Brisket Help

[Toby Keil]

I was planning on cooking a brisket tomorrow morning but when my wife went to the store they only had flats so she picked up two of them. If anyone could provide some assistance in the best way to cook the flats that would be great. I just want to make sure they don't dry out. I'm going to rub them down tonight after dinner then start the WSM prep and coals at 9am. Thanks in advance!!!

 

[Greg Rempe]

Toby, you can wrap the briskets when they get to 165* internal in foil and finish them like that. That will make sure they will remain moist. I usually look at checking my briskets at 190*...but the therm has to go in like butter...if it doesn't, then I will leave it on until it does...and sometimes that means taking it past 190*...its a feel thing for me on briskets! HAVE FUN! 8)

 

[Cliff H.]

I will give you what I do :

Place brisket on smoker when you light it.

Smoke between 230-250 until internal temp in the thickest part of the flat reads 170.

Wrap in foil and continue cooking till the internal temp is 195.

At this point you can do two things. You can place the foiled brisket in a cooler lined with towels for a few hours or you can continue to smoke the brisket covered until the flat is probe tender, meaning that a thermometer probe goes in with little or no resistemce.

If you choose butter knife tender then you don't have to rest it as long.

Save the drippings to pour back over the sliced brisket.

 

[Cliff H.]

Greg,

I have learned much on this forum.

 

[Bruce B]

Make sure you slice it against the grain.

 

[LarryWolfe]

I was planning on cooking a brisket tomorrow morning but when my wife went to the store they only had flats so she picked up two of them. If anyone could provide some assistance in the best way to cook the flats that would be great. I just want to make sure they don't dry out. I'm going to rub them down tonight after dinner then start the WSM prep and coals at 9am. Thanks in advance!!!

Hi Toby,
Good advice from everyone. But I'll add a couple things. Depending on the composition of your rub, you may NOT want to rub the night before. I like to rub just before or at most an hour before putting my meat on the smoker. If you put a high salt rub on your meat the night before it will pull more moisture out of the meat than you want to and especially in pork will give you a "hammy" flavor.

I would also NOT wait until the probe goes in like butter before pulling the brisket off the cooker IF you plan on resting for a while. If you pull the brisket off the smoker when a probe goes in like butter then it will get overly tender after resting because it will continue to cook and tenderize while resting. If you're going to rest for a while, you want the probe to go in fairly easy but with just a very slight bit of resistance. That way it will be like butter by the time it's done resting.

Most briskets from grocery stores are way way over trimmed, just the opposite of what you want for a smoked brisket. You need and want the fat on the brisket to keep it moist during the long slow cooking process. If you find yourself with lean briskets you will want to add measures to help keep the meat moist. You could layer the top of the brisket with bacon or fat if you happen to have any laying around. Or you could simply put the briskets in a dry aluminum pan. That will help collect the internal fat as it renders and you can baste the brisket with that if you like.

Good luck!!

 

[john pen]

I hate to start a big thing here..oh, what the hell, Ill do it anyway..

Larry, do you think that the "drippings" from the bacon will actually seep into the meat or just keep the outside moist ? Its like the fatcap up or down thing. One school says fatcap up so as it melts, it seeps into the meat to keep it moist. Others put the cap down to protect it from the heat and believe that no drippings are going to get into the meat.

Lately Ive been doing the cap down. Seems to work for me. I'd also like to try doing a brisket or butt in a pan and keep basting it with the drippings.

 

[LarryWolfe]

I hate to start a big thing here..oh, what the hell, Ill do it anyway..

Larry, do you think that the "drippings" from the bacon will actually seep into the meat or just keep the outside moist ? Its like the fatcap up or down thing. One school says fatcap up so as it melts, it seeps into the meat to keep it moist. Others put the cap down to protect it from the heat and believe that no drippings are going to get into the meat.

Lately Ive been doing the cap down. Seems to work for me. I'd also like to try doing a brisket or butt in a pan and keep basting it with the drippings.

No it doesn't help the inside much john, but will help prevent the outiside from turning into jerky.

 

[john pen]

Ok, so that being said, would a harder "jerky" outer shell help keep the moisture in ? (just for the sake of argument..)

 

[Greg Rempe]

You can soften the "jerky like" outside when you rest it if you turn it so the fat cap is up.

 

[LarryWolfe]

You can soften the "jerky like" outside when you rest it if you turn it so the fat cap is up.

Greg we were talking about an overly trimmed brisket that would obviously not have much if any fat cap, hence the "overly trimmed brisket" comment! :roll:

 

[Greg Rempe]

Sorry, must have missed that...however, it's still good advice in general!

 

[LarryWolfe]

Sorry, must have missed that...however, it's still good advice in general!

I agree. But I prefer to cook and rest them fat cap up. Either way will work fine!

 

[ScottyDaQ]

Only thing I didn't like about the cap up was the marks it made on the meat side.

 

[Toby Keil]

I was planning on cooking a brisket tomorrow morning but when my wife went to the store they only had flats so she picked up two of them. If anyone could provide some assistance in the best way to cook the flats that would be great. I just want to make sure they don't dry out. I'm going to rub them down tonight after dinner then start the WSM prep and coals at 9am. Thanks in advance!!!

Howdy gang, I wanted to give you all a follow up on my brisket cook and to also say thanks to those who offered support/suggestions. I cooked the brisket for two hours, foiled for another two and removed it when it hit the 170 mark. I then rested it in a cooler covered with a towel for another 40 mins while my wife finished cooking the rest of the dinner. In the end the flavor was great and the smoke ring was very well pronounced but the brisket it’s self was a little dry. I used all the juice from the foil and that seemed to help a bit. I’m definitely going to try another one but this time I’ll make sure we get the full brisket and not just the flat.

Also, the wife bought a 10+ LB pork butt to cook in a few weeks, how are they after freezing?

Thanks again to all!!!

 

[Cliff H.]

You lost me between 170 and 40 min rest.

JB, I think he could use your wisdom on this.

 

[jminion1]

Brisket is still tough and will be dry at 170 internal. It is the connective tissue that has broken down that gives brisket it's moisture. At 170 the connective tissue had not finished breaking down. Take the same brisket to 190 internal and let it rest for a couple of hours in a dry cooler and you will enjoy the difference. It was not done!

Jim

 

[cleglue]

Also, the wife bought a 10+ LB pork butt to cook in a few weeks, how are they after freezing?

Thanks again to all!!!

The butt will be fine after freezing it. I have nine in the freezer now. It is time I do one or two myself.

 

[Bill The Grill Guy]

Brisket is still tough and will be dry at 170 internal. It is the connective tissue that has broken down that gives brisket it's moisture. At 170 the connective tissue had not finished breaking down. Take the same brisket to 190 internal and let it rest for a couple of hours in a dry cooler and you will enjoy the difference. It was not done!

Jim

I fully agree with Jim on this one. That puppy never stood a chance. Ya gotta let it get to at least 190* then let her rest. Next time try to foil (Dont go throwing stones here fellers) at 170* and put it back on til it hits 190*. See if you get a difference.

 

[Toby Keil]

Brisket is still tough and will be dry at 170 internal. It is the connective tissue that has broken down that gives brisket it's moisture. At 170 the connective tissue had not finished breaking down. Take the same brisket to 190 internal and let it rest for a couple of hours in a dry cooler and you will enjoy the difference. It was not done!

Jim

I fully agree with Jim on this one. That puppy never stood a chance. Ya gotta let it get to at least 190* then let her rest. Next time try to foil (Dont go throwing stones here fellers) at 170* and put it back on til it hits 190*. See if you get a difference.

Thanks Jim & Bill. I’ll definitely foil the next one at 170 and and the pull it at 190 then leter set a spell.