I have been smoking briskets for over 20 years. I have smoked them on charcoal, electric and gas bullet water smokers, on offset charcoal smokers, and on vertical cabinet gas and charcoal smokers. When I first started smoking them in the early 1990's, they were mostly tough and chewy. But once I learned (by accidentally overcooking one because I fell asleep) that they needed to cook to around 200 degrees instead of 145, as is recommended for beef roast, I seldom had a tough one. I stumbled upon wrapping to speed the cooking by accident. The first offset smoker I had (in 2002) was a cheap one from a hardware store chain, and thus difficult to maintain temperatures on. So once I exposed the meat to smoke for about two hours, I wrapped it in foil and finished it in the oven. By comparison, it cooked much faster than when I didn't wrap it and cooked it on the gas water smoker, which I could maintain steady temperatures on. I have also learned a lot about smoking, grilling, and preparing brisket and other meats on this website. I lot of things I learned by accident that worked but I didn't know why, now I know why.
I have found that while smoked ribs and chicken do not taste that good when frozen, then thawed and cooked. Brisket and pork butts do. So I will smoke a brisket and a few pork butts, then slice them into single servings, shrink wrap them and freeze them. To prepare them, I boil them in their shrink wrapped package for 15 - 30 minutes, and they are steaming hot, ready to eat and delicious.
I recently bought a 14 pound packer brisket and two pork butts to smoke and freeze. The brisket was graded USDA choice, and I would judge it to be a medium choice. I prefer USDA Prime, but choice was all I could find. I separated the brisket into the point and the flat. trimmed them, and injected the flat with Butcher BBQ Prime Brisket Injection. I have used this injection on brisket flats in the past, and it significantly improves moisture and juiciness. Then I salted both the point and flat, and refrigerated them overnight in a covered foil pan. Since I didn't care about bark, I put no rub on the brisket, and after exposing it to smoke at 250 degrees for 2 hours, I wrapped both point and flat separately in foil and cooked them in the oven at 250 until they reached an internal temperature of about 200. The smaller flat was done first. I wrapped it, and later the point, in towels and held each in a beer cooler for 2 hours. Same for the two pork butts.
The pork butts and brisket point turned out great. Tender, moist and juicy. The brisket flat was tough and dry. So tough, my jaw muscles ached after chewing it, and I needed to drink something with it to eat it.
What happened?
I have found that while smoked ribs and chicken do not taste that good when frozen, then thawed and cooked. Brisket and pork butts do. So I will smoke a brisket and a few pork butts, then slice them into single servings, shrink wrap them and freeze them. To prepare them, I boil them in their shrink wrapped package for 15 - 30 minutes, and they are steaming hot, ready to eat and delicious.
I recently bought a 14 pound packer brisket and two pork butts to smoke and freeze. The brisket was graded USDA choice, and I would judge it to be a medium choice. I prefer USDA Prime, but choice was all I could find. I separated the brisket into the point and the flat. trimmed them, and injected the flat with Butcher BBQ Prime Brisket Injection. I have used this injection on brisket flats in the past, and it significantly improves moisture and juiciness. Then I salted both the point and flat, and refrigerated them overnight in a covered foil pan. Since I didn't care about bark, I put no rub on the brisket, and after exposing it to smoke at 250 degrees for 2 hours, I wrapped both point and flat separately in foil and cooked them in the oven at 250 until they reached an internal temperature of about 200. The smaller flat was done first. I wrapped it, and later the point, in towels and held each in a beer cooler for 2 hours. Same for the two pork butts.
The pork butts and brisket point turned out great. Tender, moist and juicy. The brisket flat was tough and dry. So tough, my jaw muscles ached after chewing it, and I needed to drink something with it to eat it.
What happened?
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