Dry and tough Brisket

[fire2fire]

I'm going to start with saying I am brand new at this just getting my first smoker (Masterbuilt MB25) about a month ago but have been reading and researching as best I could. I recently bought a 7-8 lb brisket, Apple woodchips, hickory woodchips, and a dry rub we liked. I thought we did everything as what was told between instructions and what we read but the brisket came out tough like a well done steak and dry. I did a yellow mustard layer, dry rub and the did the smoking. I did around 7-8 hours at around 225 but we had to keep opening the the door ever hour or so to replace the wood chips and sprayed it for moisture we also around 3 hours in wrapped in butcher paper. After we took out placed under a cover to maintain moisture and rest for about a 1 and 1/2 hours. The brisket flavor was good but the color, texture and moisture were all not great. If someone could give pointers on what to do next time that would be great I thought I was prepared but was wrong.

 

[SmokingUPnorth]

What was the temp of the brisket when you pulled it out? I noticed when I had my masterbuilt MES 30 it didn’t need any help for moisture inside the cabinet. Did you verify the temp inside with a separate thermometer? Also I’m not familiar with that smoker but it doesn’t have a chip tube to add chips without opening the door? Opening it every hour is a lot to help it maintain temp.

 

[bigfurmn]

As SmokingUPnorth said, did you check the final temp? Sounds like it wasn't up to temp.

 

[TNJAKE]

Like others above sounds undercooked. Brisket need high temps for finish temp to break down all the fat which in turn makes the brisket tender and juicy. One thing I noticed from your post was the weight of the brisket. Do you know if it was a whole brisket, a flat, or a point? A brisket flat is harder to nail tender and juicy wise because of the lack of fat

 

[Fueling Around]

Try using a smoke tube filled with pellets which is good for around 6 hours of smoke.
I will take at least another 6 hours of heat to break the connective tissue down for a tender and moist brisket.
Temp is nice to see how close, but the probe test tells you when it is done.

Ah Jake bet me to it.

 

[DougE]

Like others above sounds undercooked. Brisket need high temps for finish temp to break down all the fat which in turn makes the brisket tender and juicy. One thing I noticed from your post was the weight of the brisket. Do you know if it was a whole brisket, a flat, or a point? A brisket flat is harder to nail tender and juicy wise because of the lack of fat

If it was just a hunk of flat, foil pan it with some liquid (broth, beer, etc) at around 160° IT, cover the pan with foil and keep cooking until probe tender. It can even be finished in the oven at that point.

 

[sandyut]

If it was just a hunk of flat, foil pan it with some liquid (broth, beer, etc) at around 160° IT, cover the pan with foil and keep cooking until probe tender. It can even be finished in the oven at that point.

Yup, I went straight there too - 7-8 lb whole packer would be pretty small not sure I’ve seen one that small.

SO - if it was just a flat by itself - these are a challenge for sure. I started with flats and failed several before seeing the light.

I would use a full packer on the next go round. They are way more forgiving and (at least for me) turn out much better with less work. trim the fat cap to 1/4” or so, remove silverskin etc. rub, cook at 275 till probe tender all over at about 200 ish. I dont wrap anything - some do but thats your call.

 

[schlotz]

Couple of things: as been said keep the door shut and forget spritzing. Opening the door on the MES lets a TON of heat out instantly and it will take it quite a while to recover the lost heat. Do this a number of times and it will take forever to get a brisket done. This process no doubt was a major contributor. Second, wrapping after three hours doesn't sound right. 3 hours at 225º is not going to get that hunk of meat anywhere near the stall IT (155-170º). Lastly, isn't there a side tube mechanism you can use to add more wood chips which allows the door to be kept shut? Personally, I'd seriously look into using a smoker tube or tray with pellets instead of wood chips and remove the side tube to increase the air flow so the pellets will remain lit. Better, would be to do what is called a mailbox mod. Search for it at the top of the page.

One of the better approaches to doing just a brisket flat is by SmokinAl . Here is his way:

BRISKET FLAT, MY WAY

It's no secret that a lot of folks have a problem smoking a small well trimmed brisket flat. I to had my struggles for a while, but a couple of years ago I found this method and have been using it ever since. So I would like to share my method with all of you. If you already are successful...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[tpc74]

I agree with not opening the door, I am wondering about having to open it to put in more chips however...that said I've found the smaller trimmed off portion of brisket that is very thin, can make for a challenge to get just right.

I've personally never had any luck with them, and I feel they come out as you describe. Dry and tough. They do get eaten but that's because my wife is nice to me, and doesn't want me to just throw it away. Given the chance, by myself, thats exactly what I would do.

I feel like its less of a didn't wait long enough kind of thing and more of a not enough fat on the smaller pieces, or not enough moisture from a water pan...something like that. If you have a lean piece with very little fat, I can't see how more time on the smoker is going to turn it into a tender piece. Rather I feel like it would turn it into a thick piece of jerky.

 

[tallbm]

I'm going to start with saying I am brand new at this just getting my first smoker (Masterbuilt MB25) about a month ago but have been reading and researching as best I could. I recently bought a 7-8 lb brisket, Apple woodchips, hickory woodchips, and a dry rub we liked. I thought we did everything as what was told between instructions and what we read but the brisket came out tough like a well done steak and dry. I did a yellow mustard layer, dry rub and the did the smoking. I did around 7-8 hours at around 225 but we had to keep opening the the door ever hour or so to replace the wood chips and sprayed it for moisture we also around 3 hours in wrapped in butcher paper. After we took out placed under a cover to maintain moisture and rest for about a 1 and 1/2 hours. The brisket flavor was good but the color, texture and moisture were all not great. If someone could give pointers on what to do next time that would be great I thought I was prepared but was wrong.

High there and welcome. As some of the guys are pointing out, your brisket was actually under cooked.

• Dry and Tough = Undercooked brisket
• Dry and Crumbling apart = Overcooked brisket
• Dry, Crispy, Crunchy = Burnt brisket

Here are some key things to know when cooking a brisket:

• It's never done by time or Internal Temp (IT) of the meat, It's only done when it's tender
  • A brisket is tender when you can stab all over (especially the flat muscle) with something like a wooden kabob skewer and it goes in without resistance. If you find a spot giving resistance then it needs more time
  • Use the IT of the meat to tell you WHEN to check for tenderness. I check around 198F IT of the meat. If you find some spots ready and some spots not then move your temp probe to that tough spots and I bet you money that temp reads lower than other spots
• Brisket does not care what temp you cook it at, as long as you aren't burning it. So 225F will do nothing special for it. I do mine at 275F so feel free to crank up that heat
• "If your looking, you're not cooking." Meaning that every time you open the door you set back your cooking time. Spritzing and mopping and all that is not necessary. Now I don't know what you would do about your wood chips but I would look into one of the A-Maze-N Pellet Smoker (AMNPS) trays or tubes that will burn wood pellets to produce smoke. The tray will produce perfect smoke for up to 12 hours. The tubes will do 3-4 hours and produce a little more heavy smoke BUT they are known work in low oxygen environments where the tray struggles. One of these options should help you burn pellets without having to open the door so much.
• Plan, plan, plan, and plan your time appropriately. I run full packer briskets naked at a smoker temp of 275F without ever opening the door, and a brisket usually takes around 1hr 5-7min per pound before it might start to probe tender. So an 11 pound brisket would take about 12 hours of cooking time (never opening the door until the meat probe tells me its time to check for tenderness). BUT WAIT, add 4 hours to that time. So I would plan and start the brisket 16 hours (12hrs cook + 4hours buffer/rest time) before I want to eat.
  If it finishes in 12 hours and is 4 hours early, fantastic! Wrap tightly in 2 layers of foil and then 3 bath towels and set on the dinner table until time to serve and eat. It will be piping hot for 5 hours or more just resting.
  If it doesnt finish in 12 hours, well there are 4 more hours left for it to finish before eating time :D
• It sounds like you might have been only cooking a Flat muscle of the brisket. The Flat is the problem child of the 2 muscles. I always recommend people smoke a Flat unwrapped/uncovered until at least 170F-180F (I don't go below 180F) so it gets good BBQ smoke flavor. THEN wrap/cover it with a little liquid and all will be good. If you wrap a brisket too early you will wind up with roast beef flavor instead of smoked BBQ brisket flavor and have wasted a lot of time to make roast beef. Very disappointing.
  This is why I recommend waiting on wrapping. Also, I don't care one bit if it stalls and trying to wrap/cover to power through a stall. I care only about the flavor and getting a great brisket HENCE the proper planning to do so without giving one thought to fooling with the fact that it will go through a stall in temp rising.

There's lots more best practices but I think these will get you started in overcoming your initial major hurdles and issues you encountered on this attempt. I hop this info helps and ask all questions you have. The community will get you set on the right track :D

 

[okie sawbones]

What grade of meat was it? Select? Choice? Prime?

 

[mr mac]

What grade of meat was it? Select? Choice? Prime?

Great question. I recently did a select flat in MB gasser. Cooked it at around 250° at the rack and took it to about 170° internal. Wrapped it tightly in foil and took it to just under 200° and was probe tender followed by the FTC resting.

Because it was select, it was dry. Normally I only buy choice as a minimum (normally can't afford prime), but the fine folks at H-E-B didn't mark the grade on the label.

 

[okie sawbones]

I only buy prime from Costco. I have never had any luck with select, except to chop up for chili.