I just got thru smokin two briskets and while they were tender and moist they wern't as tender as the last one that i smoked. The meat had a texture that seemed like the connective tissue wasn't quite cooked all the way. The briskets were from Sam's one 8 lbs and one 10 lbs I trimmed off the ends so that they would fit in the trays without touching the sides. Here is what I did....I would appreciate any advice if you see where I went wrong. ??? ???
1. Marinated the briskets with a rub for approx 26 hrs.
2. Started the box and let it get up to approx 215 deg while the meat warmed to room temp.
3. Briskets in the box at 0500 with a 4 hr smk alternating between oak, cherry, and maple with a temp of around 180-190 deg. (I tried to keep it around 200 the complete time but i dont have a pid so it was just as i could watch it) I do have a digital therm. that has a probe for the cabinet and one for the meat which i used throught cooking.
4. Around 0930 pulled the briskets wraped em in foil with a splash of AJ and put em back in the box with the racks rotated. Box temp 190-205.
5. 1230 rotated the racks and kept the temp around 200-215 for the remainder of the cook.
6. 1630 pulled the racks with an internal temp of 180 and FTC for two hrs.
That is basically what i did. Like i said the meat was tender and jucy it just still had that connective tissue that you could feel while eatin it. >:(
Thx for any suggestions!!!
It looks like you did everything right on the cooking end. Main question-did you slice against the grain of the meat? You wouldn't beleive how much difference that makes, and that sounds like a "cutting with the grain" problem. After eating fresh brisket from my local butchers, I will not buy Sam's or Walmart's briskets again. My guys don't have them very often, and I do without a lot more than I would like, but I don't like the solution packed stuff at all. If I had never gotten it fresh I probably would be OK with Sam's, but there's no comparison to fresh. Also, I don't pull them out of the smoker until they reach 195, though many people on the forum pull at lower temps.
Thanks ON....yea i tried slicing it both ways to see if it would help any but i couldnt tell any diff. I didnt really like the two briskets that i got but they were the smallest that I could find. I guess next time i will just get a larger/better cut and just cut it down the middle to make it fit.
I was plannin on taking the meat to 190 but ive got a small problem with not having any patience!!! I was wondering if I had maybe pulled them a little to early? ???
Also do you ever wrap ur briskets while cooking them? Do you think it helps/hurts?
I take mine to 185 or so. I also put them in a foil pan with foil lid. I use 210 deg box temp. I usually get the largest whole packer I can and get them from a meat market although I have picked some from Costco and Smart and Final but the Iowa beef UDSA Choice is hard to beat. I cut mine almost in half. Actually selecting the area where the flat part starts getting larger. I do this so the flat section will cook evenly and the larger section with the decel will cook evenly. They will usually arrive at the the 185 internal temp at different times but the FTC (keeping it in the foil at 150 deg) holds it well for the duration.
Last weekend I did a brisket and used a creole butter injection. I picked up another brisket today and doing a repeat for relatives in town, the brisket is a special request from Iowans.
You didn't mention if you were smoking whole packer, flats or points. The Sam's in my area only sells flats, but I know that depending on the region you live they will offer the other cuts. For the last several months the flats have only been averaging 5 pounds each. So I am wondering if you my have picked up some whole packer cuts. If they were whole packer, then it may be an issue of where you placed your probe.
Myself I don't like my brisket falling apart, I prefer it to still have some texture to it.
I normally do not wrap in foil until the FTC. Also, I never let my box temp get any higher than 210 while cooking and I cook until meat temp is 190 to 195. I try to FTC for at least 2 hours and prefer 3 or 4 hours.
Thanks Giz I will have to try that. Creole butter woooooo im gona have to try that. Thats making my mouth water just thinking of that. What kind of rub do you put on them with that butter.
Haba...I was using whole briskets. I placed the probe about half way in the middle but I may need to check several points next time.
I also do think the two briskets that I had wern't the best prob bout a 3 on a scale of 10. I was just thinking of trying to get it to fit on the rack. Dumb me :-\ :-\
Wild....so am I correct in assuming that the higher the internal temp you get the shorter the FTC time should be??? ???
No but the longer it takes to get through the plateau the less need for FTC and the better the connective tissue and fat break down. I still like to FTC for a while with apple juice. Also, you can take it out at lower temps (if desired) when it takes a long time to get through the plateau.
Thanks Wild that makes more sense.
Quote from: tturaider on February 29, 2008, 10:53:50 AM
Thanks Giz I will have to try that. Creole butter woooooo im gona have to try that. Thats making my mouth water just thinking of that. What kind of rub do you put on them with that butter.
The creole butter injection came with creole seasoning as well. I added some brisket rub (seasonings I threw together) as well.
The brisket I put in today, I larded with some of the fat I trimmed off. I was talking to the butcher and he suggested that on the flat part where the meat is much leaner, to lard it to add to the flavor and moisture. This also received the creole butter injection. :)
Hey Giz, I had never injected a brisket until about 5 minutes ago. Actually never thought about it until I read your post. I melted butter and added creole seasoning and a little flavored meat tenderizer and shot it up. Then I did a brown mustard slather, and rubbed with Iceman's rub, more tenderizer, onion powder and garlic powder. I had to seperate the point from the flat (which I usually don't do) because of a huge difference in thickness. I'm just hoping this pouring rain stops so I can start early in the morning. Thanks for the great idea! :)
Wow you both will have to keep us posted on how that works out. It sounds so good I think I might have to try it myself.
Sure will, tt. I used to inject just about everything I smoked in my old smokers, but for some reason I kind of got away from it when I got the Bradley. I still can't beleive I didn't think of injecting a brisket until I read Gizmo's post, though. Oh, well, age does that to a man, and that's another great thing about spending time on this forum-the help and ideas from a bunch of great people!
That is true there is a lot of great info on this site. This site is the main reason why is bought a bradley....smart on bradleys part.
The brisket I did last weekend was injected and rated as the best I have ever done by my wife and she did not know I had injected it first. I transferred this weekends brisket from the smoker to the foil pan and oven just a little while ago. Looked great so far. Had some Jack and cabernet sauvignon for it to wade in. Sprinkled some more rub on the top, covered with foil and in it went.
Sounds great, Gizmo. I'm looking forward to it. I know the brisket didn't get ALL your Jack, did it? ;) :D
No, the brisket shares. ;D ;D
Giz sounds good. So do you trans the brisket to the foil pan as soon as you get thru with the smoke....approx 4 hrs? Also when you say that you put it in a foil pan with jack and wine how much of each do you use (just enuff to splash on it or enuff to have some for the brisket to sit in...inches etc.)?
Quote from: tturaider on February 29, 2008, 07:38:54 PM
Also when you say that you put it in a foil pan with jack and wine how much of each do you use
Oh oh... did someone say beverage?
Hopefully, enough is used to make the cook happy... :D :D :D
Yea but if I start on the hard stuff I wouldnt make it to take the stuff out of the smoker. ;D ;D
Arcs-I can't beleive it took you over 9 minutes to respond after Gizmo mentioned the word "Jack". That's pretty slow for you. Good thing it wasn't an emergency! ;D
"This is only a test. I repeat, this is only a test of the emergency beverage system. Had this been an actual emergency, you would have received an e-mail alert within 10000 milliseconds or five drinks, whichever came first."
Quote from: tturaider on February 29, 2008, 07:38:54 PM
Giz sounds good. So do you trans the brisket to the foil pan as soon as you get thru with the smoke....approx 4 hrs? Also when you say that you put it in a foil pan with jack and wine how much of each do you use (just enuff to splash on it or enuff to have some for the brisket to sit in...inches etc.)?
Yes I boat it after the 4 hours of smoke. I don't measure, just guzzle, I mean pour until I get about 1/8 inch. Don't need much. This just gives it a little flavor and initial moisture since once the fat starts to render, the boat will increase in fluid. The fluid that is left over (after skimming off the fat - when it cools the fat will congeal and float on top) is great to use as an aus-juis especially when reheating.
Whooo....meat, butter, jack, and wine cant get much better!! Im at the fire station right now but much more of this kind of talk and I may have to come up with an urgent flu so that I could go home and get started. ;D ;D
My beast hit the smoke at 6:30 this morning. I have to keep an eye on the skies, though. It isn't supposed to rain anymore, and a little too warm to snow, but the clouds look like they could but loose with a downpour at any minute... :-\
So ON...is this the brisket that you injected with the butter and cajun season? Keep us informed how it works out.
This is the one, tt. Actually it was creole seasoning instead of cajun, although I doubt there is any difference in the two. Clouds are gone, sun's out, turned into a beautiful morning. I don't think it's supposed to get over 45 here today, but's that's 20 degrees warmer than it got to a few days this week! I'll take it! :) I will let you know how it turns out this evening. The flat was only about 2 inches thick, so I don't expect it to take that long. The point was at least twice as thick, so it may take awhile.
Sounds good. Do you remember what the total weight was by chance?
I sure do. It was 7.82 pounds.
Not that you're counting or anything. ;D
TT-actually after trimming a little fat it would have been more like 7.27 pounds. ;)
:D
Here is my brisket for today. You may notice that the liquid level is quite high. There was just a small amout of Jack and Chardoney in the bottom when they went into the oven with a foil cover.
Flat
(http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q78/GizmoPhoto/Smoking179.jpg)
Point
(http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q78/GizmoPhoto/Smoking178.jpg)
Holy Crap Giz!
My mouth started watering as soon as I opened this thread! :P
Looks great! 8)
Mike
Nice. Now I am hungry and it is 3 hours till dinner time.
Wow I just got thru eating and that is still making me want to eat!! Looks awesome!
Hey is there any trick to getting the fat off of the top liquid once it seperates or is a spoon the best way to get it off?
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Mine turned out excellent too. Except for the very thin ends on the flat, it was very moist and tender, and had a flavor that was out of this world. My neighbor was a bachelor tonight, and I invited him over to try it. He absolutely loved it. Couldn't get enough. He was actually eating the strips of fat the I was trimming off. :P The point just came out of FTC and got pulled. I tried to slice some to make it easier to pull, but it just completely fell apart. The bear claws tore it up in a matter of minutes. I have it "soaking" in Icemans sauce overnight, and can't wait for a pulled brisket and smoked cheese sandwich for breakfast. Thanks again Gizmo or the idea!
Quote from: tturaider on March 01, 2008, 12:13:45 PM
Wow I just got thru eating and that is still making me want to eat!! Looks awesome!
Hey is there any trick to getting the fat off of the top liquid once it seperates or is a spoon the best way to get it off?
The best way is to let it cool. It will congeal and then you can lift it off. If you want some immediately, suck the liquid off the bottom with a baster.
Thanks Giz that is about what I figured.
On...that is making my mouth water just thinking about that.