What to do with a pound of prime brisket point?

[DaveD]

Hey folks, bringing this thread back up from a few weeks back. I've decided to try the suggestion of Richard Chrz to first get some smoke on this USDA Prime point meat and then sous vide it, and then after that cube it up to use in my next pot of chili.

My cooking plan for the upcoming long weekend will feature a turkey breast and some double-thick pork chops, neither of which will involve a long smoke. So I'll use my vertical pellet smoker on its low-T "smoke" setting for a couple of hours to get some smoke on the meat, during which the cooker will be unlikely to exceed 150F/65C, and I would expect the meat not to get much warmer than the low 100sF/40ishC.

I was then thinking I would sous vide it for a good long while, maybe overnight, to get it good and tender before chunking it up and into the chili pot. I don't want to rely on just the pot to get it done properly. My question: what temp should I do that sous vide step at? I know some folks have done a long sous vide cook on a brisket at medium-rare temps, low 130sF/mid-50sC, but I would also suspect I'd get better conversion of connective tissue etc at higher temps, maybe 170F/mid-70sC.

Whaddaya reckon??

[GolfGeezer]

DaveD I have not done points Sous Vide, but it I have done a few flats. I do them at 150* for about 30 hours, then cool them and smoke for a few hours at 225*. Tender and very flavorful. That was for regular eating, not chili, but they would be just fine in chili. Plus the stewing in chili will break down any fat and most connective tissue would be trimmed out as you cube for chili.

[GolfGeezer]

Plus here is a really good article on Sous vide brisket from Kenji. https://www.seriouseats.com/sous-vid...t-texas-recipe

[DaveD]

Thanks! This is a good piece alright!

[jfmorris]

I have to wonder if the SV is really needed, if you will be simmering the chili for a few hours? We only take the point to 200-210 anyway when smoking to consider it rendered, and if will certainly reach that in small cubed pieces in a simmering pot of chili.

Only thing I can think of with brisket point chili would be more fat than you are used to rendering and floating to the top, which you will want to stir back in or skim off.

[DaveD]

Is it a question of just reaching a particular temp, or the combo of the temp and the amount of time spent there? Def agree it'd reach the 200-210F range in the pot, but it may not dwell at that temp very long...

[Alan Brice]

I would think at just a brief braise with other things, ie stock pot or D.O. if you have smoked it first, it will be delish! Of course chili tends to simmer quite a while.

[DaveD]

Alan Brice I agree, if it had been smoked in a full, low & slow cook, it wouldn't need much time at all. But this would be smoked for only a couple of hours, nowhere near fully cooked from that step, hence the use of SV as Richard suggested. Kenji's article indicates a long SV would make it nice and tender, thus what would go into the pot would be more like fully smoked brisket.

[DaveD]

Alrighty, here's the revised game plan.

On Friday I'm going to be cooking up a bone-in turkey breast I've had in the chestie for months. Going to use Aaron Franklin's approach, smoking it a couple hours, then wrapping with butter in foil and back in the cooker until IT of 165F/74C. I'll use the pellet smoker for this, and pop the point meat in there while I'm smoking the turkey breast. The first hour-ish of that will be on the low-T "smoke" setting; don't want to overcook the breast and this will maximize smoke from the pellet rig. I'll then vac-seal up the point meat, and pop it in the fridge.

On Saturday, I'm making double-thick pork chops using the same approach I did back in June, which were extraordinary. SV all day in the low 130sF/mid-50sC, then a hot sear. Once the chops are out of the meat jacuzzi I'll bump up the temp to 155F/68C and put the point meat in, and let it go nearly 24 hours, per the recommendation the Kenji article that GolfGeezer linked above. Then on Sunday afternoon I'll take it out, chunk it up, and use it in the next pot of chili.

I will of course document my progress Stay tuned!

[DaveD]

Folks, I'm now making a pot of chili with these chunks of brisket as the third act of my Labor Day Weekend Cook-a-Thon. You can pick up the action from this post in that thread. Y'all come