# Do I need to inject my brisket to make sure its tender?



## husker3in4 (Dec 21, 2017)

Try #3 at a brisket this weekend, but this one is going to be Christmas dinner, so its important that it comes out tender. Try #1 was a few years ago and I totally screwed the pooch, so bad that I didnt try again until last month. So try #2 last month's brisket tasted good, and was tender for the first 10 mins, then got pretty stiff. Some of you here suggested I needed to rest it alot longer, which I intend to do for this next try. 

So my question is, would it give me a better chance of it being tender if I inject it? I would likely only inject it with beef broth as I dont have any of the premade injection solutions. Or does injecting just give it more flavor? 

Now about the rest, Ill wrap it and put it in a cooler with towels, just like I do with my pork butts. What is the optimal rest time? 2 hrs? 4 hrs? more?

Once Im done with the rest, unwrap and slice right away? or let it come down to a certain temp?

Thanks for your help!


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## myownidaho (Dec 21, 2017)

I don't think you need to inject brisket but I would buy the best quality I could afford. Rest time is 1-3 hours. Go ahead and slice when you unwrap. Good luck!


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## chilerelleno (Dec 21, 2017)

Need to?  No.
Better chance of being tender/juicy?  Yes.
Want to?  It can't hurt, Yep, use plain beef broth, a proven producer for many cooks.
Or buy one of the specialty brands with sodium phosphate, e.g. Butcher BBQ Original.

MyOwnIdaho is on point, buy a Prime brisket if you can find one and your budget allows.


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## radio (Dec 21, 2017)

You could wrap in foil at the stall, take it to the probe tender stage, then rest.  Thermometer probe, skewer or toothpick should slide into the brisket like it's going in warm butter, that is, no real resistance is felt as the probe goes in the meat at the thickest part.  
If foiling, I like to mix up and add a broth using beef base and brewed coffee, then drain and reserve all the liquid before resting the brisket.  Pop the liquid in the fridge so the fat hardens enough to skim off, pour in sauce pan and add more coffee and water to dilute the juices a bit so it isn't overly "beefy" and use corn starch or a flour paste to thicken a bit for a killer gravy or dipping sauce.


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## PerazziMx14 (Dec 21, 2017)

Please remove


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## husker3in4 (Dec 22, 2017)

Thanks for the advice guys. I will likely inject with at least beef broth, but id like to use the brisket injection stuff with the sodium phosphate in it to give this brisket noob every chance to make sure its tender. The Butcher BBQ Original seems to be hard to find locally. I would just order it on amazon but it wont be here in time for sunday, do you guys know if any chain stores carry it or can you suggest another brand of injection that has the sodium phosphate in it?


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## PerazziMx14 (Dec 22, 2017)

Please remove


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## chilerelleno (Dec 22, 2017)

Cooking to a specific IT is okay for steaks, but not for some cuts like brisket, butts and etc.
Brisket and others can be tender within a wide range of IT, 185'-210' isn't uncommon. Once a minimum IT of approx 185'-190' is attained then start probe testing for tenderness.
Test from there and about every 5' till it probes butter tender.

A good rest is highly recommended.


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## motolife313 (Dec 22, 2017)

How about use one of these to put the natural juices back on yours slices? I got it from Myron mixon. He dump his driping in it and it separates the fat from juices


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## troutman (Dec 22, 2017)

Chile is spot on....its all about the probe, period.  When you get it up to temp of around 190* either unwrapped, wrapped in paper or wrapped in foil, begin to probe the meat.  You want it like a hot knife through jello. Use a skewer or a toothpick, it's an unmistakable feel.  In fact the meat should actually wobble like jello when you shake it.

THEN, and _just as importantly_, rest that puppy in a faux cambro (fancy term for wrapping it in towels and letting it rest in a cooler) for 1-3 hours as stated. 

These are probably the two biggest mistakes folks make when the try to smoke a brisket for the first time.  If you mess these up then you end up with dried out shoe leather.   Also, as Aaron Franklin points out in his videos (you can find them on YouTube) and his book, don't slice your finished brisket all at once.  Slice only what you are serving, then take the exposed end and turn it back onto the cutting board.  Brisket will oxidize almost immediately when exposed to air, that's what causes your meat to dry out after cooking and slicing.  Pouring the natural juices back over is also something I do to ensure a little moisture is re-introduced into the meat, as is shown above.

Good luck, all the advice here will help you succeed.  Follow these steps and you will be the hero of Christmas day!


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## tallbm (Dec 22, 2017)

chilerelleno said:


> Cooking to a specific IT is okay for steaks, but not for some cuts like brisket, butts and etc.
> Brisket and others can be tender within a wide range of IT, 185'-210' isn't uncommon. Once a minimum IT of approx 185'-190' is attained then start probe testing for tenderness.
> Test from there and about every 5' till it probes butter tender.
> 
> A good rest is highly recommended.


^^^^^ What this guy said.

I find in my setup that I can start probing for tenderness around 198-200F.
I am also cooking whole packers.  If you are doing JUST a flat I would then steer you to wrapping in foil after an IT of about 165F.  Then again probe for tenderness around 198-200F

Best of luck! :)


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## chef jimmyj (Dec 22, 2017)

Remember...If you Inject, you must insure  the smoker temp does not drop below 225 for any length of time. You must also make sure the IT rises to 140 within 4 to 6 hours also...JJ


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## noboundaries (Dec 22, 2017)

Beef brisket and pork butt are two cuts of meat that are mean as snot and just love to be left alone, like cranky old animals.  You can dress them up any way you like, but once they are on the smoker, just leave them alone for hours and hours.  With time, the heat mellows them out.  When you can poke them with sharp sticks and they don't fight back, they're done.


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## shapp76 (Dec 22, 2017)

I've just now starting having success with brisket especially my last cook. I've been injecting with butcher's BBQ overnight and have had tender, juicy briskets


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## husker3in4 (Dec 24, 2017)

I ended up getting a prime packer and separating it. I didnt inject. Put it on at 6pm tonight for a 4pm dinner tomorrow.

So after the rest, is there a temp I want to let it come down to for optimal slicing? Or just slice it right out of the foil?


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## noboundaries (Dec 24, 2017)

If you separated a packer, you cut the smoking time significantly.


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## husker3in4 (Dec 25, 2017)

Uh oh.. so if I put it on at 6pm, what time you think it will be done? 8am?


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## husker3in4 (Dec 25, 2017)

Update: On top of it all, my ThermoPro TP-07 meat thermometer decided to crap out on me, only the 4th time Ive used it! The transmitter would display the temp, but the receiver wouldnt, so I wouldnt get any alarms once it hit 180 to start probing it. I said the heck with it and went to sleep. I woke up at 930 this morning and checked it, it was 213! Oh Sh*t I thought... Well I brought it in and probed with a toothpick, it was in fact like butter. So far so good.. but Im not serving it until 4pm, so I wrapped it, put it in towels and into a cooler. I know that wont hold for too long, I thought I read somewhere here to put it in an oven (still wrapped in foil) at 150 until it times to serve. That correct?


Just out of curiosity, why would a flat take longer to cook once separated? The bulk of the flat is the same before and after separating.. right?


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## noboundaries (Dec 27, 2017)

Sorry for the delay.  Was traveling for the holidays. 

Not sure what you mean by the flat taking longer to cook once separated.  It will take less time.

An intact packer, say 16 lbs, will take longer to cook than the same packer separated into two smaller pieces of meat.  When you separate the packer, say into a 9 lb flat and a 7 lb point, you are now smoking a 9 lb piece of meat and a 7 lb piece of meat.

When I smoke a packer, I smoke it until the flat is butter tender, because the fattier point will be butter tender before the flat.  The fat in the point though gives it plenty of buffer to take on the heat.

An intact, 16 lb packer, at 250F will take roughly 16 hours for the flat to get butter tender.  Separate it, and the 9 lb flat will be ready in roughly 9 hours.


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## tbrtt1 (Dec 27, 2017)

Hey husker3in4,

How’d that brisket turn out?


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## husker3in4 (Dec 27, 2017)

It turned out good, and bad.. lol. Had I not had thermometer issues, it would have been better. Being that I couldnt get an alarm when it hit temp for me to start checking it, it way over cooked at 213 degrees. When I probed it, it felt like jello so I thought Id still be good, but the problem was it was 930am and I wasnt serving it til 4pm. So it sat in a cooler with towels for 4+ hours until I had to move it to the oven at 150 to keep it around 150 til serving. So the bad part is, I cooked it fat side up, so the lean side was down and got leathery for about 1/8" into the flat. The rest of the flat however was delicious. Good flavor, pretty tender - although not quite as juicy. So.. hopefully I will hear back from thermalpro about my meat probe, Ive only had it since august and this was my 4th use of it. Way too early for it to crap on me.


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## husker3in4 (Dec 27, 2017)

Qview:


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## bregent (Dec 27, 2017)

husker3in4 said:


> So the bad part is, I cooked it fat side up, so the lean side was down and got leathery for about 1/8" into the flat.



You could well of had the same issue if you cooked it fat down. In order for it to get to 213, most of the moisture had to be gone - so it's not surprising the outside got tough.  Still, looks like it was good eating.


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## husker3in4 (Dec 27, 2017)

Yeah, it was still pretty tasty. The biggest issue was all the yummy bark was burnt up on the leathery side, so that is a flavor loss. The meat itself was still tasty, even on the reheat.

So for future reference and timing, am I to assume 1hr per lb, flat or whole?


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## troutman (Dec 27, 2017)

Man I hate to repeat what was said over and over but 12 hours today could be 14-16 tomorrow.  Brisket is done when its done, its about the probe.  But I hear what you are saying, figure about an hour per pound _as a go by only.  _Give yourself more time than you think by a couple of hours, but not by half a day !!!


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## husker3in4 (Dec 27, 2017)

Right, I get that. But If Im going to smoke something for 5pm tomorrow, Id like to have a ballpark idea for planning.


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