dried out brisket

[ljk555]

I just cooked a 6 lb brisket yesterday and it was so bad! Now this is the 3rd one I've done and it was dried out
and just bad. I marinated it in Dr pepper over night. The first time doing this and I used a light rub also.
I cooked it for 1.5 hrs per lbs and at a temp of 200.
My smoker is a brinkman elec.and I have cooked 6 pork butts and they turned out fine. I'm thinking it was the Dr Pepper
or my smoker was to hot. Any suggestion I sure can use them!

If the internal temp reaches desire temp is it done. Or do you keep cooking for the full time?

Thanks Loran

[jminion]

Baking is mix recipe cook in an oven for X time, with BBQ that formual does not work.

With BBQ time is simply a guide the final test is always internal and feel.
200 is lower than needed, raise the pit temps to 225 to 250.
If you got the correct internal and when tested with a probe it feels like you are pushing it through warm butter it is done no matter the time.

The Dr Pepper is not the problem from the sound of things it was the fact that you cooked it through the point where the connective tissue was broken down causing the brisket to over cook and dry out.

I personelly pull brisket off the cooker at 190 internal, then wrap in foil and place in a dry cooler for 2 to 4 hours. During this time some tenderizing goes on and the heat evens out through out the brisket.

Jim

[Alien BBQ]

First thing as usual, I would check your temp gauge and make sure you are cooking at the right temps. Next, cook the brisket to 190 internal (fat side up) and pull it to rest, finally, next time, inject it with a 50/50 mix of bourbon and olive oil. The alcohol burns out of the meat but leaves a great flavor. The olive oil will keep thing moist while cooking and will give you a better product once it hits the fridge. One other thing you may want to try is a mustard slather with your rub. You won’t be able to taste the mustard when done and it will keep tings from going south too fast. If all else fails, wrap it in not more than two layers of cheese cloth and spritz as usual. The cloth allows the smoke to penetrate and does not roast the meat like foils sometimes does. Hope this helps, brisket is one of the hardest meats to master.
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[Steve-O]

Loran: Let me step in as a Brinkman electric user that has had success with Briskets. 1st of all, minion is right. Time is just a guage. It's all about meat temp. 2d, the electic get's to about 210-225 on a good day. In the winter all bets are off. And getting the brisket to 190 in the ECB is questionable. I never have.

Here are my suggestions. get a remote thermometer. Calibrate it.

Here is my guide for cooking brisket on an ECB.

Split the point from the flat. They cook different and it's more pronounced on your ecb.

prep however you wish. Dr. Pepper is fine.

Smoke for 4 hours. Point on top, flat no bottom rack.

Wrap in foil

cook for a long time. 10 hours is not uncommon. When the temp gets to 170, you are close.

Take out of the smoker and put the meat in your oven at 300. Keep the thermometer in it. It should get to 190 very quickly, so watch it closely.

Remove and put in a "cooler" till you are ready to eat or eat right away.

Hope this helps.

Save the fat in your aluminum foil. It has many uses.

You can cube parts or all of the point to make burnt ends....Yummy.

PM me if you have specific questions. Nothing wrong with the ECB. Read the past posts for more info.... Good luck!
_________________
"BBQ may not be a religion in Texas, but the two institutions are closely associated."
- Robb Walsh "Legends of Texas Barbeque Cookbook"

[Roy]

My humble suggestion would be to get yourself a whole brisket about 12 pounds. The juice is in the point and it won't dry out unless you cook it to death. I have never tried Dr Pepper but olive oil Jack and mustard make a nice marinade with a little vinegar and lots of spice. Keep it low 200 is Ok specially if your having drying problems. Obviously temp monitoring is a must but I'm betting that after 10-12 hours your gonna have one smokin juicy brisket. Flip it half way through for a couple of hours then back to point side up. If it looks like it's drying after 6 hours mist it with jack and cider every hour after that. Let it come right up to 190 then pull it and foil it for a solid 30-45 minutes. If you come up in temp (internal) too fast say 7 hours your too hot just turn it down and stall it till you get at least 10 hours cook time to tenderize but don't allow the temp to go over 200 cause you don't want pulled beef. Do that and your gonna like it. I sure do!!!!

[SmokinOkie]

I guess it's time for an opinion, guess I have one now

[DawgPhan]

got to agree with you on most of that...I dont know that I would call them cheating, but I get the drift...to me BBQ is a lot like Nascar. Sure there are rules, but everyone is in it to push those rules about as far as they can go.

Me I dont wrap stuff in foil...that isnt smoking. As for injecting..I never have, but probably will in the future... I have always wanted to give it a try, but never to cover up the moistness of the meat, only to impart a new flavor...

[Hogwild]

Smokin'

I understand your post and I agree, somewhat. I've been cooking a long time, but a relative newcomer to brisket. (I hail from NC where pork is king). I've cooked several briskets now, with and without using foil. There is a slight difference, IMO, primarily with the fat and bark, as you state. However, if I foil now it's mainly to reduce cooking time. After some experimenting, I'll now take it out of the foil for an hour or two to "firm up" the bark. When I do this I don't see a great deal of difference compared to non-foiled.

I guess where I disagree most is your premise that the "old" way is better. For the backyard smoker (myself included), the end product and how my family likes it is most important. If that entails foil (or injecting..which I don't do), then so be it. If I'm having fun and my family likes my Q...I'm a happy man.

Maybe this is just the difference between an "old" and "new" brisket cook. I'm learning more all the time and may end up thinking like you in the end. Most of the folks around here thing Goode Co. BBQ has the best brisket in town. Not to toot my own horn, but most ofthe folks that have had mine like it better than Goode Co.'s. (There's is dry, IMO) But, I've always thought backyard Q is better than restaurant, anyway. I would love to taste yours sometime, just to compare.

Cheers,
Hog

EDIT: I reread my post and want to state that I'm NOT implying my brisket would be better than yours. It sounded that way to me when I reread it. I am definately a novice in the brisket department.

[dholcomb1946]

I don't care what/how/when/how long/foiled/unfoiled/injected/rubbed or soaked in Dr. Pepper - Brisket just isn't a juicy tender cut of meat that can be eaten medium or medium rare. I like my red meat red

I do a brisket every once in a while along with the butts, chicken & ribs. The brisket is always left, the rest gets eaten. BUT, on the other hand, maybe they are telling me the brisket sucks

The pulled pork especially get raves and they even take some home with them for later. The brisket, if I thin cut it cross grain, sauce it, cover it in foil and cooked covered in oven until falling apart will get eaten.

For Christmas dinner I am doing a 15 - 18 pound standing rib roast - medium rare

[SmokinOkie]

Hog,

Well put. I'm certainly not saying the Old way is better. Maybe Traditional method would be better than old. Hate it to hear that --"we do it this way because we've always done it this way) is what usually gets my attention. But the old way, without foil and without injection gives a better brisket.

For me, I guess there are just shortcuts that work well for many and glad it works for them, but they're different. Heck, you should hear the old timers attack me for using a pellet cooker... "that's not real BBQ". Or that if you cook with lump, that's not barbecue. To some, if it's not over wood burned to coals and the in a hole in the ground it's not real Q.

ljk555. Not trying to "thread-jack" actually just trying to help you get a better product. Please don't take this as an attack on any method. You'll get there.

I actually like some of these threads where we can talk about the different methods. I for one and certainly not right all the time, probably not right most of the time

[Hogwild]

[jminion]

Tradional BBQ makes me laugh as soon as that starts, a Purist or Traditionalist is someone who has pick a point in BBQ and states this is pure anything different from this point isn't. Well unless your beating the animal to death with a club and starting the fire by rubbing two sticks together your not a ture purist.

Offset cookers are not old school, not WSMs or pellet cookers, electric cookers are out and no gas either. Big Green Egg tyle cookers have been around long enough to qualify if they are made of clay. My point is BBQ is a style of cooking, we have added cookers, spices and tools as time has gone on that are not Tradional, so learn to use them or not.

I use almost no foil while meat is on a cooker not because of Tradition but because I have methods that normally don't require foil and I like the results. I know great cooks that do use foil and produce great product are they wrong? I don't think so.

I do know how to use foil and when cooking competitions and we are running out of time will I use it? You betcha. Learning to use foil to manipulate the final results is simply using a tool to our advantage.

Can great BBQ be cooked with foil or without foil? Yes
Can great BBQ be cooked without injecting or injecting? Yes
Can great BBQ be cooked much higher pit temps than we normally? Yes

I'm open to trying new methods and incorporating them into more Traditional styles. Cooking is an evolution and we get to make our own Tradition.
Jim

[Steve-O]

(this is meant to be humorous)

ljk555: Not a bad reply to your first post, eh? You're probably wondering what you said to cause all the rucus.

(okay, now more serious)

Back to your original question. I think your problem is your smoker. Nothing wrong with it, but I'd recommend reading my initial response and see if that helps. Real smokers, you can add more fuel to bring up the temp to finish the meat. You (and I) can't do this. We can't adjust the temp in an ECB. Transferring to the oven will bring it up to 190.

4 hours of smoke. After that you are wasting wood in your ECB. Then 6 or more hours of cooking (I foil mine). Then bring it up to 190 (in an oven set at 250-300) and you should have a tasty Brisket.

I have an ECB and have used this method succussfully many times. Good Luck!
_________________
"BBQ may not be a religion in Texas, but the two institutions are closely associated."
- Robb Walsh "Legends of Texas Barbeque Cookbook"

[BBQMAN]

Jim, thanks so much, and well said! Sounds like you have a lot of expierence, and will do what is needed to produce good results.

SmokinOkie, I hope you never compete against Myron Mixon (Jack's Old South). He injects and foils, and has over 400 trophy's and more grand championships than anybody I know of! Then again, I ate at his restaurant in Cordelle Georgia, and did'nt see the attraction.

I dont inject myself, and use foil moderately. I cook lots of pork butt for the public using foil at the end of the cook, and people like it just fine! I also use foil for brisket, and it never comes out mushy (which I dont like either!). Nor do I use liquid smoke products, or anything with MSG.

There are a lot of ways to get good results, and to each thier own!
_________________
BBQMAN
"I Turned A Hobby Into A Business".
Providing "IMHO" Since 2005.

[DawgPhan]

I think that there is something to be said for competition cooking against backyard. I would think that there is also a difference between those 2 and restaruant style BBQ.

In my backyard I wouldnt use foil, but if I thought that using foil would help me win a competition I would be foiling everything. If foil was going to help me save money or sell more que in my store I would be foiling. I dont think that the best BBQ is at those comps...I think that it is in the backyard. While I dont doubt that there is top notch que in the comps, for sure there is. I think that those people who are always at the top are manipulating their product to score the most points, maybe not produce the best que...

does that make any sense?

[BBQMAN]

Very true Dawg!

Do what works best for you-cooks, cookers, and situations all require a different approach!
_________________
BBQMAN
"I Turned A Hobby Into A Business".
Providing "IMHO" Since 2005.

[SmokinOkie]

All good points, something to be said about good thoughtful posts without flaming. See we can play nice.

[JimH]

I would have to agree that it sounds like you were cooking the flat of a brisket not the whole thing. It's next to impossible to fit a whole brisket on one of those brinkman's, I used to cut off a considerable portion of the flat to get it to fit. The leftover part would always be dry because it was cooked by itself. The flat, by itself, will dry out if you look at it wrong. When that happens just chop it up, sauce it and make sandwiches.

[Steve-O]

[quote="ljk555"]I just cooked a 6 lb brisket yesterday and it was so bad! ...
I cooked it for 1.5 hrs per lbs and at a temp of 200.
My smoker is a brinkman elec.and I have cooked 6 pork butts and they turned out fine. [quote]

9 hours at 200 won't get a flat up to 190. Slathered, foiled, and fat side up, it won't happen. You had a undercooked brisket and it was probably tough as leather, which tasted dry because the fat and connective tissue was not rendered......
_________________
"BBQ may not be a religion in Texas, but the two institutions are closely associated."
- Robb Walsh "Legends of Texas Barbeque Cookbook"

[Jeff T]

How come none of you brainy mugs thought of asking him what grade of brisket he bought? hmmmm select, choice, sounds to me like he certainly didnt get a prime cut. Or maybe the meat grade doesn`t matter?
SORRY fellas Just a thought.
I`m just being a wise a$$
I "can`t" cook a "select" cut brisket and have it turn out "perfect".
Me and briskets just don`t get along very well, Nebraska is just not brisket country.