First brisket meh

[geneseohawk]

Made my first brisket flat today. Wrapped at 170 and pulled at 203- rest 1 hour. It was not fully cooked I think. It was slightly tough and meat did not pull away when I stretched the slices. Disappointed but flavor was good. Lesson learned- maybe don't rely on temp probes but feel? My probes might not be calibrated right?

 

[llbts1]

That was my first guess, probes not calibrated.

 

[PRC]

Made my first brisket flat today. Wrapped at 170 and pulled at 203- rest 1 hour. It was not fully cooked I think. It was slightly tough and meat did not pull away when I stretched the slices. Disappointed but flavor was good. Lesson learned- maybe don't rely on temp probes but feel? My probes might not be calibrated right?

Always go by feel. Sticking a temperature probe into the brisket should be like putting it in butter with no resistance. Check in 3-4 places. A Thermoworks temperature probe like the Thermapen ONE is a great invesrment.

 

[Jim6820]

maybe don't rely on temp probes but feel?

Your instinct is spot on! Unless you have checked and calibrated your probes, they might not be telling you what you need to know. In my opinion, the best use of the probe for brisket is to use it to determine tenderness, not temperature. If the probe slides into the meat smoothly and easily, you have arrived at “probe tender.”

 

[Motodad1776]

I have little luck with briskets, so I switched over to chuck roasts. But yeah it's more about tenderness/feel over temps when it comes to briskets.

 

[C. Keeper]

I have little luck with briskets, so I switched over to chuck roasts. But yeah it's more about tenderness/feel over temps when it comes to briskets.

Can't go wrong with Chuckies!

 

[JGW]

Brisket is pretty easy once you know what to look for. The 203 temp is a target, IMHO. It’s not a must reach thing.

I’ve had tender briskets anywhere from 195-205. It really depends on THE specific brisket you got. Knowing how to select a brisket is probably more important than hitting an arbitrary target temp.

Resting is important too. I always rest mine a few hours. Personally, I don’t think 1 hour is enough on a large cut of meat. 2-3 hours is what I usually do.

 

[IPlayWithMeat]

Can't go wrong with Chuckies!

Well…almost never.

 

[C. Keeper]

Well…almost never.

View attachment 15812

You didn't cook him long enough!

 

[IPlayWithMeat]

You didn't cook him long enough!

I did, but he just turned into this :

 

[C. Keeper]

I did, but he just turned into this :

View attachment 15813

Damn, what kind of rub did you use?
I'd suggest that you wrap the next time!

 

[IPlayWithMeat]

Damn, what kind of rub did you use?
I'd suggest that you wrap the next time!

Perhaps I overdid it with these three:

 

[C. Keeper]

Perhaps I overdid it with these three:

View attachment 15814

View attachment 15815



View attachment 15816

Perhaps you did!

 

[Pops]

Made my first brisket flat today. Wrapped at 170 and pulled at 203- rest 1 hour. It was not fully cooked I think. It was slightly tough and meat did not pull away when I stretched the slices. Disappointed but flavor was good. Lesson learned- maybe don't rely on temp probes but feel? My probes might not be calibrated right?

I am sorry to hear that. I was intimidated with my first brisket cook, but it came out perfect. I have cooked several and they have been awesome.
I used the temp as a guide, but as many have said it must be probe tender. The first one I cooked, I thought it was good around 203, but it didnt probe like everyone described, so I let it go a couple of hours and it was like probing butter. It was awesome.
Also I did not see if you let it rest, it needs to rest a while. I think my first brisket I rested in a cooler with a towel for several hours.

 

[Whalercat]

Calibrate the probes does very little. Imo. They are usually very close. Did you have them in the flat or the point? Flat cooks faster. Were they in deep? It could be a lot of things, but agree with most that say it sounds undercooked.
Keep at it, and you'll get it.

 

[Jim6820]

Calibrate the probes does very little. Imo. They are usually very close. Did you have them in the flat or the point? Flat cooks faster. Were they in deep? It could be a lot of things, but agree with most that say it sounds undercooked.
Keep at it, and you'll get it.

You raise good points regarding probe placement. It is important to get them placed properly. Ideally, you would have at least two probes for a whole brisket; one in the thickest part of the point and the other in the thickest part of the flat.

That said, probes can be off a significant amount on occasion. I have seen some that were off by 25-35 degrees. Most grills and thermometer units have a way to offset readings to bring a probe in to calibration.

ThermoWorks details an excellent procedure for checking the accuracy of probes using an ice-water bath. https://www.thermoworks.com/thermapen101-creating-an-icebath/

You can also get pretty close using boiling water, though altitude will affect the boiling point a bit. ThermoWorks covers that here: https://www.thermoworks.com/bpcalc/

 

[Roaniecowpony]

Cook to probe tender, regardless of temperature.

 

[Lager1829]

I was at Academy this past weekend. Our Wagyu brisket probed tender at ~217F

 

[C. Keeper]

I was at Academy this past weekend. Our Wagyu brisket probed tender at ~217F

You can't beat that method of testing!

 

[Greg Jones]

You can't beat that method of testing!

The eating part isn’t bad either!