Briskett not slicing well

[socalrook]

Greetings all. I have tried a few "full" briskets and can't seem to get them to slice like I want. I see people slice their meat and get nice full pieces but when I get to slicing it kind of falls apart. So I really have chunks and pieces more then anything. It is tender and IMO very good, just not the presentation I want. I have recently converted from a traditional smoker, grill with fire box attached to a traegger and got the same result with both. Here is how I cooked them:

I do not trim any fat and place on grill fat side up. I leave on smoke function (traegger) until internal hits 160. I then double wrap in foil and keep fat side up and increase temp to 225. Pull off at 203/204 then keep wrapped in foil and towel inside of cooler too rest anywhere from an hour to two.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[phathead69]

Overcooked would be my guess. Pulling at 203F and then wrapping gets you lot of carry over cooking while wrapped. Probe tender then pull and wrap. Pros will chime in im sure

 

[chilerelleno]

Another one for overcooked.
Stop cooking by IT and cook till just probe tender, anywhere from 195°-210°.

But I'll also ask about your knife.
What kind of knife are you using, 10"-18" smooth or scalloped slicer with or without a granton edge?
Or perhaps a big serrated edge roast beef carving knife or something else?
Is it sharp?

 

[hoity toit]

Ditto what chilerelleno said above ^

HT

 

[thirdeye]

Welcome Aboard!

Like the ↑↑↑ others ↑↑↑ I'm going with overcooked too. When it probes tender, vent the foil pouch until the internal drops 7° or 8°, then move to the hotbox for resting. This way it won't continue to cook. (click the photos to enlarge)

There are a variety of good slicing styles of slicing knives. My favorite is the reverse scallop 10" knife at the bottom of the photo. I use it for brisket and bacon..... and everything in between.

 

[bregent]

I bought a nice granton edge slicer, but my bread knife does a better job. You might think that the serrated edge would mess up the bark, but it doesn't. If you already have one laying around, try that next time.

 

[chilerelleno]

I bought a nice granton edge slicer, but my bread knife does a better job. You might think that the serrated edge would mess up the bark, but it doesn't. If you already have one laying around, try that next time.

I liked using my big bread knife before I got my big 15" granton edged slicer.

 

[socalrook]

Hey folks, thanks for all the help so far. I do have a couple term questions so I can better understand. By saying not cooking by IT I’m assuming not going by strict directions? And what would be considered probe tender? I usually just leave the meat thermometer in the brisket to maintain.
So if I’m pulling off at 203/204 do you think that might be too long? Or still cook to that and maybe not wrap and hot box for so long.
good question regarding the knife. I have just been using a standard chefs knife. I do have a bread knife as mentioned above so maybe I’ll give that a shot.
It looks like I have a lot to learn here. But practicing sure is fun

 

[socalrook]

Thats some b

Welcome Aboard!

Like the ↑↑↑ others ↑↑↑ I'm going with overcooked too. When it probes tender, vent the foil pouch until the internal drops 7° or 8°, then move to the hotbox for resting. This way it won't continue to cook. (click the photos to enlarge)
View attachment 458996
There are a variety of good slicing styles of slicing knives. My favorite is the reverse scallop 10" knife at the bottom of the photo. I use it for brisket and bacon..... and everything in between.
View attachment 458997
View attachment 458998

Thats some beautiful looking brisket!! That's what I'm going for

 

[thirdeye]

Hey folks, thanks for all the help so far. I do have a couple term questions so I can better understand. By saying not cooking by IT I’m assuming not going by strict directions? And what would be considered probe tender? I usually just leave the meat thermometer in the brisket to maintain.
So if I’m pulling off at 203/204 do you think that might be too long? Or still cook to that and maybe not wrap and hot box for so long.
good question regarding the knife. I have just been using a standard chefs knife. I do have a bread knife as mentioned above so maybe I’ll give that a shot.
It looks like I have a lot to learn here. But practicing sure is fun

The IT only gives you a general idea when the meat is in the "tender zone". Somewhere above 195° or 198° brisket will become tender and still be sliceable, but the IT is not like flipping a switch. Let's say it's not quite tender at 201°, but if it stays at 201° for 45 minutes (or even jumps to 202°) it magically tenders up. Or a stubborn brisket might need a higher IT. It's really all about feeling the tenderness , not measuring it with respect to a temperature.

Probing is hard to explain because it's a feel kind of thing. The cocktail toothpicks, or a bamboo skewer, or even an ice pick are good probes, as is your thermometer if the diameter is not too big. For comparison to a brisket flat.... a bowl of Jello is about the perfect feel and is used in some BBQ classes. A more common item you might have is room temperature peanut butter.... you don't quite want it that tender, but that will give you a start on what to expect. Pulled pork on the other hand will feel very similar to peanut butter.

Try a bread knife, the serrations help you cut in a straight line. If you have an electric fillet knife, those work good too. Try making your first slice about 1/4" and if it falls apart, increase the thickness. I've cooked some so tender they needed a 1/2" slice to stay together.

 

[socalrook]

The IT only gives you a general idea when the meat is in the "tender zone". Somewhere above 195° or 198° brisket will become tender and still be sliceable, but the IT is not like flipping a switch. Let's say it's not quite tender at 201°, but if it stays at 201° for 45 minutes (or even jumps to 202°) it magically tenders up. Or a stubborn brisket might need a higher IT. It's really all about feeling the tenderness , not measuring it with respect to a temperature.

Probing is hard to explain because it's a feel kind of thing. The cocktail toothpicks, or a bamboo skewer, or even an ice pick are good probes, as is your thermometer if the diameter is not too big. For comparison to a brisket flat.... a bowl of Jello is about the perfect feel and is used in some BBQ classes. A more common item you might have is room temperature peanut butter.... you don't quite want it that tender, but that will give you a start on what to expect. Pulled pork on the other hand will feel very similar to peanut butter.

Try a bread knife, the serrations help you cut in a straight line. If you have an electric fillet knife, those work good too. Try making your first slice about 1/4" and if it falls apart, increase the thickness. I've cooked some so tender they needed a 1/2" slice to stay together.

Great insight. I figured the tenderness would be difficult to define. Going to keep this in mind on my next brisket.

 

[chilerelleno]

Probe tender can happen anywhere between an IT (internal temp) of 195°-210°.

Depending on who you ask probe tender is akin to the resistance felt on a pointed probe, being similar in feel to room temp butter or creamy peanut butter.

Use a probe thermometer, ice pick, bamboo skewer or shish kabob skewer.

And if you want that brisket at it's very best let it rest for at least 1 hour.

 

[socalrook]

Probe tender can happen anywhere between an IT (internal temp) of 195°-210°.

Depending on who you ask probe tender is akin to the resistance felt on a pointed probe, being similar in feel to room temp butter or creamy peanut butter.

Use a probe thermometer, ice pick, bamboo skewer or shish kabob skewer.

And if you want that brisket at it's very best let it rest for at least 1 hour.

Fantastic! So with it resting for at least an hour, would you completely wrap or leave a little vent? With mine last night I pulled at 203 and wrapped tight to rest for about and a half if not a little more. In hindsight it probably climbed up to close to 210 because it was still too hot tot touch after unwrapping.

 

[bregent]

Hey folks, thanks for all the help so far. I do have a couple term questions so I can better understand. By saying not cooking by IT I’m assuming not going by strict directions? And what would be considered probe tender? I usually just leave the meat thermometer in the brisket to maintain.
So if I’m pulling off at 203/204 do you think that might be too long? Or still cook to that and maybe not wrap and hot box for so long.
good question regarding the knife. I have just been using a standard chefs knife. I do have a bread knife as mentioned above so maybe I’ll give that a shot.
It looks like I have a lot to learn here. But practicing sure is fun

The internal temp determines how fast the connective tissue will break down - it doesn't determine when it has reached the optimum level of tenderness. I see folks saying that a brisket that turned out tough just needed to be cooked to a higher temp. That's not how I would think about it. It really just needed to cook longer, which of course would result in the IT going up. I've had briskets that I've cooked at very low temp finish at 190F. Although I would not recommend it, If you cook a brisket at 180F for long enough, it will become probe tender and never get past 180F.

If you are cooking till probe tender, and then immediately FTC (foil, towel, and cooler) for a long time, then it can definitely over cook. If you need to store in the cooler for a long time, then I would suggest leaving the brisket on the counter for 20-30 minutes before FTC to allow it to cool a bit first. Another alternative is to pull just before probe tender, as it will continue to tenderize in the cooler.

 

[socalrook]

The internal temp determines how fast the connective tissue will break down - it doesn't determine when it has reached the optimum level of tenderness. I see folks saying that a brisket that turned out tough just needed to be cooked to a higher temp. That's not how I would think about it. It really just needed to cook longer, which of course would result in the IT going up. I've had briskets that I've cooked at very low temp finish at 190F. Although I would not recommend it, If you cook a brisket at 180F for long enough, it will become probe tender and never get past 180F.

If you are cooking till probe tender, and then immediately FTC (foil, towel, and cooler) for a long time, then it can definitely over cook. If you need to store in the cooler for a long time, then I would suggest leaving the brisket on the counter for 20-30 minutes before FTC to allow it to cool a bit first. Another alternative is to pull just before probe tender, as it will continue to tenderize in the cooler.

Good points! Lots of options so far

 

[chilerelleno]

On the other hand, I don't use foil, I use butcher paper.
And I seldom use a cooler unless it'll be a longer than 2-3 hours rest.
I just wrap in a towel and leave it on the counter if it's going to be 2 to 3 hours.
If it's only going to be an hour I might not even wrap it in the towel.
And it will still be almost too hot to handle.

And paper vs foil, there's people that swear on one or the other, and some that use both. And of course there are the never-wrap folks who stay naked.

And whether or not to put any type of added liquids or other stuff nto the wrap if anything, e g. butter, honey, beef broth, beer, french onion soup and etc.
Or just let it go in it's own au jus.
When you start adding liquids to the wrap you start braising your brisket.
Which I'd say is okay if you're doing a Flat by itself, maybe even advisable.

You know what? There sure are a lot of different ways to BBQ a brisket.
And we haven't even gone over them all.