I'm about to give up on Brisket.

[PaulstheRibList]

Scott_F Congrats on the 10 brisket cooks in the bag, you are well on your way to Brisket Super Funsville!

You will be fine with Choice briskets. If you can get CAB or Prime, go for it!

If you want to experiment with injecting some commercial blends, they will definitely add some moisture to those flats. I've done a bunch with Butcher BBQ Prime Injection. We've cooked side-by-side tests on the same cooker with and without, and with adds some improvements.

I'll second the motion that 10 minutes is WAY TOO LONG to let cut brisket slices sit out. Cut and serve, every time. If you do cut ahead, keep the slices all against one another in a hotel pan, and keep it covered and warm, with some jus in the bottom, that will keep them alright while people are serving. Some slices all exposed that sit out for 10 minutes are much dryer than when you cut them.

I didn't hear you talk about toughness. On a "pull test" how is your's coming out? Tough, meaning undercooked, brisket will very much feel dry, as our Beloved Meathead described above - you have to melt out the collagen for that moist feel. Are your slices pulling apart?

Are your slices crumbling at the ends when you cut? That's the sign of an overcooked brisket, also dry.

I don't know what temp I wrap mine at, I think it's in the 180's. I wrap when I don't want the bark to get any crunchier. I like a lot of bark, and sometimes will not wrap at all if the brisket is relatively uniform in thickness and I've tended the fire really well.

Keep practicing!!! The payoff is worth it!

P.S. Next brisket you cook, really work at slicing those Point slices well and enjoy them! It will motivate you greatly. You don't need an upper-choice or Prime brisket to get some Outstanding slices of Point!

[Powersmoke_80]

Paul, what temp do you run your cooker for Briskets?

[PaulstheRibList]

Powersmoke_80 , it sort of depends on the cooker.

If on the WSM or the Gravity Feed Cabinet, I'll start at 225-250, and finsh up in the 275's if I have my druthers.

On the Jambo, I have to work hard to keep the temps that low, meaning splitting logs into pretty small and checking on the fire every 30 minutes. So, on the stickburner, we're 275-300 a lot of the time.

I'm still dialing in the new Pitmaker Vault on brisket, so no good reports on it yet. But it should be easy to keep at whatever temp I want, once I figure out the formula of how much fuel for the amount food so that I can keep those air vents at nearly 100%.

Did I mention that I absolutely LOVE brisket on the stickburner?

[Powersmoke_80]

"Did I mention that I absolutely LOVE brisket on the stickburner?"
Yeah me too! And I also run it up at 275°

[PaulstheRibList]

Jambo tends to run at 300, I was just embarrassed to run that high.

That's the temp on the tel-tru just above the grate. I need to put the Maverick's on the grate and compare. (I have done this before, but just don't remember the results...) But the results when we run between 275-300 have been FANTASTIC!

[Powersmoke_80]

I went to a Sams Club Tour event this weekend with my little boy and talked to a few teams and one team stated they use choice for the Burnt ends and Prime for flat slices.

[Scott_F]

I wanna fire up the egg today but I've gotta travel for work. I'm highly motivated. Again.

[FireMan]

See Radio Flyer pork butt by IvyH.

[Scott_F]

Very nice

[John Tanner]

I was in brisket purgatory myself until earlier this year. I had smoked one good point and one good flat out of 6 or 7 briskets....they all tasted great but were drier than I wanted and just not that "Franklin"-looking tenderness....I dry brined, injected, wrapped, didn't wrap, always rested on target temps....same results except once when I fell asleep and work up later with the fire out and the brisket absolutely perfect! Go figure.

Now they're coming out near perfect every time and I'm confident I can do a great brisket every time. What changed? 1. Bought better quality briskets from a better butcher....still didn't change the game. 2. Watched a video of Harry Soo explaining his process and then exchanged correspondence with him--what a great guy! His Slap Yo Daddy website is great and he gives away A LOT of his recipes and processes...very cool. Anyways, his process is simple.....he injects (for competitions anyways), smokes in a dry environment until he gets the bark he wants and then he introduces moisture by spraying....once he's got the color he wants, he wraps. After whatever number of hours and when he probes the brisket and it slides in like butter, he pulls it and vents until the temp comes down to 170 or so. He doesn't want it to cook out anymore of its juices after he's got it butter-tender. Once it hits 170 or so, he wraps and in it goes into the Cambro for an hour at least.

I had always, always taken it to a temp, kept it wrapped and put the brisket in a cooler with towels for at least 2 hours. Dry brisket most of the time. Venting it as Harry suggests, all the difference--has worked great for me and a couple of buddies who have incorporated that step into the process.

Just my 2 cents, that may not work for everyone and I completely understand. Good luck.

[Breadhead]

Hmmm... I also have a large BGE.

i ALWAY smoke at 225°.

i NEVER wrap.

i never power through the stall.

i ALWAYS split the point from the flat and I cook the point higher up in the dome than the flat. That allows it to finish before the flat so I can cube it and make burnt ends with it... And have the Burn't ends finish at the same time as the flat.

I don't cook to a particular temperature, I cook to probe softness.

I NEVER use a water pan in my BGE.

I NEVER smoke Select grade meat.

I'm a low & slow guy all the way.

[Nuke em]

Looking at your pic I see a clip attached to your probe. If it was me, I would remove the clip and just leave the probe as far as it can go horizontal and not vertical. Seems to work for me. Also I see you use mustard and oil and rub. You prob have already tried this but go back to basics with meatheads way of cooking. Follow it exactly. (rub, crutch,etc). Also read his article on fire set up. I've done about 20 briskets using his method and it hasn't failed yet. Also consider finding a meat market. (I'm fortunate to have one a few miles from me. They have a window behind the counter and usually have a few cows or pigs hung in the back, which is why my young daughter doesn't like to go with me). Might cost a few bucks more, but I see where I'm getting it from. After my briskets have rested in cooler and I slice nearly all the juice sucks back up into it. But when I slice I always drag the slice back thru the juice in the bottom of the pan before I set it on the plate. Slice as needed or add butter if needed

[Scott_F]

Will be starting my fire for an overnight cook in a few hours.

[Nuke em]

Let is know how it turns out. And with pics. You've got this. We have faith in ya.

[Scott_F]

I invested in a PartyQ air regulator. Been at 225 solid all night long. Checked on it a while ago and we are at 172.

[Scott_F]

Pulled off after a third Fork test around 185-190. In the cambro now. Wrapped in butcher paper and a towel.

i injected with the Big Beef recipe listed above. Bought some little ½ inch ceramic spacers to get my drip pan off the plate setter. No liquid in my drip pan. No wrapping during the stall.

[Scott_F]

Turned out great. Thanks again for all the tips.

Im wondering if using water in my drip pan previously was counter productive.

Injection left some darker circles in the meat. Can't see it much on the photo but in some areas dark circles. Good enough for family but not the presentation I would want for company.

Any thoughts on the injection circles? Maybe uses too much?

[Breadhead]

"Turned out great. Thanks again for all the tips"

To get tips from experts for $2 per month... Priceless!😊

[Spinaker]

Water in the pan was a huge part of your problem. IMHO. Now that you have a good cook under your belt. Loose the injection. I never inject.

[gcdmd]

If you injected shortly before starting the cook, the circles may be due to the injection liquid not having time to dissipate throughout the meat. I usually inject the night before to allow more uniform distribution. However, I use a chicken base preparation, which is not as dark. So, maybe I have the circles, but not as visible. Maybe next time you might try injecting early.

[Scott_F]

Yes. Injected about three hours before putting it on.

[DWCowles]

Try injected it 12-24 hrs before smoking