Another NOT so moist Brisket

[danbono]

Hi All I tried another brisket my 4th attempt. Only 1 of the first four came out some what moist Here is what happen to the last brisket. Smoked the 2 1//2 lb brisket at 200/225, foiled with apple juice at 165, put back on the smoker, till 200 poked with a tooth pick, felt good. Wrapped in a towel and placed in a cooler for 3 hrs.At dinner time there was plenty of juices in the foil, around 3/4 times what was put in there,BUT the brisket was somewhat dry .Shouldn't the juices have gone back into the brisket, instead of just accumulating at the bottom of the foil??

The brisket did taste real good but little too dry for my taste?

Thanks Dan

 

[pops6927]

a 2.5 lb brisket is not that big, was it a tip or a flat?

You may have wanted to taken it to 185° - 190° and only held it for an hour or so.  Still should be pullable, but less moisture lost.  Or, should slice ok too.

 

[bruno994]

You get one like that, you gotta bring it back to life.  Slice it up, lay the slices down in a foil or aluminum pan and pour the juices over the slices.  Pop it in the oven for a bit at 300, then you got juicy brisket.  I pretty much do that for every brisket I cook (dry or not) and serve to company.  Gets all that goodness in the juices back into and on the meat.  Every brisket I have done has been different in some way.  Flavor is always there, but one might be a bit drier than another, one might be a bit more tender than another.  More marbling, less marbling, flat thickness, you name it, they are all different in some way.  Brisket is the Holy Grail of smoking meat!

 

[alblancher]

All good advice, you can try foiling a bit earlier also.   You need to get some bigger briskets   A two and a half lb brisket  should cook pretty fast for you.

Keep trying  like previously said  you can always use a good finishing sauce!

 

[bama bbq]

I don't like to hold them for over an hour though I've never cooked a brisket less than 5#.  I also, never tried the 300* oven method bruno mentioned.  Sounds like a good idea.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Any hunk of meat will reabsorb any juices within the meat and around the muscle fibers but can't soak up that much it lost or that which exits the meat. Think a Chicken Breast Simmered in Soup...If you cook the hell out of it, even if it sits in the Soup for a couple days it don't get any juicier, stays dry...Bruno's technique is about as close as you can get because the sliced meat has a greater surface area and the short muscle fiber will pick up a little moisture through Capillary action...JJ

 

[solaryellow]

Don't trim and don't foil your brisket. When you can easily slide a round toothpick in and out of the brisket, it is done. You don't need any trickery like juice or injections. With that small of a brisket you definitely want to avoid higher temps.

 

[daveomak]

Was the brisket previously frozen ???? If so, that is the problem....   Dave

 

[danbono]

Hi All Thanks for all the great info regarding my NOT so moist brisket. Will try when I reheat using the juices I saved.It's only me & my wife, thats why it was a 2 1/2 lb flat. I also smoked 2 racks of St Louis ribs. that day..Large briskets are hard to find in the North New Jersey area. The biggest I got was 6.2 lbs flat and that was also dry but great tasting.I'll get the brisket right one of these days.

Don't trim and don't foil your brisket. When you can easily slide a round toothpick in and out of the brisket, it is done. You don't need any trickery like juice or injections. With that small of a brisket you definitely want to avoid higher temps. I did use the toothpick test.

Was the brisket previously frozen ????  NO it wasn't frozen.

You may have wanted to taken it to 185° - 190° and only held it for an hour or so.It didn't pass the toothpick test at them temps.

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DanB

 

[chef jimmyj]

Look for a custom Butcher or get friendly with your Grocery store Meat Manager...He/she may be able to cut or order Points instead of Flats for you. I recently made pastrami from a Corned Point that the Grocery carried...It was Amazing! Points are a different muscle structure, and have greater Fat and Connective tissue compared to a flat. It is like comparing a Pork Butt to a Loin. Then butt is more forgiving and almost always better eating...JJ

 

[danbono]

Yeah The only moist brisket that I cooked was a small point, with alot of fat that ran thur IT..I will have to talk with the butchers at my local supermarkets,about the brisket before time..

Thanks Danb

 

[pellet]

I usually get the smaller briskets also. I tried different suggestions but found a red wine marinade works well. I injected it with the wine and then marinated for 24 hours and put it on the smoker fat side up  and tried to maintain 225 - 240 for approximatly 9 hours, removed it at about 195 IT. I covered with foil and rested it for an hour. So far for half a dozen or so briskets, that was my best attempt so far. It was moist and reasonably tender with an excellent flavor.

 

[deuc224]

i dont know if it helps or not but i beer in a pan under it, seems to do the trick. but i have to say that out the smoker , my brisket is good, reheated, its DAMN great!