Preping for my 2nd Brisket

[DevinM]

Long story short I messed up my first brisket, dried it out and it was surely not as tender as it should of been. However there was some positives my friend who ate it with me said it was as good or better then our favorite bbq place locally "taste" wise.

I've looked at some of the recipes that are linked and  I just want to get some opinions on what I'm missing or different suggestions. This will be a rough idea of what I'm going to do.

- Rub brisket wrap and put in fridge.

- Take Brisket out and let sit until it starts to sweat.

- Pre Heat smoker at 220-230 depending on how easily it keeps its heat " I generally have to switch it up and down I don't have an easy time keeping it at a certain level"

- Likely use a mix of wood for the smoke, put single 9.5 pound brisket in with the intention of cooking for 14.5 hours

- " this is where I see a lot of differences in things I've read which has messed me up"

- Sit in smoke for 4-5 hours then wrap with tinfoil and add some apple juice and put back into the heat at 220

- when time is up and temp is achieved take out and wrap in newspaper and put in a cooler for X amount of time? I have seen in another post about thermometer placement my first brisket even tho over cooked never reached the desired internal temp, I believe now it was thermometer placement issue as I put it in from the top of the brisket away from the heat.

So does this mean I am in for 18 hours for this 9.5 pound brisket? assuming its wrapped in newspaper for 4 hours? Do I need to wrap it? Am I drastically reducing the quality if I do not?

[Shuswap]

I have only done one brisket so I am no expert.  However, the 2 resources I used were Pachanga from this forum : http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?775-I-Prefer-to-Smoke-Totally-Naked
and Aaron Franklin of Austin Texas on youtube - a famous pitmaster.

[DevinM]

sorry those are really some of the posts I am referring to, I really like pachangas post but I guess it just confuses me slightly where he is dealing with 3 -4 briskets at once and I'm only doing 1.

[tailfeathers]

My advice would be to allow yourself plenty of time for the cook. Determine doneness by the internal temp of the meat regardless of the time, I would allow at least 1.5 hrs/lb. I don't usually wrap in foil (Texas crutch)during the cooking time although I'm sure it would speed up the process. When the meat gets close to your target temp check for doneness and if is ready wrap tightly in foil, then an old towel and place it in the smallest available cooler that will hold it.  (FTC). I usually put a thick layer of newspaper over the towel in the cooler. You will find that the meat will probably still be to hot to handle barehanded even after 4 hours of FTC.


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[Shuswap]

In my thread located 2 below this one, I have a photo of loading a brisked with the reverse U as suggested by Pachanga - it works 8)

[tskeeter]

Devin, the foil, towel, cooler, or foil, paper, cooler process is primarily a technique used to keep food warm between the time that it finishes cooking and when you want to serve it.  It does provide some benefit in that it allows the heat to even out in a piece of meat, but to skip or shorten that step will not have a significant effect on your product. 

[DevinM]

The finished product



Is it weird to say I think I made it too tender? 9.5 pounds I injected with beef stock and butter, planned to cook for 14ish hours, it was done before 12 in fact I took it out at 204 IT because I didn't have the thermometer in I figured with 3 hours to go or something I'd put it in and well trick was on me. That being said it didn't dry out or anything it was as good as I could hope. Didn't really enjoy the Whiskey oak wood, not because of what some people said it is very strong. I don't find any of the wood types too strong, I think I will use mesquite and some apple next time like I did my first Brisket. Also a different rub next time as well tho that one was not bad.

My girlfriend said no more brisket for awhile she did not like me putting the brisket in at midnight and still being awake watching it at 5am and hearing coyotes or wolves howling. I dare them to come and try and take my brisket tho.

[DevinM]

Also 2 more things, have not had a smoke ring when doing brisket either time is it possible with the Bradley? 2nd thing is I need to get better at trimming I think it had too much fat even tho no one seemed to think twice about it.

[Habanero Smoker]

When brisket is cooked too long, it can get overly tender to the point that it is mushy, along with drying out. You can also overcook pork shoulder to the point it is mushy. Injecting, did prevent it from drying. If you don't have a probe thermometer that can stay in the meat, keep in mind, that brined and injected meats tend to cook faster then untreated meats. You can spend as little as $12 on a less expensive digital probe thermometer, though many members purchase one of the Maverick remote probe digital models. If you suspect that you have overcooked the brisket, you never want to use the FTC method. That will turn your cooler into a passive cooler and continue to cook the brisket. You need to cool it as fast as possible. A trick the Diva Q uses it to take the brisket out, make sure it is wrapped tightly, place in a plastic bag, and pack it in ice. This will stop the cooking process.

You can not get a smoke ring in the Bradley by just using the generator and burning bisquettes.

"Smoke ring" is a reddish/pink coloration just under the surface of the meat. It can be considered a sign that the meat was properly barbecued, but this ring can also be artificially produced. It does not add any flavor to the meat. The "smoke ring" can only occur using the low and slow method of cooking. The term "smoke ring" is misleading, and in other circles it is often referred to as "pink ring". The ring is not cause by a chemical reaction of the smoke with the meat, but by the chemical reaction caused by nitrogen dioxide; which is produced by burning organic fuels. Nitrogen dioxide is a byproduct of burning organic fuels such as wood, charcoal, natural gas, and propane gas. It is possible to obtain a "smoke" ring in your propane or natural gas oven.

Although the bisquette fall into the category of organic fuel; to produce nitrogen dioxide in sufficient quantities, the fuel must be burned at a much higher temperature then the bisquettes that smolder on the hot plate at about 550°F. Once the nitrogen dioxide comes in contact with the meat's surface it converts to nitric oxide, which then reacts to the pigment (myoglobin) in the meat to form a "pink ring" (similar to what sodium nitrite does when in comes in contact with meat). This reaction can penetrate to a depth of 1/4 to 3/8 inch (8-10 mm). The irony of it; you can produce a "pink ring" using the Bradley propane smoker, but not in any of Bradley's electric smokers.


Having said that, I have a charcoal burner that I rarely produce a smoke ring on my meats. So even when barbecuing meats  using a charcoal burner doesn't' guarantee you a smoke ring. Also if the cooking chamber is too dry, that also impedes in the development of a smoke ring.

[DevinM]

thanks for the info, I do have a probe I just forgot to use it.

[tskeeter]

Devin, injecting your brisket with butter helped to make the brisket seem more moist.  In your mouth, fat has a similar feel to moisture, so additional fat contributes to the sense that the meat is moist.  Good move.