The Official Brisket Thread

[mtnbiker]

Just picked up an 16 pound packer. Should make for a happy fast Sunday tomorrow. And lots of enchiladas next week.

Wow, huge. Please give a report including times and temps.

[CJF]

After trimming, this thing still comes in about 15.5 pounds. It is not very uniform in shape. About a third of of the flat is quite a bit thinner then the middle and point end. I will have to use that section for enchiladas for sure. It is going to be very dry by the time the rest gets to 190.

Both rubs on and it is smoking at 225 right now.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Woohoo! Two times in a row with great results. I am starting to build some confidence in the brisket category.

Bought a 9 lb. packer at Costco. Trimmed fat with electric knife (great way to do it, btw) and applied rub to both sides at 9 pm and put it in the fridge. Put it in the smoker with oak pellets at 4 am at 225 deg. Accidentally put point side down. At 10 am the next morning (I slept in) it was at 170 degrees. Tightly wrapped in foil with about a cup of apple juice and placed in inside oven at 225 deg. Reached 200 degrees at 12:30 pm. Turned it down to 190 and left it foiled in the oven. Removed from oven at 4:15 pm, let it sit for 20 minutes and sliced.

As for the point, it didn't seem to matter. But it is kind of hard to trim the point off when it is on the bottom.

I think I am going to just stick with this approach for a while. The meat ends up a little bit on the well-done side as it is just on the verge of falling apart, but it is extremely moist and tender which are my most important criteria.

Sorry for the quality of the pic. I am having trouble with my macro focus lately.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Makes ab fab enchiladas.

CJF, would you mind posting your enchilada recipe? I would like to try it.

[CJF]

CJF, would you mind posting your enchilada recipe? I would like to try it.

Looks very good, JL. I'll post my pics a little later.

My recipe is always by taste and not scientific in any way. I finely dice a whole onion, a couple of green chilies, a jalapeño or two, cumin, a dash of cinnamon, fresh garlic, a couple of different chili powders, and sauté in a little bit of olive oil until the onions start to get soft. I add the meat and heat until blended well. We make our own green enchilada sauce from tomatillos and peppers we grow in our garden. I put a little on the bottom of a baking dish, put some meat in a tortilla (I prefer corn but my family likes flour better) a bit of cheese, wrap, and put in dish. Repeat. Cover the enchiladas with more sauce and bake at 375 for about 30 minutes. After about 20 minutes sprinkle a little cheese on and return to the oven. I put an onion, cilantro, lime mixture, salsa, and guacamole on them.

[mtnbiker]

That does look really good. Four hours seems like a long time to just keep it warm, but I guess you can't argue with results if it came out as tender and juicy as you like.

[Jeff Lebowski]

That does look really good. Four hours seems like a long time to just keep it warm, but I guess you can't argue with results if it came out as tender and juicy as you like.

That's the so-called FTC stage. Breaks down the collagen in the meat.

[mtnbiker]

That's the so-called FTC stage. Breaks down the collagen in the meat.

From what I read last week, I thought the collagen breakdown came after the stall at 165 ends and the temps begin to rise again from there. Maybe I misinterpreted some of the things I read. Or else there are just a lot of different theories out there.

[Jeff Lebowski]

From what I read last week, I thought the collagen breakdown came after the stall at 165 ends and the temps begin to rise again from there. Maybe I misinterpreted some of the things I read. Or else there are just a lot of different theories out there.

FTC is commonly applied to any slow-cooked meat (including pulled pork) after it reaches the set temp. It serves two purposes:

1) Keeps the food warm until you are ready to eat. Cooking time can be highly variable so it is quite rare that you can predict exact timing when you are cooking for many hours. FTC puts the meat into a holding pattern without overcooking or drying it out.

2) Further breaks down the collagen in the meat making it extra tender. Sure, you will collagen breakdown prior to that, but 2-4 hours of additional FTC time can make a big difference when you are looking for melt-in-your-mouth tenderness.

[CJF]

Overall a success, but I still much prefer tri-tip and it is a lot less money and time. Also, 16.6 pounds is way too big. I thought they pulled me an 11 pounder. This thing was a beast and took forever.

Not great pics.

Wet rub then my homemade rub.


14 hours at 240, it finally hit 180.


DT's beans with my homemade bacon and lardons, burnt ends and the flat finishing up.



Another of burnt ends.



On my plate.

[mtnbiker]

Man, that's a big brisket. Thanks for the pics and descriptions. It looks very tasty. Another question: do you normally finish the burnt ends uncovered like in your pics, or do you usually foil them up to keep them moister?

[CJF]

Man, that's a big brisket. Thanks for the pics and descriptions. It looks very tasty. Another question: do you normally finish the burnt ends uncovered like in your pics, or do you usually foil them up to keep them moister?

Uncovered. Keeping them tender and juicy is really not a problem. Just add some of the drippings, a little sauce and a bit of rub. They have a higher fat content than the flat, so they stay pretty tender.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Man, that's a big brisket. Thanks for the pics and descriptions. It looks very tasty. Another question: do you normally finish the burnt ends uncovered like in your pics, or do you usually foil them up to keep them moister?

The whole point with burnt ends is to expose them to a ton of smoke. Hence the term "burnt". Covering them would mess up the whole process.

[FN Phat]

CJF, can you please give a bit more detail on the burnt ends? I was wondering about the process from the beginning to the end....rub, sauce, prep, etc.

How did you like the Rufus Teague?

[mtnbiker]

Uncovered. Keeping them tender and juicy is really not a problem. Just add some of the drippings, a little sauce and a bit of rub. They have a higher fat content than the flat, so they stay pretty tender.

The whole point with burnt ends is to expose them to a ton of smoke. Hence the term "burnt". Covering them would mess up the whole process.

Thanks. The reason I asked is because I saw some pics on the web that showed burnt ends in foil, and it looked as though they'd been totally covered by the foil, but the foil pulled back for the pics. Nobody fully explains these things.