Brisket got too tender

[kelbro]

Let a prime brisket get a little too done last night and it fell apart like a pot roast. Went to 204, cooled to 150 and then held at 150 for 8 hrs. Prime briskets often get probe tender at just under 200 for me.

Tender, juicy, and delicious so I'm not complaining. It was just a bit of a challenge to slice. Might have been easier if I had let it cool more but we were in a hurry.

BTW, prime brisket trimmings make really good chili!

 

[gmc2003]

Looks wonderful from where I'm sitting, and I'm betting it tasted great Kel. As for it falling apart. Just blame that on a dull knife. Besides chili leftover brisket also makes an excellent hash.

Point for sure
Chris

 

[chilerelleno]

Throw it on a Brioche or Pretzel bun with BBQ sauce!

 

[chopsaw]

Yup . Nothing wrong with Prime chopped brisket .
Coarse chop , your favorite sauce , a couple dill pickles and a cheap bun . I'd be all over it .

 

[Randy1]

Did you wrap?

 

[DRKsmoking]

Like others said , if it was sliced I would have put in a sub bun to eat anyway.
So win win for me, just in an easier bun to hold onto and I think I could get more meat that way, lol

David

 

[kelbro]

Did you wrap?

Foil boat after it hit 170. Wrapped in foil and brushed on a little tallow when I took it off at 204 and put it into the holding oven.

 

[civilsmoker]

Chop brisket…..yum! Please pass the seconds!

 

[JLeonard]

Looks absolutely amazing from here...Like others have said....Gimme a heaping sammich full of that and I'd be in hog heaven.

jim

 

[Colin1230]

I would consider that a huge success. Looks darn good to me.

 

[SmokinAl]

Looks delicious from here too, nothing wrong with chopped brisket!
Al

 

[Saintsslav]

Looks delicious to me!

 

[Redicans]

Looks very tasty to me. Perfect on a nice bun topped with some cole slaw I would be in heaven!!

 

[Chasdev]

Been there, and brisket chili is good stuff!
As to cooking to 204 and then holding at 150 for 8 hours, you need to think of sous vide cooking where low cook temps and long cook times achieve the same results as shorter and hotter cooking, which is to say it "cooked" too long after pulling.
I don't know the magic "cook to" number that works with long hold time to achieve brisket perfection, but now we know 204 plus 8 hours hold it too high.
I was just about to post this exact question on hold time and temps so this equation is on my mind too!

 

[tpc74]

First I want to say, looks great! Can't be too tender imo, unless this was some sort of competition cookoff. :)

Second I want to ask, what is with all the long hold times after a cook, and how do you time it just right so you can eat dinner? A friend of mine smokes some pretty good brisket, and he pretty much pulls it off, it rests a short amount of time, and then he slices it and we eat.

I've never seen him hold it overnight. I don't think he wraps it other than just foil over top of a foil pan. Usually starts about 8 am and we eat about 6 pm. Thoughts?

 

[slavikborisov]

We are definitely meat snobs complaining about meat being too tender

 

[Hijack73]

First I want to say, looks great! Can't be too tender imo, unless this was some sort of competition cookoff. :)

Second I want to ask, what is with all the long hold times after a cook, and how do you time it just right so you can eat dinner? A friend of mine smokes some pretty good brisket, and he pretty much pulls it off, it rests a short amount of time, and then he slices it and we eat.

I've never seen him hold it overnight. I don't think he wraps it other than just foil over top of a foil pan. Usually starts about 8 am and we eat about 6 pm. Thoughts?

I like the long rest time because I pull at a lower temp than most folks do. I rarely let one go past about 195, with 193ish being my 'sweet spot' when I probe. I'm not in the camp of zero resistance on the probe. If my probe goes in like room temp butter, my heart hurts because that's way overdone.

If I dig right in, it can be a little chewy. If I rest it forever, that little chewy becomes the perfect bite. I also think the leftovers (and as my family eats it once or twice and they've had enough, I often end up polishing off several pounds over a week) are MUCH better with the early pull and the long rest.

If I'm trying to time it to get done at 6:00, then I get to jacking with the temps to rush it and I fail. Everyone else might rave about it, but IMO, it's a fail. If I'm serving at 6, my brisket needs to be done by 2 - that way if I get an ornery one that absolutely must go to 200 degrees (or 205) I can still have it done by 4 without trying to play the turn up the temp game too much.

 

[ChasP]

First I want to say, looks great! Can't be too tender imo, unless this was some sort of competition cookoff. :)

Second I want to ask, what is with all the long hold times after a cook, and how do you time it just right so you can eat dinner? A friend of mine smokes some pretty good brisket, and he pretty much pulls it off, it rests a short amount of time, and then he slices it and we eat.

I've never seen him hold it overnight. I don't think he wraps it other than just foil over top of a foil pan. Usually starts about 8 am and we eat about 6 pm. Thoughts?

I'm new, but just made this post with long hold/low heat cook times and was so delicious.

 

[Steve H]

I'd be proud of that! Look already said. That's some great sammie material there!

 

[thirdeye]

I like riding the fine line of tenderness.