#@$%& Brisket

[regency]

OK. I know brisket is a pain in the a$$ to get right. I tried to follow BP's and Hodedo's instructions in the recipe thread. 9# packer, Put on grill at 6 am, on smoke for 1 hour then bumped the heat up to 225. Foiled at 8:30 (meat was about 138) based on color and bumped the heat up to 250. I was figuring on another 4 hours or so to finish cooking. At 10:30 the meat is at 202! Still 3 hours to lunch time. As far as I can tell it never hit a stall. I tried not to get nervous when it was at 170 so early, expecting the stall. when it crept right passed 180 I turned the grill down to 180 but it was too late. temp kept rising. (these temps are based on a Maverick thermometer, not the traeger read out) So far everything I have cooked has finished many hours before it was supposed to based on what I have read.

Any suggestions for next time???

Got the meat vented and is going in a cooler (sorry BP but not sure what else to do for the next 3 hours). Going to put it back on at 1 for 20 minutes to worm back up before cutting and serving.

When do you separate the point and the flat? And explain "burnt ends" to me. I always assumed it was just the end cuts. I think I remember seeing where someone trims certain pieces and puts those back on the grill.

 

[RickB]

OK. I know brisket is a pain in the a$$ to get right. I tried to follow BP's and Hodedo's instructions in the recipe thread. 9# packer, Put on grill at 6 am, on smoke for 1 hour then bumped the heat up to 225. Foiled at 8:30 (meat was about 138) based on color and bumped the heat up to 250. I was figuring on another 4 hours or so to finish cooking. At 10:30 the meat is at 202! Still 3 hours to lunch time. As far as I can tell it never hit a stall. I tried not to get nervous when it was at 170 so early, expecting the stall. when it crept right passed 180 I turned the grill down to 180 but it was too late. temp kept rising. (these temps are based on a Maverick thermometer, not the traeger read out) So far everything I have cooked has finished many hours before it was supposed to based on what I have read.

Any suggestions for next time???

Got the meat vented and is going in a cooler (sorry BP but not sure what else to do for the next 3 hours). Going to put it back on at 1 for 20 minutes to worm back up before cutting and serving.

When do you separate the point and the flat? And explain "burnt ends" to me. I always assumed it was just the end cuts. I think I remember seeing where someone trims certain pieces and puts those back on the grill.

I feel you pain. Same thing happend to me with a 8.5# so called packer. Mostly flat very little point and most of the fat cap trimmed off. In other words a retail cut. Most of these comp cooks are useing high quality 13-15# packers. Trimmed to thier liking. Dont give up. Find you a good butcher and get a good brisket and try again. Thats what im doing.

As to the burnt ends. You will want a probe in the flat and the point. They will reach temp at different times. The point has much more fat. When the flat reaches temp seperate the point, ftc the flat and put the point back on. Im no expert but i think this is the general idea. Im sure i will be corrected if im wrong.
Hope this helps.

 

[TentHunter]

Sorry no one got back to your post quicker. It's tough on a holiday with folks busy with Church, family etc.

But, the good news is there's no need to fret; Everything you did seems fine to me and it sounds like your brisket most likely turned out great.

...As far as I can tell it never hit a stall.

That's because you foiled BEFORE the stall which avoids the stall altogether! That's the advantage; it cuts way down on cook time.

Just keep doing what you're doing! Next time your brisket may take longer. Putting it in the cooler is exactly what the rest of us do too! It will stay hot for hours in there.

...explain "burnt ends" to me. I always assumed it was just the end cuts.

Technically, you assumed correctly! They're the ends that get more done & caramelized than the rest, which is where the name comes from.

Actually RickB is on the right track! What a lot of people like to do is to turn the whole point into "burnt ends" by cutting it into 1" - 2 " cubes, re-apply rub & put back on (in a foil pan), sauce put back again at a higher temp until they get nice & darkly caramelized. They get a concentrated beefy caramelized flavor. Serve them with toothpicks. You can keep the flat slices, I'll take a plateful of burnt ends any time; I love 'em!

 

[RickB]

Sorry no one got back to your post quicker. It's tough on a holiday with folks busy with Church, family etc.

But, the good news is there's no need to fret; Everything you did seems fine to me and it sounds like your brisket most likely turned out great.



That's because you foiled BEFORE the stall which avoids the stall altogether! That's the advantage; it cuts way down on cook time.

Just keep doing what you're doing! Next time your brisket may take longer. Putting it in the cooler is exactly what the rest of us do too! It will stay hot for hours in there.




Technically, you assumed correctly! They're the ends that get more done & caramelized than the rest, which is where the name comes from.

Actually RickB is on the right track! What a lot of people like to do is to turn the whole point into "burnt ends" by cutting it into 1" - 2 " cubes, re-apply rub & put back on (in a foil pan), sauce put back again at a higher temp until they get nice & darkly caramelized. They get a concentrated beefy caramelized flavor. Serve them with toothpicks. You can keep the flat slices, I'll take a plateful of burnt ends any time; I love 'em!

Thank you Tent I knew somebody with a bit more expertise would chime in!

 

[Big Poppa]

OK but in comp heavily sauced burn ends dont fly it is a very light diluted sauce....

Your brisket did right....what you should have done is open it and let the heat our for a few minutes...close it back up and keeping a probe in it when the temp drops to 175 put it in the cooler...the brisket will only get better with a good controlled rest. Keep it sealed so the moisture doesnt escape

 

[regency]

Thanks for the replies. I didnt really expect any replies today, just hoping for the help for the next one.

The flat actually turned out really good and tender. The point however was a throw away. When sliced it had a kind of rainbow sheen to it and couldn't even chew or break it apart. We only have one butcher shop out here and they dont usually save the brisket. I have to ask for them to get me one and I take what I can get (mostly my fault as I dont remember to "place my order" early enough). There was no fat cap on it. We are butchering our own steers in June and they mostly grade prime to prime plus so I am going to ask for a couple of briskets off of those.

I did pretty much what every one said. I was just baffled by the lack of a stall. Still pretty impressed by the tenderness for only my second try at brisket. I was afraid it was going to be tough as nails cooking as quickly as it did.

BP... why do you recommend cooking fat side down? Every other recipe says fat side up. Why fat side up? I guess with being a rancher with an engineering background I like to know the why's and what's of what I am doing. Also you say to cook the whole thing at 275 where others say to cook at 225, or smoke (180 on a treager) for 1 to 2 hours then bump to 225.

do you have a rough estimate for time/pound that you go by?

Oh and on burnt ends, it is a fight for the end pieces. When slicing the kids are hovering and its surprising they still have all 10 fingers!

Sure glad I stumbled on this site. It has been a food saver!!!

Happy Easter.

 

[Big Poppa]

Ok here is the deal....fat side up or down is the age old argument most flip at some point...it is whether you want insulation f rom the fat and the maximum bark...so that is why up.... really what you need to do is use the thermomether to give you an idea...the real test is when a probe slides in like butter.....if the point is still not rendered...separate a put back on cooker wrapped.

 

[Big Poppa]

Cooking temp is subjective....I cook some at 250....