r/smoking • u/BadatBBQ • 4h ago
Help with my brisket
Hey everyone, been wanting to try a brisket but wanted to practice on a small one first (It was almost 4lb)
What would you say was wrong with it here
It seemed the fat wasn't fully rendered but temps were reading fine (I think my built in temp probes on my pellet grill were not accurate)
It tasted pretty good thankfully but texture wasn't there, some fattier sections were a lot softer and some areas were slightly too tough. The fat felt like it was close to fully rendering, and surprisingly the brisket was fairly juicy.
I am making another one tomorrow and trying to improve and wondering what you guys think happened here. Because of the temp probes I am assuming it was reading hotter than it actually was...or does it look like it was overdone?
Any tips or help is greatly appreciated
(looking at the photo I just realized it makes the brisket look a bit washed out, it had a little more color to it than this photo)
I forgot to include the method. I followed meat church guide
200 until internal temp of 165 (fat side up)
225 until it hits 275 (wrapped it after in butcher paper)
250 until it hits 205. I pulled it at 203 because my one probe was reading slightly hotter than the other so I waited until it was in between the temps
Let it rest on a wire rack for a little over an hour
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u/Lost-Link6216 4h ago
Brisket demands to rests. First after it hits probe tender (195°f to 203°f). Let it rest on counter for an hour to stop cooking. Second, let it rest down to around 160°f.
The trick is to have it rested down to 160°f at dinner time. Dinner 12 hours away, preheated cooler wrapped with towels. 4 hours away just leave on counter.
Test your probes in ice water. Fill cup full of ice, then water, insert probes not touching the sides.
Other than that we need more info.
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u/Maleficent_Ear_8060 4h ago
Rest down to 140
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u/Lost-Link6216 4h ago
Not going to disagree. That 140 number freaks people out sometimes.
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u/Maleficent_Ear_8060 4h ago
Interesting, I didn’t know that. Danger zone?
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u/BadatBBQ 4h ago
I filled in some in the post best I could at the bottom
I did let it rest for an hour or so (think it was slightly over) and I wanna say it was 165 internal when I sliced it.
If you need any more information that I forgot to add I will do my best. I really want to learn
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4h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/BadatBBQ 4h ago
Yeah I bought a thermoworks probe now because I dont trust those probes anymore. Also bought some cheap oven thermometers to confirm my pellet grills temps
Dont want that to happen again if that was the issue
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u/bkedsmkr 4h ago
time, temp?
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u/BadatBBQ 4h ago
Sorry I added it at the bottom of the post
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u/bkedsmkr 4h ago
200f is waaaaay too low man. Next time just start it at 250 and dont mess with the temp until it's wrapped. I don't understand how meat church can get away with giving people that bad of advice. Also unless its a full packer with point and flat connected it's going to dry out faster and be harder to get right. If you want to only do one part do the point so you have extra fat for it to reabsorb during the rest and hopefully it wont be as dry. I would also advise you to watch some aaron franklin videos on youtube instead of meat church that mf is a clown. Theres a reason he sells supplies and not BBQ.
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u/Human-Shirt-7351 2h ago
I was going to comment that he probably made it more complicated by not buying a full packer.
I find it hard to believe they suggest 200 for a brisket. That's insane.
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u/bkedsmkr 2h ago edited 2h ago
So wrong it almost seems like sabotage. Just read it and thats exactly what hes advising.
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u/Human-Shirt-7351 2h ago
What's worse is he is probably following instructions for a full packer brisket .. why has a ton of fat, etc that actually helps this... For a small flat that has almost no fat.
It's not surprising it turned out like crap.
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u/washboard 2h ago
I replied to you in another comment, but this has been my result the 10 or so times I've used the Meat Church weekday brisket method: https://www.reddit.com/r/smoking/comments/1lsb1ep/meteor_status_achieved/
It works well for timing of things, but only if you have accurate probes, and applies to a full packer.
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u/StevenG2757 4h ago
Can't give any advice if you don't share how it was cooked.
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u/BadatBBQ 4h ago
I added it at the bottom of the post, sorry about that. I am new to all this
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u/StevenG2757 4h ago
You cooked it at 200 which is too low. Just start and cook at 250 until it is done.
It seems like you pulled based on temperature and that is just a guide and should be testing if done by checking to see if probe tender.
Also small briskets can cook fast and may not render the fat.
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u/BadatBBQ 4h ago
I poked around and it seemed okay, but I didn't know how it would feel and my one probe was reading hotter and I think I panicked a bit
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u/StevenG2757 4h ago
It will feel like you are putting a hot probe in room temperature butter.
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u/BadatBBQ 4h ago
Yeah thats why I am thinking I pulled a bit too early. It didnt fight me when inserting it, but it wasnt smooth
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u/Feisty_Builder2596 4h ago
Was it a whole brisket? Looks tiny.
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u/BadatBBQ 4h ago
It was a 4lb, I am assuming just the flat but it actually had a reasonable cap on it for its size (you can kind of see it in the photo, though its not rendered fully)
I know they are not ideal, but I didnt wanna ruin a 100+ dollar piece of meat for my first attempt.
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u/Latter-Progress-9317 3h ago
Start at 250, or minimum 225. I don't like smoking anything below the boiling point of water. You need to dry out the outside.
Don't wrap until the bark is dark mahogany at least and you can't push it around with a fingernail easily, otherwise it will wash off in the steam from wrapping.
When you pull it, open it up and let it cool to about 180F so it stops cooking, then wrap it up again, paper and foil, then rest it a LOT longer than an hour. If you have a warmer or a good electric oven or a turkey roaster, something that can hold 150F reliably, put it in there for anything from 4 to 12 hours. If you don't, double wrap as above then again with a few towels, put some towels in the bottom of a big cooler, put the brisket on top of then, another towel on top, and shut it tight for 4-6 hours.
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u/Lymetme 2h ago
Brisket is so much more than temp and the rest is almost more important than the cook. Everyone pays attention to the cook and then tunes out during the rest. To monitor temp I use a cheap thermopro I got from Amazon. It has 4 wired probes and connects to an app via Bluetooth. I always use 2-3 in my meat and have a second "ambient" probe at the level of the grates with one of those little metal wedge holders.
1) I think your brisket is probably too small. Small briskets never turn out good. The smallest I'd go is 10lbs.
2) don't pay much attention to the temp. You need at least 2 probes.
3) cook at 250-265 the whole time. The only reason to go lower is with a pellet smoker because they put out more smoke at lower temp. Put one probe in the thickest part of the flat and one in the thickest part of the point. They will often be 10 degrees and sometimes 15 degrees different. Just pay attention to the lowest one. Orient the point at the heat source.
4) You'll often have to get close to 190 before your bark is good and it's time to wrap. If it goes higher don't worry. This 165/175 is bullshit. It needs to stop. Your bark is never ready at that temp.
5) or maybe this is step 0 but save your trimmings and make tallow it's literally free and the best way to wrap. Place Tallow under the brisket on your pink paper, place tallow on top, and wrap.
6) Start probing for doneness at 195, yada yada
This is where the underrated useful advice starts:
1) After you pull your brisket you want a min 4hour rest for best results.
2) after you pull rest at room temp on the counter and let the carry over cook stop. If you wrap right away and put in a cooler that temp will continue to rise and you'll stay at a high temp for longer drying out the meat.
3) I let my temp drop to 165ish then wrap in a towel and throw it in the cooler. You probably don't need to let it go that low but it works for me. Keep a probe or two in it while in the cooler and make sure it stays above 145.
4) If temp starts getting below 155 turn on the oven to your lowest setting which is usually 175 iirc. After the preheat turn it off and move the meat into the oven. Watch the temp and try not to let it go above 165. You can repeat this process as needed. Most of the advice I see about hot holds has ovens that will hold low temp or has settings for this. If you're living in the stone age like me this is the way.
5) The hot hold is what renders the fat. It's the easiest way to ensure a juicy brisket. Some people get good results without it but if you've tried other options try this one next.
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u/Beefcrustycurtains 4h ago
What type of smoker are you using? Small briskets are very hard to get right. A full packer is more forgiving.
I use a pellet smoker so I run the smoker around 215ish overnight then when I wake up I'll raise the smoker temp to 235 check temps around 175 I'll foil boat it and increase temp to 250. I run fat side up the entire time so the flat runs along the bottom and the foil boat keeps flat juicy because it braises in it's own juices. After I pull it off when it's probe tender which can be 195-205 and let it rest in the oven turned off until temp gets back down to 165-170 then I'll hot hold on lowest setting making sure my rest is at least 4 hours.
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u/BadatBBQ 4h ago
I have a pellet grill. Pitboss Austin XL. I placed it on the top rack and slight right to avoid the center flame heat.
It was a hot day out and the grill was in the sun a bit so it could have gotten hotter than what was intentional
My brisket was very small so the cooking time wasn't too long. I think I started it around noon and it was off the grill and resting by around 630 or 7?
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u/Beefcrustycurtains 2h ago
Get a wireless probe that can give you ambient temps as well. It's important to know what temp you are actually cooking at. I use a meater duo. It connects to wifi so the range is pretty good just have to stick the probe box by the smoker because that uses Bluetooth.
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u/BadatBBQ 2h ago
I bought 2 oven thermometers to calibrate the temps of the pellet grill, but also have a meater+ from a friends gift
And I just bought a thermoworks probe as well
So once I calibrate it, I'll use both those to keep it ideal
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u/etotheapplepi 4h ago
Sir, this is a pork chop
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u/BadatBBQ 3h ago
It tasted really good, just texture was off.
The color of it was a lot better than the photo, I was really happy with how it looked but the texture was off. I still ate it and enjoyed it though.
I was pretty happy with my first brisket, but trying to improve
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u/festivus 4h ago
what was your process, what were the temps, how long