I've been thinking a lot about Chris Young's 6 hour brisket recipe, and the science makes complete sense... but it seems like a condensed version of sous-vide-que. I am getting ready to do a pastrami, and I was wondering about pressure cooking the corned beef, chilling, adding the seasoning and air drying, then smoking hot (350*) to get a bark.
It seems like the concept is the same... render your fat in a more efficient manner before smoking then create a bark.
When I was a kid (a very long time ago) the only way that corned beef was cooked in our house was in a pressure cooker. If there were any leftovers, they were sliced and pan fried in a cast iron skillet with a little bit of lard to reheat a put a little crust on it. Seems like your plan is doable.
I thought what Young did was very interesting, but I will stick to my tried and true methods. The ultimate test is the taste test and I just can't take someone's word that it was just as good as a brisket that had been on the smoker for hours.
Brisket is too expensive and too much time involved, for me to experiment.
But what I found very interesting, was his comment on breaking down collagen. And in the comments to the vid, he pretty much destroys the idea that a long brisket hold , like 12 hours, does much for the brisket.
Collagen starts breaking down between 160 to 180. Young says at 180 the breakdown speeds up exponentially. Ya gotta think, that based on that, that not much is happening with a brisket held at 145. Young says ya might get another 1% to 2% collagen breakdown from a long hold.
In his last book, Aaron Franklin says ya might as well slice and eat a brisket after a 2 hour rest, he says it won't get any better. What Young says supports that.
Murdy I don't know what others do, but I pull the brisket and set it on the counter till the IT drops to 150 or so. Then its either sliced or goes into a warmer at 145.
Meats should be held at an IT over 140 to be food safe.
Agreed that the collagen breakdown/conversion data was most interesting. Assuming he had no shenanigans that brisket was nicely jiggly. The 16 hour time window seems a bit long on the "traditional" method for a just under 10 pounder, but maybe he was running low temp the whole way to get that. I did a roughly 13 pounder yesterday that I pulled from the offset at 195 in just under 10 hours, running the pit in the 230-300 range through three phases using a foil boat method. Overall his method looks like a fun experiment.
I wasn't surprised at the tenderness/jiggliness due to the steaming which is still a fairly gentle way to cook.
Chris doesn't really address how the tastes compare to a traditional brisket or if steaming give it more of a pot roasty taste/texture?
On the latter point, I remember watching an Aaron Franklin video where cooked a bunch of briskets various ways (unwrapped, foil wrapped, etc) and concluded that the foil wrap gave the brisket more of a pot roasty look and taste
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I watched that video a while back and found it interesting, but not interesting enough to make it a TNT way of smoking briskets from here on out. Part of the fun of smoking is the low and slow approach, dialing down the day just a bit and letting the meat do its thing. At 275°, my briskets are usually done in 9 hours or so, and with a 2 hour rest are ready by suppertime.
If Young had said it was the very best brisket he ever tasted, then subjective as that may be, I might be tempted to play around with his technique right away. But as it is, that method is on the shelf for a day when I really want to get (more) science-y with my brisket smoking, have the time to give it a go, and am willing to risk making a brisket that no one in the family will like compared to my TNT method.
I'd love for you to try it and report back with your results. It's not how I make pastrami, but I don't make it the way I did before joining here, so I'm definitely open to learning a new method.
I've done a brisket in 5.5 hours. It was in a 350+ Pit Barrel with a turkey and a chuck roast.
I really really don't like "timed" BBQ. Some of the worst ribs I ever ate were done by a guy who never stopped bragging about how quickly he got them done on the gasser.
I haven’t watched the video yet but I smoke brisket in a kamado at 300 F. I’m normally pulling it to rest at about the 6 hour mark with great results. No other cooking needed.
About Chris Young, he co-authored the book " Modernist Cuisine " , which I hear has become a bible for Chefs. Its a set of books that sells for $500.
Its one of the three sources Aaron Franklin credited in his first book.
And this site was one of the other two. Aaron's book changed my barbecue life. After about 15 years of being content cooking on a WSM and a Kettle, I was looking for more and that book came along at the right time.
Attached Files
Last edited by Lynn Dollar; August 24, 2025, 07:37 AM.
I split the flat into 2 and cooked one as corned beef and did the other sous vide then smoked. The point I smoked (control). Brined all to the calculator.
For the half flat I put in a SV bag and went 155 for 18 hours. Chilled 24h, mustard binder… the seasoning wouldn’t stick. Well obviously because it’s already cooked. So don’t do that.
What I wasn’t expecting was the amount of water in the bag. I know roughly half of the weight will cook out in water… but until you see it in the bag, you may not realize it. Certainly wouldn’t hold a bark.
Used my large BGE with post oak. Both went on at 245 this morning. I was busy so let the temp fluctuate within 25 degrees probably.
Pulled the flat after 4 hours and it was at 203. It was a brick. I was about to throw it out but said I had to try it… it was actually surprisingly moist!
The point was wrapped in foil at 165 and took it to 200 (probe tender). Unwrapped and let drop to 170 then wrapped and held for an hour. Delicious.
Both are back in the fridge to slice tomorrow.
The Verdict: I would do David’s method of smoke then SV at the end if I wanted to do it again. But probably will. I am also going to try CY’s 6 hour brisket… SV won’t work because of bullet point 2.
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