one100grand
Well-known member
I love to cook, to grill even more, so it's no surprise that I spend a lot of time working on techniques and recipes. I've got several rubs and marinades for meats and I'm always willing to chat cooking. A couple of years ago, I decided I wanted to really get good at the art of grilling, so I started dedicating a year (or more) to making specific items and working on them until I was happy with them. This started in 2008 when I started by working on steaks and burgers; 2009 was the year of the sauce; 2010 and 2011 were the years of pulled pork (I'm still not 100% satisfied, but when my wife and I went to a famed Chicago BBQ restaurant and both left feeling mine was at least as good, I decided to move on). This leads me to 2012 - the year of the brisket. I've been cooking roughly 2-3 briskets a month since April, so I feel I've come a long way since then.
I'm starting this brisket thread for all things brisket - if you know a way I can improve my process, I'd love to hear it.
To start about the cut of meat - in previous things that I've studied, some meats are definitely about buying higher grades of cuts vs knowing the best techniques. So far, brisket seems to be VERY much about the grade of the meat vs the technique; I've done several at varying grades (haven't worked my way to wagyu as of this post, but I just got done pricing it out, so maybe soon) and my results have been much better with higher grades of meat (higher grades have more fat and more of a marbled look - brisket is a tough cut and the higher fat content helps tenderize the meat as it melts). I've seen brisket available in 3 cuts - Flat Brisket, Point Brisket, and Packer Brisket. Packer brisket is the whole deal, made up of both the flat (bottom) and the point (top). The flat and point have grain that runs in different directions and when you go to carve the meat, you want to separate them (but not while you're cooking). They have different textures and are nice done as a mix of slices in a sandwich.
I start by cutting the brisket down - the initial piece usually has large runs of fat and what's called silverskin on it. I'll actually trim it down to where I can see the meat clearly (the silverskin layer looks like it's wrapped in plastic wrap, but when you remove it it looks like you see on a steak. If you don't cut off the silverskin, when you go to slice the finished product, it will be on the ends and it's unpleasant to chew on (or you can peel it off at that point and it looks kind of like a beef fruit-wroll-up wrapper). This step is a gigantic pain in the butt, but it's completely worth the time to take the effort for 2 reasons: #1 you never have to worry about super chewy bites of meat & #2 the rub seems to set better on the meat than the layers of fat.
After I've got the brisket butchered down to a product I'm happy with, I begin by injecting with beef broth. I make my own stocks, so I usually have it on hand, if not, I'll buy something that's not too high in sodium (~500 mgs Sodium/serving) but not a low sodium broth. About the injecting - I never used to do this, I always kind of thought it was cheating, but I've changed my mind on that after trying it - it's adding additional moisture to the meat and since I'm using broth only, it's only enhancing the beef flavor of the brisket. I haven't ever injected anything that wasn't beef and I don't have plans on it yet (who knows what the future may hold).
Once I've got the brisket injected, I'll coat it lightly in olive oil and my rub, then either throw it in the freezer for an hour or in the fridge for a few hours/overnight. I've noticed that chilled meat picks up smoke differently and leaves a better looking smoke ring; while I haven't noticed a huge difference in taste (I'll probably do a side by side in the future for exact comparison), I do like the presentation of the smoke ring.
For cooking, I start by getting the temp of my cooker (Big Green Egg) and use the plate setter (to cook with indirect heat) and a pie pan filled with water. For the actual smoking, I prefer wood chunks vs chips; my feeling is that chunks are going to produce more smoke as they smoke and will continue to add flavor after they're done smoking simply by smoldering longer than chips. For brisket, I prefer to use a hickory + 2x fruit woods, meaning I'll put 1 chunk of hickory + 2 chunks of a fruit wood (I'm favoring black cherry lately). I want a ton of smoke in the early stages (when I'm watching it more closely) and don't care about it later (the smoke can only penetrate but so deep into the meat, believe me, I've tried smoking something for 12 hours with smoke going the whole time, it still only goes so deep). On a big brisket, say 15 pounds, I want 2.5-3 hours of smoke (the whole cook on a piece that size will probably be 15+ hours). I'd recommend using a digital thermometer that can plug into the meat and have a lead that goes outside of the grill, so you can check meat temps without opening the lid.
The simple method is to keep the heat between 225-250 until the meat reaches ~200, let the meat rest for 10-15 minutes and carve it. On a big piece of meat, this can take a LONG time; I've had briskets take between as little as 8-12 hours with this method or as long as 18-20 hours (let me tell you, my wife is super happy about the brisket going on at 4AM and not being done until midnight).
I sometimes shortcut the method by pulling the meat when the meat temp hits around 145-150, putting it into a baking dish (9x13 or bigger depending on meat), pouring about 2 cups of broth into the bottom, covering it in foil, and putting that back on the grill with the temp at 225-250. This significantly shortens the cooking time but softens the bark (if you don't know what bark is, this is not the method for you) - I've tried putting the brisket back over high heat after it hits the 200 mark cooking to bring the bark back from being soft but with limited success. If you like bark, cook it without the baking dish, if you don't care about bark, use the baking dish and it can significantly shorten the cook time. I'll usually use this shortcut when I'm cooking for a party that's going on the same day as the cooking - that way I don't have to worry about guests having to wait forever for the meat to get done, but if I'm cooking for me and my family they can wait :wink:
When it comes to carving the brisket ALWAYS make sure that you let it rest for at least 10 minutes or more. I separate the top and bottom sections (assuming it's a full packer brisket) and slice opposite the grain on each piece, cutting a couple of test pieces at 1/4" thick to see how I did on the cook. To test my cook I'll hold each end of the slice and pull lightly, the meat should have a fair bit of give and should come slightly apart (if it was done properly) and have a look almost like a spider web. If the cook didn't go quite as well as I wanted, I'll slice it very thin, no thicker than 1/8" that way it hides any level of chewiness. I recommend using a very thin bbq sauce to finish it (with texture similar to A1 sauce but do NOT use A1).
I've tried to include all that I can think of in this write-up; I plan on adding pictures and editing things to clarify as I can.
If you want me to add rub or sauce recipes, I'll be happy to add them on request.
I'm starting this brisket thread for all things brisket - if you know a way I can improve my process, I'd love to hear it.
To start about the cut of meat - in previous things that I've studied, some meats are definitely about buying higher grades of cuts vs knowing the best techniques. So far, brisket seems to be VERY much about the grade of the meat vs the technique; I've done several at varying grades (haven't worked my way to wagyu as of this post, but I just got done pricing it out, so maybe soon) and my results have been much better with higher grades of meat (higher grades have more fat and more of a marbled look - brisket is a tough cut and the higher fat content helps tenderize the meat as it melts). I've seen brisket available in 3 cuts - Flat Brisket, Point Brisket, and Packer Brisket. Packer brisket is the whole deal, made up of both the flat (bottom) and the point (top). The flat and point have grain that runs in different directions and when you go to carve the meat, you want to separate them (but not while you're cooking). They have different textures and are nice done as a mix of slices in a sandwich.
I start by cutting the brisket down - the initial piece usually has large runs of fat and what's called silverskin on it. I'll actually trim it down to where I can see the meat clearly (the silverskin layer looks like it's wrapped in plastic wrap, but when you remove it it looks like you see on a steak. If you don't cut off the silverskin, when you go to slice the finished product, it will be on the ends and it's unpleasant to chew on (or you can peel it off at that point and it looks kind of like a beef fruit-wroll-up wrapper). This step is a gigantic pain in the butt, but it's completely worth the time to take the effort for 2 reasons: #1 you never have to worry about super chewy bites of meat & #2 the rub seems to set better on the meat than the layers of fat.
After I've got the brisket butchered down to a product I'm happy with, I begin by injecting with beef broth. I make my own stocks, so I usually have it on hand, if not, I'll buy something that's not too high in sodium (~500 mgs Sodium/serving) but not a low sodium broth. About the injecting - I never used to do this, I always kind of thought it was cheating, but I've changed my mind on that after trying it - it's adding additional moisture to the meat and since I'm using broth only, it's only enhancing the beef flavor of the brisket. I haven't ever injected anything that wasn't beef and I don't have plans on it yet (who knows what the future may hold).
Once I've got the brisket injected, I'll coat it lightly in olive oil and my rub, then either throw it in the freezer for an hour or in the fridge for a few hours/overnight. I've noticed that chilled meat picks up smoke differently and leaves a better looking smoke ring; while I haven't noticed a huge difference in taste (I'll probably do a side by side in the future for exact comparison), I do like the presentation of the smoke ring.
For cooking, I start by getting the temp of my cooker (Big Green Egg) and use the plate setter (to cook with indirect heat) and a pie pan filled with water. For the actual smoking, I prefer wood chunks vs chips; my feeling is that chunks are going to produce more smoke as they smoke and will continue to add flavor after they're done smoking simply by smoldering longer than chips. For brisket, I prefer to use a hickory + 2x fruit woods, meaning I'll put 1 chunk of hickory + 2 chunks of a fruit wood (I'm favoring black cherry lately). I want a ton of smoke in the early stages (when I'm watching it more closely) and don't care about it later (the smoke can only penetrate but so deep into the meat, believe me, I've tried smoking something for 12 hours with smoke going the whole time, it still only goes so deep). On a big brisket, say 15 pounds, I want 2.5-3 hours of smoke (the whole cook on a piece that size will probably be 15+ hours). I'd recommend using a digital thermometer that can plug into the meat and have a lead that goes outside of the grill, so you can check meat temps without opening the lid.
The simple method is to keep the heat between 225-250 until the meat reaches ~200, let the meat rest for 10-15 minutes and carve it. On a big piece of meat, this can take a LONG time; I've had briskets take between as little as 8-12 hours with this method or as long as 18-20 hours (let me tell you, my wife is super happy about the brisket going on at 4AM and not being done until midnight).
I sometimes shortcut the method by pulling the meat when the meat temp hits around 145-150, putting it into a baking dish (9x13 or bigger depending on meat), pouring about 2 cups of broth into the bottom, covering it in foil, and putting that back on the grill with the temp at 225-250. This significantly shortens the cooking time but softens the bark (if you don't know what bark is, this is not the method for you) - I've tried putting the brisket back over high heat after it hits the 200 mark cooking to bring the bark back from being soft but with limited success. If you like bark, cook it without the baking dish, if you don't care about bark, use the baking dish and it can significantly shorten the cook time. I'll usually use this shortcut when I'm cooking for a party that's going on the same day as the cooking - that way I don't have to worry about guests having to wait forever for the meat to get done, but if I'm cooking for me and my family they can wait :wink:
When it comes to carving the brisket ALWAYS make sure that you let it rest for at least 10 minutes or more. I separate the top and bottom sections (assuming it's a full packer brisket) and slice opposite the grain on each piece, cutting a couple of test pieces at 1/4" thick to see how I did on the cook. To test my cook I'll hold each end of the slice and pull lightly, the meat should have a fair bit of give and should come slightly apart (if it was done properly) and have a look almost like a spider web. If the cook didn't go quite as well as I wanted, I'll slice it very thin, no thicker than 1/8" that way it hides any level of chewiness. I recommend using a very thin bbq sauce to finish it (with texture similar to A1 sauce but do NOT use A1).
I've tried to include all that I can think of in this write-up; I plan on adding pictures and editing things to clarify as I can.
If you want me to add rub or sauce recipes, I'll be happy to add them on request.
