Losing a lot of juice while resting brisket

[Kinalyx]

Seems like every time i smoke a brisket, i rest it on a sheet pan, and when its fully rested, the sheet pan is about half full of fat/juice that has run out of the brisket and paper. I know a small amount of it is the tallow on the paper, but watching videos online, there doesnt seem to be all that much extra juice after the brisket is rested. Any ideas as to why im losing so much moisture?

 

[rc4u]

u dont lose juice u retain for future use.

 

[chopsaw]

Seems like every time i smoke a brisket, i rest it on a sheet pan, and when its fully rested, the sheet pan is about half full of fat/juice that has run out of the brisket and paper. I know a small amount of it is the tallow on the paper, but watching videos online, there doesnt seem to be all that much extra juice after the brisket is rested. Any ideas as to why im losing so much moisture?

My first thought is how much did you trim it ? Could it be fat rendered on the outside ?

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

That what I make spice brown gravy from. If you use a fat separator you probably see a lot of it is fat.

 

[thirdeye]

You mentioned paper.... so you are resting a wrapped brisket in a sheet pan. Is this taking place on the counter? And for how long?

I will let any wrapped meats drop in temperature, then hold in a cooler or hotbox. Briskets will hold for several hours, during which time they do re-absorb some of the juices.

 

[SmokyMose]

All good points above ^^^
I un-wrap before resting and don't worry about any juice. Some of it actually does absorb back into the meat, but then again I normally don't see much...

 

[Kinalyx]

Ive tried resting at room temp, resting in a cooler with towels, and resting in the oven that ive allowed to warm to 150 or so and turned off to allow to cool the brisket slower. All of these methods tend to give me a BUNCH of extra juice and or fat accumulating in the pan its in. Ive even tried unwrapping and rewrapping in butcher paper after the cook but before the resting, same result. Its really frustrating, the briskets tend to taste fine, and the point is always juicy, but the flat tends to be a bit dry.

 

[GrumpyGriller]

I am not sure if this would matter, but I do my briskets fat-side up, and store it wrapped in butcher paper in a cooler to rest. I do notice the paper being relatively wet, but maybe I'll get a 1/2 cup or so of liquid that isn't absorbed into the paper. I do take that, fat-separate it, and use it as a final mopping after I've rested and sliced it.

 

[SmokinEdge]

What IT are you pulling the meat off the cooker?

 

[zwiller]

All good point made but no one has mentioned phosphate. This is exactly why some guys like myself use STPP. Juice stays where it's supposed to.

 

[rc4u]

yep Amazon.com : PhosThis! Premium Phosphate Blend (16oz) : Grocery & Gourmet Food

 

[thirdeye]

All good point made but no one has mentioned phosphate. This is exactly why some guys like myself use STPP. Juice stays where it's supposed to.

If you are making an injection from scratch.... would you elaborate on how you calculate, mix and inject?

I use some commercial pre-mixed injections with good results on brisket and butts, and use a home-mixed phosphate injection for the daveomak injectable hams and loins. But have not built an injection from scratch for brisket. I have AmesPhos.

 

[rc4u]

Makes your meat products juicy - use in BBQ, sausages and more.

Marinate, soak or inject a 1-2% PhosThis! solution into meat, fish, poultry or seafood to retain natural juices and increase yield.

Improves texture for fuller, juicier finished product. 16 ounce package (net weight) makes about 83 pints of injectable marinade, while 50g (1.76oz net wt) is a sample size.

 

[chopsaw]

home-mixed phosphate injection for the daveomak daveomak injectable hams

I use the same method for the hams minus the cure . I have the calculator that I just enter the meat weight .

 

[SmokyMose]

but the flat tends to be a bit dry.

I've had mixed results also with flats.
I've gotten into the habit of cutting off the flat to use for something else and just smoking the point.
I don't think I'm alone doing this.

 

[thirdeye]

I use the same method for the hams minus the cure . I have the calculator that I just enter the meat weight .

I must have the same Excel calculator. What is your base liquid? Water, broth?

 

[chopsaw]

I use the no salt veg stock or beef . Just depends what's open or on hand .

 

[chopsaw]

I also like Tony Cs roasted garlic with brisket.

 

[zwiller]

Yep, like Rich chopsaw says, basically Omak ham method minus cure BUT I lower salt to 1% because I don't want the effect to be obvious. Last run: was water, red wine (lambrusco is what we had), salt, STPP, MSG. https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/halving-point-and-flat-or-maybe-another-way.308738/

 

[chopsaw]

zwiller good catch on the salt . I was just coming in to correct my statement above . I do the same or just leave it out for brisket because I do 50 /50 coarse salt and pepper for a rub .
Poultry I leave it in and do pepper only on the skin .