Beef brisket become pulled brisket ???

[Ed1978]

This is the first time I'm smoking beef brisket. While it turned out delicious, it wasn't what I was expecting, at least not based on what I've been reading on this forum.

So I got a 10.3 lbs whole beef brisket (with both flat and point). I slathered it with mustard, put some rub on it, and left it overnight in the fridge. The next day I took it out from the fridge, left it on kitchen counter for 2 hours and then put it in my OBS. I'm using hickory and smoked the meat for 4 hours. I left the house while the meat was being smoked and the temperature inside the smoker went from 205F to 260F while I was away. I immediately lowered the temperature and smoked the last 1 hour at 150F. After the smoking done, I moved the brisket into the oven at my kitchen. I put the brisket on a baking pan, pour some apple juice to it, covered it with aluminium foil, and then left it in the oven at 210F. The next morning I took it out when the internal meat temperature hit 192F (according to my bradley digital thermometer).  Total cooking time (both the smoking and the baking in the house oven) was about 15 hours. I then FTC it for about 8 hours. At dinner time, I took it out from the cooler and tried to slice it and the meat just pulled apart.

I've seen some of the pictures in this forum and all the brisket I've seen doesn't look like mine, which is more like pulled brisket. While it tasted great, it wasn't what I wanted. Did I baked it too long? Should I have taken it out when the internal meat temperature hit 180F? Should I have used less apple juice and not cover it while baking?

Here are some pics of the brisket:

[kiyotei]

your slicing along the grain.  You have to slice perpendicular to the grain.  Length of cooking will affect how well it holds together but the key is so slice against the grain.  I super sharp knife is also important.  An electric knife works great for carving a brisket.

[Gizmo]

Ed,
There are some out there that would die to serve up a brisket so tender.  Any way, cut down on your IT and probably more importantly the 8 hours of FTC if you want slicable brisket.
Hard to tell just by the picture but it looks like the meat had a good amount of fat in it that rendered out, flavored the meat and left it shreading tender but not so rendered that it was dry. 
I see awesome BBQ beef sandwiches in your future.   :)

[Ed1978]

Thanks for the feedback.

Next time I'll slice it perpendicular to the grain. Also probably take it out at 180F internal temperature. And also sharpen my knife!  :) I think my knife was pretty dull, which doesn't help either :)

The meat itself tasted good. It was moist and juicy for the most part. There are some spot that's a bit dry but I believe it's normal for a brisket. Could probably use a bit more rub though.

Yeah, I'm gonna have a nice BBQ beef sandwich tomorrow for lunch :)

[Wildcat]

Mine come out tender, but not to this point.  I think Giz was right on with the fat content and the FTC time.  If I can find one with enough fat, I am going to try to get those results as my wife and her mother prefer beef over pork.  I like both.  Nice job.

[Tiny Tim]

I did a brisket flat last weekend.  Took it to 186 IT followed by 2 hours FTC.  Sliced some up for supper Sunday night and I thought it was great.  It was even better yesterday when I brought some to work with me, sliced it 3/8 inch thick and reheated it in the microwave....cut it with a plastic fork (the last piece had more crust and I broke one tine off though).

[westexasmoker]

Hi Ed, Welcome to the forum!

As already stated always slice against the grain and keep in mind once you get to the point it changes direction.  Your fat cap looks good, you may have had a pretty thick fat vein in middle.  This is what seperates the flat from the point, if you have a real thick cap next time remove most of the the fat vein you'll kinda have a flap like this



I would also say no mustard on beef, but that is entirely up to you I know some that do and some don't!  I also noticed on your baking sheet there is hardly any juice.  I like to use a disposable foil roasting pan covered tightly with foil fat cap on top still with just a splash of juice, beer the cap will continue to render down and  you should wind up with about 1/2 inch of wonderful juice after you pull it out of the oven!  But none the less Congrats on your smoke!  And keep in mind there is always another smoke around the corner!  Oh yeah, use mesquite!  ;D

C

[Ed1978]

The baking pan in the picture is actually not the one that I used to bake the brisket. I used another baking pan that could hold more liquid. When I took out the brisket from the oven, the bottom part of the meat was basically submerged in apple juice/meat's juice/fat (probably 1/4 of the meat). Am I supposed to leave part of the meat submerged in liquid like that? I just think part of the meat was probably boiled instead baked  ???

Also, you're right westexasmoker. When I was slicing the point, the meat didn't pulled apart like in the flat section. It was still really soft but I could still somewhat sliced it (messy slice that is). Probably cause the grain changed direction.

[Habanero Smoker]

The amount of liquid looks alright. That is about the amount most use when braising.

[Ed1978]

I forgot to mention that the brisket did have thick fat vein in middle. I only removed a little bit of it but not most of it.
Also it has pretty thick fat cap as well.

Anyway, I'll try it again next time. I was gonna try pulled pork next but since I already got a pulled brisket this time. I'll probably try something different :) Any suggestion? I've done baby back ribs couple times so I want to try something different :)

[westexasmoker]

Yep that would be about the amount of liquid I would expect.  Then pull and FTC, I think the last one I did sat for about 5 or 6 hours before I sliced it.   You could remove a bit more of the fat vein and see what ya get!  Brisket can be a tricky little beast, but stay after it and you'll nail it!  Keep us posted!  Oh I noticed you used hickory that could be the problem!  ;D  ;)  ;D

C

[Ed1978]

Yeah, I don't have mesquite yet but I've just ordered some from Amazon so next time I'll use it :)