Brisket smoke time question

[young j]

So this year I am smoking a brisket for Thanksgiving instead of being traditional and having Ham to go with the turkey. I wanted to try out something new but I don't wan't it to ruin the brisket, so I am here to get advice from all you on the forum.

I want my brisket to be REALLY tender and not competition style like I normally do because I have realized I like what would be considered overdone for competition style in terms of tenderness. I have been to this place called Big lee's in Ocala and seen this place on TV called Pinkerton's in Houston where their brisket is extremely tender, they have to cut it in thick slices and the brisket folds in half when they pick it up from how tender it is and thats what I am striving for. One of the places said they smoke their brisket for 18 hours but I am worried that this would dry out my brisket and I really don't want to disappoint on thanksgiving. I usually get a 12-15lb full packer before its trimmed and usually smoke it for 12 hours at 225-250 with a water pan and wrap in butcher paper around 165 IT or at the 8 hour mark until it reaches an IT of 195. I have two questions that I think would give me a good idea of what I should do differently to get what I'm looking for.

1) Is 16-18 hours too long and likely dry it out or would it get me to the tenderness I am looking for? I am not quite sure how fast brisket can go from being tender to drying out and usually avoid taking the chance.
2) What IT/how many hours do you think I should strive for to get the tenderness I am striving for?

 

[dcecil]

Hi Young J, I am Happy to offer you my opinion but just remember its only my opinion.. There are a lot of variables that apply to your question and the major one being is what type of cooker do you use. I say this because I cooked a 22 lb brisket last week and it was done in 9 hrs but thats because I ran it at 275 average temp and my pit cooks things at a quicker timeline than other pits. With that said, dont get hung up on the cook time. Its really only a reference to get to what you are actually looking for which is probe tenderness which should take place anywhere around 200-207 give or take either direction. When I say probe tender I mean every square inch of the brisket needs to be like hot butter when you probe it. You can use a therm probe or a toothpick. Doesnt really matter as long as it goes in without any resistance. Once you achieve that you need to let it rest so the juices redistribute through out the meat. I recommend a minumum of 2 hrs prior to slicing. When I rest mine I have it in a tin foil pan and cover with tin foil and stick in the cambro, a good ice chest works as well. Another variable is the choice of meat. Make sure to by a quality cut. Look for lots of marbling. You also want to make sure the flat has an even thickness throughout. The thicker the better. This will allow a more even cook. One thing you can try instead of the typical wrap during the cook is when its time to wrap stick it in a large pan and add some sort of broth like beef or lipton onion soup mix and then cover with tin foil. I like the idea of the lower temp cook but I was in a hurry so I bumper up my temp cook. One other thing to consider is injecting and there are several recipes on here for that. Good luck and I hope you found some thing useful in my rambling

 

[kennygss]

1) Is 16-18 hours too long and likely dry it out or would it get me to the tenderness I am looking for? I am not quite sure how fast brisket can go from being tender to drying out and usually avoid taking the chance. The time wont dry it out, and is not important. The internal temp is what is important.
2) What IT/how many hours do you think I should strive for to get the tenderness I am striving for? Are you using a prime Brisket? The difference between "super -tender" and pulled beef is only a scant few degrees, 197ish should get you where you want with a prime brisket

 

[young j]

Hi Young J, I am Happy to offer you my opinion but just remember its only my opinion.. There are a lot of variables that apply to your question and the major one being is what type of cooker do you use. I say this because I cooked a 22 lb brisket last week and it was done in 9 hrs but thats because I ran it at 275 average temp and my pit cooks things at a quicker timeline than other pits. With that said, dont get hung up on the cook time. Its really only a reference to get to what you are actually looking for which is probe tenderness which should take place anywhere around 200-207 give or take either direction. When I say probe tender I mean every square inch of the brisket needs to be like hot butter when you probe it. You can use a therm probe or a toothpick. Doesnt really matter as long as it goes in without any resistance. Once you achieve that you need to let it rest so the juices redistribute through out the meat. I recommend a minumum of 2 hrs prior to slicing. When I rest mine I have it in a tin foil pan and cover with tin foil and stick in the cambro, a good ice chest works as well. Another variable is the choice of meat. Make sure to by a quality cut. Look for lots of marbling. You also want to make sure the flat has an even thickness throughout. The thicker the better. This will allow a more even cook. One thing you can try instead of the typical wrap during the cook is when its time to wrap stick it in a large pan and add some sort of broth like beef or lipton onion soup mix and then cover with tin foil. I like the idea of the lower temp cook but I was in a hurry so I bumper up my temp cook. One other thing to consider is injecting and there are several recipes on here for that. Good luck and I hope you found some thing useful in my rambling

I really appreciate the advice and did not consider it rambling at all lol, it was actually really insightful. I def think you are right not to judge it based on time but I like to have an estimate just so it has plenty of time to cook and rest before being served without being done way too early. I am going to take your advice and let it rest for 2 hours because I only usually let it rest 1 hour. If I didn't feel obligated to use the huge amount of butcher paper I ordered online id def use the beef broth idea when wrapping in the pan but I might inject as a supplement to that. You seem to know exactly what I meant with the tenderness so ill shoot for 200-207 IT. Once again i appreciate the feedback, thank you

 

[gary s]

You can lower the temp and cook longer, But it really depends on the meat. If you buy good quality brisket with lots of marbling you should be fine. Check for doneness using the toothpick or probe method if you cant judge by feel
Insert the toothpick or probe , no resistance and slides in like butter your done.
Just remember the key to tender brisket is good meat.
Back a couple of months ago I cooked for my Grandson's wedding I smoked 6 Briskets (among other stuff)
I bought all the briskets at the same place we opened 3 cases and I picked the ones I wanted, all looked similar weight, fat and marbling. 5 of them were super tender one was not as tender, not tough but just not as tender as the rest.
I sliced all the Brisket and sampled each one for that reason. I sliced that one in thinner slices and made my chopped with a big portion of that one.

Gary

 

[young j]

1) Is 16-18 hours too long and likely dry it out or would it get me to the tenderness I am looking for? I am not quite sure how fast brisket can go from being tender to drying out and usually avoid taking the chance. The time wont dry it out, and is not important. The internal temp is what is important.
2) What IT/how many hours do you think I should strive for to get the tenderness I am striving for? Are you using a prime Brisket? The difference between "super -tender" and pulled beef is only a scant few degrees, 197ish should get you where you want with a prime brisket

Appreciate it boss

 

[young j]

You can lower the temp and cook longer, But it really depends on the meat. If you buy good quality brisket with lots of marbling you should be fine. Check for doneness using the toothpick or probe method if you cant judge by feel
Insert the toothpick or probe , no resistance and slides in like butter your done.
Just remember the key to tender brisket is good meat.
Back a couple of months ago I cooked for my Grandson's wedding I smoked 6 Briskets (among other stuff)
I bought all the briskets at the same place we opened 3 cases and I picked the ones I wanted, all looked similar weight, fat and marbling. 5 of them were super tender one was not as tender, not tough but just not as tender as the rest.
I sliced all the Brisket and sampled each one for that reason. I sliced that one in thinner slices and made my chopped with a big portion of that one.

Gary

Thank you, thats good to know. I usually always go to the same butcher because he is one of the few that have whole packers without having to order in advance, but I am going to start looking around to get a prime brisket because I have heard the quality of the meat makes a huge difference from many including yourself.

 

[gary s]

Glad to help, Let me know and post lots of pics on that Prime Brisket.
I have never done a prime, just Choice and Select

Gary

 

[young j]

Thanksgiving brisket came out to be the best I've done. Went on a mission to try and find prime or wagyu brisket but no luck and ended up going to my usual butcher. 13lb full packer rubbed with salt and pepper, smoked 16 hours hours in the WSM and wrapped in butcher paper around 9 hour mark.

 

[gary s]

Beautiful !!!!

Gary

 

[deserttoad]

Wow! I'll be putting a 12lb brisket in my WSM tonight before bed, what temp did you run? I'm thinking 225 for about 16 hrs. then a couple hour rest before dinner tomorrow.

 

[gary s]

Wow! I'll be putting a 12lb brisket in my WSM tonight before bed, what temp did you run? I'm thinking 225 for about 16 hrs. then a couple hour rest before dinner tomorrow.

Hey, Don't just figure on 16 hours, 225 is good, bot i'd be checking it at 10, 12 etc hours you sure don't want to over cook it. That said it may take 16 hours, but it might take 12 just check it

Gary

 

[deserttoad]

Thanks Gary, I'm thinking 12-16 hrs cook time to allow for a couple in the cooler. Weather will be around 30 with some wind, just getting prepared. I'll be putting up a small insulated wind break as well.

Cheers!

 

[young j]

Wow! I'll be putting a 12lb brisket in my WSM tonight before bed, what temp did you run? I'm thinking 225 for about 16 hrs. then a couple hour rest before dinner tomorrow.

Not sure what temp I was at because my thermometer on my WSM was saying my pit was hotter than it really was. These guys are right about saying not to judge it on time, rather just use it as an estimate so you can have everything done at the right time. At the 12 hour mark id check your internal temp and see where your at. Good luck, I hope it comes out to your expectations