LET'S TALK BRISKET!!

[kc5tpy]

ABSOLUTELY!  We have all had crumbly and all had disasters.  I went through a time when everything I cooked on the smoker or cooked inside the house turned out wrong!  Not fancy new stuff; I'm talking my "go to" recipes!  I think more mistakes should be posted here on the site.  Post the mistake and then post the reason the mistake was made so that others can learn.  I'm not afraid to admit not everything turns out great.  Sh--tuff happens.

Hang in mummel.  Each one will be better than the last.  Keep Smokin!

Danny

 

[mummel]

 
ABSOLUTELY!  We have all had crumbly and all had disasters.  I went through a time when everything I cooked on the smoker or cooked inside the house turned out wrong!  Not fancy new stuff; I'm talking my "go to" recipes!  I think more mistakes should be posted here on the site.  Post the mistake and then post the reason the mistake was made so that others can learn.  I'm not afraid to admit not everything turns out great.  Sh--tuff happens.

Hang in mummel.  Each one will be better than the last.  Keep Smokin!

Danny

So a quick update.  I'm busy chowing through the brisket.  I was initially meh about the cost but its a ton of meat haha!  Makes many meals.  Last night I cut some slices, microwaved them, and sat down to eat.  THEY WERE AMAZING!  Dont know what it is about meat thats been cooled in the fridge.  So much smokier. 

Anyway, I'm getting to the thicker part of the brisket, and I think its cooked perfectly.  I gave the meat a tug, and it held nicely before breaking.  Its felt perfect.  There are now some fat slither in between the meat etc. 

So I think I started at the thinner end of the brisket the other day with no fat cap.  Like I said, it was maybe 10% overcooked but was fine.  But now that I got to the thicker part of the brisket, its juicy and tastes soooo good.

I didnt trim big pieces off the brisket like in Aarons vid.  All I did was use my fingers to feel if there were any hard fat parts, and then cut them off/out (like under that flap, there was a hard piece of fat under there that probably wont render etc).  I just chopped it out, but left the whole meat in one piece (didnt cut off the ends etc).

So if I was in a competition or owned a restaurant, perhaps I would cut off those thinner pieces like he did.  But at least for now, I dont mind the other parts and I love how the thicker part of the brisket came out.

So what about putting the Mav into the thinner part of the brisket and pulling at 203F.  Or do you risk tougher meat them on the thicker part if thats only at 192F or something like that?  Mmmmmmm, brisket :))))

 

[mummel]

Oh and a quick question - any recommendations for a proper knife that can cut beef brisket?  Something cheap, like $15.  TY!

 

[jcbigler]

Oh and a quick question - any recommendations for a proper knife that can cut beef brisket?  Something cheap, like $15.  TY!

Dexter-Russel 12" scalloped slicer. This is what Aaron Franklin uses:


This is what I use:

 

[cowboy11]

I have no scientific  proof of this. My opinion is that when the IT reaches around 200 in the thinner part pull wrap and finish in a cooler.

What I think this does is allow the brisket to continue to cook. The brisket is still cooking, but very slowly, as it will hit a peak IT and then start to cool. The thinner part will do this sooner than the thicker part. If you pull at the perfect IT then all the brisket is done the same. (AGAIN THIS IS ONLY MY OPINION)

There are so many variables that it can drive you crazy as most are somewhat uncontrollable.

So keep smoking, keep notes, and when you find whatever is prefect for you, your family, and friends then you have your recipe.

If you can smoke a brisket once a month you will certainly process up the learning curve.

As to a knife, I have an Old Hickory and a Henckels and I use my Old Hickory the most. My Old Hickory is the 7" slicer, but no matter what knife you use it needs to be kept sharp.

 

[gary s]

 
Oh and a quick question - any recommendations for a proper knife that can cut beef brisket?  Something cheap, like $15.  TY!

Here is what I use most of the time

One day I was at our local restaurant supply and was looking at knives saw this

one and decided to give it a try

IMG_20160427_131106_849.jpg

• gary s
• Apr 27, 2016

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• gary s
• Apr 27, 2016

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• gary s
• Apr 27, 2016

 

[lancep]

Hey Sir, I would worry that if you cook to the IT of the thinner part of the flat, that would be at risk of Undercooking the thicker point/flat section. IMO undercooking a brisket is far worse than slightly over cooking. That's often where you get your tough, chewy, stringy brisket that people fear. Seems like, the further up you went, the better it got. So you may just try to repeat exactly what you did and then lop a couple inches off the tip of the flat and start slicing there. I usually cut off the first two to three inches and chop that up for tacos. Even more if it's just me and the ladies. Sounds like you had a good first run, though, so points to you!
Lance

 

[jcbigler]

Hey Sir, I would worry that if you cook to the IT of the thinner part of the flat, that would be at risk of Undercooking the thicker point/flat section. IMO undercooking a brisket is far worse than slightly over cooking.

This is one of those areas where you have to know your smoker.

In my offset, I cook my brisket with the fat up and the point closer to the firebox. I will usually rotate my brisket once or twice during the cook so that the flat gets a little more heat. But once I pull it, the flat and point are within about 10 degrees of each other, usually closer to 5. I also check my temps in both the flat and point so I know how each one is progressing.

In a vertical or electric smoker where the heat is coming from the bottom, you should probably use a different temperature management strategy.

Either way, once you are above 195 degrees, you're fully cooked in both the flat and point. It's just a matter of how tender you want each side.

 

[lancep]

Absolutely! Knowing your smoker is key. I cooked the same way on my first Walmart offset and the gasser that replaced it. On the WSM, I go fatcap down and let it ride. If the end of the flat gets a little more done, no big deal. I'm not selling it and it makes great tacos etc. But if he's happy with the point and upper part of the flat, I would worry that cooking strictly to the temp of the end could end up disappointing.

 

[huntsmoke41]

Doing a 14 lb packer brisket this weekend in my BBQ guru onyx oven. What's everyone's thought as far as using a water pan? I did a brisket once before in the onyx without the pan and I feel like that hurt me and Temps were all over the place.
If I don't use the pan, I'll probably put fat side down, but if I use the pan I'll put fat up. Just curious what thoughts are in regards to using the water pan.
The onyx oven is vertical style cooker, so the heat is directly under the meat.
I appreciate any and all input.

 

[aggie94]

I have an offset smoker and usually throw a pan of water under my brisket, in theory it should help even out the temperature a little.

 

[xray]

I'm gonna smoke my first brisket this Saturday. The meat selection in my area is terrible, here's what I bought. Thank goodness for having a gift card.

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• xray
• Apr 28, 2016

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• xray
• Apr 28, 2016

Would you even call this a brisket? It's only 2lbs. I was gonna buy a Chuck roast for pulled beef but the brisket looked like it had more meat per lb. for only a few dollars more.

 

[brandon91]

I'm gonna smoke my first brisket this Saturday. The meat selection in my area is terrible, here's what I bought. Thank goodness for having a gift card.

image.jpeg

• xray
• Apr 28, 2016

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• xray
• Apr 28, 2016

Would you even call this a brisket? It's only 2lbs. I was gonna buy a Chuck roast for pulled beef but the brisket looked like it had more meat per lb. for only a few dollars more.

Wow that's pretty expensive. You can get USDA prime whole packer brisket at Costco for $2.80/lb. 12lbs more meat for a little less than double what you payed for that. Costco is everywhere surely there's one near you? Either way it will be delicious! Happy smoking.

 

[xray]

Wow that's pretty expensive. You can get USDA prime whole packer brisket at Costco for $2.80/lb. 12lbs more meat for a little less than double what you payed for that. Costco is everywhere surely there's one near you? Either way it will be delicious! Happy smoking.

Closet Costco is 100 miles from me (Harrisburg, PA). The price is the reason I've waited so long to do one. If I didn't have the grocer's gift card, I probably would need to sell a kidney to afford one.

 

[brandon91]

Closet Costco is 100 miles from me (Harrisburg, PA). The price is the reason I've waited so long to do one. If I didn't have the grocer's gift card, I probably would need to sell a kidney to afford one.

Shoot, take a weekend drive and stock up on 5 or 6 for the freezer 

. Worth it imo.

 

[humdinger]

Maybe try using white pepper (WP) instead of black pepper (BP). I found that WP has a more "simple" and less complex pepper taste (thus allowing the meat flavor to shine through) and the heat from WP hits your tongue a bit different than BP. Also I've found that same heat tends to "opens up" my taste buds and sinuses for a more aromatic eating experience.

Start with a little then add more until you like the taste and heat. (WP tends to be hotter than BP.) Enjoy!

 

[xray]

Here's my first attempt

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• xray
• May 1, 2016

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• xray
• May 1, 2016

The thinner portion of the flat was more tender and juicy. The thicker part was tender but kinda dry. What did I do wrong?

Here's the details in a thread I started:
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/245763/smoking-a-small-2lb-brisket#post_1557308

 

[cowboy11]

i always keep notes and on a future cook my briskets have slowly gotten better

I try to make only one or two changes per cook. If it is better I keep, the same or worse I cross those changes off the change list.

Practice makes perfect.

KEEP ON SMOKING.

 

[bgosnell151]

Doing a 14 lb packer brisket this weekend in my BBQ guru onyx oven. What's everyone's thought as far as using a water pan? I did a brisket once before in the onyx without the pan and I feel like that hurt me and Temps were all over the place.
If I don't use the pan, I'll probably put fat side down, but if I use the pan I'll put fat up. Just curious what thoughts are in regards to using the water pan.
The onyx oven is vertical style cooker, so the heat is directly under the meat.
I appreciate any and all input.

How about lining a water pan with tin foil and fill it with sand? I do that in my electric and it really does a great job of stabilizing the temps. It also uses less electricity.

 

[bgosnell151]

Here's my first attempt

image.jpeg

• xray
• May 1, 2016

image.jpeg

• xray
• May 1, 2016

The thinner portion of the flat was more tender and juicy. The thicker part was tender but kinda dry. What did I do wrong?

Here's the details in a thread I started:
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/245763/smoking-a-small-2lb-brisket#post_1557308

Hard to say, but it sounds like it may have been undercooked a little in the thicker part. Test it by putting a therm into it. When it slides in easy, it is done. Can't really go by temp on a brisket as every one is done at a different temp.
As someone else mentioned, better to be a little overdone than not done enough. You can cut the thin part off and chop it with some sauce... It's fabulous that way.