Brisket came out dry need some help

[king kielbasa]

Huskee Spinaker BBQ_Bill ComfortablyNumb Ernest Hey what’s up did a brisket cook yesterday on the kbq and my brisket came out dry and need some advice on how you guys do yours on the kbq . It’s was a packer prime brisket from Costco and I injected it with kosmos q reserve blend and moisture magic and for the rub I used equal parts salt and pepper the day before covered with plastic wrap it and left it in the fridge 1 day before smoking . Then pulled it right from the fridge and threw it in the kbq and the temps were 225-240. I wrapped it at 175 with butcher paper and stuck my thermometer in until it hit 205 . When it hit 205 I checked with my other thermometer which is a thermapen and was hitting temps from 208-213 and was like ohhh shit way to high and threw it in the cooler for 2 hours wrapped in a towel . Anyway When I went to slice it did not crumble and cut fine but when I did the bend test it just fell right in half so I obviously I overlooked it. Did not use a water pan . Left a 1/4 inch of fat on . But it was dry . Oh yeah and my dad tried separating the flat and the point by cutting threw the fat seam and all the fat on the flat stayed connected to the point . I WAS SO PISSED OFF . Any way also wanted to ask I did not get that very black bark on this brisket also don’t know why . How do you guys do your brisket in the kbq ? Also this was my second brisket cook but the first one was like 8 years ago . There are some pictures down below.

first picture is before wrapping . Second is when done and third pic is of the slice

[JeffJ]

You over-cooked it. Prime brisket is typically best at 195. The bark looks fantastic.

[Junior vc]

Is there any table with finishing temps for the different grades of brisket?

[RonB]

Prime packers can be done at a lower temp - sometimes as low as 195*. You should be cooking to probe tender - not a specific temp. I suggest you start probing around 190* next time, and pull it off for cambro when it's probe tender all over.

At 212* water turns to steam and evaporates. If your meat was above 212*, ( or whatever the boiling temp of water is at your elevation), it had no water to aid with moisture. It had to be dry...

[Omega-Man]

212* makes a lot of sense. Who knew!

[ComfortablyNumb]

I've not yet done a brisket, BBQ_Bill is THE expert. He's explained some of his techniques in other threads, you could try searching for them until he chimes in.

[EdF]

Right, he's the Man. Unfortunately, I can't remember which thread he posted his accumulated wisdom on. Most likely "KBQ - has landed". And it's pretty recent - maybe within the last two months.

[Spinaker]

King Kielbasa,
You simply over cooked the brisket. When I am cooking my briskets on the KBQ, I like to take them to about 202 F, in the flat.

I typically run the KBQ at about 245, average. I have used a water pan before, sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. I really have not noticed that much of a difference either way. Although it is really nice to catch all the drippings.

You did the right thing in dry brining the night before. I always do that as well. It can actually be done days before the book.

A little trick that I like to do is throw the brisket in the freezer about an hour before the cook. This gets the meat temp down low, which allows for more smoke and more time in the cook box.

Don't be discouraged, briskets can be finicky and are challenging, at times, to cook.

Let us know if you have more questions, we are happy to help.

[JeffJ]

Agreed regarding the freezer trick. I use that one quite frequently.

[king kielbasa]

Spinaker JeffJ thanks going to be going some beef plate ribs any advice on Doing those ? Should I wrap them or not ? Water pan ? Spritz ? What temp should they be when done ? And also what temp on kbq . Yeah I think that the brisket was overdone does the bark look ok to you though . Going to try another brisket next week should I run the kbq a little higher like 250-270? Also do you spritz your brisket

[Spinaker]

cook them just like you would a brisket. I don't wrap them until the hold in the cambro. I run mine at about 240-260. I don't ever spritz. Just not my style.

[JeffJ]

If you are wrapping I don't think spritzing a brisket is necessary. Your bark looked fantastic. As for short ribs...it depends. If they are individually cut they cook a bit differently than if they are an entire slab. I've only cooked the individually cut ones and if you run in the range of 230-270 in your cooker they take about 5-6 hours to hit 200.

[Nuke em]

With short ribs I also cook in pairs. Never individual. Seems to retain the juice longer. Did some Memorial Day. ( 32 lbs of em) and they came our great

6 inchers


12 in and 6 inchers

6 inchers

[BBQ_Bill]

Howdy Gents.
I just did a VERY thin Alderspring Ranch packer by dry brining in two vacuum bags at 29°F for a week.
(1/2 teaspoon per pound of Kosher salt)
Next, the two halves went into the Sous Vide (AKA "Magic Tub") at 150°F for 48 hours.
Pulled them, dried and then seared them with the "flamethrower".
-
Finally spritzed and then rubbed all with 1/16" fresh cracked black pepper and mild red chili pepper powder from a Rancher there in Hatch Valley, New Mexico.
Into the KBQ they went!
Mesquite smoked for 8 hours at 150°F. (BTW... it controlled at that temp very nicely)
Sliced the whole thing into 1/4" slices and took the strained "spurge" which was flash cooled and sitting in the fridge out and microwave heated it to 141°F.
Poured it over the slices in a large rectangular Pyrex baking dish, and all "dug in".
-
Was kind of disappointed at $13 and change a pound for the cooked and ready to eat meat.
It was very good mind you... but not the best I have ever had.
Oh... and yes the flat was moist, but not crazy moist.

[Spinaker]

interesting approach Bill.

[BBQ_Bill]

The spurge after running through a strainer and Flash Cooling, was a blob of meat jelly.
Basically delicious gelatin.

[BBQ_Bill]

A lot like a good steak, especially the point.

[DeusDingo]

time for chili

[BBQ_Bill]

LOL. Yup

[ColonialDawg]

Just to add to the discussion...In my humblest of opinions, beef (especially lean cuts, like the flat) can dry out rather quickly after slicing. One of the reasons I like to wrap my briskets in foil is to save all those drippings. After slicing my brisket I immediately place those slices in a pan with those juices. It might be a little thing but I do think it makes a difference. Plus, those juices are beefy and smokey tasting (of course, it is essentially a concentrated beef broth) and really enhance the flavor of the brisket.

[Troutman]

Agree, never pre-slice brisket until you are ready to serve. I even turn the raw cut end down on the board. Otherwise the meat oxidizes almost immediately adding to dry out.

[BBQ_Bill]

I agree that air is not your friend. When serving, I do the same, placing the fresh cut end down and against the cutting board to stop the air from oxidizing the fresh cut surface.

[BBQ_Bill]

At times I do pre-slice brisket, but those slices are quickly placed in Ziplock bags with the air squeezed out. Spritzing a bit of liquid into the bag before closing is also good.

[Troutman]

I too cook prime whole packers either from Costco or HEB (local grocer here in Texas) and did indeed struggled with over drying out the flat. Always very tender and beefy but dry. I suppose I have gotten so worried about the point and getting it right that the flat was the sacrificial lamb. In correcting that I've pretty much come to the same realization as BBQ_Bill mentions, I've learned to balance the entire piece of meat and not worry too much about the point, and concentrate on the flat. It's not going to probe like the fatty end and needs way less IT to be both cooked and retain moisture. That has made a world of difference for me as well. That's on a smoker using conventional Texas Hill country methodology, not a KBQ.

Sous Vide is a different story for me. I generally smoke first and get it into the low 130s then let it cool down a bit and throw it into a 135* bath for about 48-50 hours then ice bath for 1 hour. After that I post smoke to establish bark and bring it back up to just below that 135* mark. Have never had a dry one yet using that method. Of course you can also see that I achieve a steak like finish, textually it's a bit different. May not be for the person who wants classic brisket.

Now, having said all that, I do cook whole packers but we are a family of 4 so we obviously we don't need 10-12 pounds of meat at a sitting. So to ultimately solve the thin flat dilemma, lately I simply lop off the front end, stick it in a corning solution and make pastrami out of it. The remaining piece has a much thicker front end and the smoking, especially in the conventional sense, is a lot less worrisome with more predictable results. Said differently I punted.

I hope that helps some, gives you some different targets to shoot for. Of course I don't have a KBQ but I don't think the vessel is necessarily the issue here, it's how the meat is prepared. And for the record I do inject with low sodium beef bone broth and add some tri-phosphate for moisture retention. I've gotten away from wrapping in paper and now do foil pans and/or foil wrap. In essence you sacrifice a little bit of bark but get all the benefits of the braising process and the subsequent moisture retention. You can always do a post smoke to firm up the bark.

Again hope this helps.

Texas Traditional, point drape.....



Sous Vide Alternative, to medium rare, again point drape.....

[EdF]

Great punt, as far as I'm concerned!

[MeatMonster]

Just over shot a bit, I always look out for internal 195F then start probing too.

[king kielbasa]

Spinaker BBQ_Bill Just bought some dino beef short ribs going to be smoking tomorrow and going to give the brisket another shot and also just bought some oakridge bbq black ops to go on the brisket. i have a question when the brisket is done and probe tender and you want to put it in the cambro or cooler i have a small igloo do you guys let the brisket rest 10-15 min when its done and then put in the the cambro or cooler or you just straight stick it in there . I am kind of worried about carry over temp will that happen and still continue to rise in temp in the cooler/cambro?

[EdF]

Just wrap and put it in right away - the carryover is your friend for tenderness.

[BBQ_Bill]

I KBQ dino ribs at 235°F. I also spritz like crazy, especially near the end of the smoke.
Probe tender is your friend with poking thru the membrane being a special feel you aquire for being perfectly done.