Brisket flat, as many of you have heard me bitch, is the only thing available at Costco in Northern NJ and it aint cheap.I picked a Choice 8 lber at $4.19 /lb. (The Texans just had heart tremors) It was oddly shaped, w a chunk that had no fat cap so I thought I’d cut about half off and cook it a different way.
Eperiment 1: Medium rare Brisket
31oz after trimming all the fat off (14oz). I salted it and then sous vide it at 125 degrees for 48hrs.7oz of liquid cooked out leaving about 24oz of meat.I then seared it on the Primo at about 1000 degrees.The result was pretty interesting.That tough cut of meat turned into something very similar to nice steak.This was the thin end of the flat and I wished I’d tried the thicker side.The look of the meat was identical to a nice steak and the taste was excellent.It’s a bit of an optical illusion though bc there is definitely something missing when it’s in your mouth.It’s not juicy at all.It wasn’t dry but there is no fat.I definitely missed that.As a "steak" it was pretty ok, but I thought it was really excellent as roast beef sammies where the juice of the lettuce, tomatoes and mayo allowed the correct texture and good beef flavor to shine.I would do this again specifically for the cold cuts.
Experiment 2: "Traditional" BBQ Brisket
The bigger thicker piece (65oz) I used to approximate bbq.I left the fat cap on, salted it and then covered it lightly w BBBR before sous viding at 165 for 24 hrs.I then put it in an ice bath and eventually stuck it in the fridge for a few days.Kenji says it can stay sealed in a food saver bag for up to a week.The day of the cook I intended to inject all the liquid back into the meat prior to cooking.I ran out of time so that didn’t happen.The 65oz had turned into 43oz after I took it out of the SV bag.I left it cold and wet, covered in a healthy amount of BBBR and threw it on the smoker at 275 for 3hrs – as per Kenji.Again, the SV really worked in creating perfect brisket meat texture.A slice pulled apart perfectly.That said the bark was nowhere near the bark you’d get on a full smoke.I did get an itty bitty smoke ring. But ultimately, the only reason I’d do this again would be to try injecting liquid into the meat after SV and before smoke to see if it made it juicy.I’m pretty good at creating relatively dry brisket flat when I bbq it, I don’t need a new method to do that.
Here's the finished product side by side so you can really compare the texture
Eperiment 1: Medium rare Brisket
31oz after trimming all the fat off (14oz). I salted it and then sous vide it at 125 degrees for 48hrs.7oz of liquid cooked out leaving about 24oz of meat.I then seared it on the Primo at about 1000 degrees.The result was pretty interesting.That tough cut of meat turned into something very similar to nice steak.This was the thin end of the flat and I wished I’d tried the thicker side.The look of the meat was identical to a nice steak and the taste was excellent.It’s a bit of an optical illusion though bc there is definitely something missing when it’s in your mouth.It’s not juicy at all.It wasn’t dry but there is no fat.I definitely missed that.As a "steak" it was pretty ok, but I thought it was really excellent as roast beef sammies where the juice of the lettuce, tomatoes and mayo allowed the correct texture and good beef flavor to shine.I would do this again specifically for the cold cuts.
Experiment 2: "Traditional" BBQ Brisket
The bigger thicker piece (65oz) I used to approximate bbq.I left the fat cap on, salted it and then covered it lightly w BBBR before sous viding at 165 for 24 hrs.I then put it in an ice bath and eventually stuck it in the fridge for a few days.Kenji says it can stay sealed in a food saver bag for up to a week.The day of the cook I intended to inject all the liquid back into the meat prior to cooking.I ran out of time so that didn’t happen.The 65oz had turned into 43oz after I took it out of the SV bag.I left it cold and wet, covered in a healthy amount of BBBR and threw it on the smoker at 275 for 3hrs – as per Kenji.Again, the SV really worked in creating perfect brisket meat texture.A slice pulled apart perfectly.That said the bark was nowhere near the bark you’d get on a full smoke.I did get an itty bitty smoke ring. But ultimately, the only reason I’d do this again would be to try injecting liquid into the meat after SV and before smoke to see if it made it juicy.I’m pretty good at creating relatively dry brisket flat when I bbq it, I don’t need a new method to do that.
Here's the finished product side by side so you can really compare the texture
Comment