The Secret To Good Sliced Brisket Defies Conventional Wisdom

[cmayna]

Doing my first Brisket this weekend.  Assuming it is fat side up, where exactly to you probe with a toothpick?  On the side?

 

[worktogthr]

Using advice from this thread for a 4lb flat as we speak... Had a decent fat cap on it. My first brisket so I will share my results! Thanks again for this thread Solar. I have been reading and rereading it for months and finally got a chance to try a brisket.

 

[foamheart]

 
Doing my first Brisket this weekend.  Assuming it is fat side up, where exactly to you probe with a toothpick?  On the side?

It shouldn't matter. Thickest or middle, I usually just stick the corner. When you stick, if you are scared the toothpick will get away from you and keep going and you'll lose it, its done.

 

[cmayna]

Kinda like a mysterious desert black hole sucking up everything that gets near?   LOL  Thanks Foamheart.

 

[travisty]

I will be trying this exact recipe this month for Christmas dinner! may try a trial one this weekend to make sure I can get it to work good!

 

[inkjunkie]

Will be giving this a try here real soon. Have a seriously trimmed packer that will be Christmas dinner, for either us or our 4 legged friends. Going to town tomorrow, may pick up another one. Hard to believe that you leave the rock hard stuff on it. Kinda curious as to a time per pound guideline....simply for planning purposes

 

[grono]

I was going to do a Tri tip tomorrow but after 4 grocery stores, it seems everyone else in my area thought about it before me. I ended up going with a brisket and am in panic mode after hearing how some of my buddies prep theirs. Overall, best post for me that I've found tonight on how to do this for my guests tomorrow with never having done one before. Thank you for the excellent details on this process. I'll sleep much better tonight. :)

 

[grono]

Struggled with the toothpick and themometor. Time method would have been the best method for me tonight. Every time I poked with a pick, I struggled to get it in. Over cooked mine by an hour or so. Definitely a great post though, I just need to blend some methods.

IMG_20160102_185753.jpg

• grono
• Jan 2, 2016

 

[jcbigler]

Struggled with the toothpick and themometor. Time method would have been the best method for me tonight. Every time I poked with a pick, I struggled to get it in. Over cooked mine by an hour or so. Definitely a great post though, I just need to blend some methods.

IMG_20160102_185753.jpg

• grono
• Jan 2, 2016

How long did you cook it? and how big was the brisket? What was the temp you when  you pulled it off the cooker?

To be honest, that looks undercooked to me. But maybe it's the lighting. It looks like it's a little rare still. 

 

[801driver]

I have to agree it looks under cooked by the picture.  All of mine that I took off pink before I started smoking with a temp probe were not done and were tough and dry tasting. 

Cooking time varies with weight and individual pieces of meat.  Some short, some long, never the same.  I smoked two 9 pounders that were similar in shape one time wrapping in foil at 160 IT and they finished at 195 IT four hours apart even though I switched their spots in the smoker about every two hours in case the heat might be uneven.  (I do not think it was, used a Smoke-it electric smoker)

I would suggest you try smoking one to 195 IT in the thickest part, however long it takes.  When the beeper goes off at 195 you can check to see if it is done by removing the temp probe and poking it back in another spot if you like, I have even quit doing that most of the time, the probe just slides out like it is not touching anything.  Then I drop it still foiled in a cooler with some towels for at least a couple of hours before taking it out to cool before slicing. 

Like other smokers here, mine are near perfect every time doing it  this way.

Good luck to you. 

 

[solaryellow]

I am pretty amazed to see this thread still going. Brisket can be so hard to conquer and there are so many variables. Stick with it and you guys will have it.

 

[desertlites]

Wow it's alive, ain't seen your ugly mug in so long. Hope all is well my friend.

 

[solaryellow]

Wow it's alive, ain't seen your ugly mug in so long. Hope all is well my friend.

Mother of God! :biggrin:

You started this Bob. I hope things are well with you my friend. Still got an O'Douls waiting for ya.

 

[hdflame]

Mother of God!

You started this Bob. I hope things are well with you my friend. Still got an O'Douls waiting for ya.

Solar,

Your post just put this back in my inbox in my email, so I wanted to add a couple of pieces of info too.

I think how much if any fat is trimmed can depend on how much fat is trimmed when it's butchered and wrapped.  I have bought packers with huge fat caps and I've also bought them heavily trimmed.

Personally, I like to trim a little fat off so that I wind up with just a thin layer of fat after cooking and rendering, 1/4"-1/2".  I like fat when it's properly cooked, but a lot of people are squeamish  when it comes to fat.  

I just ate some brisket at my friends restaurant Saturday night and I don't think he trimmed any fat off because it still had a lot of fat on the finished slices.  I liked it, but like I said I like fat.

One thing I wanted to pass along from what he does at his restaurant is he double wraps it in plastic wrap and refrigerates over night.  Then when he's ready to serve, he slices it cold and he said it slices better and doesn't come apart or crumble when slicing.  Then he heats it up on his flat top and adds au jus.  It was really good, tender and moist.  For me, I can't wait more than a couple of hours to slice and eat and usually I'm sneaking pieces even before it rests.

Good thread and lots of good techniques to try.  Resting for 1-2 hours is critical for any large piece of meat no matter how much trimming you do.

I've been following Aaron Franklin's rub advice for brisket and using a 50/50 kosher salt and coarse black pepper rub.  Sometimes simple is better.  Even using it on my butts with great success!

Smoke on,

Bobby

 

[turick]

Just wanted to add my experience to this thread.  I had never done a brisket before and have always heard about the headaches that brisket can cause even the most experienced of pit masters.  I was planning on trimming off as much fat as I could, with the thought that I want as much meat as possible to be exposed to the smoke.  I also planned on wrapping in a pan once IT hit 160 with some fancy mix of liquids.  After reading this thread, I decided that for my first smoke I'll just do what has always worked best on all of my other smokes -- keep it simple and follow the advice to not trim, not wrap, use a simple rub, let it smoke, and give it the toothpick test.

I used the basic rub recipe here, but fancied it up just a little with a TBSP each of coriander, paprika, and ground mustard.  At 225, it took me over 29 hours to complete (although I'm starting think my ambient thermometer reads high).  Once the internal temp hit 190, I ignored the probe reading and just waited for the toothpick to go effortlessly into the meat.  I honestly can't remember what the final IT was because I quit paying attention.  Once the toothpick test passed, I wrapped it up in foil and towels and into the cooler it went for a couple of hours.  The end result was amazing -- tender, juicy, delicious brisket.  No dryness, toughness or any issues anywhere.  The only thing I would do different in the future is not apply all the rub as it may be a little too much on the salty side, but definitely not so salty that you don't want to stop shoving it in your mouth!  The fat is definitely present on each slice, but it is mighty tasty.  It's a huge hit with the wife and kids.  This will be the brisket recipe I will continue to use for the foreseeable future.  You can see my thread here:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/242184/first-brisket

 

[travisty]

 
Just wanted to add my experience to this thread.  I had never done a brisket before and have always heard about the headaches that brisket can cause even the most experienced of pit masters.  I was planning on trimming off as much fat as I could, with the thought that I want as much meat as possible to be exposed to the smoke.  I also planned on wrapping in a pan once IT hit 160 with some fancy mix of liquids.  After reading this thread, I decided that for my first smoke I'll just do what has always worked best on all of my other smokes -- keep it simple and follow the advice to not trim, not wrap, use a simple rub, let it smoke, and give it the toothpick test.

I used the basic rub recipe here, but fancied it up just a little with a TBSP each of coriander, paprika, and ground mustard.  At 225, it took me over 29 hours to complete (although I'm starting think my ambient thermometer reads high).  Once the internal temp hit 190, I ignored the probe reading and just waited for the toothpick to go effortlessly into the meat.  I honestly can't remember what the final IT was because I quit paying attention.  Once the toothpick test passed, I wrapped it up in foil and towels and into the cooler it went for a couple of hours.  The end result was amazing -- tender, juicy, delicious brisket.  No dryness, toughness or any issues anywhere.  The only thing I would do different in the future is not apply all the rub as it may be a little too much on the salty side, but definitely not so salty that you don't want to stop shoving it in your mouth!  The fat is definitely present on each slice, but it is mighty tasty.  It's a huge hit with the wife and kids.  This will be the brisket recipe I will continue to use for the foreseeable future.  You can see my thread here:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/242184/first-brisket

I had the exact same experience on my first Brisket. I stumbled on the link you mentioned and thought" that's too simple" so I kept searching. The day before the cook, which was for the whole extended family for Christmas day, so I figured same as you "Keep it Simple" and used the methods listed above, and the same as you, it turned out AMAZING. The only difference is that mine was done at a bit higher temp and finished in just 17 hours.

I would say to ANYONE who has never done a brisket before, or who has done a few but hasn't been happy with the result to just employ this method first, then you can branch out and get fancy once you gotten 1-3 perfect and have figured out what you want to tweak and how.

 

[dmarkj22]

Funny because every time I try to determine whether my Brisket is done by getting an internal temperature it never comes out the way I want it to come out but whenever I just stick a probe or toothpick in the meat to check the doneness it always makes for incredible meat. To me it seems like smoking a good Brisket is more about how it feels when you stick a probe or toothpick inside the meat and "when it's done it's done" and less about timing or internal temperature.  

 

[3montes]

The packers I get seem to always have a big ol' fat cap, I trim for two reasons. I like the rub to render into the meat and not off. With a large fat cap the rub will just render off with the fat.

Secondly it makes for less of a mess in the smoker.

The last brisket I did I trimmed which was a 17 pounder I left it on the smoker to about 155 160 internal. Pulled it off and separated the flat from the point. Added more rub and put both back on until about 180. Then I panned both with about 6 to 8 ounces of dark beer in the bottom of the pan loosely foiled the top and left in on for about a hour and a half to two hours.

Pulled it off and put the pan in the Cambro. Let it sit for about 4 hours.

The end result was magical. The most juicy, tender flavorful brisket I have made. And the au jus was to die for.

I think separating the flat from the point and putting it back on was the what created the magic.

 

[mneeley490]

I just trimmed a 17+ lb packer to make corned beef, so I took more off than I usually would. Finished weight came to just over 10 lbs. Makes me sad to think of what I paid for all that fat.

 

[3montes]

 
I just trimmed a 17+ lb packer to make corned beef, so I took more off than I usually would. Finished weight came to just over 10 lbs. Makes me sad to think of what I paid for all that fat.

Wow! 7lbs. is a lot! I think I trimmed maybe 2lbs off my 17lb brisket but that was leaving about a 1/4" on. You must have really skinned that baby!!