To inject or not to inject (Brisket)

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masonman1345

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
Dec 7, 2010
352
43
Orangefield Texas
OK!!!!!!!!!! Here's the deal. I have cooked briskets a lot, sometimes they are good and then well sometimes they !@#$%. I was wondering about injecting. Heared of it, saw it on the net, but have never done it. Dont even know what injection to use. If someone can give me an idea, or that i'm wasteing my time i would appreciate it.

                Thank you
 
I am sure someone will be by to help I have not as of yet so hope to hear some good ones also.
 
I never inject or brine, and have never had a bad brisky.  What are your procedures?  Maybe some of our members can ID the hitch in your getalong....
 
I have no idea what meateater said, but all i do is put on a dry rub, put on smoker pit run around 250 till i reach about 160 IT. Then i wrap in foil until  IT reaches around 200  . Take off let rest. I usually wind up with a brisket that is dry and not very tender and the meat under the crust has no taste. What else can i try? i'm willing to try anything.
 
I've never injected a brisket. What you're doing sounds like what I do, but mine don't dry out.

The only thing I can think of is that perhaps your brisket doesn't have enough fat on it.
 
I've injected, rubbed, and brined briskets on several occasions, and there are no noteworthy tenderness differences between the two, moisture was negligibly better in the brined brisky, and the injected was okay.

I think your dryness issues stem from your temperature: 250 is simply too high in my opinion. 225 is the general consensus, 215 is what I do.

How much trimming of the fat do you do? I've recently stopped trimming my briskets altogether, and remove the excess fat as I carve, it works great.

How long do you let your rub sit on the meat? Overnight is the minimum, 2-3 days is ideal.

Do you "inspect" your purchases? An ideal brisket for smoking will have a great deal of flex.

What is your smoker make? If the heat source (coals, element, burner) is on the bottom, then it helps to flip the roast so the fat cap faces the heat for insulation (there is debate about this).

How long do you let your meat rest for? Alot of folks will say that it's best to wrap in foil after removing it, then wrap in towels, and store in a cooler for a couple hours. This works wonders, because it gives the meat a chance to rest, redistribute the juices, and finish everything off with an almost braise, making a juicier, more tender finished product.

Good luck!
I have no idea what meateater said, but all i do is put on a dry rub, put on smoker pit run around 250 till i reach about 160 IT. Then i wrap in foil until  IT reaches around 200  . Take off let rest. I usually wind up with a brisket that is dry and not very tender and the meat under the crust has no taste. What else can i try? i'm willing to try anything.
 
I would agree with Al & Moose on most of what they said, with the temp I like being 225˚ to 230˚.

I do not inject or brine. I just coat briskets with Worcestershire (thick), and then cover well with a rub.

NOTE:   If you inject your brisket, or if you insert a temp probe, or do anything to break the surface of your Brisket, you must get that piece of meat from 40˚ to 140˚ internal temp in no longer than 4 hours.

I do not inject for that reason. I do not insert a temp probe until my Brisket is in 225˚ heat for 3 hours, so I no longer have to worry about the danger zone.

Bear
 
What Moose, Al, and Bear gave you was great advice.

What Meateter is talking about is using one of these

140.jpg
 
What Moose, Al, and Bear gave you was great advice.

What Meateter is talking about is using one of these

140.jpg
Thanks Gary!

I thought "Jaccard" was some kind of booze!

I always called that thing in the picture, "One of those things that pokes a lot of needle holes in meat".

Dumb Bear
 
 
X20000!!!!!

Injected meat is considered as high a risk food as raw poultry!
 
NOTE:   If you inject your brisket, or if you insert a temp probe, or do anything to break the surface of your Brisket, you must get that piece of meat from 40˚ to 140˚ internal temp in no longer than 4 hours.

I do not inject for that reason. I do not insert a temp probe until my Brisket is in 225˚ heat for 3 hours, so I no longer have to worry about the danger zone.



Thanks Gary!

I thought "Jaccard" was some kind of booze!

I always called that thing in the picture, "One of those things that pokes a lot of needle holes in meat".

Dumb Bear
 


Not dumb at all, I always called them "needlers" until I got tired of people thinking I was talking about Halo.
 
What Moose, Al, Bear, and Scarbelly said...

This string could go on forever adding names...
icon_mrgreen.gif
 
OK!!!! not to inject i guess, sounds like u all know what your talking about. I have an 8' pit on trailer with a firebox. Temp may be my issue. I dont know what else i am doing different than you all.

Im in a competition this weekend and i need to do well in brisket to hang with the big dogs. Thank yall for all the input but more would be taken.
 
Good luck!

One thing that makes a surprising difference is the meat flexibility, the more the raw product moves, the looser the meat fibers are. When buying my brisket, I look primarily for marbling, and how much 'bend' it has. I also check the pack date, if I have a choice. I've found the better primals have been in cryovac for a few weeks, and have had a chance to "wet age" and tenderize.

again, good luck!
OK!!!! not to inject i guess, sounds like u all know what your talking about. I have an 8' pit on trailer with a firebox. Temp may be my issue. I dont know what else i am doing different than you all.

Im in a competition this weekend and i need to do well in brisket to hang with the big dogs. Thank yall for all the input but more would be taken.
 
I have made briskets on the smoker but I could not it get it juicy until I did the following...
 

Trim the fat cap to 1/4 inch, inject the brisket (simple beef stock off the shelf(not cubes)) rub the outside with salt and pepper.

Cook on the smoker at 250-275 for 3 hours (usually 155-160 degrees), fat side up. Foil Wrap until 200 degrees with a meat probe...

The entire cook time is about 8-12 hours depending on weight..

It will be the best juiciest brisket you will ever have.  
Good Luck
 
I know this is an old thread but 200 is WAY too hot. 160 is even too hot. Most pit masters I believe prefer even as low as 130 for a medium rare cook. I suck at cooking brisket but I do know that 200 is way hot and the reason for your dry tasteless meat. Oh and keep in mind there is no such thing as too much smoke. Mesquite is my go to for a nice Texas BBQ brisket. Just make sure the fire is getting enough oxygen to avoid a lighter fluid taste from a starved fire.
 
Matty, Welcome to SMF.

Please check in at Roll Call so you can be welcomed properly.

I don't think pitmasters pull Brisket at Rare or Medium---It would be too tough.

It should be smoked low & slow to about 185/190* for slicing, and 200* IT for pulling. IMO

Bear
 
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