Resting your brisket

[Hcazzzy]

Hello all,

So I've got my arch nemesis on the smoker today, the brisket, and everything seems to be working against me. For starters the only cut I can find is totally scalped of fat, but to make matters worse, I overslept and didn't get the meat on in time.

Now, it looks as if it won't be done until around 10pm. So, my question is, can you over rest a brisket? If I get it in the cooler at 10 or 10:30, can I leave it there overnight?

Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks!
Zach

[Henrik]

You'll be fine. Let it rest in a faux cambro (or wrapped, in an indoor oven) at 140 deg F. But given the long hold you may pull it off the smoker a wee bit early. Meaning you don't have to hit 203 exactly, you can pull it off at 195 if you want.

[Oak Smoke]

There are 2 things you might want to consider also. If you cook hotter you will get done faster. I have no idea what cooker you use but most will do a nice job smoking at 275 F, a kamado does great at 300 F. If you cook to probe tender you should be done at somewhere near the 6 hour mark. Just wrap it in foil and insulate it with old towels in your cooler. It will amaze you how long it will stay hot that way. I don’t think an overnight rest will cause you any problems. As far as food safety is concerned the brisket is hot enough to be pathogen free when you wrap it so that gives you a little leeway in a long rest.

[Hcazzzy]

Well considering it's been on since 10:30am and I'm only at 145° I may not have to worry about it 🤣

[realdocBBQ]

I pull at 190-195 and rest overnight - usually 12-15 hours or so. I keep mine in a heated holding oven, but if you wrap it up good and tight, preheat your ice chest with really hot water for 20-30 minutes, then line everything with towels and throw more towels on top of your brisket before closing up the lid, it will hold hot for many hours.

Let the temp come down a hair before throwing it in there, though - down to 180 or 170 even. Don't cook to 203, then immediately wrap and hold at that temp, you'll likely end up with it overcooked.

[Sid P]

In your intro you mentioned that brisket is your nemesis. In what way are your results lacking?

[Hcazzzy]

Thanks for asking. Everyone I make the brisket for says it's amazing, however in my opinion is just not tender, nor juicy.

I have tried with the steam pan, without the steam pan. I've tried water in the steam pan I've tried beer in the steam pan.

I've tried varying temperatures from 220° to 300°. Today was my first attempt at going for 200. Although on my traeger, a workhorse, yet 20 years old.

I guess I'm looking for my brisket "wow" moment, but me keeping kosher, I've never had an example

[Sid P]

Hcazzzy It sounds like you need to cook it longer. Forget about the temp, and cook it until THE FLAT probes like butter and the whole thing jiggles like jello if you nudge it. The point will be done at least a couple hours before the flat, but don’t worry about that. Leave it on until the flat is done. Good luck!

Edit: Sorry, I was distracted by hockey.

[mrteddyprincess]

Sid P beat me to this answer. Brisket flat needs to probe like butter. Then the brisket is done. I spent YEARS undercooking brisket and wondering why it was tough. (Also, really thin parts of the flat are going to get overly done before the rest of the flat is done, so trim them off pre-cook or just chop them and sauce them. I cut the really thin part off and grind it for hamburgers.) Brian

[WI Bubba]

If you have bags big enough, and a container to hold it, then long holds like this are where the sous vide really shines. Even if you need to pull it before it is probe tender, a long soak in hot bath will get you where you want to be. It also eliminates the risk of dropping out of the safe temp zone. The water temp will depend on just how long you need to hold it. 12 hours or less, I'd probably go 150ish. Longer than that, I would kick it down to 145.

[Hcazzzy]

Won't the sous vide break up my bark? That's a lot of juice that's going to accumulate

[WI Bubba]

Hcazzzy Not anymore than tightly wrapping in foil or butchers paper. With all three methods you are going to be resting the brisket in a sealed, high moisture environment. If you want a drier bark, then post rest you can freshen up the bark by putting the brisket in a very hot oven to quickly dry out the surface without raising the internal temp. I personally don't bother.

[Hcazzzy]

Hello all,

So I've got my arch nemesis on the smoker today, the brisket, and everything seems to be working against me. For starters the only cut I can find is totally scalped of fat, but to make matters worse, I overslept and didn't get the meat on in time.

Now, it looks as if it won't be done until around 10pm. So, my question is, can you over rest a brisket? If I get it in the cooler at 10 or 10:30, can I leave it there overnight?

Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks!
Zach

UPDATE: Its now 8:30 EDT and I just checked my brisket. It was at 195° I pulled it and stuck it in a 140° oven (because my cooler is crap) and we will see what happens.

I should note, this is the first time I have used foil instead of butcher paper. And after I wrapped i upped my traeger from 180° to 225°

🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞

[mrichie1229]

I do this with my briskets and they are delicious. You've got this!

One thing not mentioned above, but make sure you do not slice your brisket ahead of time. Slice it when you are ready to serve it, or can put it in a pan with all of its juices. Also, make sure to slice against the grain.

[barelfly]

Just a suggestion, 180* as you cook temp is really low to cook at. 225 is a normal temp, but many cook even hotter, as suggested above. I have a different type of cooker, but I usually smoke brisket and other cuts at 275*. Everything turns out great.

I mention this just as a suggestion, not something you need to do, but may help cut some of the cook time down.

Enjoy that brisket!

[realdocBBQ]

This. 275ºF cook temp.

[WI Bubba]

I totally get running your pellet pooper at 180° for the first couple of hours to maximize the smoke. I did the same thing with my Camp Chef. After a couple of hours, you have likely gotten all the smoke flavor into the meat that you can, so don't be shy about kicking the temp up at that point to really cut down on the total cook time.

I'm really looking forward to hearing how it turns out. Hopefully it is a smokey, beefy delight!

[Santamarina]

I’ve been doing long holds for years…because I like to sleep, and we most often serve barbecue for lunch. I’ve done many 12 hour olds in a warm oven with great results.

As others have said, pull it early and don’t let the oven get too hot or you’ll end up with brisket crumbles…still tastes amazing, but those photo worthy slices won’t be around. But it’ll make the best brisket sandwich you’ve ever had!

[jtw]

I know I'm not answering your question, but seeing as it's been answered....
Whereabouts in Detroit are you? City, metro, exurbs? There are plenty of places to get a full packer - no worrying about overtrimmed brisket. I buy most of my brisket at Costco but there are butchers all over the place, especially in the city.