My brisket (with pics)

[pi guy]

Ok, I pulled my brisket at 10:30 this morning, wrapped in 2 layers of foil and towels and put in a cooler.

It's now 1:00 pm, but we're not ready to eat for at least a couple of hours.

What should I do??

 

[pi guy]

tallbm gave me great advice which I followed. Just didn't think to ask about the hold afterward. I hope I didn't mess this up by making it tough while holding so long
:(

 

[TNJAKE]

I almost always hold for 4hrs. Have gone up to 7 before. You'll be fine

 

[pi guy]

So I panicked a little (LOL).
I pulled it out of the cooler, left it wrapped in foil, and put into my large electric roaster set to "keep warm" which is just under the 150 mark, so I assume it's about 140.
I put a little water in the bottom and put 4 small slits in the foil.

 

[TNJAKE]

So I panicked a little (LOL).
I pulled it out of the cooler, left it wrapped in foil, and put into my large electric roaster set to "keep warm" which is just under the 150 mark, so I assume it's about 140.
I put a little water in the bottom and put 4 small slits in the foil.

I've never held food like that so can't advise but it would have definitely stayed plenty hot in the cooler so you know for future cooks

 

[chopsaw]

The first one I did finished at 2:00 in the morning .
I held it in the oven set to 170 wrapped in pink paper until 4:00 p.m. It was great .
I now use the oven to finish or hold briskets . Never had luck with a cooler .
Oven finish gets 45 minute rest on the counter . Therm inserted . When temp drops to around 170 to 180 it's time to eat .
If it probed tender when you took it out you should be fine .

 

[pi guy]

Overdone.
Good flavor though.
Will cube up the point, I think that will be better.

 

[JLeonard]

Looks pretty good to me. And a nice spread of sides.

Jim

 

[pi guy]

Here's the burnt ends.
All in all, not horrible.
I get picky about stuff, so maybe I'm overthinking it all.
Great experience though.
Again, appreciate you all for the help.

 

[TNJAKE]

Even though it didn't live up to your standards it still looks pretty delicious

 

[pi guy]

Even though it didn't live up to your standards it still looks pretty delicious

Thank you!

 

[tallbm]

Here's the burnt ends.
All in all, not horrible.
I get picky about stuff, so maybe I'm overthinking it all.
Great experience though.
Again, appreciate you all for the help.

It looks pretty good and I'm positive it is still salvageable as chopped and sauced bbq brisket (my favorite way to have it actually).

When you say overdone, was it dry and fall apart or dry and tough?

Dry and tough is actually under done. Dry and fall apart is overdone.

If you pulled when it probed tender all over and then foil, towels, and cooler then I think the cooler may have kept it so hot that it over cooked if it came out dry and crumbly.

In all honesty, it looks like you got very close to nailing it. Just gotta fine tune a thing here or there. And again, if you chop and mix with sauce I bet you find it is pretty damn good for sandwiches, bbq nachos, and bbq tacos! :D

 

[chopsaw]

I get picky about stuff,

We all do . There's a line between over done and not long enough .

 

[smokebuzz]

Years ago, I had a larger brisket get done too early, wrapped in foil, then towels, into a cooler, then put the cooler in a heavy duty black garbage bag and set in the sun. when we pulled it out 8hrs later, it was still 180s.. end result, 1st place...

 

[pi guy]

It looks pretty good and I'm positive it is still salvageable as chopped and sauced bbq brisket (my favorite way to have it actually).

When you say overdone, was it dry and fall apart or dry and tough?

Dry and tough is actually under done. Dry and fall apart is overdone.

If you pulled when it probed tender all over and then foil, towels, and cooler then I think the cooler may have kept it so hot that it over cooked if it came out dry and crumbly.

In all honesty, it looks like you got very close to nailing it. Just gotta fine tune a thing here or there. And again, if you chop and mix with sauce I bet you find it is pretty damn good for sandwiches, bbq nachos, and bbq tacos! :D

Thanks, it was fall apart and a little dry. So maybe I did get it close to right. I'm not sure what I was expecting. It was delicious though!

 

[tallbm]

Thanks, it was fall apart and a little dry. So maybe I did get it close to right. I'm not sure what I was expecting. It was delicious though!

If you pulled it when it was tender all over. I think you might have gotten it right at that point and then the foil, towels, cooler, and then oven rest pushed it a bit too far.

If I were in your shoes and doing that smoke all over. I would ditch the cooler rest and definitely ditch cutting open the foil at the bottom and resting in oven.

With your extra long rest I would have stuck with the foil and towels.
Then after 5hours I would have temp checked it and ONLY if it was around 160F, I would just put the foil wrapped brisket in a pan and put the oven on lowest setting (like 160-170) to hold for the rest of the time.

Again, I feel like the extra parts done with holding might have pushed it to be dry and fall apart. I hope you were able to chop it all up and mix with some sauce to still have amazing chopped bbq brisket. Preparing it that way tastes so amazing and has so many uses. Even with an overdone brisket :D

 

[pi guy]

If you pulled it when it was tender all over. I think you might have gotten it right at that point and then the foil, towels, cooler, and then oven rest pushed it a bit too far.

If I were in your shoes and doing that smoke all over. I would ditch the cooler rest and definitely ditch cutting open the foil at the bottom and resting in oven.

With your extra long rest I would have stuck with the foil and towels.
Then after 5hours I would have temp checked it and ONLY if it was around 160F, I would just put the foil wrapped brisket in a pan and put the oven on lowest setting (like 160-170) to hold for the rest of the time.

Again, I feel like the extra parts done with holding might have pushed it to be dry and fall apart. I hope you were able to chop it all up and mix with some sauce to still have amazing chopped bbq brisket. Preparing it that way tastes so amazing and has so many uses. Even with an overdone brisket :D

I think you're right, I probably would have been fine without the electric roaster and the slits in the foil (was afraid of bark getting mushy).
Regardless, it definitely didn't have enough smoke, but the flavor was great and we totally enjoyed it. Everyone ate til they about burst! The next one will be even better.
And thanks again for the great, thorough advice!

 

[tallbm]

I think you're right, I probably would have been fine without the electric roaster and the slits in the foil (was afraid of bark getting mushy).
Regardless, it definitely didn't have enough smoke, but the flavor was great and we totally enjoyed it. Everyone ate til they about burst! The next one will be even better.
And thanks again for the great, thorough advice!

Oh yeah each one will get better for sure!

For more flavor I always tell people to NOT wrap until 180F at the earliest. I do chuck roasts at 190F cause I must wrap them.
I don't wrap my whole packer briskets at all.

I am also smoking with an MES so it holds humidity and moisture like a champ. Each smoking system is a little different so that's part of figuring out what yours will need :)