Stampede Is this what I did wrong? Brisket

[mikeporter616]

Sam's Club Angus 13.7 lb Packer. Froze for a couple of weeks. Moved from freezer to small refrigerator Wednesday ~7:30 pm. Removed from small refrigerator ~7:30 Thursday night, trimmed and salted with Kosher salt, put in main refrigerator. Noticed that packer was still stiff inside. Removed from main fridge ~7:30 Friday night, rubbed with Boar's Night out Wight Lightin and Ben's Pepper dust. Waited 1/2 hour and placed into 590 @ 200. Both probes in center of meat 30-31. 8:00 AM Saturday, 159 on both ends and sprayed with Parkay. Boosted 590 to 225. 10:00 AM 169, sprayed with Parkay and boosted temp to 250. 2:15, probe tender but only reading 195-198. 2:45 200 and probe tender. Pulled, wrapped in foil and towels and put in cooler. 6:15, unwrapped and let cool for 10 minutes and sliced.

Bark: excellent, best I had, Taste: again excellent, I'd be happy to duplicate this every time. Texture: almost fall apart. Not mushy, but very loose, Long slices held from one end often would break apart. Moisture: DRY. Not unpleasantly so, but definitely not juicy.

Possible causes:
1. I think that I should have pulled it when it probed tender at 195. This a well marbled chunk of meat and I've seen others say that 200+ is not always needed.
2. The fact that it was not completely thawed when I put it on seems like it might be a problem. Don't know.

Any thoughts?

Thanks. (Sorry about the lack of pictures, better half was in no mood to wait to eat.)

map

 

[pungo]

I've never cooked a brisket that was frozen in the center, so I'd start with letting the IT thaw. I've never cranked up the temp to 250, max 225, not sure what that did, if anything. I pull when probe tender, not by temp alone. I wrap with butcher paper at ~150 which retains more juices.

 

[mikeporter616]

I've never cooked a brisket that was frozen in the center, so I'd start with letting the IT thaw. I've never cranked up the temp to 250, max 225, not sure what that did, if anything. I pull when probe tender, not by temp alone. I wrap with butcher paper at ~150 which retains more juices.

pungo, Thanks!

 

[Ruwallydog]

Sam's Club Angus 13.7 lb Packer. Froze for a couple of weeks. Moved from freezer to small refrigerator Wednesday ~7:30 pm. Removed from small refrigerator ~7:30 Thursday night, trimmed and salted with Kosher salt, put in main refrigerator. Noticed that packer was still stiff inside. Removed from main fridge ~7:30 Friday night, rubbed with Boar's Night out Wight Lightin and Ben's Pepper dust. Waited 1/2 hour and placed into 590 @ 200. Both probes in center of meat 30-31. 8:00 AM Saturday, 159 on both ends and sprayed with Parkay. Boosted 590 to 225. 10:00 AM 169, sprayed with Parkay and boosted temp to 250. 2:15, probe tender but only reading 195-198. 2:45 200 and probe tender. Pulled, wrapped in foil and towels and put in cooler. 6:15, unwrapped and let cool for 10 minutes and sliced.

Bark: excellent, best I had, Taste: again excellent, I'd be happy to duplicate this every time. Texture: almost fall apart. Not mushy, but very loose, Long slices held from one end often would break apart. Moisture: DRY. Not unpleasantly so, but definitely not juicy.

Possible causes:
1. I think that I should have pulled it when it probed tender at 195. This a well marbled chunk of meat and I've seen others say that 200+ is not always needed.
2. The fact that it was not completely thawed when I put it on seems like it might be a problem. Don't know.

Any thoughts?

Thanks. (Sorry about the lack of pictures, better half was in no mood to wait to eat.)

map

I think your issues have everything to do with the brisket not being completely thawed. Everything else you did looks spot on to me.

 

[Waterboy]

Sounds to me like you just overcooked it a little bit. You mentioned it was probe tender at 195-198, probably should have pulled it then. I agree you’ll have an easier time with fully thawed meat but I have had several successful cooks (including brisket) where the meat isn’t completely thawed. That said I would much rather have overcooked than undercooked brisket.

 

[zueth]

I would it thaw completely, this can be done on the countertop. I would also let the Brisket come up to temp on countertop before putting in the smoker for 1-2 hours. Everything else you did sounds good, no need to crank up to 250 and go by probe tender not IT. Do you have any pics?

 

[mikeporter616]

I would it thaw completely, this can be done on the countertop. I would also let the Brisket come up to temp on countertop before putting in the smoker for 1-2 hours. Everything else you did sounds good, no need to crank up to 250 and go by probe tender not IT. Do you have any pics?

This is what it looked like at 12 hours @ 200.

 

[SRS]

Just did a SRF Wagyu brisket yesterday. Came frozen & moved to the fridge Wed. Sat morn @ 2a.m. took it out & trimmed it then smothered it in Memphis Rub. Put on the grill @ 3a.m. set @ 225 degrees & forgot about it. 1st cook since seasoning the 590 the day before. Make a long story short I stuck it with my Thermo Pop @ 9 a..m & decided to cheat @ 150 degrees because the stall was coming. wrapped in foil ( chose not to use butcher paper this time) with a tiny bit of Au Jus 1/4 cup ( was going to use Tallow but that's for another day ). Threw it back in the smoker using the 590 temp probe & bumped the temp to 235. When the brisket hit 200 degrees about 1:30 I took it off and felt the brisket bending in my hand ( good sign) Threw it into the ice chest, waited til 5 p.m. unwrapped it & sliced it. Photo is after being in the fridge 18 hrs. All that being said do what works for you. Me, I wrap because I've never been disappointed & it's a consistent cook.
As for thawing being a problem I always err on the side of caution but again we're still talking about food.

 

[Uncle Bob]

I'm with @Waterboy , you over cooked it. Probe tender is a better indicator than some arbitrary/magic finish temp. And your pit temp isn't the issue either. When learning 225 is safe, but once you figure out how to cook folks often cook packers at 275-300, so despite what some believe it can be done well/properly at higher temps.

As for your buying it and bringing it home and into the freezer, that wasn't really necessary either. You could (room permitting) just as easily store it refrigerated for a couple weeks. It's called "wet ageing". You can safely wet age up to 45 days from packaging (it's usually noted on the label), and many go 60 days with no issues. That will save you from that frozen center thing you fought.

 

[pungo]

This is what it looked like at 12 hours @ 200.
View attachment 9882

You should keep the meat toward the center or even the left side of grill grates, the right side is the hottest with the most drying air flow.

I always insert the temp probe from the side so there's a better chance of it being in the center of the meat, coming in from the top is a crap shoot.

 

[mikeporter616]

I'm with @Waterboy , you over cooked it. Probe tender is a better indicator than some arbitrary/magic finish temp. And your pit temp isn't the issue either. When learning 225 is safe, but once you figure out how to cook folks often cook packers at 275-300, so despite what some believe it can be done well/properly at higher temps.

As for your buying it and bringing it home and into the freezer, that wasn't really necessary either. You could (room permitting) just as easily store it refrigerated for a couple weeks. It's called "wet ageing". You can safely wet age up to 45 days from packaging (it's usually noted on the label), and many go 60 days with no issues. That will save you from that frozen center thing you fought.

Uncle Bob, thanks for that info! That is good to know.

 

[mikeporter616]

You should keep the meat toward the center or even the left side of grill grates, the right side is the hottest with the most drying air flow.

I always insert the temp probe from the side so there's a better chance of it being in the center of the meat, coming in from the top is a crap shoot.

Pungo: Once again, thanks for the info!

 

[Bif Hunkly]

I was told by a butcher at Costco that you can store a vacuumed sealed packer in the fridge for a month or so without worry. I'm sure Sams are the same.

I'm one of the high temp brisket cookers. I cook at 275, fat side down and after the stall and wrap, I bump it up to 295 until the internal temp hits 203.

I use one Thermoworks Signals probe in the side center, keeping an eye on the temp as I slide it in. When I hit the coldest spot, I'll back it up or whatever you want to call it and go from there.

If you want to make an amazing, Central Texas style, brisket then pick up Aaron Franklins BBQ book. Everything you need to know is in there, from picking to prepping, to smoking and slicing.

 

[Grilltreats]

Nothing wrong with turning up a bit after wrapping to compensate for the wrap. I usually go to 250° to 275°. The rest time has more to do with moist and tender.

 

[mikeporter616]

I was told by a butcher at Costco that you can store a vacuumed sealed packer in the fridge for a month or so without worry. I'm sure Sams are the same.

I'm one of the high temp brisket cookers. I cook at 275, fat side down and after the stall and wrap, I bump it up to 295 until the internal temp hits 203.

I use one Thermoworks Signals probe in the side center, keeping an eye on the temp as I slide it in. When I hit the coldest spot, I'll back it up or whatever you want to call it and go from there.

If you want to make an amazing, Central Texas style, brisket then pick up Aaron Franklins BBQ book. Everything you need to know is in there, from picking to prepping, to smoking and slicing.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[Charlie]

I did one 12lb completely frozen
Put it on the counter for 20 minutes
Salt and peppered it put it on @ 250
Wrapped it at 170 (I like a good bark)
Took it off at 203 it was perfect,took
12 hours.

 

[mikeporter616]

I did one 12lb completely frozen
Put it on the counter for 20 minutes
Salt and peppered it put it on @ 250
Wrapped it at 170 (I like a good bark)
Took it off at 203 it was perfect,took
12 hours.

Charlie, Thanks! It looks like pulling too late was the problem, others have said pretty much the same. You are more conformation.

 

[SRS]

As you can see everybody has their own cooking method. If it's dry you've overcooked. I'm partial to LOW & SLOW along with wrapping @ 150 degrees which has never disappointed. Next cook try wrapping along with a 1/2 cup of tallow in butcher paper.

 

[C. Keeper]

As you can see everybody has their own cooking method. If it's dry you've overcooked. I'm partial to LOW & SLOW along with wrapping @ 150 degrees which has never disappointed. Next cook try wrapping along with a 1/2 cup of tallow in butcher paper.

What tallow are you using?

 

[SRS]

Rendering's Beef Tallow from Amazon​

Next time I'm going to use Snake River Farms CHEFS GOLD as an experiment
Should work well.