LET'S TALK BRISKET!!

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Schroeder I wrap in foil (some use butcher paper) at around 160 degrees then cook it to the 203-205 range.  For me that has helped a great deal making it moist.  Then I stick in a cooler like you do for a couple hours.  You could try that and see if it helps.  As far as tough that should mean it is under cooked, once they get overcooked they just fall apart when you are trying to slice them.  Some folks don't pay any attention to what its internal temperature is just keep cooking them until they can poke them easily.

And thanks Roger for letting me know where you got the CAB!
 
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Another beautiful brisket there Gary!  And great pictures too! 

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Pittocarrillo that is a good question, usually by 165 mine are pretty charred looking but I cook with mostly wood and little charcoal.  I do know that wrapping tends to soften the bark, sometimes I unwrap it for the last half hour or so to firm it back up.  Maybe Gary will add some thoughts on it?
 
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Foil  (Texas Crutch)  will help the brisket come up to temp quicker, But causes a soggy bark. Aggie94 is correct  unwrap and put back on the smoker for a bit to help the bark firm back up.

Gary
 
I keep it fairly simple.

I trim off very little fat then place on pit fat side up (indirect heat)
Seasoning: Salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika
On pit for 6 hours at 300 degrees and sop as needed. After 6 hours wrap in foil and sop so meat can steam in foil. Cook until desired internal temp is reached.

Sop sauce: apple cider vinegar, butter, lemons, chopped onions and worchestershire sauce.

That's how I do a brisket.
 
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PS, I use a combination of oak and mesquite. Never charcoal.... Also, I never use lighter fluid. I always use fire starter sticks or whatever the heck they are called....[emoji]127867[/emoji][emoji]127867[/emoji][emoji]127867[/emoji]
 
How long is too long to season a brisket? Is it ok to rub it down 2 days before you smole it? I always do it just a few hrs ahead of time....friend of mine rubbed his today for saturday. Will it dry out?
 
If you apply you rub two days before you put it on the smoker , you run the risk of over salting your meat.
8-12 hours is plenty of time
 
I rub mine just prior to putting it on.

Gary
 
Smoking a Brisket tomorrow ..................   Got my prep work done.    Made BBQ sauce

Gary
 
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I'm sure it was mentioned here, I probably missed it. Ideas on reheating? Smoking a brisket, butt and duck on Saturday for Easter on Sunday. Not sure if I should slice after resting or on Sunday morning before reheating.
 
The way i like to reheat brisket is to rest and let it cool and stick in fridge if its going to be a day or two. then wrapped in foil stick in a pan or on cookie sheet and reheat for like 30 minutes at 350 degree or until warm, then slice. if I'm going to store in freezer for a week or more i will reheat until slightly warm, slice and then put in a pan with beef broth and finish reheating in the broth and serve from a pan of warm broth esp to large group to allow people to get seconds and they stay warm and moist.

So in answer to your question i generally don't store sliced unless i am using for Sammies (like pastrami or something) then if i do i vacuum seal the meat in small bags for longer term storage.

Others may have different opinions...

Happy Smoking,

phatbac (Aaron)
 
You won't get bark if you wrap it.  The wrap causes it to steam inside of the wrap.
I disagree with this statement. You most certainly do get a bark when you wrap with either foil or paper. The degree to which it forms can be debated, but the bark forms nonetheless.

The benefit to wrapping is that you can keep the brisket from drying out and burning as you bring it closer to the magic temperature of 203.
 
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...As far as tough that should mean it is under cooked, once they get overcooked they just fall apart when you are trying to slice them. 

The reason I haven't liked my briskets so far is because they DON'T fall apart when sliced. I finally got one the way I wanted by accident last night. "Done/Correct" to me is when it's sliced 1/4 thick, it flakes apart with a fork. If picked up horizontally with tongs, it would pull in half. You can pick it up vertically, but only very carefully.
So how I got there last night:
Prepped brisket the day before. A cut from our stock and it was extra prime with great marbling. I all the excess fat from the outside because of the amount of marbled fat. Rubbed and in the fridge. Shoulda took pics, but wasn't expecting such a good result.
Smoked at 225 electric smoker temp (rack temp about 205-210) to 165 IT on a cookie sheet, flipped over about 3hrs in. Pulled out and foil covered with a little water, back in the oven at 225 that has a true rack temp. Set my thermo alarm for 203 and went to bed about midnight. I expected the alarm about 8am and was shocked when it went off at 3:30am. I got up and checked it, temp confirmed at 203, tenderness as expected. Probe slides in easy, and it flexes when it's picked up. I thought "well, here's another one that's just edible but not great." But I still had 6hrs before I could even put it in a cooler to keep warm. So I dropped oven temp to 200 and went back to bed thinking "it's cooked to temp, won't get any more done than it is right now."
Got up at 10am and IT had dropped to 176. When I went to wrap it, I could tell something had changed. This is what I had been trying to accomplish. Again, should have taken pics. 1/4" slices and all were crumbly except the part above (or is it below?) the fat line that runs the center that is always more marbled than the rest.

Maybe hard to answer without pics, but is this considered 'overcooked'? Even if it is, this is how I'll be cooking it from now on because that's how we like it. Everyone at Easter raved about it, and my family isn't shy about criticism.
 
Be Prepared this will be a long post...

Hey guys,

I'm part of the group who can't get it right. i've only smoked 2 briskets and both times have given me a dried out brisket.. However, i think i've figured out my problem. I kept a thorough log of what i did, maybe you guys can pinpoint the problem.
 

a little background on my setup before i post an hour by hour play book..

I have a propane charbroil vertical box smoker with water in the pan which is an absolute pain in the ass to maintain a steady temperature for whatever reason..

i have to reload the water pan every 30-45 minutes and add more chips every 45 to an hour. luckily the pan has its own drawer so i dont need to open up the chamber everytime it needs to be refilled.

im smoking with mesquite, cherry and pecan wood 

i'm using the maverick thermometer and the thermapen instant read. 

The brisket was an 11 pound packer choice grade, the only trimming i did was the rock solid fat that is on the lean side of the cut.(i wont flood this post with pics but ill link the full thread with pics.)

i seasoned the brisket with a recipe from "Bama BBQ" i found that calls for

2 Tablespoons kosher salt

1 Tablespoon turbinado sugar (i used light brown sugar)

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

1 teaspoon oregano leaves (dried)

1 teaspoons coarse black pepper (use fresh cracked pepper)

the recipe also called for cumin and cayene that i decided not to add..

So the brisket went on fat cap down at 0430 chamber temp somewhat steady at @223 Internal 45

0500 Chamber 243 Internal 79

0530 Chamber 252 Internal 97

0600 Chamber 218 Internal 122

  - smoker didn't wanna get over 218 for a good 20-30 minutes (at this point i started waiting 10 minutes letting the temps stabilize after adding water to the pan to log my temps)

0640 Chamber 228 Internal 140

0700 Chamber 235 Internal 145

0720 Chamber 225 Internal 151

0750 Chamber 225 Internal 156

0800 Chamber 217 Internal 160

  - stall?

0830 Chamber 210 Internal 163

0845 Chamber 214 Internal 165

0920 Wrapped in foil @ internal 165

  - at this point i ditched the water pan and put play sand in the pan

1015 Chamber 260 Internal 170

1115 Chamber 225 Internal 171

  - ran a quick errand came home to my flame being out and Chamber dropping to 140, it wasn't out for more than 10 mins and i got back to 220 withing another 5

1215 Chamber 241 Internal 187

1240 Chamber 240 Internal 190

1300 Chamber 234 Internal 189

  - Temp dropped while foiled..?

  - at this point i was staring at the thermometer losing my mind, then i thought back to all the info i had been reading and i realized i was over complicating this.. i meant its a piece of meat for christ sake.. so i stopped worrying about temperatures and just poked it every 30-45 minutes with a tooth pick waiting for it to soften up.

1500 pulled the brisket @ internal 187 wrapped in towels and into the cooler until 1700

  - 187? wtf?!?!

as you can see my temps are absolutely all over the place.

I'm thinking the maverick probe must have been in a bad spot but i didn't want to open the smoker to fiddle with the probe. (only opened the smoker once to wrap in foil minus the toothpick testing)

I'm thinking that i simply didn't cook it long enough based on this picture.



So There's what i did for my brisket, i tried to be thorough with logging my process this way i know EXACTLY what i did or didnt do properly.. i pray this answers not only my questions, but also anyone else who cant seem to get this brisket right..

So here is just a few final questions that i myself have..

1. am i the only one whos temps are absolutely all over the place or is that temperature fluctuation normal?

2. when toothpick testing, how easy does it really slide into the mean? because mine felt pretty easy to slide in but obviously it wasn't done..?

If i think of anything else ill be sure to ask.. Cheers

LINK TO FULL THREAD

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/244314/brisket-failure-2-thorough-log-plus-pics
 
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