LET'S TALK BRISKET!!

[aggie94]

CaliforniaSmoke great looking brisket!  Nice charred outside with a juicy inside.

 

 

 

[caliman126]

Smoking in general the little tips and tricks u've seen and used in gneral are fat side up allows the run off to baste the meat. Make sure to let the meat heat up out of the fridge before placing in the smoker. I usually set it out 1-2 hrs before. When your done "cooking" wrap the meat un foil then a blanket and place in a cooler to keep it insulated and allow it to relax for an hr or 2.

 

[cowboy11]

For what it is worth I make sure that I always smoke at an average pit temperature of 250 degrees, more or less. I watch my temps but if they spike, up or down, I do not worry too  much as long as it is not for a prolonged time.

I subscribe to the "if your looking your not cooking" ideology but I am trying to learn how to cook over an open fire, before all the different smokers and accessories we have now that make it easier. I figure if my grandfather could cook without a smoker and Maverick; I should be able to at least match his success with all the stuff I have.

When my Thermopop slides in and out easy and internal temp is 197-200 I pull it; wrap in foil with AU JUS if you have it, a towel, and put in a cooler to rest for two hours. 

IMHO the finished internal temperature is not as important as the tenderness test with the temperature probe.

As to meat selection I use cryovac briskets and use the shake method to figure out which brisket I want( hold meat vertical, centered on the edges and shake to see how much the brisket flexes. Ability to flex is suppose to have something to do with fat content; too much fat and it will be stiff as a board.

I use different woods but prefer mesquite and pecan.

I tried fat side up and down and have good results both ways. Seasoning is basic SPOG. Keep notes.

When I was first smoking briskets I would try to keep everything the same and only change one or two things a cook.

I have had a lot of different pits over the years and some leaked badly and needed mods, others worked fine. I am presently using an Old Smokey and have had better success than I expected. It is great for families with small yards and is portable enough to go to the park, camping, or beach. I did love my Weber bullet smoker but it moved on to my Daughter and Son-in Law's house.

Don't give up, it could take a while. Most smokes of any kind are meant to make the family happy so find what y'all like best. 

Let us know how you do and be happy with smoking. Don't let it beat you up. I still get a tough brisket now and then, so I do what any Texan does; have another cold one, cube the meat and make Chile or stew and cornbread or both.

Sorry about the book

 

[alamojoe]

I finally smoked a prime brisket I'd been hanging on to for a while. I don't really know what I did different but this one came out really good. The only thing I did different was in the trimming.  I watched Franklin's video on how to trim a brisket and that resulted in a much better trimmed brisket than I usually start with.  

Other than that I smoked it low - 225-250. I didn't open the lid until it was time to start probing - around 14 hours in.  When it was done, I wrapped it in foil and did the cooler thing for a couple of hours.  

I would say, relative to my "ideal brisket" it had about 9/10 tenderness, 8/10 moistness, 8/10 flavor.  That is actually pretty dang good.  By my rating system, 95% of commercial brisket is not that good.  

My family usually moans when I smoke a brisket because, in the past, the results haven't been that good.  This time they ate it up and I think I probably even have permission to smoke another one sometime, lol.  

 

[aggie94]

Congratulations Joe!  I consider that a wonderful success! 

 

[kc5tpy]

Hi.  Good job Joe.  Once you know the process it usually just takes a couple to get you up and running.  Can only get better from here.  Man I wish you could send me some Mexican food.  I really miss that.  Mom lives on the far southside, off 181 near 1604.  Glad it turned out good for ya buddy.  Keep Smokin!

Danny

 

[oldpro1946]

I've attempted my last brisket.  Made terrible brisket flats so I finally tried a packer to no success.  Smoked it for 5 1/2 hrs at 250 to 164, wrapped and let go til 195.  Was done early so I wrap the foiled brisket in a towel and put in oven at 100 degrees.  Had to leave it there for about 3 hrs.  Dry, dry dry.  Falling apart but dry!  Tried to follow Aaron Franklin's video and tried to use all the suggestions of people on this forum.  Woke up at 2am had it on at 4am.  Smoked for a total of 10hrs.  A lot of work for lousy brisket.  I"m done with brisket.  

 

[inkjunkie]

I've attempted my last brisket.  Made terrible brisket flats so I finally tried a packer to no success.  Smoked it for 5 1/2 hrs at 250 to 164, wrapped and let go til 195.  Was done early so I wrap the foiled brisket in a towel and put in oven at 100 degrees.  Had to leave it there for about 3 hrs.  Dry, dry dry.  Falling apart but dry!  Tried to follow Aaron Franklin's video and tried to use all the suggestions of people on this forum.  Woke up at 2am had it on at 4am.  Smoked for a total of 10hrs.  A lot of work for lousy brisket.  I"m done with brisket.  

This is why I did a Tri Tip today....

 

[alexhortdog95]

I've attempted my last brisket.  Made terrible brisket flats so I finally tried a packer to no success.  Smoked it for 5 1/2 hrs at 250 to 164, wrapped and let go til 195.  Was done early so I wrap the foiled brisket in a towel and put in oven at 100 degrees.  Had to leave it there for about 3 hrs.  Dry, dry dry.  Falling apart but dry!  Tried to follow Aaron Franklin's video and tried to use all the suggestions of people on this forum.  Woke up at 2am had it on at 4am.  Smoked for a total of 10hrs.  A lot of work for lousy brisket.  I"m done with brisket.  

NO NO NO...Don't give up man!
You can beat the brisket, don't let the brisket beat you!

Why did you put it in the oven?!? It was done, man! Leave it wrapped up and it would have been fine!

 

[californiasmoke]

I ruined several myself, plus had to endure a lot of good natured teasing from my wife about the "awful brisket".

Don't put it in an oven, at least not with the heat on.  When it gets down, wrap it and put it in a cooler with some old towels for a couple of hours.

Also, mine rode at over 200 degrees internal for a long time before it got tender.  Don't cook brisket to temperature, cook it until it's tender by probing the flat.  A toothpick should slide in easily.  Look at the chart from my cook below, you can see how long it was "at temperature" on the bottom graph before it actually got tender.  

The only think I'm going to do differently next time is wrap it part way through the cook, the thinnest part of the brisket was not as moist and I'd like, although a few slices in was great.  And the point was magic.  I might try trimming the fat closer on the point next time to make burnt ends...but I might ruin it too.  

IMG_0050.jpg

• californiasmoke
• Aug 16, 2015

 

[lemans]

You may have had a brisket with a very thin end on the flat. Next time trim it off before the cook. Look at the meat and say is this going to hold up to 10-12 hrs without burning? If not cut it off . And save it for the beans!!!

 

[humdinger]

 
I've attempted my last brisket.  Made terrible brisket flats so I finally tried a packer to no success.  Smoked it for 5 1/2 hrs at 250 to 164, wrapped and let go til 195.  Was done early so I wrap the foiled brisket in a towel and put in oven at 100 degrees.  Had to leave it there for about 3 hrs.  Dry, dry dry.  Falling apart but dry!  Tried to follow Aaron Franklin's video and tried to use all the suggestions of people on this forum.  Woke up at 2am had it on at 4am.  Smoked for a total of 10hrs.  A lot of work for lousy brisket.  I"m done with brisket.

The oven at 100 degrees is porbably what dried it out. Do be afraid to add a little water and beef broth to the foil to help with moisture. It'll make your outer crust soft, but should help keep the meat moist.

 

[oldpro1946]

 
The oven at 100 degrees is porbably what dried it out. Do be afraid to add a little water and beef broth to the foil to help with moisture. It'll make your outer crust soft, but should help keep the meat moist.

I did add apple juice and cider vinegar.  At 100 degrees I didn't think it cook anymore and with it foiled and wrapped in a towel plus with the liquid I thought it would be ok.  Very frustrating!!

 

[humdinger]

 
I did add apple juice and cider vinegar.  At 100 degrees I didn't think it cook anymore and with it foiled and wrapped in a towel plus with the liquid I thought it would be ok.  Very frustrating!!

Hmmm..sounds like it shoulda been ok then. I'm stumped.....

 

[floridasteve]

Sometimes you just get a bad piece of me.

 

[kc5tpy]

Hello oldpro 1946.  This is why I started this thread.  To find out why some folks have so much trouble.

So!  What we need to know is start to finish your whole process.  Picts help a lot.  We need to know everything; no matter how slight you may think it is.  Tell us the meat you started with and the step by step.  Make sure it is what you did; not what you thought you did.  Such as did you test your therm probes before the cook or did you just assume everything was fine?  Did you trim the brisket?  There is SOME little or a couple little steps that will change you final product to something perfect.

We have very little info to work from.  You tried to follow someone on youtube.  I may not catch it but we have the knowledge to help.  If I don't see it I'll make sure a few of the others have a look also.  You can do this and we can help if you will let us try.  Don't give up.  Keep Smokin!

Danny

 

[benson56]

After poring through these pages, I tried my first brisket Sunday. This brisket was from a 4-H beef purchased at the county fair. Should've been good meat.

I didn't put rub on the meat and let it sit overnite.  Cut the hard fat off and put on generous amounts of salt and pepper.

Put it in the smoker and fired it up about 6:30 a.m.

My smoker is a Bradley that takes the bisquettes. It jacks in a new one every 20 minutes. I used hickory.

Let it smoke at 100-150 for a couple hours, then turned up the heat to get it up to 225-250. The thermometer on the smoker door said it was holding about 235. I thought perfect.

I let the smoke pour for about 4-4.5 hrs then stopped the smoke. After 6.5 hrs I put a probe in the meat to see how the temp was doing and it was at 205! The probe slid in real easy so I figured it was done. Wrapped it in foil, and a towel, put it in a cooler for two hours. Cut it open, and it was real tender and good. Took some samples to three different people and they all thought it was good.

I'm puzzled as to why it was done in 6.5 hrs when I was counting on it taking 12 hrs. Only thing I can think is if the thermometer on the smoker door is off.....but the meat wasn't burned really. Had a nice bark on it, which I ate and thought it was great in itself.

I'm not sure about the hickory smoke. To me it may seem a bit strong. I may try the pecan that some here suggested.

I have access to 5 more briskets so I will be doing some experimenting. Next time I will put a good rub on it and let it sit overnight, then try to keep the heat a little lower and see what happens.

I've learned a lot from all of your advices.

Thank you.

 

[gary s]

 
After poring through these pages, I tried my first brisket Sunday. This brisket was from a 4-H beef purchased at the county fair. Should've been good meat.

I didn't put rub on the meat and let it sit overnite.  Cut the hard fat off and put on generous amounts of salt and pepper.

Put it in the smoker and fired it up about 6:30 a.m.

My smoker is a Bradley that takes the bisquettes. It jacks in a new one every 20 minutes. I used hickory.

Let it smoke at 100-150 for a couple hours, then turned up the heat to get it up to 225-250. The thermometer on the smoker door said it was holding about 235. I thought perfect.

I let the smoke pour for about 4-4.5 hrs then stopped the smoke. After 6.5 hrs I put a probe in the meat to see how the temp was doing and it was at 205! The probe slid in real easy so I figured it was done. Wrapped it in foil, and a towel, put it in a cooler for two hours. Cut it open, and it was real tender and good. Took some samples to three different people and they all thought it was good.

I'm puzzled as to why it was done in 6.5 hrs when I was counting on it taking 12 hrs. Only thing I can think is if the thermometer on the smoker door is off.....but the meat wasn't burned really. Had a nice bark on it, which I ate and thought it was great in itself.

I'm not sure about the hickory smoke. To me it may seem a bit strong. I may try the pecan that some here suggested.

I have access to 5 more briskets so I will be doing some experimenting. Next time I will put a good rub on it and let it sit overnight, then try to keep the heat a little lower and see what happens.

I've learned a lot from all of your advices.

Thank you.

Check your temp gauges for peace of mind, and make sure the Hickory is seasoned well

Gary

 

[smocan]

Benson those door thermometers can be off by 50+ degrees. I have a Stumps Baby XL and the door thermometer is useless. Invest in a probe thermometer like a Maverick or even an iGrill or the like. You probably ended up smoking closer to 280-295. That's how I do briskets. I've had them come out perfect in 4 1/2hrs.

 

[benson56]

Thanks for the replies. I had a feeling about that door thermo.

Been eyeballing a new smoker but ain't feeling it yet. Probably wait until the Bradley gives up the ghost.