Brisket Help

[arshish1612]

So this is my second brisket and I'm very much a newbie. The first time I pulled it too soon at 197F and it was under cooked.

Equipment: Weber Kettle + offset

This time I got a small brisket. About 3.5 lbs flat only. It was buffalo not beef. You dont get beef where I stay. The cut was extremely lean with no fat at all. Ran it at about 300F for 3 hours till about 165 and then foil wrapped with liquid and continued the cook. At about 202F IT, it was still super tough and I did not want to make the same mistake again, so I braved on. At about 6.5 hours, it was was 213F and still tough. I pressed on and finally pulled it at 215F even though it was still probing tough. This was over 7 hours for very small flat.

Rested it for an hour and cut.

It was tender at the thinner parts, but absolutely dry. Not in the least bit juicy. Also, the thicker parts were actually quite tough. When I tried to pull apart thin slices, I could see the elasticity callogen holding on.

Should I have pressed on BEYOND 215F for such a small flat? Or is the buffalo meat the culprit. Any advice would be appreciated please.

 

[boykjo]

IMO you took it too fast through the 160 to 200 range. This is where collogen starts to dissolve. You cooked the moisture out and the collogen didn't dissolve. 215 final temp is pretty high for a small flat.
I've done buffalo and bear roasts and they all tuned out super moist and tender
Slice it thin and against the grain and server it with some taters and gravy.

My 2 cents

Boykjo

 

[arshish1612]

Yes - it did shoot up fast from 160 to 200 after wrapping it - slightly over an hour. Then it took a while to get from 200 to 215.

The Weber temperature was about 350F. Was following the hot and fast Method.

IMO you took it too fast through the 160 to 200 range. This is where collogen starts to dissolve. You cooked the moisture out and the collogen didn't dissolve. 215 final temp is pretty high for a small flat.
I've done buffalo and bear roasts and they all tuned out super moist and tender
Slice it thin and against the grain and server it with some taters and gravy.

My 2 cents

Boykjo

 

[JJS]

Have you checked the accuracy of your temp probe?

 

[arshish1612]

Have you checked the accuracy of your temp probe?

Hmm... No I have not.. Only have one. I'll have to figure out how to do this.

 

[JJS]

Boil some water and place the probe in, should be close to 212F depending on your altitude.
Fill a cup with ice and top off with water, let sit for a few min and test the low end temp.

could just be that your probe isn’t accurate (happens a lot) or the probe was not placed in a good spot.

I usually do full packers and run 4 probes, it’s not hard to get one of them to read way higher than the others because it is closer to the surface. The last one I did one of my middle probes was reading 223 (bad probe placement) when the rest hit 204 and it probed like warm butter.

 

[GA Tom]

Aaron Franklin, of Franklin BBQ, has some great videos (not to mention advice in his excellent book) dealing with preparing and smoking brisket. Here is a link to one: .
He is certainly an expert, if not THE expert in everything brisket. His book and videos have been a great help. Good Luck.
GA Tom

 

[Chasdev]

He only uses top grade prime briskets that are not for sale to the public, around $100 per, even in bulk purchase.
Not saying he can't cook, but when it comes to brisket, the better meat is always more tender than the grocery store offerings.
He also holds the cooked briskets at 160 for hours after they come off the smoker/s.
I do hot and fast now myself but I do two hours at 250 and then raise to 325/350.
The lower temp seems to allow more smoke flavor than running hot from the start.

 

[arshish1612]

Boil some water and place the probe in, should be close to 212F depending on your altitude.
Fill a cup with ice and top off with water, let sit for a few min and test the low end temp.

could just be that your probe isn’t accurate (happens a lot) or the probe was not placed in a good spot.

I usually do full packers and run 4 probes, it’s not hard to get one of them to read way higher than the others because it is closer to the surface. The last one I did one of my middle probes was reading 223 (bad probe placement) when the rest hit 204 and it probed like warm butter.

Thank you.. I will give this a try today.

Having said that, despite all the very useful advice I have recy here, I still feel the cut of meat also played a part and dint make the cook any easier. It was absolutely fat free and super lean. My guess it was a calf and not full grown.

 

[arshish1612]

Aaron Franklin, of Franklin BBQ, has some great videos (not to mention advice in his excellent book) dealing with preparing and smoking brisket. Here is a link to one: .
He is certainly an expert, if not THE expert in everything brisket. His book and videos have been a great help. Good Luck.
GA Tom

Thanks Tom. Will give this a look / read.

 

[arshish1612]

Boil some water and place the probe in, should be close to 212F depending on your altitude.
Fill a cup with ice and top off with water, let sit for a few min and test the low end temp.

could just be that your probe isn’t accurate (happens a lot) or the probe was not placed in a good spot.

I usually do full packers and run 4 probes, it’s not hard to get one of them to read way higher than the others because it is closer to the surface. The last one I did one of my middle probes was reading 223 (bad probe placement) when the rest hit 204 and it probed like warm butter.

Checked the probe.

Boiling water: 208F
Ice water: 44F

 

[boykjo]

Whats your altitude? That should determine what your boiling point is.
Use an Ice bath not ice water for 32 degrees. Chopped ice with very little water.

Boykjo

 

[Buttah Butts]

I don’t usually use thermometer to check for doneness of pork or beef just poultry. I usually will check with thermopen to check when it’s time to wrap or just by the color of the beef or pork. I will probe the brisket to get the feel I want sometimes it’s 205 sometimes 215. I think temp is a great guide but feel is the way to go