second briket on the mini

[jsclow]

Well I fired up the mini this morning to smoke my second brisket. The first one was pretty tough but had good flavor. This one turned much better but was a bit on the dry side.

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• jsclow
• Mar 22, 2014

Two hours in.  I left it on for 6 hours at about 250* for most of the first 3. I could not get the temps down even after closing the two side vents, 1\2 closed on the bottom and top. It was a very hot sunny day so I finally moved the mini into the shade and that helped a little. The at 4:15hr mark the temps dropped down to 200*ish and I could not get them back up...I lit some fresh charcoal and added it in and that did the trick. After 6 hrs and a little bit the meat temp was at 163*. I took it off, wrapped it up and stuck it in the oven at 325* for an hr and a half then a 2 hr rest in the cooler.

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• jsclow
• Mar 22, 2014

Any hints on getting it a bit more moist?

 

[smoking b]

 
Any hints on getting it a bit more moist?

Did you add any type of fluid when you wrapped it?

 

[demosthenes9]

Did you have a temp probe in it while it was in the oven for 2 hours at 325 ?  Do you know what the temp was when you pulled it and wrapped it ?   Did you do any probe tests on it while it was in the oven ?

 

[bdskelly]

Difficult question because it appears you've done everything well.  One thing to pay attention to ( This is my humble opinion by the way) is the amount of fat cap on the brisket that you bought.   The reason I mentioned this is because the Super Trimmed: briskets which are used mostly for curing pastrami and corned beef are in abundance this time of year.  I've had no luck smoking these because they are lean and dry out quickly.  You just have to have a good amount of fat for these long smokes.  You can always trim the fat off during carving. 

For this reason I only buy "packer cuts".  For the mini I simply cut them in two.  I'll smoke the flat one time.  Then the peak the next. 

Just my 2 cents at guessing about fixing the problem. 

Brian

 

[jsclow]

Demosthenes9..I didn't temp it after I took it off the mini.  I was just too excited to get it through the next steps and got in a hurry.  I will next time though.

SmokingB...There was juices on the top of the brsket when I took it off and slowly ozzing out from the fork as I liffted it off to wrap it.

Brian...I thick you nailed it and the lack of fat is my main issue.  It is hard to get to the brisket before the butcher here 'cleans it up'.  I saw one packaged and labeled 'limpia' which meant he had already trimmed it and cleaned most of the fat off.  So I asked for a couple of 4 pounders uncleaned with all the fat.  They had a 16 pounder ($40 USD) that had not been taken out of the packaging it was shipped to them in.  To my diappointment, it had very little fat.  I cut it into third for this smoke and future and let this one sit in olive oil awhile to see if it would help.  It was tender and not unbearably dry.  I just want to get more juice.  I mixed the juice with a litte bbq sauce and it made it tastey.  My local butcher here gets a whole side of beef often and I just need to get over to hime and 'educate' hime I what I need.

On another note, what is the largest size brisket you've done in your mini?

 

[demosthenes9]

 
Demosthenes9..I didn't temp it after I took it off the mini.  I was just too excited to get it through the next steps and got in a hurry.  I will next time though.

SmokingB...There was juices on the top of the brsket when I took it off and slowly ozzing out from the fork as I liffted it off to wrap it.

Brian...I thick you nailed it and the lack of fat is my main issue.  It is hard to get to the brisket before the butcher here 'cleans it up'.  I saw one packaged and labeled 'limpia' which meant he had already trimmed it and cleaned most of the fat off.  So I asked for a couple of 4 pounders uncleaned with all the fat.  They had a 16 pounder ($40 USD) that had not been taken out of the packaging it was shipped to them in.  To my diappointment, it had very little fat.  I cut it into third for this smoke and future and let this one sit in olive oil awhile to see if it would help.  It was tender and not unbearably dry.  I just want to get more juice.  I mixed the juice with a litte bbq sauce and it made it tastey.  My local butcher here gets a whole side of beef often and I just need to get over to hime and 'educate' hime I what I need.

On another note, what is the largest size brisket you've done in your mini?

Js, you said that

After 6 hrs and a little bit the meat temp was at 163*. I took it off, wrapped it up and stuck it in the oven at 325* for an hr and a half then a 2 hr rest in the cooler

.

What led to you pulling it from the oven after an hr and a half ?   Did you just say "well, I guess it should be done now" ?   Or did you test/check it in any way ?  Either by temp, or by poking it to test the tenderness ?

 

[jsclow]

It was the smaller peice of the 16 pounder...probably just under 4 lbs. My thinking was after 6+ hrs on the smoker up to 162* that about 1-1/2 hrs sounded like a good time.  If I woulld have checked the temp what should the finish temp be?

 

[bdskelly]

 
Brian...I thick you nailed it and the lack of fat is my main issue.  It is hard to get to the brisket before the butcher here 'cleans it up'.  I saw one packaged and labeled 'limpia' which meant he had already trimmed it and cleaned most of the fat off.  So I asked for a couple of 4 pounders uncleaned with all the fat.  They had a 16 pounder ($40 USD) that had not been taken out of the packaging it was shipped to them in.  To my diappointment, it had very little fat.  I cut it into third for this smoke and future and let this one sit in olive oil awhile to see if it would help.  It was tender and not unbearably dry.  I just want to get more juice.  I mixed the juice with a litte bbq sauce and it made it tastey.  My local butcher here gets a whole side of beef often and I just need to get over to hime and 'educate' hime I what I need.

On another note, what is the largest size brisket you've done in your mini?

Just guessing on this one.  But 6 pounds maybe a bit larger?  My bet is that Case / Dutch / Adam can contribute to MAX brisket size on the Mini. 

 On another note JS I find it interesting that you can only find trimmed brisket down there! We gringos have visions of all your meat being more primal cuts. 

You certainly are living large my friend. 

B

 

[demosthenes9]

 
It was the smaller peice of the 16 pounder...probably just under 4 lbs. My thinking was after 6+ hrs on the smoker up to 162* that about 1-1/2 hrs sounded like a good time.  If I woulld have checked the temp what should the finish temp be?

JS, I don't cook by temp or by time.  Rather, I just use each as kind of a guideline.     Generally speaking, finished IT of a brisket can be anywhere from 185 - 210 or even more.  All depends on the brisket.   It sounds kind of trite, but a brisket is done when it is done.   How you know it is done is by handling it to see how it feels.  Also, you give it a poke test.   You do this by sticking a probe in it.   Going to copy a description that I just came across recently and say that it should feel like you're probing into a bowl of pudding.   I.e. very little resistance.

The reason I give the ranges is because it's entirely possible that you could cook two briskets that look identical in size, weight and quality, and one might be ready at 195 while the other might not be ready until it hits 205.

One thing that you really can't do with brisket is look at a watch/timer and say "Welp, I think it's had enough time"  

 

[jsclow]

Thanks.  I know it is just gonna take time and practice. And I am gonna enjoy every beer drinkin' minute of it.  Well if I drank that much beer I'd probably not be able to walk straight.

 

[demosthenes9]

 
Thanks.  I know it is just gonna take time and practice. And I am gonna enjoy every beer drinkin' minute of it.  Well if I drank that much beer I'd probably not be able to walk straight.

It's all good 

   On your next brisket, start doing poke tests at the thickest spot once it hits about 185-190.   The Brisket will tell you when it is done.

 

[jsclow]

Went to the butcher today.  Told him what I was looking for.  He told me what I have already learned...that the meat here is very lean., not much fat. So I guess it will be a case by case on what I get.  He said he will try to get me a brisket with more fat.  He showed me, what he called, a tri tip.  It had an good 3/4" of fat on one side and did not look like any tri tip I have seen in photos on this site.  It looked to be about 4 lbs or so and was shpped more like a 2-1/2 thick elongated roast.  I did not buy it, I have a freezer full of stuff I am gonna play with.  Lots to smoke.

 

[demosthenes9]

 
Went to the butcher today.  Told him what I was looking for.  He told me what I have already learned...that the meat here is very lean., not much fat. So I guess it will be a case by case on what I get.  He said he will try to get me a brisket with more fat.  He showed me, what he called, a tri tip.  It had an good 3/4" of fat on one side and did not look like any tri tip I have seen in photos on this site.  It looked to be about 4 lbs or so and was shpped more like a 2-1/2 thick elongated roast.  I did not buy it, I have a freezer full of stuff I am gonna play with.  Lots to smoke.

Funny thing is that many people here pay a premium for grass fed beef