Brisket quandary

[grnwolf]

Been experimenting with my new SFB and I've been pretty successful. Enough that I felt I was ready for brisket. The first one turned out fantastic. I was shocked to say the least.

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• grnwolf
• Jul 25, 2013

But here's my issue...the next two...not so good. I got them good and tender, but not a lot of smoke flavor. Temp stayed between 225-250 the entire time. Using mesquite so there should be more flavor.

I'm open to any ideas...maybe it was just low grade meat. Smoked chicken and St. Louis ribs have been requested again this week, so the next brisket experiment will have to wait until I get some insight from the masters here. Thanks!

 

[themule69]

What IT are you cooking to? tell us what you did. My christal Ball is on the blink.

Happy smoken.

David

 

[tonybel]

Try a smoking with oak. Maybe that will give you the smoke flavor your looking for...

 

[grnwolf]

IT was 170. Meat was almost fall apart tender on the flat and the point was pretty easy to pull. Had it wrapped in a cooler for a few hours after cooking. It was just bland. I didn't trim much of the fat cap off. Should I have thinned that out?

Did the rub pretty much right before putting it in the pit. Should I let the meat sit for a period of time after the rub? If so, what's a good amount? Or should I consider injecting the meat to get some flavor in there?

Thanks for the replies so far! Found the best way to kill a case on a day off from work. :-)

 

[geerock]

If you're looking for more smoke flavor you may want to go with very little salt and pepper or SPOG, or even no rub. Keep a bark from forming and allow the meat to absorb as much smoke as possible. To tell you the truth, I'm a bit surprised that you are fall apart tender with packer brisket at only 170. You may try to inject with beef stock for more beef flavor but I'm a big fan of letting beef speak for itself. If its more rub flavor you're looking for try letting the SPOG set overnight and cook fat cap down so that seasoning cooks into the meat from the top. But not knowing what flavors you are looking for makes it a bit hard to advise you. Best of luck.

 

[danbono]

Hi The last 2 times smoking brisket/packer I only used McCormick's Montreal Seasoning as a rub.. Came out tasting really good.I've tried a few different rubs before and for my taste, that seasoning beats them all. Now IF I could only get my brisket with more moisture, I'll be happy,taste and tenderness are there, but kinda on the dry side.Tired alot of different methods and so on with he same results:

Dan

 

[grnwolf]

@geerock...I was surprised too with the temp. But the reality is that it's an old stick thermometer and it may be off. I know the temp should be on the 190 range for fall apart meat.

I like meat that speaks for itself too. You mentioned to let the fat cap melt down, but I never get that. Is there a thickness that the cap should be at? Should I trim down more before cooking? I'm asking because I'm cutting off quite a bit of fat off after cooking. I'm guessing now that the thick fat layer also affects flavoring, maybe in a negative way.

Last question ...SPOG = Salt, Pepper, Onion, Garlic?

Thanks for all the tips!

 

[grnwolf]

@DanBono...how long do you let the rub set on the meat before smoking? I've tried the Montreal also before and it puts a good flavor into the meat.

 

[s2k9k]

I am a fan of the "lean trim, no foil, wet to dry chamber" method, it works. Since you have some time before your next brisket here's something to read:
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/141647/brisket-with-wet-to-dry-smoke-chamber-q-view-method

And this will help you understand smoke management:
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/139474/understanding-smoke-management-updated-5-18-13

 

[grnwolf]

@S2K9K...thanks for the info and read!