Learning curve

[Daz]

Hi everybody, I smoked my first brisket yesterday. I was going to enter it into the weekend contest but couldn't get my pics to upload. It's probably a good thing I could'nt because this brisket was NOT good.
Here are the details:
1. 6.5 lb. flat vac sealed from sams club.

2. I researched this heavily from this forum. (I didnt want to screw this up)

3. Injected with beef broth and a liberal coat of rub.

4. Put brisket on Mak2 on smoke for 6 hrs. (I.T. of 130 deg.)

5. After 6 hrs. reinject, rerub, double foil, put back on for 3 more hours @ 230 deg.

6. Pulled brisket @ 192 deg.

7. Let rest for 30 min.

Brisket looked great, but when I poked it with probe in a couple of spots it was hard to push through. I sliced against the grain, but this brisket was dry and tough. Major disappointment! I worked on this thing for 9 hrs. and it turned out like this.

One of the things that caught my eye was that when I unwrapped during the rest. I drained off nearly 5-6 cups of liquid. Did I cook all of the liquid out of this brisket?

I am relatively new to smoking so I read anything I can find of value. This forum is a big asset to me, and I appreciate any input. I know there is a learning curve to just about anything you do, but my first brisket left me feeling deflated.

Sorry for being longwinded, and I certainly appreciate any insight or feedback.

 

[FLBentRider]

I have pulled brisket as low as 189F and as high as 210F.

I have learned that the ease of how the temperature probe goes in is a better indicator that the actual number that the thermometer displays.

I'm not sure I would have bothered with the re-inject, re-rub.

 

[Big Poppa]

way too complicated....I cooked one today...little packer....four hours total....I used some balsamic glaze as glue and my new not out yet rub 8th wonder....foiled at 155 pulled at 204 rested sticed and ate. good.....it is the resistance of the proble that tells you thing no resistance and its done. If you put the probe in and it is still tough then its not ready

 

[Big Poppa]

also no need to cook it at smoke for so lond....2 hrs max then bump it to 250 even 275

 

[SisInLaw]

Brisket seems to be the high bar of smoking. I have yet to try one. Call me skeered.

 

[Big Poppa]

It is the hardest one to get right the most often.

 

[TentHunter]

It is the hardest one to get right the most often.

I agree! Brisket is one of the hardest, toughest cuts to cook and rarely does anyone get it just right on their first try. And not only that, but you chose the flat section which is harder yet.

I'm another one to go by feel not temp. There are too many factors involved; the age & type of steer, the grade/marbling. Every brisket is different and it will give up the ghost when it's ready and that could be at 190° or it could be at 210°.

...Injected with beef broth and a liberal coat of rub.

Question: Did you let it sit after injecting or did you cook it right away?


The good news is you learned what didn't work for you and now you can go on to other methods and find what does work. When you find that method you'll love your results.

 

[Big Poppa]

the other thing I didnt mention is that the flats you get are trimmed of all fat. fat is needed as an insulator on one side for sure and helps with the rendering.....

 

[RickB]

Welcome to the club my friend. My first one was inedible. Sam as yours but tender and DRY! Still working up the guts to try another. Like bp said the cuts you get at the supermarket have no fat and probably no chance. Got to get to the butcher and get a proper brisket.

 

[Daz]

Yep Its official, I definitely don't know what I'm doing. So much to learn here in Ohio, I'm alright with that though. I kept notes, and luckily my wife is a darn good cook. She made chili and soup with my leftover brisket and it was actually pretty decent because it had plenty of smoke flavor in it.

Tent, I cooked right after injecting the broth. I'm guessing I should have let it marinade for awhile.

Sis, I did set the bar pretty high on this cook, only to be let down hard. I'll keep trying though.

BP, I way overcomplicated this thing, my next one i'll try to keep things simple.

Lots to learn!

 

[FLBentRider]

I've never had one that was inedible, a little on the dry side maybe, but with teenagers in the house it all gets eaten.

 

[TentHunter]

Tent, I cooked right after injecting the broth. I'm guessing I should have let it marinade for awhile.

Yes. If you're going to inject with broth, which contains salt, then you have to allow time for the salt in the broth to do its job. It starts to denature (break down) the protiens which then allows water to bind to get trapped in between layers of those proteins. Let it sit for at least a couple hours or even overnight.

I don't often inject brisket, but sometimes I make a fatty beef broth seasoned with a little salt & onion or garlic and let it cool down. Whip the fat & broth together and inject that into the flat (be forewarned it's messy).

Briskets are still a relatively new item here in Ohio for sure and the supermarket is NOT the place to get them. Like BP said, they trim off all the fat and then charge you a whopping $4.99/lb or more for the toughest cut of meat (Yikes). Find a local butcher who has the full packers, or check at the warehouse clubs.

Another trick I used to save money is practice on Chuck Roasts. The chuck is right above the brisket and is similarly tough, and less expensive than the supermarket brisket flats.

Don't give up... we Buckeyes can cook brisket too!

 

[Meat Man]

Brisket are tough one. My first three were terrible. I didn't quit, but I got some education. At one point I was smoking them for about 5 hours, then wrapping in foil and finishing in the oven for 2 hours (I was a cheeta), but they did turn out great. The last 6 I've done have been good to great, but not nearly consistent enough. Keep it simple 250 degrees, foil at 150 to 160 (add some beer, ajus or some moisture with the brisket when you foil), test for tenderness at 190 (the sliding probe is my test), you can unwrap and leave on the grill for 15 to 20 mins to firm up the bark. Did a CAB prime last week wow, I didn't think there would be that much of a difference, but there is. Good meat = good results. Great meat = great results.

 

[SisInLaw]

Many of the briskets I've tried have good flavor but are simply just too dried out.

 

[Big Poppa]

I find one of the biggest things to watch out for is when you foil people dont wrap tight enough and end up steaming the meat to death and that toughens it up too......I also only put abopu t a quarter of a cup to half cup of liquid at the most......It has fat and juices already.

I also do not inject. Many people do. When you nail a brisket it taste better with out the chemicals in the comp injections.

 

[TentHunter]

I also do not inject. Many people do. When you nail a brisket it taste better with out the chemicals in the comp injections.

I really like and appreciate that line of thinking more than you can imagine.

I've never tried the comp injections because they always seem to have phosphates and/or some form of L-Glutamate/MSG. The "new brand" that's becoming so popular has Sodium Phosphate as well as TWO forms of Glutamate (Autolyzed Yeast & Hydrolyzed Soy Protein). Give me real flavor, not something that fools my taste buds (and makes me sick).

OK, stepping down off my soap box now...

The only injection I found that I even like is the fatty broth I mentioned, which is really more of a seasoned rendered fat than a broth. It's so messy though that I honestly prefer not doing it.

I think I may take a cue from your Brisket Practice post and use some of the juices from the foil and soak the slices in them for a few minutes. Hey I do that with pulled pork when I add foil juices back in. It makes sense that it would work for brisket slices too.

There's always something to learn here!

 

[Rip]

X2 on the wrap tightly! I made shoe leather (albeit tasty) that way my first brisket.

 

[Daz]

Hmmm... You guys got me thinking that maybe I didn't wrap it tight enough, I didn't add anything when I foiled, I just reinjected. When I opened the foil there was at least 5 cups of liquid i pulled out with my syringe.
I'm gonna go have a talk with my local butcher about briskets, this guy helped me out when I cooked a bunch of shoulders & butts in a china box for my wifes birthday party. I probably should have went to him first.