Changing up my approach to brisket, need some feedback

Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2012 9:54 am

Going to do my first brisket of the year, and my first since eating killer central-Texas brisket back in Feb.

I want to get a very moist brisket. I buy the whole briskets from Butcher Boy on Park. I used to trim them pretty good so I could apply my rub to more meat surface instead of just rubbing fat, but I was thinking of hardly trimming at all. Then let folks trim it up themselves when eating. This seemed to be the way it was done in Texas.

In a similar vein of keeping it moist, was thinking of wrapping in foil when it hits 160F. This certainly is not how it is done in Texas, and maybe if I don't trim, this isn't necessary. However, it would help power through the "stall," cutting down on total cooking time, and I don't care about getting a nice bark. If you do cook brisket this way, what are you budgeting for time? 1hr/lb?

Next up is the rub. I'm going with nothing but salt and pepper, again very much a Texas style.

I don't wanna mess around with too many things at once, but another thought I had was brining. I really like brining fish and poultry, I use a basic salt and sugar solution, sometimes using beer in place of water. At one of the joints in Dallas, the meat was salted all the way through, I'm assuming they brined/injected. I know conventional thought is to inject, as brining won't fully penetrate an entire brisket, and is more like corned beef than BBQ. I'm kinda on the fence about this, but would like to try it at some point.

So yeah, these are some of the ideas floating around in my head. I'm ultimately trying to go for a moist brisket that focuses on the meat, with salt and smoke as a flavour enhancer. I don't want something that tastes like roast beef, but I also don't want something slathered in spices and sauces. Whaddaya think?

Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2012 2:54 pm

I've never brined brisket before but I know a good competition cook in BC that does it. You would probably need a good long soak though, maybe 16 hours?
I do foil halfway through to preserve moisture... for competition at least. Just make sure the bark is well developed first. I have had dry (foiled) briskets, and I have had very moist briskets that were never foiled. Foil will help but it's no gaurantee. You will sacrifice bark texture and flavour by foiling... but you don't care about bark texture. I budget about 13 hours using this process, cooking at 250 indirect. That includes a couple hours of hold time at the end. It would be a bit faster on the UDS.

It seems to me that some of the best, juiciest briskets I ever had in Texas were huge ass mothers. Ask Jeff to find you a big one. But do it now because next month he will be saving them for me Cool

And be generous with the salt and pepper.

Finally, let us know how it goes! I'm doing my first brisket in a while this weekend also.

Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2012 2:58 pm

PS. If your best brisket in central Texas was as good as mine (and I'm sure it was) you'll be chasing that memory for a while... I haven't duplicated it at home yet Embarassed

Hopefully you will find something that works.

Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 9:17 pm

Well, I have to say I absolutely nailed my cook this weekend.

15lb brisket, no trimming at all
- put together a rub with 1c of kosher salt, 1/2c fresh cracked black pepper. Used about half of it on the brisket, seemed like a lot, but had read not to be scared of using lots.
- threw it on the UDS last night at 7PM temp stayed right around 225-250F overnight.
- was up to 146F by 8am, but by 12pm, had only got up to 161F. Certainly not moving fast enough to be ready to eat tonight. Time to open the UDS and foil that baby up.
- in just 1 hour foiled, the internal temp jumped to 196F. Took it off at 1pm (18 hours total cooking time), wrapped in towels and threw in a cold oven.
- took it out at 6pm, internal temp was still at 160F.
- cut into this baby, right in the middle, and oh man, instant smile on my face, as I could tell it was tender and moist.
- had a few bites, great smoke flavour, not too salty or peppery, just about perfect seasoning, and certainly didn't taste like boring roast beef. I put some sauce on the table, but nobody took any. My mom couldn't believe I only used salt and pepper. Certainly did not hear any complaints (3 of us are BBQ judges), asked what they didn't like about it and no one said anything. Everyone had seconds, even the ladies that almost never do. That's all the judging I need.

I could go on and on, but this was by far the best brisket I have ever cooked. Pretty much impossible to replicate Texas BBQ without using their beef, their wood, and their horizontal smokers, but I came damn close and would be a very happy guy if I can keep repeating this.

Thanks Rob for the tips, certainly needed the encouragement to step out of my comfort zone.

Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 7:31 am

Sounds like I will have to give that a try next go around.

Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 8:10 am

Sounds good. Now you just got to bring your method out to a competition. Very Happy

Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 9:18 am

Um... I think it's best for all us competitors if Mark stays home until I have a chance to duplicate that cook on a consistent basis Laughing

Good stuff Mark, glad it turned out so well! I guess Ole Jim was right about that rub after all.

Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 2:31 pm

I'd love to give comps a go, but I really don't have the time. Too many hobbies and activities, I'm actually trying to cut back. And I like my wife.

Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 10:36 am

Half of that taste down there is the grass fed beef they use. Here in MN, I only have access to corn fed beef.. tastes different right out of the cryo-vac..