My second cook - a brisket

[Jrod77]

As promised here is a picture of my second cook. It turned out with a good flavor but a little too dry for me. Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.
I cooked it the same way I did the pork butt, 185-to 195 all night cooking. In the morning I raised the cooking temperature to 225 and sprinkle apple juice every hour. When the internal meat temperature (IMT) reached 168 I took it off the grill and wrapped it with tin foil. Placed the cook back in the grill and raised cooking temp. to 250. When the cook reached IMT of 203, I took it off the grill and rested for two hours. The results were a very good flavor but too dry. I am a newbie, so I welcome any advise. Thanks!

 

[Wurstmeister]

Jrod77, I use an MES 40 electric smoker and not a grill/stick burner. So, I'm only speaking from the electrical smoker aspect. There are a lot more experienced grill and stick burner folks who will most certainly jump in to help.

Brisket is a tough meat to work with. Here are a few things I would look over when this happens to me. Which is more times than I want to admit?! LOL!

1. The available fat content. Can't compare pork butt to brisket. The pork butt is fattier throughout than the brisket. Cooking it like the pork butt would dry the brisket. Recheck your times and temperature for brisket.
2. Did you use direct or indirect heat? I'd go indirect heat like the Minion ring or split/side pans (like my electric smoker is). Direct heat will take the moisture right out of any meat you are working with and turn into shoe leather.
3. Did you smoke the brisket fat side up or on the grill? I go fat side up which allows the fat to penetrate back into the meat.
4. To compensate for the lack of fat and tough fibers, I will "tenderize the brisket with a vengeance" and then marinate the brisket overnight and/or inject the brisket prior to smoking. Nothing fancy, just a simple broth with a little Apple Cider Vinegar, ale, even a little hard stuff & seasoning to help break down the fibers and add some internal moisture. Then add some of the remaining stock to the foil and enclose the brisket to help moisten the meat.

Remember, I'm no expert when it comes to smoking brisket or any meats for that matter. Keep at it. As a German chef & critic always tells me - "Noch einmal machen" - "Do It Again!"
John

 

[1MoreFord]

You cannot cook briskets or butts by time or temp because no two of them cook the same. Briskets need to probe tender and with butts the bone will pull free and clean.

Knowing you cooked all night under 200°F and looking at the photo I suspect you over cooked it. Big cuts of meat tend to finish at a lower temp when cooked at low temps. They will cook faster at higher temps but then generally finish at higher temps too.

Briskets under cooked are generally dry and tough. When over cooked they are normally dry and crumbly.

Also cook briskets fat side to the heat.

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

Also make sure you cut across the grain. The flat and point run different directions. Do a search on how to slice a brisket.

 

[golfpro2301]

Crank that heat up and run 225+ whole time. I used to be a 225 person but now float closer to 275 on all meats and I like it. Make sure get brisket with marbeling and can bend a little in package. I honestly dont think fat up or down makes a difference and I saw something few years ago that said fat molecules are bigger than gaps in meat so it wont go into the meat just run down sides
As Ford said go by tenderness/tooth pick test and not temp and going that low of temp for so long it will likely dry out

 

[Gonna Smoke]

You cannot cook briskets or butts by time or temp because no two of them cook the same. Briskets need to probe tender...

This just can't be emphasized enough...

 

[Jrod77]

Jrod77, I use an MES 40 electric smoker and not a grill/stick burner. So, I'm only speaking from the electrical smoker aspect. There are a lot more experienced grill and stick burner folks who will most certainly jump in to help.

Brisket is a tough meat to work with. Here are a few things I would look over when this happens to me. Which is more times than I want to admit?! LOL!

1. The available fat content. Can't compare pork butt to brisket. The pork butt is fattier throughout than the brisket. Cooking it like the pork butt would dry the brisket. Recheck your times and temperature for brisket.
2. Did you use direct or indirect heat? I'd go indirect heat like the Minion ring or split/side pans (like my electric smoker is). Direct heat will take the moisture right out of any meat you are working with and turn into shoe leather.
3. Did you smoke the brisket fat side up or on the grill? I go fat side up which allows the fat to penetrate back into the meat.
4. To compensate for the lack of fat and tough fibers, I will "tenderize the brisket with a vengeance" and then marinate the brisket overnight and/or inject the brisket prior to smoking. Nothing fancy, just a simple broth with a little Apple Cider Vinegar, ale, even a little hard stuff & seasoning to help break down the fibers and add some internal moisture. Then add some of the remaining stock to the foil and enclose the brisket to help moisten the meat.

Remember, I'm no expert when it comes to smoking brisket or any meats for that matter. Keep at it. As a German chef & critic always tells me - "Noch einmal machen" - "Do It Again!"
John

Thank you very much for your advise! I will take to use. I have a pellet grill and I cooked the brisket fat side down, will cook fat side up from now on. Did not use direct heat as I placed an aluminum pan between the brisket and the heat. Did not inject and did not tenderize, I will from now on. I will check temperature and adjust if necessary.
Once again, I appreciate your advise!

 

[Jrod77]

Thank you all for your advise, I appreciate it. I will make a few changes for my next brisket cook including trying to implement the tenderness instead of temperature method of cooking it.

 

[schlotz]

Very good brisket can be made regardless of fat cap location or whether it is injected or not. What is missing is some of the details. What was used to measure the grate temp of the smoker? Never rely upon built-in therms, they are notorious for not being accurate. How much fat was trimmed off? Brisket is done when it is tender and that is determined by probing the flat (not the point) in many places and should feel like going into a jar of peanut butter. How was it rested? In a cooler with towels? Did you let the brisket rest open on a counter for at least 10 minutes to allow the residual heat to dissipate before putting in the cooler? If not, then the meat kept cooking for quite some time while resting which can easily lead to being overcooked. I've had briskets get done anywhere from 197-212º which is why they say IT is ONLY A GUIDELINE and should be used to know when to start testing for tenderness. I usually start around 195º then every 20-30 minutes until I'm satisfied. BTW: make sure the reporting therm used to monitor IT is located in the center of the thickest part of the flat, not the point.

It's a learning curve and we've all gone through it. You'll get there, don't give up! Make a habit of taking good notes for each of your smokes while it's fresh in your mind (what worked, what didn't, conditions, what to try next time, etc.) and always review them prior to the next smoke. It helps.

 

[tallbm]

As promised here is a picture of my second cook. It turned out with a good flavor but a little too dry for me. Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.
I cooked it the same way I did the pork butt, 185-to 195 all night cooking. In the morning I raised the cooking temperature to 225 and sprinkle apple juice every hour. When the internal meat temperature (IMT) reached 168 I took it off the grill and wrapped it with tin foil. Placed the cook back in the grill and raised cooking temp. to 250. When the cook reached IMT of 203, I took it off the grill and rested for two hours. The results were a very good flavor but too dry. I am a newbie, so I welcome any advise. Thanks!View attachment 508377View attachment 508378

Hi there and welcome!

As others have been saying. If your brisket is dry and tough it's undercooked. If dry and crumbly its over cooked. If dry and burnt... it's burnt hahaha.

Also as others have said, the main issue is going to that a brisket is ONLY done when it is tender. Never by time or temp alone.
Place the temp probe in the thickest yet center-most portion of the FLAT muscle. The Point comes up to temp, handles hotter temps, and is almost impossible to mess up so avoid using the point to understand if your brisket is ready.

Now, getting the probe placed correctly is a freaking act of God. So when it reads 198-200F in this spot you aimed for in the Flat, you check for tenderness. I do this by stabbing ALL OVER with a kabob skewer (I have wooden ones). When it is gives no resistance ALL OVER then it is ready. If you find a spot with some resistance let the brisket rise another couple of degrees and test for tenderness again. Repeat until tender ALL OVER.

You do these things and you will solve 90% of your brisket issues. The final 10% is where you fine tune to go from great to AMAZING brisket :)

I hope this info helps :)

 

[orthodoc]

My take on brisket:

1. Meat quality. A good brisket can be made with anything but the better the meat, the better the product in the end. I have ordered gold grade wagyu from snake river and found it too marbled. Black grade wagyu has always been perfect. I have made plenty of USDA choice that turned out great, but many that did not. Better quality meat is much more forgiving.

2. An ultra-low temp smoke like what you did is hit or miss. I have no issue with 2-3 hours on my pellet grill at that temp to get more smoke flavor, but I think it is way too low. The meat is on the pit too long and it will always dry out (see #1, less apt with a more marbled brisket but I wouldn't chance it). You will not get the thick dense bark that you got at a higher temp, but yours looks too dense!

3. When you are getting started absolutely monitor interior temp as a rough guide, but test the tenderness with a probe to get a feel. That will be more reliable, once you are more reliable at determining it.

If you want absolutely forgiving meat, smoke chuck or plate short ribs on the bone. I think they are impossible to ruin.