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NorthernMN
Joined: 20 Apr 2013
Posts: 21
Location: Thief River Falls, MN
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 Posted: Apr 22 2013 Post subject: Brisket Sucess after three tries |
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After being somewhat reluctant to buy another brisket after the first two turned out like shoe leather I finnaly got it figured out. After searching Sams Club multiple times for the perfect brisket we found a nice 11.75 lb packer that was very flexible and not too expenisve, in my area brisket goes for 2.58 - 5.99 a lb. We kept it very simple with a salt, black pepper, and cayanne pepper rub, no real ratios just went by what looked like enough. Here it is ready for the smoker
Here shows it on the grill ready for some smoke. Started at 225 and left it on the grate for 4 hours fat down until it created a nice skin on the outside of the meat then we flipped it over and onto a jerky screen that was placed on top an aluminum pan with beef broth to catch the juices.
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NorthernMN
Joined: 20 Apr 2013
Posts: 21
Location: Thief River Falls, MN
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| Posted: Apr 22 2013 Post subject: |
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Once it got to 165 degrees we were running short on time since I didnt get up as early as I had wanted to so into the pan with some broth and into the oven it went till it hit 200 degrees, checked at 195 and there were still some stiff spots.
The flat ready for slicing
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NorthernMN
Joined: 20 Apr 2013
Posts: 21
Location: Thief River Falls, MN
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| Posted: Apr 23 2013 Post subject: |
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And heres the first cut, gotta love that smoke ring, this is the first brisket that has oozzed juices when cutting slices.
The Point after being seperated, just before making burnt ends
And the burnt ends
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NorthernMN
Joined: 20 Apr 2013
Posts: 21
Location: Thief River Falls, MN
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| Posted: Apr 23 2013 Post subject: |
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The wife was really impressed with this cook, we had pulled pork in the fridge as a back up but once she took her first bite she said she was freezing the pork for another day.
Not sure if I am doing the picture posting properly, I set them all to the same size in photo bucket but they are showing up different sizes on my screen when viewing the post. |
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SoEzzy
BBQ Super All Star
Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 13183
Location: SLC, UT
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| Posted: Apr 23 2013 Post subject: |
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They are good size wise!
First pic of second post is smaller for some reason, but all look well under 650px so you pass the test!  
_________________
Here's a change Robert.
I still work here! |
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millstream
BBQ Fan
Joined: 06 Dec 2010
Posts: 260
Location: Circling the drain.
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| Posted: Apr 23 2013 Post subject: |
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| NorthernMN wrote: | And heres the first cut, gotta love that smoke ring, this is the first brisket that has oozzed juices when cutting slices.
The Point after being seperated, just before making burnt ends
And the burnt ends
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Nicely done! Wouldn't mind a plate of that right now!  |
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Alien BBQ
BBQ All Star
Joined: 12 Jul 2005
Posts: 5426
Location: Roswell, New Mexico
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NorthernMN
Joined: 20 Apr 2013
Posts: 21
Location: Thief River Falls, MN
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| Posted: Apr 23 2013 Post subject: |
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| Alien BBQ wrote: | So in your opinion,.....
What did you do wrong.......
What did you do right......... |
Where to start?
The first brisket I made was absolute shoe leather. I didnt trim the brisket at all, just grabbed one at Sams Club and rubbed it, then cooked it. Everyone said cook it fat side up so thats what I did but I think having the meat right on the grill grate allowed the meat to form around the grate and absorb more heat than the rest of the brisket. I also tried to cook it Texas style with no foil and I think that didnt help because the bottom of the brisket was literally like beef jerky and the only part of it that had some moisture was the 1/4 inch below the fat cap.
2nd brisket wasnt terrible for texture and moisture but the taste was horrible. I dont know of it was the injection I used, which I wont name because some people really like it and I cant be certain that it was the cause of the nasty taste. This brisket we trimmed some of the fat where it seemed excessivly thick and once again rubbed with a all purpose rub.
3rd Brisket started like this, every time we went to sams I looked at there briskets and they were always 14-15 lbs and a lot of fat with not the greatest flexibility. So I just kept looking and passing on them, I even contemplated on having the local meat shop order one in even though he charges 5.99 lb, but I couldn’t justify buying a piece of meat unseen for that price. So finally we were in another town with a Sams and when I looked at their briskets they had nice 12 lb so I told the wife this would be my last try if we threw this one in the garbage. It had a nice even layer of meat in the flat, nice amount of fat cap but it was very flexible when trying to bend it in the cryovac. Once it came to the day for smoking it I decided that I wanted a simple rub with no sugar since these cook for such a long period. I didn’t even measure the rub ingredients I just sprinkled the salt on till it looked good and then did the same with the black and cayenne pepper. Next was off to the smoker, preheated to 225 I placed the fat cap down so that the meat side would form a skin, not so much of a bark since it was a simple rub but enough of a skin that would hold moisture in. After about 4 hours I flipped the brisket onto a big jerk rack and set that on top of a foil pan with beef broth in it. I used the pan directly under it so the juices would be caught for aujus and because the size of my smoker doesn’t allow much room for a water pan. I was a little worried about the skin or bark becoming soggy but it was great, not hard and crunchy but firm and nice for cutting. Once the IT reached 165 I wanted to put the meat directly into the foil pan with broth to finish cooking to help keep all the moisture in I could. Since it was snowing out, yes I said snow even though its mid April and last year it was 70 degrees, I decided to finish it in the oven at 300 deg. With a temp prob in the thickest part of the flat I checked it at 195 deg with a toothpick. This is something that everyone needs to get a feel for, its hard to describe but once you feel it you will know what everyone is talking about. I checked a few places and they felt nice, toothpick would just slide in, then bam like a truck hitting a wall I could feel a tough spot. Back into the oven till it reached a little over 200, maybe 202. Same test felt good all around the brisket. Covered the pan with foil and let it rest wrapped in towels for 1.5 hrs. Should have been a little longer but it was late for dinner and we were anxious to try it so I started slicing it. The flat was nice for slices as they had a little tug to them but when chewed they were moist and juicy but I did find that a person needs to dress them with some aujus if plating and servining because as they sit in the open air and cool they will become a little drier but still good. The point was made into burnt ends, some it was more like shredded because it was so tender it was tough to cut.
Overall it has been a good experience, expensive but as many people have said before brisket is one of the most difficult pieces of meat to master but with time and patience it can be done.
It also doesnt hurt to have help like these forums to learn from others mistakes. |
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