The Official Brisket Thread

[Jeff Lebowski]

We also do yakisoba with brisket. Yum.

Nice! Also great on ramen.

[old_gregg]

lebowski is the 160* hold stage unfoiled or foiled (i.e., re wrapped after unwrapping to stop cooking)?

[Bo Diddley]

lebowski is the 160* hold stage unfoiled or foiled (i.e., re wrapped after unwrapping to stop cooking)?

Yeah, that's how I do it. Foil it after bringing the temp down.

[Jeff Lebowski]

lebowski is the 160* hold stage unfoiled or foiled (i.e., re wrapped after unwrapping to stop cooking)?

Foiled!

[old_gregg]

thanks brahs. turned out a little on the tough side, but is good chopped + sauced. i had to pull from the oven around 188* (was barely over 12lbs, so thought it would be fine) and am guessing some extra time up to about 195* followed by holding for significantly longer would have been very helpful.

[Bo Diddley]

thanks brahs. turned out a little on the tough side, but is good chopped + sauced. i had to pull from the oven around 188* (was barely over 12lbs, so thought it would be fine) and am guessing some extra time up to about 195* followed by holding for significantly longer would have been very helpful.

The first one I ever cooked was similar. I learned my lesson about cooking around church meetings.

[All-American]

thanks brahs. turned out a little on the tough side, but is good chopped + sauced. i had to pull from the oven around 188* (was barely over 12lbs, so thought it would be fine) and am guessing some extra time up to about 195* followed by holding for significantly longer would have been very helpful.

I think that's probably right. If I've learned anything from cooking brisket it's to give more time than you think you need-- a lot more. 12-14 hours is usually what you need to cook, but these days if I need to have dinner ready at a set time I'm putting the brisket in up to 18 hours beforehand. No one will tell you that is how much time you need-- not even me-- but you almost never hurt the end product by holding it for longer periods of time (and that may even help).

[old_gregg]

I think that's probably right. If I've learned anything from cooking brisket it's to give more time than you think you need-- a lot more. 12-14 hours is usually what you need to cook, but these days if I need to have dinner ready at a set time I'm putting the brisket in up to 18 hours beforehand. No one will tell you that is how much time you need-- not even me-- but you almost never hurt the end product by holding it for longer periods of time (and that may even help).

that's good to know. i took it out from the 160* hold period after ~90 mins because it was 11:30pm, but considered leaving it in until 6:30 the next morning. probably should have done that.

[Jeff Lebowski]

thanks brahs. turned out a little on the tough side, but is good chopped + sauced. i had to pull from the oven around 188* (was barely over 12lbs, so thought it would be fine) and am guessing some extra time up to about 195* followed by holding for significantly longer would have been very helpful.

Yeah, 188 is too low for brisket. And you can hold for a really long time without a problem.

[old_gregg]

think it would have been fine to hold for 8 ish hours in the oven at160?

[Jeff Lebowski]

think it would have been fine to hold for 8 ish hours in the oven at160?

Yes. Restaurants do this all the time.

[CJF]

Yes. Restaurants do this all the time.

For catering jobs I start my briskets 36 hours in advance to serving. With huge amounts of meat, things can get funky during a cook and mess the entire job up. I have three big warming cabinets that holds at 180 degrees. I have them rest in that for up to 18 hours. Works great. Not competition brisket, but very tender and great flavor. Does well on a catered plate.

[old_gregg]

when the aliens pore over the records of humanity millenia after its extinction, the scholarship done on this chatblog will be a beacon of hope, scientific rigor and brotherly love

[Bo Diddley]

*goosebumps*

[Jeff Lebowski]

For catering jobs I start my briskets 36 hours in advance to serving. With huge amounts of meat, things can get funky during a cook and mess the entire job up. I have three big warming cabinets that holds at 180 degrees. I have them rest in that for up to 18 hours. Works great. Not competition brisket, but very tender and great flavor. Does well on a catered plate.

I have shared this story before, but I toured the pits and Blacks BBQ in Austin once. Briskets as far as the eye could see and they looked like they were almost done. They told me it was all for the next day.