Tips, Tricks & Just Good Advice! > Welcome to Outdoor Cooking!

First brisket s*cked

(1/4) > >>

kendec65:
OK-could use a little knowledge here. Tried to make my first brisket on my Rec Tec and
was so excited till I tasted it. Flavor and smoke were great, but was tough like rubber.
I cooked it at 225 till I reached an internal temp of 155 and I wrapped it, added a small
amount of apple juice and cooked it till I reached 195. Thing was so tough my wife could
of ripped her teeth out. My guess is it needed more time but I was worried I would over
cook it. Thoughts?

Ken

muebe:
Brisket is a tough meat to get right. Also the quality of the brisket has an effect too.

Personally every flat I have cooked has not come out as good as I wanted it to.

The only time I have made brisket that turned out good was when I made a full packer.

The two keys I have learned is that sometimes a brisket will be ready when it is ready. Even though the temp was at 195F how did the probe feel when you pushed it in? Should feel like going into warm butter. If not then the brisket is not ready yet.

And always slice across the grain or it will be chewy regardless done or not.

sliding_billy:
Undercooked for sure.  You cannot gauge brisket doneness by internal temp (though tit can be used as a guide to start checking).  When you can slide a skewer into the thickest point in the flat and it goes in like a knife through room temp butter it is done.  All briskets are different, and the final temp can depend on cook temp, grade of beef, size of the brisket and even just the finickiness of the individual cut.

akruckus:
I start checking the brisket to see how tender it is starting at 195F.  The last time I cooked one, it was tender at 201F when I wrapped and let rest in the oven for an hour before slicing.  Time before that it was 207F. If you over cook brisket you can always use it for some pulled beef, but it sounds like it just needed a little more time.

Jaxon:
I'm just a backyard jack and I have smoked only 4 briskets - 3 packers and 1 flat.  Each one turned out.
I use a technique that I found online.  The reason I use it is because it allows wrap the brisket in foil and finish it either in the smoker or in the oven (I finished one there).

I cook in the smoker till I get to 175;  double wrap tightly in foil adding some beef broth from bullion cubes;  put back in at 250 until it reaches 205;  if it passes the skewer test, I take it out and open the foil to let it rest, waiting till it cools to around 145 before slicing.

It is important to get over 200* but you have to go by the probe test, too.   After that the MAIN THING is - you have to be very patient and let it rest...sitting there in its own juice until it cools down.  If you don't let it rest, you will lose all the juices as soon as you slice it.  It will be dry and tough.

You have probably done this step already, but just in case you haven't, do some more reading & research online.
I'm here to tell you that when you find the technique that works for you and that RecTec (I'd love to have one), you will absolutely love the results. 
I don't think I'll go back to cooking butts.


just sayin'...

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page