The Secret To Good Sliced Brisket Defies Conventional Wisdom

[suie]

You can't kill this post, it just keeps on living!

I have a couple of questions.  When talking about briskets I hear them referred to as a "packer".  What is a "packer"?

Also, what are burnt ends?  

I've smoked a few briskets and they've come out just all right, not great.

I just bought a brisket from Publix on the spur of the moment and it doesn't have any fat cap on it.  Am I doomed to a dry brisket?

Thanks in advance for all the advice.

Love this forum.

Marc

Hi Marc!

A packer brisket is the whole brisket, (including the point and the flat portions). It usually weighs between 10-17+pounds. A brisket flat is the just the portion below the point, and usually weighs about 4-7 pounds. 

Burnt ends are made from the point portion of the packer brisket. What I usually do is pull the brisket when the flat is tender (usually between 180-190 degrees), then separate the point and flat. Leave the flat to rest while making burnt ends from the point. Cut the point into cubes and add to a foil pan with some sauce. (you can add a little more of your rub too, if you want). Then put that pan back in the smoker until the sauce carmelizes on the pieces. The point generally has more fat and collagen so it can stand up to the additional cooking.

Having no fat cap on your brisket could be trouble. Maybe some other folks will chime in with some help on that, I've never cooked one that didn't at least have a 1/4 inch layer.

Good luck!

Suie

 

[whisky]

Thanks for the tutorial Suie!

It came out pretty good actually considering it had very little or no fat cap.   I injected it with a mixture of melted butter and beef broth/boullion.

I defatted the drippings and poured them over the brisket which I cut up into small sliced pieces. The crowed ate it all, nothing was left.

Thanks again,

Marc

 

[bruno994]

Sounds like you tasted success!

 

[suie]

Thanks for the tutorial Suie!

It came out pretty good actually considering it had very little or no fat cap.   I injected it with a mixture of melted butter and beef broth/boullion.

I defatted the drippings and poured them over the brisket which I cut up into small sliced pieces. The crowed ate it all, nothing was left.

Thanks again,

Marc

Oh, great idea to inject it! When nothing is left, that is a great sign...I'm really glad it worked out!

p.s. - there was a typo in what I originally wrote, which I just edited. The flat is the section below the point.

 

[palladini]

Because I like the smoked kissed rub and crisp edges on the fat.  If I trim afterwards I take all that off and a thin layer of fat remains on the meat.   I does add a bit of seasoning to the meat if you eat the meat and thin fat ring at the same time.  If you trim off all the fat as you are eating it is better to leave the fat cap on I believe.

Look the woman can sit down and put a serious dent in a cheese cake and not take issue with the amount of fat she is eating but fat on a briket or butt is a no no.  Go figure,  life would be a lot easier if I understood all that!

And the 'FAT' in the cheesecake is worse for her than the fat on the Brisket, does make ya wonder, doesn’t it

 

[tatuajevi]

This thread is completely awesome and gets my vote for a sticky! I haven't smoked a brisket yet, but this will be my advice thread when I do!

 

[truckee1]

If I may add a question to this great discussion.. I see the flats sliced by hand mostly, but has anyone ever used a slicer to cut thinner pieces for a sandwich?  Would  you need to refridgerate the flat before slicing with a slicer, or do you think it would slice ok just after the rest while still hot?

 

[venture]

For thin slices you will want to refrigerate.  As you would a pastrami.

Rewarming is easy in a steamer or some au jus.

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[diesel]

Truckee1,
Cold meat slices better. Once the flat cools a little just wrap it in saran wrap and put in fridge overnight. It will slice well.

 

[kryinggame]

I'm gonna give brisket one final try. I can do pork, poultery and fish extremely well but dangit, I struggle with brisket. I've read this thread dozens of times and I'm ready to give it one final try. If it's not perfect, I'm giving up on beef.

Last night I bought a nice 9.7 lbs packer from wally world. Tonight, I'm going to rub it up using the rub ingredients listed here and put it into my MES. I'll make a thread with qview to show what happend. Boys & Girls, pray for me.

 

[doohop65]

Kryinggame, I feel your pain. I made a few so so briskets. Keeping the temperature consistent has been important for the few good ones I have done. Leave the lid on and trust your thermometer.

Second thing u can't stress enough is a good cut if meat. I work in the Ag world and understand meat quality. At minimum get a choice cut brisket and if you can go to a local butcher.

 

[backyardboss]

This is a marathon of a read, but great inspiration. Looks like next weekend will be consumed with a trip to Costco, a full packer and a good long stay in the box. Thanks to everyone that's added their sound advice here.

 

[kryinggame]

Despite my success in all other meats, I've never been good at brisket.  I was ready to throw in the towel, until I read this thread.  All I can say is Mamma Mia!!!  I started a thread about the success of my brisket entitled, Brisket Successssssssssssssssssss. 

But since my success came from the great information in this tutorial, I felt it necessary to post here as well.  Check out my below pictures and see what happens when you stop questioning and just follow conventional wisdom.

Nice packer, filled with all that juicy ugly fat

Beef Brisket.JPG

• kryinggame
• Nov 7, 2013
• 1

The rub.  This was the only problem.  Being greedy, I doubled the rub which made the crust a bit salty.  Next time, I'm gonna follow instructions and use the exact rub suggested.

IMG_0119.jpg

• kryinggame
• Nov 7, 2013

Rubbed and ready for the smoker.  I used my MES 30" smoker.  At 230* (and the MES did shut off during the smoke so I lost an hour) it took 19 hours. 

IMG_0132.jpg

• kryinggame
• Nov 7, 2013

By the miracle of time, patience and whiskey, check out the final result.  Sweet lord, that's the best brisket I've ever had in my life.  Thank you Mr. Solaryellow for your thread.  You made a difficult process extremely easy.  You should rename the thread, "A Dummy's Guide to Smoked Brisket" because you made this thread so easy that an dummy like myself can make perfect brisket.  Have a good day!

IMG_0142.jpg

• kryinggame
• Nov 7, 2013

 

[solaryellow]

Glad it worked for you! And nice job on that brisket! Thumbs Up

 

[backwoods bbq]

I realize this is a fairly old thread however, I have to comment because this is an interesting topic for me. I've been doing brisket for YEARS and have never been able to meet the standards of my youth back in Texas.  My wife said brisket is not her favorite.  My goal is to have her like it thru good technique and process.  I realize now that I think the briskets of my youth were untrimmed with a simple rub.  After seeing so many say to trim to 1/4" (including Franklin in his you tube videos), I think the original post (nearly a year old now) is the way I am going to do my next brisket cook. 

Early on someone mentioned smoke ring: the KCBS instructs not to grade on smoke ring.  It's too easy to falsify and is no indication of world class brisket.  (...but it is pretty isn't it)

I like the probe technique to test for doneness.  I'll use my thermopen vs a toothpick (the fastest made is my black with flames).

It's hard to beat texas brisket! We pride ourselves on that. Btw nice win over LSU yesterday.

 

[smittymizzou2]

I'm going to smoke my first Brisket this weekend...This post is exactly what I'm doing... Thanks!

 

[dominicansmoker]

giving this a shot this weekend !!

 

[superdave]

The picture in solaryellow's original post shows the smoke ring in the fat layer and not in the meat so, I'm still a skeptical non believer.  LOL!

 

[dampfire]

Sound delish on a dish

 

[solaryellow]

Glad to see this thread is still helping folks. :biggrin: