fat and collagen and yields a tender product.

 

[tx smoker]

"I will add to this that it may have been "done" as in you're not going to get sick if you eat it. But there is a difference between "done" and "ready." Ready means it's been taken to the appropriate temperature to properly render the fat and collagen and yields a tender product."

Excellent points. I guess if enough of us chime in we will eventually get all the bases covered

Missed those points in my response,
Robert

 

[jodowd]

Thanks to all for the advice. Clearly, I need to plan for more cook time in the future. I'm going to have to learn how to manage the "inexact science" of smoker cooking time and temp. I was trying to have the meat ready at a specific dinner time. Perhaps I should allow way more cooking time and be willing to pull the meat off when it's ready, regardless of any specific eating time. Seems like it would be way better to have it done "right" and wrapped up in foil early compared to having a tough, dry dinner!

I do understand the advice about "letting the meat show when it's ready" via the probe method, but would you guys mind sharing how long you would plan to cook a 2.75 lb. brisket, and at what temp?

Since there's just two of us now, we won't be cooking many large pieces of meat...so smaller cuts, a single rack of ribs, one chicken...that's pretty much the size meals I'll be cooking. Any advice along those lines will also be greatly appreciated!

Thanks again for sharing the experience...I'm definitely listening!

Best regards,

Jim O'Dowd
Franklin, TN

PS...I see we had a response from a Kansas City boy...my old home town...do they still cook barbecue there?

 

[buzzy]

I’m no brisket expert but sounds like u got good advice from those that are. Just want to add if u have it ready before u plan on eating just wrap in foil then in a towel or 2. Then put in cooler. It will stay hot for hrs. Plus use a warm cooler not 1 that’s been sitting in the cold this time of year.

 

[DustyJoe84]

PS...I see we had a response from a Kansas City boy...my old home town...do they still cook barbecue there?

You might be able to find a couple places.

 

[schlotz]

For another point of view.... we smoke whole packers normally in the 14-17 lb range (before trimming) then after dinner we divide into 2 person servings placed in food savor bags, vacuumed and placed in the freezer.

Small flats can be very tricky. Not that full packers don’t require some attention but they are bit more consistent with a known and proven process.