(costco) Mortons Beef Brisket texas recipe temps

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Gashby

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Original poster
May 17, 2021
5
2
I just picked up a brisket from costco. I am new to the smoker ( smoked 5 things so far) and was wondering the internal temps this should reach. The package says to cook at 250 for 2 hours, wrap in foil and cook for 4 more hours. It says to let internal temp reach at least 160 but no directions further then that. What is a good temp to let internal get to?
 
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I just picked up a brisket from costco. I am new to the smoker ( smoked 5 things so far) and was wondering the internal temps this should reach. The package says to cook at 250 for 2 hours, wrap in foil and cook for 4 more hours. It says to let internal temp reach at least 160 but no directions further then that. What is a good temp to let internal get to?

Hi there and welcome!

I've never messed with that specific cut from Mortons of Omaha but I Googled it and it seems to be uncooked. I'm not sure if their "seasoning" also marinades it in something to tenderize it which is the big question. Now this is a brisket flat which the difficult part of the brisket to get right. Also no sensible person wanting BBQ brisket would stop at 160F Internal Temp (IT) on a brisket flat. It is technically safe to eat at that temp but won't be worth a damn at that temp.

I would use tried and true smoking practices for a brisket.
I personally would smoke that guy at 275F smoker temp (briskets don't care what smoker temp you use as long as you don't burn them).
When that brisket flat hit 180F internal temp I would put it in foil, splash 1-2oz of water, beer, old wine, or whatever liquid I had on hand (not vinegar) on it then place the the probe back in it
and tightly wrap with foil.
At 200F IT of the meat I would do the tenderness check.
IMPORTANT: Briskets are done when they are tender NEVER by time or temp. You use the IT of the meat to tell you WHEN to check for tenderness.
It is tender when you can stab ALL OVER with a kabob skewer and it goes in like butter all over.
If there is resistance, let the meat go up another 2F degrees and tenderness check again. Repeat until tender.

Expect roughly 1hr 10min per pound at 275F smoker temp. So a 6 pound hunk of meat would likely take around 7hrs before it got tender. ADD 4 hours to that time.
So if you want to eat dinner at 6pm then put a 6 pound brisket on 11hrs before (6pounds x 1hr 10min + 4 hrs = 11hrs).
If it finishes 4 hours early fantastic!!! Simply double wrap tightly in foil. Wrap in 3 bath towels and set it on the table and 4 hrs later it will be steaming hot and ready to eat!
If it does NOT finish 4 hours early... you have 4 hours buffer time for it to finish before people stab you with forks and knives out of hunger hahaha.

Finally, remember that briskets, pork butts, and ribs don't care what temp you smoke them at as long as you aren't burning them. I'm guessing with 5 smokes under your belt that you are still very much learning how your smoker behaves and learning how to control it.
Get your smoker to steady out where you can (hopefully well above 225F I'm hoping for 275F for ya) and don't sweat it if it want's to sit at 300F or 330F etc. Just keep from burning the meat and learn how your smoker behaves, the brisket will be fine :)

I hope all this info helps :)
 
I've never messed with that specific cut from Mortons of Omaha but I Googled it and it seems to be uncooked. I'm not sure if their "seasoning" also marinades it in something to tenderize it which is the big question.

Just did a Mortons tri-tip roast,it was overly seasoned,but for pulled beef it wasn't bad at all.Would probably give it a rinse next time around.
 
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I took the meat out of the package and used some paper towel to soak up what I could. I applied some Lindberg snider porterhouse & roast seasoning and she's on the smoker right now! It was 3.16 pounds so a little smaller then mentioned above.
 
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Welcome to the forums. tallbm tallbm got ya covered. All I'm gonna add is....take pics and post them. We like our food porn here.
Jim
 
So how'd it come out??? If not great don't worry that is many people's 1st brisket experience but often brisket can easily be salvaged as long as it isn't burnt to a crisp :)
 
This was the first time I used the foil for anything. I was confused on the wording on the package and general info on the web and this forum. I smoked at 250 for 2 hours and then wrapped in foil (IT temp was 140). The package said to cook for 2 more hours, but at the 2 hour mark I was at 202 degrees, so i figured another 2 hours at that temp would destroy the meat. I’m very confused on leaving the meat on for longer periods of time and it not burning.
 

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This was the first time I used the foil for anything. I was confused on the wording on the package and general info on the web and this forum. I smoked at 250 for 2 hours and then wrapped in foil (IT temp was 140). The package said to cook for 2 more hours, but at the 2 hour mark I was at 202 degrees, so i figured another 2 hours at that temp would destroy the meat. I’m very confused on leaving the meat on for longer periods of time and it not burning.

Yeah so rule of thumb with brisket is that it is done when it is tender NEVER by time or temp.
At a meat Internal Temp (IT) of 200F I start checking for tenderness. Do this by stabbing all over with a kabob skewer or your meat probe and if it goes in ALL OVER like going into butter then the meat is tender and ready to come off.
Ignore all temp and time suggestions that try to tell you when the brisket is done, it is only done when tender.

How did it come out?

Tough and dry = under cooked brisket
Dry and fall apart = over cooked brisket
Dry and hard or charred = burnt brisket
Juicy and Tender = properly cooked brisket

FYI, I do whole packer briskets and I don't wrap at all. Your cut was a chunk of the Flat muscle of the brisket which is the most difficult part of the brisket to cook. I would wrap that once the meat temp hit 180F.
 
I would say it was tough, but it had a lot of moisture ( I just added a little sprinkle of water before I wrapped it). This was probably the worst I cooked something so far. I'm having a hard time grasping the time+heat. I don't want to leave things in too long because I'm afraid they will burn.
 
This was the first thing I ever cooked, carne asada and it turned out pretty well.
I also did some wings that I really enjoyed. 4 hours in oil, jack daniels bbq, and lindberg snider porterhouse seasoning. smoke at 250 for 50 mins and then 275 the rest until internal temp is like 270-275
 

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I would say it was tough, but it had a lot of moisture ( I just added a little sprinkle of water before I wrapped it). This was probably the worst I cooked something so far. I'm having a hard time grasping the time+heat. I don't want to leave things in too long because I'm afraid they will burn.

If you havent thrown it out then simply chop it into chunks and throw into a crock pot with a bottle of BBQ sauce and put on high for about 3-4hrs and it will be fall apart tender chopped BBQ when you come back :)

With a brisket and pork butt you will continue to have a hard time grasping when done by time + heat because they are only done when tender and you check for tenderness based on the internal temp of the meat :)
 
I cook Morton's brisket flats when I don't have all day to do a full packer. They come out great. I inject them with Butcher BBQ . They come out amazing. Because they're usually @ 5 lbs. , I keep the temps @ 250.
 

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