Saturday's prime brisket

ToeJam

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Grill(s) owned
  1. Bull
Went to Costco, picked out a Prime brisket that had the thickest flat I could find. Trimmed as I do leaving about a 1/4 inch or so of fat on the fat side and cleaned up the rest. Seasoned well with SPG only and let sit while the bull came up to temp. I put the meat on at about 8:30pm at Hi smoke for about 4 hours, then cranked up the temp to 225 to cook until an internal temp of 160-170 which I planned for an over-night cook. Got up at 7:30am checked the brisket temp - it was just under 170, had GREAT color and was very supple. Wrapped in pink butchers paper, put back on at 250 to finish, about another 3 hours. Probed several places with my thermo-pen and was happy with the temps and softness. I then placed it still wrapped into a 2 1/2 gal ziploc bag, wrapped in 2 towels, and put into a cooler to rest. After about 4 1/2 hours of resting, when company arrived, I got out the meat to prepare for carving. Unwrapped, and looked and smelled amazing with a really good smoke ring and bark! Began slicing and the rendered juices were very apparent as you'd expect out of a good cook. Here's the rub - It was the best brisket I've done so far, but the lack-luster flavor of the meat really left me wondering what I could've done different. An injection? More smoke? Heavier amount of rub? The bark/smoke ring was great, it's just that the inside wasn't what I expected - rather bland.
 
It sounds to me like you did everything by the book. At least I pretty much do the same thing. I have gotten in the habit of injecting beef broth into the flat, but I'm not really sure if it makes a ton of difference in flavor. It seems to me like you can blame it on the meat.
 
My only suggestion would be to let it brine on a rack in the refrigerator overnight with just kosher salt. My understanding is that the salt draws out moisture which dissolves the salt and the salty water gets reabsorbed into the meat. Add the pepper and garlic before the cook. FWIW, I do inject with beef broth which I think helps distribute the flavor inside the meat more.
 
Went to Costco, picked out a Prime brisket that had the thickest flat I could find. Trimmed as I do leaving about a 1/4 inch or so of fat on the fat side and cleaned up the rest. Seasoned well with SPG only and let sit while the bull came up to temp. I put the meat on at about 8:30pm at Hi smoke for about 4 hours, then cranked up the temp to 225 to cook until an internal temp of 160-170 which I planned for an over-night cook. Got up at 7:30am checked the brisket temp - it was just under 170, had GREAT color and was very supple. Wrapped in pink butchers paper, put back on at 250 to finish, about another 3 hours. Probed several places with my thermo-pen and was happy with the temps and softness. I then placed it still wrapped into a 2 1/2 gal ziploc bag, wrapped in 2 towels, and put into a cooler to rest. After about 4 1/2 hours of resting, when company arrived, I got out the meat to prepare for carving. Unwrapped, and looked and smelled amazing with a really good smoke ring and bark! Began slicing and the rendered juices were very apparent as you'd expect out of a good cook. Here's the rub - It was the best brisket I've done so far, but the lack-luster flavor of the meat really left me wondering what I could've done different. An injection? More smoke? Heavier amount of rub? The bark/smoke ring was great, it's just that the inside wasn't what I expected - rather bland.

What brand pellets did you use? Sounds like it was a perfect cook to me.
 
Sometimes, you just get a cut of meat that doesn’t have much flavor. Nothing will help that.

Sounds to me like you did everything right. Before I made any adjustments to my cook procedure, I would do another brisket and see if there’s a difference in flavor.

I didn’t see a description of the pellets you used. For brisket, I like straight Hickory; Kingsford, Bear Mountain or LumberJack. Hickory provides a bold smoke flavor for me.
 
I agree with the other posts. You did a classic cook properly. I inject with a combination Wagyu tallow+clarified butter+concentrated beef stock+pepper+sage+herbs, and it kicks the flavor profile up quite a bit. I always let the rub sit for at least 24 hours in the fridge. I have to be careful with the beef stock because it can be overly salty if not properly prepared. In some cases, brisket can be the “turkey“ of beef. Depending on the mood of the cow, it can be mild or really beefy. The only way I have found to make it consistently “moo” again is to doctor it up. Also, you put it in a Ziplock to rest, did that soften your bark? Was it crunch or soft? (Just asking as I have been tempted to use the same rest process but fear destroying the bark.(
 
I used Lumberjack Oak pellets, and I forgot to state that when I wrapped, I smeared the brisket with wagyu beef tallow. Maybe I'll try the hickory next time...
 
We run our Briskets on "LO" (180) for 8 hours, with a Smoke Tube full of Comp Blend
Wrap with Smoked Tallow and back at 270 for another 6 -8 hours until she gets to 200 - 205 internal
Comes out like this:
1660157174141.png


Great flavor throughout
 
We run our Briskets on "LO" (180) for 8 hours, with a Smoke Tube full of Comp Blend
Wrap with Smoked Tallow and back at 270 for another 6 -8 hours until she gets to 200 - 205 internal
Comes out like this:
View attachment 17014

Great flavor throughout
Ooooooh, that looks good! Super smoke ring and bark with obvious moisture in the meat. Firing up the Ferrari; we’ll be there as soon as possible. :ROFLMAO:

Driving On My Way GIF by Fortnite
 
One more thing I tried on this cook - I used the second shelf to do the brisket as I had been suggested to do for more smoke.
 
Ok, let the sky screaming begin. Why do we cook brisket? Historically it was a piece of meat that was considered useless for anything but corn beef and pastrami. Because of that it was a very very inexpensive piece of beef. Then German migrants in Texas discovered you could by pass the corn beef process when making pastrami and go right to the smoking with simple spices. Voila! A cheap tough piece of beef was made to taste as good as some steak cuts or roasts at a lower cost.
Now, here is the question. It is no longer an inexpensive cut of beef. Especially when you start talking about prime or even more ridiculous, waygu. So, why even cook it? For the same price you can feed just as many people with steak, or rib roast. Or, if you want to feed a crowd with beef from your smoker, that is inexpensive but can made delicious from the art of bbq, why not chuck, or other cheap roasts?
 
Now, here is the question. It is no longer an inexpensive cut of beef. Especially when you start talking about prime or even more ridiculous, waygu. So, why even cook it? For the same price you can feed just as many people with steak, or rib roast. Or, if you want to feed a crowd with beef from your smoker, that is inexpensive but can made delicious from the art of bbq, why not chuck, or other cheap roasts?
Today at Wildfork prime brisket is $5 a pound, choice brisket is $4 a pound, and chuck roast starts at $5.18 a pound. I’m pretty sure there are no steaks or rib roasts less that that. Brisket isn’t cheap these days (what is?) but it’s still less than the alternatives when cooking for a larger group.
 
Steak is $15.99 vs. prime brisket at $3.99 in our area. I’ll do brisket over steak every time when we have a large group. Besides people can get a steak anywhere, brisket Is usually a rare treat for folks who don’t have a smoker.

As for Wagyu it’s like buying @Jim6820 ‘s Ferrari, if you have to ask about price you probably shouldn’t be buying one. At least that’s why I don’t cook Wagyu (or have a Ferrari).
 
Steak is $15.99 vs. prime brisket at $3.99 in our area. I’ll do brisket over steak every time when we have a large group. Besides people can get a steak anywhere, brisket Is usually a rare treat for folks who don’t have a smoker.

As for Wagyu it’s like buying @Jim6820 ‘s Ferrari, if you have to ask about price you probably shouldn’t be buying one. At least that’s why I don’t cook Wagyu (or have a Ferrari).
Don't you mean WHYgu ?
Yeah. just picked-up a Prime Brisket for $3.99 / pound
Trimmed and seasoned it last night
It's in the Frig to go on at 22:00 tonight
Flat's on the left, Point on the right:
Sunday (14 Aug) Brisket.JPG
 
Pricing aside, I actually enjoy the whole brisket experience, particularly for a larger group. Once moving over to a RT, it's now a fun thing to cook as most of it is done overnight (more times than not). I probably cook four briskets a year.

I have done a couple of Wagyu briskets because I just had to try it. I'll probably do another, but it will be for special occasions similar to a prime rib. I'm probably wasting money, but I'm having fun doing it. In the end, a couple of Wagyu briskets are considerably cheaper than many other hobbies I've invested in previously.

I definitely did not buy my grill to save money on food costs.
 
I need to move. I have never seen prime brisket at $3.99/lb. Or I would go back to cooking them. Our biggest market, Harris Teeter, it is $7.99/lb. And when you consider that by the time you are through trimming and cooking it really is about $10.99/lb. They have 1 1/2 inch to 2 inch Angus Prime Rib steaks all the time at $7.99/lb and rib roasts for less.
Where do you folks live that have $3.99/lb briskets?
 
Where do you folks live that have $3.99/lb briskets?
Go to Wildfork.com They don’t ship everywhere in the US, but almost everywhere. Get a year’s free shipping for orders overs over $35 for cheap. Or wait until late in the year when they offer it free (how I got mine). Highly recommend them for price, quality, and selection. I’ve bought meat cuts there I’ve never tried before because they are not local to me.
 
Went to Costco, picked out a Prime brisket that had the thickest flat I could find. Trimmed as I do leaving about a 1/4 inch or so of fat on the fat side and cleaned up the rest. Seasoned well with SPG only and let sit while the bull came up to temp. I put the meat on at about 8:30pm at Hi smoke for about 4 hours, then cranked up the temp to 225 to cook until an internal temp of 160-170 which I planned for an over-night cook. Got up at 7:30am checked the brisket temp - it was just under 170, had GREAT color and was very supple. Wrapped in pink butchers paper, put back on at 250 to finish, about another 3 hours. Probed several places with my thermo-pen and was happy with the temps and softness. I then placed it still wrapped into a 2 1/2 gal ziploc bag, wrapped in 2 towels, and put into a cooler to rest. After about 4 1/2 hours of resting, when company arrived, I got out the meat to prepare for carving. Unwrapped, and looked and smelled amazing with a really good smoke ring and bark! Began slicing and the rendered juices were very apparent as you'd expect out of a good cook. Here's the rub - It was the best brisket I've done so far, but the lack-luster flavor of the meat really left me wondering what I could've done different. An injection? More smoke? Heavier amount of rub? The bark/smoke ring was great, it's just that the inside wasn't what I expected - rather bland.
If you are dissatisfied with the flavor I have a recommendation. Find an outlet that will provide you with dry aged meat. Grocery stores such as Costco can call their meats prime, and they may be fairly graded as prime, but if they are just slaughtered, butchered and packed that’s a crime. And even if they were wet aged for quite a while, you are not getting that rich beef flavor that can only come from meat that is dry aged for at least 21 days and preferably up to double that. When I lived in Nebraska and Iowa and was able to get good beef I always had mine aged for 28 days. Of course, I would be ordering a side of beef or at least a hind quarter. Today I find that many folks will sell you a quarter but it’s not a hind quarter, it’s a half of a half. Nothing wrong with that as long as you know what you’re getting.
 
Went to Costco, picked out a Prime brisket that had the thickest flat I could find. Trimmed as I do leaving about a 1/4 inch or so of fat on the fat side and cleaned up the rest. Seasoned well with SPG only and let sit while the bull came up to temp. I put the meat on at about 8:30pm at Hi smoke for about 4 hours, then cranked up the temp to 225 to cook until an internal temp of 160-170 which I planned for an over-night cook. Got up at 7:30am checked the brisket temp - it was just under 170, had GREAT color and was very supple. Wrapped in pink butchers paper, put back on at 250 to finish, about another 3 hours. Probed several places with my thermo-pen and was happy with the temps and softness. I then placed it still wrapped into a 2 1/2 gal ziploc bag, wrapped in 2 towels, and put into a cooler to rest. After about 4 1/2 hours of resting, when company arrived, I got out the meat to prepare for carving. Unwrapped, and looked and smelled amazing with a really good smoke ring and bark! Began slicing and the rendered juices were very apparent as you'd expect out of a good cook. Here's the rub - It was the best brisket I've done so far, but the lack-luster flavor of the meat really left me wondering what I could've done different. An injection? More smoke? Heavier amount of rub? The bark/smoke ring was great, it's just that the inside wasn't what I expected - rather bland.
I have found after cooking for over a year now on my 590 that it comes down to the meat. Sometimes you get one that is good and other times you‘ll trip across a bad one. I’ve had that issue with ribs more than once and a couple butts that didn’t have “THAT” taste. I have done the injection with great results on brisket. I have also done the exact same cook on the same grade of meat and had an “ok” result. Just my observations.
 

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