Smoking a brisket today, looked around for IT Temps and the concensus seems to be to take it out at 170f which is well done. Am I OK to take mine to only 160f which is medium and why are people cooking theirs so high.
Thanks is advance
Chris.
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Brisket is not a cut of beef like a roast that you cook to an IT that makes it medium rare, medium or whatever your preference is for doneness of beef. It needs to be cooked "low and slow" to a much higher IT so it will have a chance for the connective tissues to break down and the meat to become tender. If you try to prepare it like you would a roast it will be extremely tough. As a rule, the lower temp you use to cook it at the lower the temperature will be at which the meat becomes fork tender. Cooking at a higher temp will require a higher IT to achieve the same tenderness. When you can insert a fork and twist it easily is when your brisket is ready. Hope this helps. If you go to the recipe site there are some excellent tutorials on how to prepare brisket for optimum results. (susanminor.org)
I take mine to an IT of about 190 and it usually is perfect
This is only a small Costco brisket, about 2.5lbs, what do you recommend as the cooking temp.
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I would smoke it around 225
Sounds good. Thankyou.
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You may want to start testing it for doness when it hits 185°F. To test use a fork and insert it into the thickest part of the meat. If it slides in and out without resistance, it is ready to slice. Just make sure you slice across the grain. If it is tough to get the fork to pierce the skin, continue to cook. I usually check at 5°F intervals.
24 hours with a good covering of Jan's rub
(http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w662/bloke6/lrg_1399813177058_7221391609_a85b70db_zps0yast3yh.jpg) (http://s1335.photobucket.com/user/bloke6/media/lrg_1399813177058_7221391609_a85b70db_zps0yast3yh.jpg.html)
Into the smoker for 2 hours of maple, then it stalled at 3 hours and 40 mins at 146 internal, so I put in the oven set @ 300 to bring it up to 190.
End result. Delicious.
(http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w662/bloke6/lrg_1399860060767_3170183024_a85b70db_zpswcmjh5em.jpg) (http://s1335.photobucket.com/user/bloke6/media/lrg_1399860060767_3170183024_a85b70db_zpswcmjh5em.jpg.html)
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looks tasty!