The last brisket I made was delicious. I will try one again soon. I bought a 9ish pound flat at Sams. I may try for the tip at a local butcher if not too expensive. Although my last brisket was successful there is always room for improvements. The flavor was great, extremely juicy, but looking for more tendernous. I smoked for 4 hours, cooked at about 200 for a total cooking time of 14 hours. pulled when temp was 195 ( I think). I was a way for awile and when I came back the temp was up there. FTC for 2 hours. Did I pull it out too late (would that adversely effect tendernous) or if I cooked longer, woulld it have been more tender. I did not boat. Next time I may cook in aluminum disposible pan and add mop sauce every hour or so.
I am hoping to achieve a piece of meat that falls apart just by looking at it. Thanks in advance. Any thoughts?
I do not think the higher meat temp made much difference. If anything, it would have been more dry. I suspect that the FTC may have been too short, or possibly the quality of the meat. Always go for high quality, especially with beef.
I would agree with Wildcat on longer FTC for more tender. I will pull my brisket out of the smoker after the smoke and boat the brisket in apple juice and Jack Daniels, covered with foil while brining the IT up to 185. after the IT is reached, bring the temp down to 140 or so or to the more traditional FTC for several hours later. I have had a brisket so tender I couldn't slice it with a razor.
Thats what I am looking for. I thought two hours was almost too long. After two hours though the meat was warm, but any colder and it would not have been warmed enough. When I FTC I usually wrap in a few towels and add a 2 cup pyrex w/ boiling water.
About the internal temperatures, one very experienced member would take the internal temperature of his brisket up to over 200°F, and always have a perfect brisket.
I smoke/cook mine at 200°F, until an internal temperature of 185°F is reached, foil with a little apple juice or beef broth or a combination of both, and let in rest in a preheated microwave for an hour or so.
I just talked to a local butcher. I will place an order for a brisket in a while. I bet better meat will help. Thanks all.
Choice beef is fine. Once in a while you will find a utility grade so just look for the choice label.
I have sampled Gizmo's brisket and it is OUTSTANDING tender, moist and flavor is great. My practice has been much like HabS. I will try one like gizmo next however, (except will keep it cooking in the Bradley) - man turf and all that... ;D
When you guys boat do you sealt he foil up, or is it open ended (to retain the juices or mop sauces)?
Sealed to keep the moisture in. It basically steams the meat to tenderize.
gizzerdmo shared a few slices of his heavily guarded brisket last weekend...
i gotts to say it was better than anything i have ever done before...
butt i gotts to say that those long ftcs causes alzheimers... i have had complete briskets in full ftc completely wonder off... sometimes taking a whole day to reappear still in full ftc acting like nothing happened...
scarry stuff...
you gotta eat...
owrstrich
Quotebutt i gotts to say that those long ftcs causes alzheimers... i have had complete briskets in full ftc completely wonder off... sometimes taking a whole day to reappear still in full ftc acting like nothing happened...
scarry stuff...
;D ;D ;D
;D ;D
newbee here: when yall talk bout boat what exactly od you mean? ???
ttu
foil pan with a lid ;) kind of the opposite of a boat really ;D
oh ok but what do you exactly use it for???
sorry at times im a little slow. i guess ive had too many beers in my life. :D :D
After 4 hours of smoke, I pull the brisket out of the bradley and place it into a foil pan with about 1/8 inch of apple juice and or some Jack Daniels, mist the brisket with AJ and then cover with foil and place in the oven at 200 deg. Monitor the internal temperature of the brisket until it reaches your desired set point. From that point you can drop the temperature down to "hold" the meat until you are ready to serve or reach a more tender state (i.e. falling apart). I actually use my house convection oven with a meat probe and it will automatically go to a hold temperature of 150 degrees after the desired probe temp is reached. The foil boat will help retain moisture in the meat and tenderize it as well.
thanks thats awesome. im gona have to try that out.
thanks
Giz, one more question what is the internal temp that you look for?
tturaider
Sorry on a brisket that is.
180 to 185 degrees.
thaks giz!
one last question if the brisket is too large to fit on the race is it ok to let it touch the sides or should i cut it ane put it on two racks.
tturaider
I would never allow any food surface to touch the sides of the Smoke Box. Surface touches can lead to the fat draining down the sides, collecting in the bottom of the box and then possibly catching fire and at a minimum, making a mess to clean up. I cut the brisket at the point where the meat thickness changes so the flat part is fairly uniform in thickness and the other is somewhat of a ball (mostly a fat cap).
thanks once again giz :) :)
i am having trouble getting the temp above 200 with a 16# brisket in the box. the temp slider is all the way over, smoke damper is closed, and smoke gen goin. any suggestions???
Back the slider off just a touch. Is the heating element glowing?
yes it is a bright red
See Gizmos question and ...
please open the dampner on the top. The moisture trapped inside the smoke tower will absorb your heat keeping the temps down. It is also in the process of damaging your smoke generator. Air is intended to move though the smoke generator fins and out through the vent in the top of the tower.
Keep the damper vent open enough that you DO NOT see any smoke escape at the small gap between the smoke tower and the smoke generator.
A 16 pound brisket will take time to come up to temp. It is a nice big piece of meat that will absorb heat for a long time before the heat goes into the tower. ;)
Are you going by the door temp guage or a Digital probe? The door temp guage is not very accurate. I would now suspect that the meat mass is absorbing the heat and the box temp may be higher if measured next to the meat. You should be good as the bright glow of the heat element is usually a good sign it is working correctly.
just usin the one on the door. i will open the damper and maybe that will help. i was wondering if that size of meat was the prob.
thanks
tturaider
ill let yall know how it comes out!! :)
Take some pics if you can. Good luck.
will do when i get it out!
thanks again
tturaider
One note to add to the above discussion. Because the temperature controller is a rheostat, and not a thermostat; as long as you have food in the BS you should always keep the temperature adjuster fully to the right until you have the correct smoking/cooking temperature (unless you are using a temperature control device, then you should keep it fully to the right); this helps the cabinet recover more quickly. You only need to be concerned if your cabinet is reaching the 320°F mark. At that temperature the smoker will automatically shut-off, and will not function until it has cooled down. During normal operation it is almost impossible for the cabinet to reach that temperature with food in the cabinet.