Help! Can I save my brisket?

[Boardtowndawg]

This is only the second brisket I have ever tried to cook but my first went a lot better than this. Of course it wasn’t 30° outside when I tried to cook that one either.

 

[texomakid]

Awesome. We got a wealth of experience here. This forum is my happy place. You got this. I bet the brisket turns out good. Post a pic if you get a chance. We love pics!

 

[one eyed jack]

It got up to 145 at like 2 am. I did what Chile said and cranked it up to 400° until it got there. Next I backed it down to 250 and let it ride till I woke up around 7. It was 192. I have raised the oven up a little to 275 and it’s currently at 199°. Fixing to start probing.

Can't be long now.

 

[pi guy]

Hope we get to see pics, this is a great story to follow along!!

 

[noboundaries]

So, the safety issues were addressed, but the engineer in me is trying to figure out why the internal temp of a 12 lb brisket in a 225F chamber took so long to rise. Either the chamber was running low, like 150-180, or the meat temp probe was reading wrong. My first instinct is telling me a low chamber temp, way below the setting. Was the smoker an MES? Fill in the details of the smoker used.

 

[Boardtowndawg]

So, the safety issues were addressed, but the engineer in me is trying to figure out why the internal temp of a 12 lb brisket in a 225F chamber took so long to rise. Either the chamber was running low, like 150-180, or the meat temp probe was reading wrong. My first instinct is telling me a low chamber temp, way below the setting. Was the smoker an MES? Fill in the details of the smoker used.

It is an old country bbq pit. Model is the smokehouse. It’s a vertical stick burner. I was fighting the cold and also I let my embers get to low once and had to wait to get more charcoal lit and it dropped down to 180ish in that range for a little while.

 

[Boardtowndawg]

Another wrench in the plan. My wife is gonna have to pull it and take pics. I just got called into work.

 

[Boardtowndawg]

So, the safety issues were addressed, but the engineer in me is trying to figure out why the internal temp of a 12 lb brisket in a 225F chamber took so long to rise. Either the chamber was running low, like 150-180, or the meat temp probe was reading wrong. My first instinct is telling me a low chamber temp, way below the setting. Was the smoker an MES? Fill in the details of the smoker used.

Maybe my probe is off. I need to check it to verify it’s correct.

 

[Boardtowndawg]

Out of the oven

 

[noboundaries]

Maybe my probe is off. I need to check it to verify it’s correct.

Yep. A vertical pit like yours would help minimize the chamber's heat loss even in cold outside temps. My WSM has the same basic heat flow. I've found up to a 50F difference in chamber temp on the grate closest to the vent compared to the opposite side of the grate. I now keep my grate probe away from the vent.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Out of the oven

Looks nice. Cut the into 2 pieces, vertically in the middle, based on the pic as posted. Then you can easily slice Across the Grain, of each from the front or bottom of each as seen in the pic. This will render manageable slices...JJ

 

[one eyed jack]

Looks pretty good to me.

Like.

 

[SmokinVOLfan]

Damn that brisket looks really good! Did you get any sliced shots?

 

[Boardtowndawg]

So I’m just now really getting a chance to stop and think about what happened. I ended up having to work about 21 hours yesterday and Saturday. Trying to learn from my mistakes, so I’m thinking back over everything I did as to not repeat it ha. When I realized that I.T. was so low I panicked and dumped a ton of charcoal I had lit and it got up to almost 400°. That’s after letting it get super low from fighting temps and bad probe placement. After my wife took that pic she let it rest a few hours wrapped in a towel. She sliced it up but she said the crust was very hard. Which I learned when I got home it was like rock hard. I don’t think it was very juicy at all obviously but she said she thought flavor was good. I hate I couldn’t be there to look at it with my own eyes when it was sliced. By the time I got there it was tough and the meat seemed tight. Any advice?

 

[bregent]

By the time I got there it was tough and the meat seemed tight. Any advice?

If it was tough and tight, then it was under cooked. I'd advise you not to go by internal temp, instead go by feel - when it's probe tender it's done. I know it didn't turn out like you wanted, but if it's still too tough to eat, then use it for chili - it will be awesome.

 

[Boardtowndawg]

If it was tough and tight, then it was under cooked. I'd advise you not to go by internal temp, instead go by feel - when it's probe tender it's done. I know it didn't turn out like you wanted, but if it's still too tough to eat, then use it for chili - it will be awesome.

It felt like it really was the last time I checked it. It was at like 201 and it felt smooth to me in the point for sure and the flat still had just a touch of resistance. That was right before I left for work so I told my wife to let it get up to 203-204 and check again for feel. Maybe it still needed to get higher?

 

[bregent]

Maybe it still needed to get higher?

Very possible. Briskets cooked at low temps will have a lower internal temp when done compared to those cooked at higher temps. I know folks that cook hot and fast say they can get up around 208 before they are ready.

 

[Boardtowndawg]

Very possible. Briskets cooked at low temps will have a lower internal temp when done compared to those cooked at higher temps. I know folks that cook hot and fast say they can get up around 208 before they are ready.

So would that be 208 in flat or point? I obviously don’t want to overcook the flat trying to get the point right.

 

[SmokinVOLfan]

If its tough and hard you can always salvage it by chopping it up and using it for brisket chili!

 

[tallbm]

So would that be 208 in flat or point? I obviously don’t want to overcook the flat trying to get the point right.

The Flat is always going to be the problem child so you make sure it is probe tender in the flat, especially the thickest and center most portion of the flat.
The Point has a lot more fat and will be done before the flat. If you only probe the Point you are likely going to be fooled. Plus temps in the point seem to go up higher well before the flat but you can't really mess up the point so again concentrate on the flat.

When putting temp probes to measure temp try and get it in the thickest center most portion of the Flat. Anywhere else is not going to give you the temp readings you are looking for.
Briskets are actually difficult to get very accurate temp probes placed in the flat so I put in 3 from different angles and guess what, one of the 3 usually gets the job done hahaha.

Use the temp as an indicator of WHEN to start probing for tenderness. Tenderness is the indicator of a brisket being done. When a brisket is tender ALL OVER (especially all over the flat) then the brisket is done.

Finally, you may want to trim away the thin end of the flat and repurpose it or smoke it with the brisket and just pull it earlier. That thin end will just burn up into crust on you before the rest of the thicker brisket is done. Here is a picture of what I mean:

Brisket is a challenge and you are going through a common progression of issues and learnings. Keep studying up and keep at it and you will get it down in no time :)