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Canadian Smoker
Joined: 19 May 2015 Posts: 3
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Posted: Tue May 19 15 3:14 am Post subject: Brisket Failure. Need some feedback/help. |
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Well, 3 weeks of preparation and obsession ended in failure. I'm new to the forum and appreciate any help and feedback so this doesn't happen again.
Purchased a 9lb whole packer from a local grocer (Graded AA, ample fat, good bend when held up) and kept in in cryovac in fridge (39F) for past 3 weeks. Best before date was May 24, 2015. Opened it up on Thursday night, rinsed it off. No off smell or slime. Placed in fridge in a large bag and dry rubbed at around noon (no injection or brine) on Saturday for a 0700 cook on Sunday morning.
Pulled out of fridge at 0600 and had my WSM holding steady at 225F. Placed meat on. Got it back up to temp. Smoked it for 2 hours with cherry wood and got it up to 150F internal by 1100. At that point I crutched it using 1/2 a cup of beef broth, tightly wrapped it in foil, and cooked it to an internal temp of 203F. Pulled it, rested it for 45 minutes, and sadly discovered that the whole thing was slightly more tender than shoe leather
My foil from the crutch had about 2.5 Cups of drippings and fat in it.
I'm not sure where I went wrong. Based on my review of a few sites and resources it does not appear that I did anything out of the ordinary. Did I? Any help/tips/feedback appreciated as I am close to giving up on brisket forever!
Thanks! |
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dracokaos
Joined: 12 Aug 2014 Posts: 5
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Posted: Tue May 19 15 3:45 am Post subject: |
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now your starting to scare me.....Thats almost exactly the same process I did and its still on the smoker. I guess we will see how it works in a few hours
cheers _________________ Weber Summit
Masterbuilt Dual Fuel Vertical Smoker
Big Steel Keg |
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k.a.m. BBQ Mega Star

Joined: 12 Dec 2007 Posts: 26012 Location: Southeast Texas.
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Posted: Tue May 19 15 3:48 am Post subject: |
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Welcome to the ring Canadian Smoker, looking forward to seeing some pics of your cooks.
Don't give up.
You said you brought the brisket to an internal temp of 203° then let it rest.
Was the brisket probe tender at this point? Meaning could you take a toothpick and poke the brisket and have the toothpick release with no pull?
I have brought prime briskets to 205° internal only to find they were not cooked tender yet. I bring all my briskets to 210° and let them rest till the internal temp is around 160° the rest usually takes about 3 hours.
My advice in the future is ramp your temps to around 250°, wrap or pan with your broth at around 165° internal and let the middle flat portion carry 205° then check for tenderness. If the toothpick grabs let it cook another 5° then check again.
i hope this helps.  _________________ Always remember slow and steady wins the race.
Hybrid Cooker |
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Canadian Smoker
Joined: 19 May 2015 Posts: 3
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Posted: Tue May 19 15 8:57 am Post subject: |
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k.a.m. wrote: | Welcome to the ring Canadian Smoker, looking forward to seeing some pics of your cooks.
Don't give up.
You said you brought the brisket to an internal temp of 203° then let it rest.
Was the brisket probe tender at this point? Meaning could you take a toothpick and poke the brisket and have the toothpick release with no pull?
I have brought prime briskets to 205° internal only to find they were not cooked tender yet. I bring all my briskets to 210° and let them rest till the internal temp is around 160° the rest usually takes about 3 hours.
My advice in the future is ramp your temps to around 250°, wrap or pan with your broth at around 165° internal and let the middle flat portion carry 205° then check for tenderness. If the toothpick grabs let it cook another 5° then check again.
i hope this helps.  |
Thanks K.A.M
I will take that advice. Frustrating but I will give it another shot. FYI I left the thermometer in for the whole cook and just pulled once it hit 203F
Thanks! |
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Beertooth BBQ All Star

Joined: 03 Nov 2007 Posts: 5813 Location: Central Washington
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Posted: Tue May 19 15 11:09 am Post subject: |
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k.a.m. wrote: | Don't give up. |
Some of the best advice to give.
Try, try again!
Eat your mistake, take notes, move on.
Make sure that your thermometers are calibrated! _________________ Camp Chef Pro90 Stove w/ Griddle
1985 22" Weber Kettle
CharGriller
18.5" WSM (Stoked)
22.5" WSM
85 Gallon UDS
Weber Smokey Joe/Mini WSM
Cast Iron Cookware
24" Disc Cooker
Masterbuilt 40" Electric
Char-Griller Akorn |
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necron 99 BBQ Super Pro

Joined: 04 Aug 2007 Posts: 2594 Location: San Antonio, TX
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Posted: Tue May 19 15 3:08 pm Post subject: |
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The beauty of the probe / poke / toothpick test is no calibration is needed for this simple pass / fail test.
Think of the thermometers in this fashion.
The pit temperature like the speedometer in your vehicle tells you how fast you're going somewhere.
The food temperature like the vehicle's odometer tells you how far you've traveled.
But neither instrument tells you when you've reached your destination nor the route you took.
Not a perfect analogy, but a hopefully relateable one. _________________ Let's hope SoEzzy can ditch his heavy hand on photos in 2016!
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Rinngrizz BBQ Pro
Joined: 13 Mar 2012 Posts: 525 Location: Sioux Falls, SD
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Posted: Thu May 21 15 3:14 am Post subject: |
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necron 99 wrote: | The beauty of the probe / poke / toothpick test is no calibration is needed for this simple pass / fail test.
Think of the thermometers in this fashion.
The pit temperature like the speedometer in your vehicle tells you how fast you're going somewhere.
The food temperature like the vehicle's odometer tells you how far you've traveled.
But neither instrument tells you when you've reached your destination nor the route you took.
Not a perfect analogy, but a hopefully relateable one. |
Thats pretty solid right there. once i figured out that the probe tender test is my BEST friend while cooking, the quality of my food got MUCH better. Some briskets may need to come off at 190 and some at 210. they are all different but the probe never lies. Also be sure to have the meat probe in the correct place or check several places. _________________ Jason
Modified ECB
UDS |
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BRBBQ BBQ Super Pro
Joined: 01 Mar 2008 Posts: 1297 Location: Council Bluffs, IA
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Posted: Thu May 21 15 6:21 am Post subject: |
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Shoe leather, Wow that's almost hard to believe at those temps, are you sure your thermometers are accurate? _________________ XL Baby Stumps |
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mactoo BBQ Fan

Joined: 25 Nov 2010 Posts: 184 Location: Orillia, ON
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Posted: Sat May 23 15 12:07 am Post subject: |
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Where are you getting your brisket and what is the price? |
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k.c.hawg BBQ Super Pro

Joined: 17 May 2009 Posts: 1744
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Posted: Sat May 23 15 9:58 pm Post subject: |
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Probe tender is always the last line of defense. I would also be concerned about the accuracy of the thermometer. Was it checked/calibrated? _________________ http://kchawgskitchen.blogspot.com/
Horizon Marshall 20"
Primo XL
30" Masterbuilt Digital
UDS (Named Uddley by Mrs K.C.)
Weber 26.75 One Touch
Weber 22.5 Silver Touch
Weber Smokey Joe
Superfast Red Thermopen
Razorback born and bred! |
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Chef BBQ Pro

Joined: 13 Apr 2010 Posts: 855 Location: Lytle, Texas
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Posted: Sun May 24 15 10:22 am Post subject: |
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KAM has some great advice. Normally your temps are spot on. But if you get there and it does not probe tender you keep going. The temp probe should slide in like a hot knife going into butter. Now I had a buddy, Double Barrel Smokers that bought a high dollar brisket. He cooked it and hit temps just like you did and that thing never got tender. He smoked it for a few extra hours and it stayed tough, so it does happen even with $100 briskets. Like the other guys said don't give up. _________________ Many assorted small pits and one huge RF and now two Viper Red BBQ Vaults from Pitmaker mounted on a 26' food trailer.
http://texasstylecuisine.com
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWqNUDaH4Yd7RJgeSXE9LhA |
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EastTennQcrew BBQ Super Pro
Joined: 23 Feb 2006 Posts: 1083 Location: Kingsport, Tenn.
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Posted: Mon May 25 15 8:50 pm Post subject: |
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I would ask a few dumb questions. Did you slice the meat 90 degrees to the grain?
And after you sliced it did you try to pull it apart. And if you did what kind of results did you have.
Maybe it just needed to be left on a little longer.
RandyE _________________ FEC 500
FEC 100 (2)
KCBS CBJ |
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