Tough Brisket!! Help Please!

[Sweetdaddy]

The last few briskets I've cooked turned out very dry and tough. I'm running the pit at about 225, rub with tbr original, fat side down, foiling at 160 and pulling at 195. Should I let them rest for a couple of hours before slicing and should I ad some liquid to the foiled brisket? Not sure wat I'm doing wrong here. Any help or advice much appreciated.

[ezgoin]

I don't know what your smoker setup is, but I never foil brisket during a smoke, and I don't waste energy trimming prior to smoking. Once it pokes tender which is more important than the internal temp, I pull, wrap in foil and let rest in a cooler for at least two to three hours (usually four hours or more). I try to pull out of the cooler and let rest under a towel for about an hour before I try to slice to let the temp drop some more, making the slices hold together better.

That's for comps. If your trying to cater, it's a whole different story. You probably would eliminate the sit-out-under-the-towel part, but it does need to rest for a few hours to let juices redistribute before slicing.

[Kyle]

Where are you getting your cut of meat from?

[Sweetdaddy]

The last two came from Sam's club. I usually buy from "whoever" has the best price. I don't trim, just rub and throw on the smoker.

[TexLaw]

I'm with EZ on this one. I don't know that you are cooking them long enough. There is nothing magic about any temperature when you are dealing with brisket. You just have to cook it until it's done.

And, that rest does help.


TL

[DoubleBarrelSmoker]

Definitely add some liquid like bbq sauce , stock or beer before foiling. And DEFINITELY let it rest min. 1hr. Just my 2cents

[Zeeman]

Any brisket will cook. Some take longer then others. No trimming needed, rub with Texas bbq Brisket Blend, throw on pit fat side down, Your cooking and foiling temp is ok. May need to run internal temp up a few more degrees. 192 is done but maybe a little tuff with some briskets.
I've had them be tender at 198 but mostly around 205-208ish. I've had some go to 212-217ish before get the tender I wanted.

When you foil add about 3/4 cup of your favorite fruit juice or beef broth. Wrap the foil tight around the brisket. Wrap 2-3 times.
After you get the "tender" feel you want (feels like sticking your temp probe into butter) pull off and let rest 2 hour if possible. Remember that when removed from pit internal temp will rise another 3-5 degrees. No towel or ice chest needed. This could cause brisket to over cook and become mushy, like pot roast.

Get Bill to email you his July newsletter (about brisket cooking).
z

[jon]

Ive only cooked my first brisket (11.5lbs) a couple weeks ago and it turned out great. I seasoned with TXBBQRUB brisket blend the night before then cooked between 200-250 (still working on keeping the temp steady), fat down till internal temp hit 190, then pulled, wrapped then set in cooler for an hour. That was my first time cooking a brisket and I kinda impressed myself, maybe its beginners luck, but this worked for me.

Good Luck..

[RuiNT BBQ]

Ditto on the tenderness vs. temps brought up. The temp doesn't mean anything if it's boot leather. Go by feel. I check to see how tender mine are by pushing on them with a finger before I ever stick a thermometer in them. When you can feel the "give" in them, slide the thermo probe in and see if it meets with any resistance, if it does, it isn't done. Now usually by the time they hit over 200 they are usually about to fall apart, but not always. And ditto on the resting before slicing. If you slice when they're real hot they will fall apart and also if you slice before they have a chance to redistribute the juice they will be dry.

[PitBull]

What they said, and I have one more thing to offer. Check you pit temp gage. See if it's reading right. I ran into the same problem a year or so ago. I was doing every thing like I usually did, but the briskets were coming out tough and dry. I couldn't figure it out. I finally stumbled on to the fact that my temp gage was reading about 30 degress low which means I was cooking 30 degrees to hot. It must have gotten damaged between cooks. One new Tru-Temp gage and all was back to normal. :)

Oh, after that I started using an oven temp gage at the cooking grate too.

[Sweetdaddy]

Thanks folks for all the help andadvice. I plan to cook a couple this weekend and will report with pics!!

[PhotoKirk]

Get an oven thermometer and keep it on the grate in your pit.

I freeze all of my briskets before cooking them. I think freezing them breaks the cell walls in the meat and tenderizes them.

[KazQ]

I always freeze my brisket and i know the meat is more tender when cooked,wet ageing in cryovac from original date of packing for some say 30 -40 days i can't do,i start having nightmares after 4-5 days and in the freezer they go.

[Zeeman]

I always freeze my brisket and i know the meat is more tender when cooked,wet ageing in cryovac from original date of packing for some say 30 -40 days i can't do,i start having nightmares after 4-5 days and in the freezer they go.

Q, they can still age in the freezer, however the process take must longer, several months I've read. I can go 2, maybe 3 weeks, I've had good luck with that time frame. I've had 2 go bad at 30 days and don't hold any that long anymore ya know. I've heard that good aged beef stinks somewhat and you can wash that smell off using vinagar/water mixture. Not me :wink:
z

[KazQ]

Q, they can still age in the freezer, however the process take must longer, several months I've read. I can go 2, maybe 3 weeks, I've had good luck with that time frame. I've had 2 go bad at 30 days and don't hold any that long anymore ya know. I've heard that good aged beef stinks somewhat and you can wash that smell off using vinagar/water mixture. Not me :wink:
z

Z,i never heard of the meat actually aging while frozen,i thought just the fact
that it's frozen then thawed changes the molecules or something like that and makes it more tender n flavorful,read somewhere that you can tell how long the briskets been aged from date of packing by the size of the"bubbles",quarter size 30-40 days,dime size 20 days or some such,obviously that info was from someone who pays 99c a pound and doesn't cry when the meats tossable,actually at these prices for brisket they charging now,i won't even mention the price here,,,makes gas prices look like a bargain,,i pick up 5-6 pound thick cut neck steaks from portuguese butcher shops.add cheap stinky portuguese wine,the stinkier undrinkable the better,onions,garlic,pepper,salt let marinate 3-4 hours,grill hot both sides then BBQ low n slow,mighty tasty.