Real Life Brisket from Smoker to Oven Story

[tallbm]

Many times people come to SMF in a panic with all kinds of situations where they need to salvage an under cooked brisket, bad weather comes in and cuts a smoke short, or they simply underestimate the time it takes to smoke a brisket and have to pull it before it is ready.

I had an Angus brisket in my garage fridge that I got on sale for a great price. I thought it was a 14 pound brisket and I knew I had to get it smoked soon but when I checked Sunday I realized I was 2 days past the sale date and it was an 18.5 pound brisket :eek:

So rain or shine I had to get that thing cooked ASAP. I was able to get it prepped and in the smoker at 6:30pm Monday after I got off work. After triming I bet it was a 13 pound brisket. I also decided to take my back up smoker probe and use it as a meat probe so I could record via my HeaterMeter how crazy 3 meat probes report inside a brisket... good idea but hurt my smoke some. Without the backup smoker probe I was not able to accurately figure out the temp at rack level (left, middle, right areas of rack) so I think it was roughly 260F around this giant brisket but again that is just a guess.

I smoked over night hoping that by near 8:30am Tue morning the brisket would be done or near done... no chance, at 7:30am Tue the highest reported IT was 171F and the lowest was like 164F. I then wrapped the brisket in double foil, put on a pan and stuck it in my oven at 220F while I went to work.

My plan was that at an oven temp of 220F the brisket would take a while to get to 203F'ish and wouldn't go too high in temp even if it finished early... well I got home from work at 5pm and probed the brisket all over with my instant read thermometer and it was 210F EVERYWHERE :eek:

Well no biggy as the brisket was now likely to be a whole 14 pounds of chopped brisket rather than sliced hahahahha. The flavor wasn't bad but upon initial tasting right out of the oven the brisket tastes/feels like 40% roast and 60% smoked brisket. After a night and most of a day in the fridge I'll see if this holds true now that it has settled and cooled down.

Lessons Learned:

• I 100% prefer a non-wrapped brisket vs one that gets wrapped in foil. I've yet to ever do a Franklins style butcher paper wrap, I don't like to mess with the meat and smoke if I can avoid it
• Going to the oven is 100% acceptable for any situation that involves an undercooked brisket or one that is pulled early. It is easier to salvage undercooked vs way over cooked
• My guesstimation on leaving the brisket in the oven at a low temp for about 10 hours was not too far off. I don't want to make a habit of this but I think I could dial it in better if I had to now that I have this one under my belt.
• Next time (if there is one) I will put my oven at 210F so that it hopefully doesn't go over 200F and maybe I can get less overcooked brisket
• Even double foil wrapped, some fat and juice leaked out so DEFINITELY set in a pan with walls at least 1.5 inch high to avoid leaking a mess into the oven
• The brisket is not the best in the world when I think of what a smoked brisket is, BUT works 100% for chopped brisket mixed with some bbq sauce! Most people would have no clue that this is a somewhat botched smoked brisket attempt if presented with this chopped brisket! :)
• If I HAD to hold a brisket for a long time I think I could do it with the oven but would probably set at a much much lower temp so that the brisket might somehow get down to an IT of 160F. I'm not sure if that means I would hold at 150F or so, only an experiment would let me know what I could get away with but I don't plan on experimenting this way so I'll find out if I ever get in such a situation hahaha

Ok guys that is a bit about my experience and I hope it helps with anyone who gets in a similar situation since I see such similar situations pop up on SMF all the time. If you have any questions or any real life experiences similar to this please feel free to share!

 

[tropics]

I think we have all been there done that.
Richie

 

[mike243]

It happens but learned a long time ago it wont get over cooked much if you set temp at what you want to end at, pork is very forgiving beef not as much due to less fat content,most every thing is still good just maybe not top teir

 

[tallbm]

I think we have all been there done that.
Richie

Yep it happens. I'm glad I could get it handled without wasting a brisket. Life just gets in the way sometime :)

It happens but learned a long time ago it wont get over cooked much if you set temp at what you want to end at, pork is very forgiving beef not as much due to less fat content,most every thing is still good just maybe not top teir

Thanks for the input. I will dial my temp much closer to what I want the final temp to be. I never mind fall apart brisket that is juicy and has good flavor. My favorite way to eat it is actually chopped with bbq sauce mixed in so I win either way :D

 

[noboundaries]

Yep, always have a tasty backup plan; chopped/sauced, chili, sandwiches, you just never know. No matter how much experience you have, meat can always surprise you.

 

[tallbm]

Yep, always have a tasty backup plan; chopped/sauced, chili, sandwiches, you just never know. No matter how much experience you have, meat can always surprise you.

Yeah I usually have a fallback in the back of my mind. I was pretty sure that this brisket was not going to finish on time so the oven was my backup. I just wasn't sure about the oven temp for the 9 hours or so I would be away.

I will be eating brisket all week for sure so it was a definite success :D

 

[HalfSmoked]

As the old saying goes Sh== happens and just in a post to a newbie I said that we all have problems its a way of life.
I'm a true beliver in that there is no bad smoke some some are better than others especially as long as its eatable.

Nice write up. My oven has a warm hold at 150.

Warren

 

[bluewhisper]

Did your kitchen smell like a smoker?

I took some trips in the South and I noticed that the meat at many places did not have a strong smoke flavor. It was more like oven-roasted, slow-cooked, with a nice mellow background whiff of smoke.

And they would serve me iced tea without me asking for it.

 

[chilerelleno]

Yep, right there with ya the whole way, smiling, grimacing and thinking about my on similar situations.
My brisket Flat from last weekend being a perfect example.
Thank goodness brisket makes a great chile.

 

[tallbm]

As the old saying goes Sh== happens and just in a post to a newbie I said that we all have problems its a way of life.
I'm a true beliver in that there is no bad smoke some some are better than others especially as long as its eatable.

Nice write up. My oven has a warm hold at 150.

Warren

Thanks! Yeah it does happen. I may try the hold some day on mine. I just had to guesstimate about what temp to set the oven to take the IT from 164-171F to 203F'ish while sitting there for 9 hours hahaha. I now know what a 220F oven temp makes a double foil wrapped brisket at 170F'ish go to after 9 hours. That temp is 210F hahaha.

Did your kitchen smell like a smoker?

I took some trips in the South and I noticed that the meat at many places did not have a strong smoke flavor. It was more like oven-roasted, slow-cooked, with a nice mellow background whiff of smoke.

And they would serve me iced tea without me asking for it.

I had a little bit of a smoked smell but that may have been from the pans lying around in the sink more than the meat in the oven. I wrapped it really well with 2 layers of foil... even though it still managed to leak some into the oven tray hahaha
In the past I have put stuff in the oven that was NOT wrapped half as well and yeah my kitchen smelled like a smoker so it happens more easily than not.

I prefer more than a light smoke flavor though many bbq joints will do light smoke. I guess they try to satisfy everyone OR their process for serving so much food just does not allow for what I believe to be a proper smoking so you get that half oven approach. My brisket did come out half oven-ish. Yesterday while it was cold from the fridge I was able to slice it in slices (super easy to do so) and it didn't fall apart during slicing or when I reheated the slices. Also setting for 24 hours wrapped in foil it got greater smoke flavor like smoked food does so it is trending towards a better smoked brisket then when initially pulled from the oven!

As for the tea ahhaha yeah that can happen. A couple of decades ago if you were in TX and you asked for a Coke they would reply with "what kind?" and you would hear someone say "Dr. Pepper" hahaha. All sodas were a Coke back then. I don't hear it anymore though as there are so many varieties out there that you gotta be more specific from the get go :)

Yep, right there with ya the whole way, smiling, grimacing and thinking about my on similar situations.
My brisket Flat from last weekend being a perfect example.
Thank goodness brisket makes a great chile.

Yeah I read the thread and was surprised that giant good look flat was a dud!
It happens. As long as it isn't ruined there is usually a good salvage option or 2 :)

 

[humdinger]

Interesting read tallbm. Sometimes for me, improvising is the most exciting part about smoking/BBQ'ing, especially if you're under the gun or have a house full of hungry people.

I stopped foiling brisket years ago after repeated instances of it coming out tasting like pot roast. (I HATE that). I think it has something to do with trapping the moisture/steam. I don't even wrap them in foil to rest anymore, I'll wrap in butcher paper or just "tent" it with foil and place it in a cooler or oven.

And yes, whether you're finishing a cook or holding the meat to temp, the "warm" setting on the oven is a smoker's secret weapon. ;)

 

[tallbm]

Interesting read tallbm. Sometimes for me, improvising is the most exciting part about smoking/BBQ'ing, especially if you're under the gun or have a house full of hungry people.

I stopped foiling brisket years ago after repeated instances of it coming out tasting like pot roast. (I HATE that). I think it has something to do with trapping the moisture/steam. I don't even wrap them in foil to rest anymore, I'll wrap in butcher paper or just "tent" it with foil and place it in a cooler or oven.

And yes, whether you're finishing a cook or holding the meat to temp, the "warm" setting on the oven is a smoker's secret weapon. ;)

I'm with you about not caring for the pot roast taste and consistency. I am a smoke naked all the way guy. I do wrap in foil and then in 3 bath towels as my normal process but this was nothing normal for me hahah.

I can report that I pulled it from the fridge sliced it cold yesterday. It seemed much more like a smoked brisket when I microwaved and ate on it. That fridge rest did it some good :)