[Anglo]

Boys!

I have been trying to make a successful Brisket for 3 years now.  I try it a couple of times per summer and I get quite pissed at the results; see here dry as a bone piece of wood.

What am I doing wrong?

Here's what I do:

I inject the beast with sugar and water.
Dry rub it with ; insert your herb combo here.
I smoke it on indirect heat at 225 F for a good 2 to 3 hours.

I wrap in foil for another 2 hours give or take and baste it with melted brown sugar, and beer.

It comes out dryer than Bon Hope at this present time.

Help!

[some young guy]

I've never injected before. It sounds like you're making a hole for juice to escape. It also sounds like your heat is too high (like it's not actually 225) to me. When I've smoked brisket, it usually takes me about 6 hours or more.

I usually do a dry rub, but you could also brine it. My favorite is a heavy mixture of thyme, black pepper and garlic. I pack it on thick and turn the brisket a couple times per day, for a few days. Then I salt it well with kosher salt and smoke it for at least 6 hours with indirect heat until it's tender. This is some good pastrami! Other than that, I'll braise it with a paprika based dry rub, mirepoix, herbs, red wine and a little chicken or veal stock. Just keep that heat low and slow. The meat will seize-up a little while it's cooking (and will be dry if removed at this point), but it will relax if you keep it going.

[nullspace]

4-5 hours seems like an awfully short period of time for a brisket. What size brisket are we talking about? Could you tell us what temperature the meat is when you take it off the smoker/grill?

The rule of thumb I've seen is 1.5 hours per pound, and a target tempature of 185-190degrees. One possibility is that you're not letting the meat get up to tempature, and the collagen hasn't had a chance to convert to gelatin -- which is what turns a tough piece of meat like brisket 'fork tender'.

Regards,
John

[Dan Driscoll]

I agree, your cooking time is too short and it is likely your cooking temp is too high, also.

Get a good, accurate thermometer for your smoker and another for the meat.

Don't inject sugar into beef. Really, don't inject beef at all. I don't even like brining beef. Properly cooked, the fat cap and the fat in the brisket will do a fine job at keeping the meat moist and it will taste better.

Dry rub, at least 12 hours in advance and preferably 24-48 hours. You can use anything you want, as long as there is a good proportion of salt. Alton Brown has a decent beginners' rub on the Good Eats website and there are tons of other recipes available at various other BBQ and smoking sites. I use espresso powder in my rub, but you have to be careful or it can overwhelm the meat.

FYI, this is an application where dried herbs and ground or powdered spices work better than fresh or whole.

4-6 hours cooking time, depending on the size of the brisket and whether it is a flat or point end. For a whole brisket 6 hours minimum and as much as 12, especially if you keep the cooking temp down around 200. Keeping the temp down obviously requires a longer cooking time, but results in a more tender and flavorful brisket, IMO.

[PhilNYC]

I've tried to do brisket once...smoked it for about 8 hours, and it came out ok but a little drier than I hoped.  Someone told me that the brisket I got had too much of the fat trimmed from it, and that the secret to a moist brisket is a thick layer of fat and a 10-12 hour cook time on low heat.  This allows for the fat to melt and get absorbed into the meat.  Most places outside the south in the US trim their briskets too much, but if you have a good butcher near you, you can probably get a cut with a good layer of fat still on it.

Since hearing this advice, I have not yet tried it, but I will someday...!

[Christof]

My brother just did a fairly nice size brisket, dry rubbed and cooked with cherry logs for 16hrs @ 200* +/- 5*....

[Jibara]

here's a good primer for brisket.
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/brisket2.html

low and slow 45min to an 1-1/2 per lb. You have to cook brisket through doneness to tenderness.

Smokey on brisket

http://www.barbecuen.com/brisket.htm

[Eric]

The trick with Brisket is low and slow. Don't cook for a specified amount of time. Look for an internal temperature. I cook mine on an indirect smoker. I am to keep the temp between 225 and 250. When the brisket reaches an internal temp of 195 you are done. Some folks like to foil theirs at 165 until it reaches 195, but that changes the bark. I have a rub that I put on mine, and serve sauce on the side.

There is a great sight for bbq. It is www.thesmokering.com. There are forums there where you can get real good advise

[ecramer]

Smoke & Spice: Cooking with Smoke, the Real Way to Barbecue (Paperback)
by Cheryl Alters Jamison 

Sounds like  a combo not enough fat and to high a temp to me get a good thermometer and also make sure your checking the temperature where your meat is. depending on your smoker you may have on even heat  this is very prevalent in smokers like the char broil as they don't run the exhaust out below the grates which is where it belongs. I don't BBQ to much any more as I watch my weight  (was pushing 370 at one time) but i certainly do miss it.

ED

[Matt__P]

good tips,,,I've got a day to waste,,,I think I'll give it a go

It puts the brisket in the basket or it gets the hose!

[Anglo]

Awesome guys!

So, let me sum this up:

1-) My meat is lacking fat

 , anyways, let's continue

2-)I am not cooking the brisket long enough from what I have read. It is usually a 12lb slab when I buy it

3-)Internal temp is 195.

Do, I foil it at the end to get it tender or not?

Thanks

[some young guy]

Do, I foil it at the end to get it tender or not?

If you have an internal temp of 195 already, IMO you should just let if rest for 15-30 minutes.

One more tip: If you're going to use a thermometer, I'd recommend getting one with a probe that can be left in the meat during the cooking process. I'm not a big fan of holes in the meat.

[jaywills]

A true story.  We had some great BBQ brisket over at a friend's house late last year.  My wife of sixteen years, a country girl originally, decided to fix one for our family a bit later--The first one ever, as you will infer from the rest of the story.

Cooked slowly all day.  Dinner time.  The meat looks a bit peculiar.  Take one bite and assume, based upon the taste, that she's BBQ'ed either a possum or a raccoon (Google Gillette 'Coon Festival, it's a quaint Arkansas tradition).

Moral of the story:  Make sure that your brisket is a BEEF brisket, not a CORNED beef brisket.  Even Bessie The Wonder Dog wouldn't touch it.

[nullspace]

One more tip: If you're going to use a thermometer, I'd recommend getting one with a probe that can be left in the meat during the cooking process. I'm not a big fan of holes in the meat.

One of the most valuable tools in my kitchen. I use mine on just about everything. Do yourself a favor and get a couple of extra probes; the insulation tends to break down over time and has a habit of going kaput at the most inopportune time.

Regards,
John

[PhilNYC]

About how long to low-and-slow-it...I was told that at that 200-225 degree temperature, you're looking at about 1 hour per pound for cooking time...

[Anglo]

I have an electronic meat probe; beautiful device.

So, an internal temp of 195 gives me a tender and juicy brisket...?

Do you guys foil your brisket?

What about putting it on a steam bath after it is cooked like restaurants do?

[TheChairGuy]

Just stop trying altogether and find a good Jewish Deli nearby...or some place that can send some to you 

http://www.zingermans.com/product.aspx?ProductID=M-LCB (Zingerman's up in Michigan I think)

http://www.brisket.net/product.asp?ProductID=7313&DepartmentID=530 (in Texas)

EDIT: I think you're in Canada, however....there are large Jewish communities in Montreal and Toronto that must be able to cure your plight 

John

[Jibara]

I've tried to do brisket once...smoked it for about 8 hours, and it came out ok but a little drier than I hoped.  Someone told me that the brisket I got had too much of the fat trimmed from it, and that the secret to a moist brisket is a thick layer of fat and a 10-12 hour cook time on low heat.  This allows for the fat to melt and get absorbed into the meat.  Most places outside the south in the US trim their briskets too much, but if you have a good butcher near you, you can probably get a cut with a good layer of fat still on it.

Since hearing this advice, I have not yet tried it, but I will someday...!

Along with what everybody else has mentioned including Phil above, make sure that the fat side is facing up, so as the fat melts, it melts into the meat.  Since I've been doing this, mine have come out great.

Cook it in an a disposable aluminum drip pan.  It holds the fat and actually lets it stew in its own juices.

Bobber,

The question came from another thread. It relates to a couple of premises about premises. As the brisket cooks, if it was set (1) cap down would the fat melt and percolate up through the meat? And (2) cap up, would the fat melt and "baste" the meat.

I wrote that I'd heard and read that the fat cap and deckle didn't render well, if at all during a cook -- but that I'd never actually tested it and would do so. Which I did by setting up conditions very conducive to rendering. The results were sufficient proof for me me that brisket fat renders only very little during a cook; and is insufficient to "percolate" or "baste."

No matter how silly the percolate hypothesis seems, keep in mind that it's espoused by a few seriously good barbequists. One of whom wears a hat.

If I really wanted to make tallow, I'd have ground the fat up and cooked it (as you said) at a slightly lower temp.

My experience rendering fat is that it renders better in a liquid than dry environment. For instance, if you don't like your bacon greasy, prime the pan with a little oil before you put the rashers in.

Rich

___________________________
Bar B Chef Offset w/Afterburner
Bar B Chef Texas Charcoal Grill

[some young guy]

Do you guys foil your brisket?

What about putting it on a steam bath after it is cooked like restaurants do?

I spent years of my life cooking in restaurants and never put a brisket on a steam bath. Why would you want to do that? If the internal temp is where you want it, you're done. Rest it and eat it.

[ctviggen]

I'm about to cook beef brisket this weekend from a recipe from here:

http://www.amazon.com/New-Best-Recipe-All-New-Recipes/dp/0936184744

They recommend you cook until an internal temperature of 210.  This recipes cooks/smokes on the grill for two hours, then you take the brisket cover with foil and put into an oven for around three hours.  I'll let you know how it comes out.