Let's try not to ruin this brisket!

[mph33]

My last two briskets the flat was a little overcooked/slightly dry. I tried to use a technique of cooking up to 210 degrees. Do you think possibly that I could be drying the flat out during the rest.?

Here's my technique for this cook. Trimmed and injected the night before the cook. Remove meat from refrigerator allowed it to come to room temperature. Started pit. Applied rub to brisket placed brisket on pit approximately one hour after starting fire. I used B&B oak lump 4 chunks of Post oak and 2 small chunks of mesquite. Cooked between the temperatures of 250 and 275 for several hours then went to sleep. Woke up approximately 7 a.m. look at my temperature gauges, the temperature to the pit droped to 201 degrees. Internal temperature on the meat was 148. I stirred the coals got the temperature up to 260 and ran it for about two hours. Now I put it in a pan and applied Kosmos mop seal the top with 10 for ensuring that the meat probe with secure and accurately reading. Internal temperature is 158 and the pit temperature is at 270. I'm trying to get the pit up to 300 degrees to finish the cook.

unwrapping tin foil and prob checks of tenderness is kind of difficult today because it's windier than hell. What is the best rest method for brisket to prevent it from continuing to cook? Overall the briskets have been pretty good but I'm not satisfied with the flat. of course non BBQ hobbyist think it's the best meat they've ever eaten in their life but all you want to do is critique yourself right?

 

[mph33]

Anybody out there LOL

 

[Mikhail]

I'm not sure what exactly you are doing but forget the meat temperature. If you want your flat to not be overcooked you have to probe. Not sure why the wind makes any difference. I use my covered gas grill as a windblock sometimes.

 

[mph33]

I'm not sure what exactly you are doing but forget the meat temperature. If you want your flat to not be overcooked you have to probe. Not sure why the wind makes any difference. I use my covered gas grill as a windblock sometimes.

I probed at temperature 201 the point feels real tender almost like better but there's certain areas of the flat that still has some resistance.. what's the process of probing keep probing until it's tender well past 210 degrees? So the longer you cook it the more tender it'll get? That's kind of hard to believe to me it seems once it reaches its optimal temperature is just going to start over cooking it and it will dry it out

 

[mph33]

Should I vent the aluminum foil on the pan while it's resting? I pulled out at 203 on the point and on the flat it was like 206. I have the meat sitting in the juices in the pan covered with Tim. I just stuck it in the oven. I don't have a big enough cooler to fit the size pan in there

 

[El Ropo]

Ignore the point, probe the thickest part of the flat. And as mentioned above, always ignore temps on a brisket. 203, 206, 212, whatever, every cow is different, and will be "done" at different temps. The cooking temp will affect finished internal temps as well, higher the cooking temp, the higher the internal temp will be when the meat is "done".

Once the thickest part of the flat is probe tender, then it is a good idea to vent your meat for 15 minutes or so to prevent excessive carryover cooking before putting in the oven or cooler or cambro, etc.

 

[rovster]

I’ve had similar issues in my quest for the perfect brisket. What I’ve learned....be selective when getting your brisket. Look for a larger thicker more uniform flat. Last brisket I did was my first Prime grade and it was my best, not sure if it was the prime grade, the near perfect shape of the flat, or I’m just getting the hang of it. I start probing at 201-203 and at that point forget the temp and go by tenderness. I check every 30 min o ve I get to that point. If the majority of the flat probes tender pull it don’t keep going just because you have a less tender spot that might just be the piece of meat. A flat that is dry and crumbles is overdone. For resting I vent for 15-20 min then wrap and cooler for minimum 1-2 hrs but no issues going longer.

 

[mph33]

I’ve had similar issues in my quest for the perfect brisket. What I’ve learned....be selective when getting your brisket. Look for a larger thicker more uniform flat. Last brisket I did was my first Prime grade and it was my best, not sure if it was the prime grade, the near perfect shape of the flat, or I’m just getting the hang of it. I start probing at 201-203 and at that point forget the temp and go by tenderness. I check every 30 min o ve I get to that point. If the majority of the flat probes tender pull it don’t keep going just because you have a less tender spot that might just be the piece of meat. A flat that is dry and crumbles is overdone. For resting I vent for 15-20 min then wrap and cooler for minimum 1-2 hrs but no issues going longer.

I've never done this but I've got the brisket in a pan wrapped in tinfoil I couldn't fit in my cooler so I just put it in the oven. Will that work? Or I'll lose heat big time and whenever I try to slice into ours it going to be cold?

 

[ssv3]

Probe by feel at thickest point of the flat. Forget temps as mentioned. Temp is just your guide. Vent 10-15 mins after pulling or until temps stop climbing. Cover it back up and rest for at least 2 hours and all the way to 4 hours +. I have to idea who came up with the 203* bs. Each brisket is different.

 

[Rusty Kettle]

Brisket is hard to learn but easy once you do.
Its the only meat I don't pay attention to temp. Probe tender in the thick part of the flat. Test a few spots though. Also, probe the point. Only to get an idea of what probe tender feels like. The point lies but its a good guide for how you want the flat to feel.
To know when to start checking watch the temp from 190. Every 30 mins check for probe tender. Yes I know it will take a little longer. Your learning though. So this is how you learn. Eventually you get comfortable and don't check as often. Every brisket is different. Select is well unpredictable. Choice is the most consistent. Prime is well easy to over cook. Wagyu well I wouldn't touch it as its expensive.


I am going to go get a link for a book that might help you. It helped me get alot better at cooking.

Just wait until you start looking for the kill date and wet aging. Takes it to a whole new level.

 

[rovster]

203 is probably an average I imagine. My last o e I pulled at 201 but it wouldn’t climb in temp checked it twice over period of 1 hr and if anything started going backward. But it felt right eventually and turned out great.

 

[rovster]

I've never done this but I've got the brisket in a pan wrapped in tinfoil I couldn't fit in my cooler so I just put it in the oven. Will that work? Or I'll lose heat big time and whenever I try to slice into ours it going to be cold?

I would preheat the oven to warm then shut off before putting the brisket in there. Maybe probe it once an hour to make sure it’s holding.

 

[Rusty Kettle]

https://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Smoking-Smokey-Mountain-Smokers/dp/1624140998

This imo is what I consider the barbecue bible. There are other good books but the only one I ever worn out the book.
I use beef broth instead of the mix of beer for home brisket.
This book will take your cooking to a whole new level. It translates well to any smoker.