Under cooked Brisket

[pharp]

Hey everyone. I am new to this forum. I think my question has been asked often, but in the older threads the pics no longer load...at least for me. I am a pretty experienced BBQ'er but I don't cook a lot of brisket (not a big hit for my small family and for my catering jobs I usually steer people toward tri-tip). I am starting to hit the competitions hard this year, so brisket is a must. I am not really looking for competition advice ( I am sure I could use it) but was just wondering if anyone has some pics of what they would call an under cooked brisket. It is described so many different ways that it seems open to interpretation. I just want to confirm that what my brisket looked like matches up with what some of the experts are saying is under cooked. Sorry to beat a dead cow because I know this has been covered, but like I said I am looking for a few sample pics of an under cooked brisket. There are millions of a perfect brisket, and all those do is confirm that mine is far from perfect. Thanks for any help!

 

[Burnt at Both Endz]

No pics, but here is what to remember about brisket when slicing...

undercooked= tough and dry
overcooked= fallen apart and dry

 

[pharp]

Thanks!

Is the science behind it being dry if under cooked that the fats and collagen have not broken down enough (which results in it being tough) to moisten the meat? I just have a hard time figuring out how it goes from dry to delicious and back to dry depending on if it is under cooked, perfect, or over cooked. Thanks again.

 

[bignburlyman]

I think that it would be difficult to tell undercooked brisket from just a picture of the slice, the slices can look great but when you do a pull test, or more important for me the mouth feel as I chew it tells a lot more about the tenderness. Undercooked would not pull well and the bite would be chewier. There are lots of brisket threads around, but most of us post our best work. :-D

 

[aawa]

How to tell how your brisket is cooked by feel.

Based on pencil thin slices.

Tough and dry - Undercooked. You didn't cook it long enough to break down the connective tissue in the muscles.

Moist and tender that holds together when holding one end of it and comes apart with the slightest pull/tug - Cooked perfectly. You have the balance of the connective tissue broken down so the meat is tender, but not falling apart.

Moist but crumbles apart - Slightly overcooked. Too much of the connective tissue broke down and it can't hold together.

Dry and crumbles apart - Very overcooked. You cooked the connective tissue completely out of it.

 

[pharp]

Thanks!

That makes sense, the more I have read about it I figured that must be the case. The lack moisture comes from the connective tissue that has not broken down in an under cooked brisket.

 

[bignburlyman]

This thread of mine post #6 the second picture that brisket was a little underdone, but the pic (I think) still looks pretty good.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=219124

 

[pharp]

Looks way better than mine. My mind is just having difficulty understanding that there can be that much moisture released into the meat when the connective tissue finally breaks down!

 

[Burnt at Both Endz]

While not 100% reliable, but a good beginners way to tell how close you are on tenderness......cut slice 1/4" thick, on a plate, fold it in half. It should stay folded, under cooked will flop back flat, overcooked will break into two pieces.

 

[bignburlyman]

While not 100% reliable, but a good beginners way to tell how close you are on tenderness......cut slice 1/4" thick, on a plate, fold it in half. It should stay folded, under cooked will flop back flat, overcooked will break into two pieces.

Wow, that is a great way to describe it. Thank you.

 

[DaveAlvarado]

How to tell how your brisket is cooked by feel.

Based on pencil thin slices.

Tough and dry - Undercooked. You didn't cook it long enough to break down the connective tissue in the muscles.

Moist and tender that holds together when holding one end of it and comes apart with the slightest pull/tug - Cooked perfectly. You have the balance of the connective tissue broken down so the meat is tender, but not falling apart.

Moist but crumbles apart - Slightly overcooked. Too much of the connective tissue broke down and it can't hold together.

Dry and crumbles apart - Very overcooked. You cooked the connective tissue completely out of it.

This is 100% spot on.

Slightly overcooked is still plenty moist and good to eat, but it doesn't quite hold together. You'll notice that the bottom of your slices will be falling apart if you don't have a super sharp knife. Very overcooked is where the proteins have contracted so much that the gelatin (i.e. the broken down collagen) gets squeezed right out of the meat.

 

[pjtexas1]

Old pics but I keep them as a reminder. You can see the meat is still really tight and the pull test is a big fail. Bark is terrible too.:tsk:

 

[Bludawg]

Under cooked> the collagen is not broken down slices are tight and dry

Cooked to perfection> collagen has converted to gelatin gaps between muscle fibers slice is moist & lose but holds together

 

[RolandJT]

In my experience most dry brisket is the result of undercooking.

Unless it is falling apart the solution is to cook it longer--possibly a good deal longer.

If it is falling apart the solution is to cook for a shorter time--but maybe not a lot shorter.

 

[bignburlyman]

Bludawg had just the pics to show the difference. Always count on a Bludawg. :eusa_clap

 

[Enrico Brandizzi]

This kind of thread are my favorite!
Tnx for sharing.

 

[DownHomeQue]

my last comp Brisket was overcooked.. but It was good lol

 

[smoke ninja]

Underdone is tight and wont flop around a finger or knife.

Notice this one drapes loosely over the blade



Also a done brisket has seperation of fibers in the meat. Kinda like holes in it.

 

[Jason TQ]

I did this video to show a full cook including the probing when it's done. The first is just the checking when it is done. 2nd is the full long cook. Pictures are awesome, but I wanted to show the probing since I hadn't seen it here before and when I finally saw someone in person probing it helped way more than any anology of doneness. I know the thread was looking for underdone, but thought this might help
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9UILZf0obk"]Brisket Doneness Probing - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2F71VwKJUw"]Full Brisket Cook/Smoke - YouTube[/ame]

 

[pharp]

This is not perfect, but thanks to the feedback on here it has gotten a lot better! Thanks everyone, I am going to keep working!
[ame]https://youtu.be/-2kCLgXbi1E[/ame]