# 1st time brisket



## charlie23 (Jan 11, 2005)

This was smoked from a gas grill, thus a bit tricky. About 8 hours for the 9 lb brisket at around 230 to 250 degree. There were a couple of occasions temp dropped due to lack of woods, didnt realized pecan wood can burn quite fast. And I also had to open the cover more times than I should..... well bottomline, the brisket "look" great, but dang, tasted like a tough jerky. 

Another mistake I made was at the end I didn't let it cool off long enough, guess the family was getting hungry and rushing me...


any suggestion on how to make the brisket tender and pass the "break test", I'm all ears. Yes, I did wrapped it with foil for the last couple of hours.


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## RB II (Feb 26, 2009)

Looks great. What was the internal temperature when you took it off of the pit? It should be about 200 degrees to be done/tender.


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## Tail_Pincher (Jul 5, 2011)

Yeah my first thought was that it wasn't cooked long enough.

But it does look good. The second half of the post caught me off guard based on the picture.


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## T_rout (Jul 25, 2013)

Most gas grills I've seen don't close all the way. Leaving a gap for air and moisture to escape. I would bet that's why it dried out on you. 


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## Tail_Pincher (Jul 5, 2011)

One thing you may try is injecting it.

Inject the meat with 1 oz of beef broth per 1 lb of meat just before putting it on. It's like brining and the salt helps retain moisture as well as enhances flavor.


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## peckerwood (Jun 9, 2012)

It dang sure looks good.I looked at the pic before reading your post and thought you were fixing to be bragging on yourself.I'd chop it up real fine for sandwiches,and try another.Don't forget to blame some failures on the meat.Every cow that hits the ground is a little different.Don't give up! Your off to a good start.


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## mrsh978 (Apr 24, 2006)

I too thought you'd be bragging about that - looks good. Being tough I'm speculating that it need more time as mentioned. ( and yes I've been under the gun to put meat on table by hungry mob) ! Rule of thumb is to cook until internal temp is 150, wrap until 200ish - pull and let rest in cooker or beach towel - still looked good


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## cajundiesel (Jul 30, 2012)

Looks great but I think to get the tenderness you need to cook it longer especially in the foil and some liquid. I cook mine @ 225 and it takes 1.25 - 1.5 hours per pound. For a 9 lb brisket that should be 11.25 hours minimum but it all depends on the internal temperature. I always start checking about 1 hr/lb total cook time


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## manintheboat (Jun 1, 2004)

looks really good but probably needed to cook longer. Foiling for a couple of hours during the process helps. I always shoot to have the brisket done a couple hours prior to serving time. Wrap in foil or butchers paper, put in a small cooler and fill the air with towels or blankets. Resting in a cooler really helps with tenderness too.


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## RLwhaler (Sep 10, 2005)

charlie23 said:


> This was smoked from a gas grill, thus a bit tricky. About 8 hours for the 9 lb brisket at around 230 to 250 degree. There were a couple of occasions temp dropped due to lack of woods, didnt realized pecan wood can burn quite fast. And I also had to open the cover more times than I should..... well bottomline, the brisket "look" great, but dang, tasted like a tough jerky.
> 
> Another mistake I made was at the end I didn't let it cool off long enough, guess the family was getting hungry and rushing me...
> 
> any suggestion on how to make the brisket tender and pass the "break test", I'm all ears. Yes, I did wrapped it with foil for the last couple of hours.


Looks pretty darn good for your first time.A whole lot better than mine,when I did my first brisket(6-7 years ago) I usually pull mine off at 180 internal temp. wrap with towel,in the cooler it goes for at least 30 minutes.


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## Zerofold (Aug 13, 2014)

That sucks man. It looked so good though! I pull mine at 180 and let it sit. It's already wrapped in foil too at that time. Last time I did one it was 12lb and took exactly 1.5 hours per pound.


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## charlie23 (Jan 11, 2005)

thanks for all the suggestions and tips... yeah looks can be deceiving. Will have to add another couple of hours next time, or get a bit smaller brisket. 

I have to admit I dont even have a thermometer to check the internal meat temp being it was my first time, only got a thermometer that came with the grill.


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## troutalex33 (Aug 21, 2012)

*Brisket ????*

Come on man ! Been making brisket since I was 13 years old and have never timed or checked degrees . This post is crazy . If you rub your brisket , trim it correctly and marinade properly and especially dont cook over fire then you will be allright . "Gas Grill Smoked "???? Thats where you went wrong to begin with . Gas is not bar b q . You might as well cook it in the oven. Pm me and I will write down a step by step fool proof brisket recipe but first thing first you need a decent pit not a gas grill throw that thing away !!. I will email you help . I m not trying to sound like a jerk Im just trying to help . Briskets are expensive nowadays . I remember the .50 cent a lb briskets when not everyone was a BBQ Cooking Team member ,ha ha ,!!! Now everyone claims to cook their brisket for 10 ,12 ,15 hrs . Trust me that is not necessary . Preparation is the key .


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## manintheboat (Jun 1, 2004)

charlie23 said:


> thanks for all the suggestions and tips... yeah looks can be deceiving. Will have to add another couple of hours next time, or get a bit smaller brisket.
> 
> I have to admit I dont even have a thermometer to check the internal meat temp being it was my first time, only got a thermometer that came with the grill.


A wooden scewer can work just as good as a thermometer. Tenderness and feel trumps temperature every time. Temperature is more of a loose guideline. A probe should slide in and out of the flat like butter with no grab or tightness at all. That is when it is ready. I have seen briskets tender in the low 190's and some that don't get there until just over 200.


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## Law Dog (Jul 27, 2010)

Looks Great!


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## RLwhaler (Sep 10, 2005)

troutalex33 said:


> Come on man ! Been making brisket since I was 13 years old and have never timed or checked degrees . This post is crazy . If you rub your brisket , trim it correctly and marinade properly and especially dont cook over fire then you will be allright . "Gas Grill Smoked "???? Thats where you went wrong to begin with . Gas is not bar b q . You might as well cook it in the oven. Pm me and I will write down a step by step fool proof brisket recipe but first thing first you need a decent pit not a gas grill throw that thing away !!. I will email you help . I m not trying to sound like a jerk Im just trying to help . Briskets are expensive nowadays . I remember the .50 cent a lb briskets when not everyone was a BBQ Cooking Team member ,ha ha ,!!! Now everyone claims to cook their brisket for 10 ,12 ,15 hrs . Trust me that is not necessary . Preparation is the key .


I agree..I usually don't check the time of cooking,Just the internal temp.
Would you kindly share how you manage to know the internal temp with out a temp. gauge?


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## BlueDawg (Apr 17, 2015)

Internal temp has to get to at least 195. One of the biggest mistakes people make smoking meats is they use time not temp. Length of time is only a guide to start checking the internal temp. I have had 12 pound briskets smoke and reach 195 in 7 hours.


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## oc48 (Aug 13, 2005)

BlueDawg said:


> Internal temp has to get to at least 195. One of the biggest mistakes people make smoking meats is they use time not temp.


Yep agreed. I get mine to about 200-205 and however long it takes is how ever long it takes. and yes sometimes it's 10 or 12 or 15 hours but my brisket comes out **** good most of the time


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## w_r_ranch (Jan 14, 2005)

Putting a Pyrex pan of water under it will help with the moisture issue, which is what I do when smoking most meats. 

As others have said, internal temperature is the key, I wrap mine at 170 & pull them off at 190. I then let them rest for at least an hour (to reabsorb the juice) before slicing.


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## lonepinecountryclub (Jul 18, 2010)

Should have cooked a little longer. When it's close to being done, wrap it, and put it in an empty cooler (igloo, yeti, etc.) for another hour. it will continue to cook, then get it out, and let it cool, and the juices will be absorbed back into the brisket. Flavor.


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## Lagniappe2008 (Jan 20, 2008)

I used to always like to temp my briskets just so i'd know how much time was left in the cooking process. My thermapen stopped working a long time ago, but it still tells me where i'm at. All you need to know to tell when it's done is whether or not the pen goes in like butter, or if it sticks on the way in. if it goes in like butter you are done. Also, the way i run my fire, hot, I cook 12-14lb briskets in about 5 hours. In my opinion, this is the way to go. I think too many people don't run their fire hot enough, and end up with billowy smoke and that oversmokes the meat in my opinion. I like my fire hot enough so that when the smoke comes out of the exhaust pipes, you can't even really see smoke.


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## w_r_ranch (Jan 14, 2005)

Lagniappe2008 said:


> I think too many people don't run their fire hot enough, and end up with billowy smoke and that oversmokes the meat in my opinion.


If you have "billowy smoke", you are not managing your heat source properly or you're using uncured wood or wood with bark on it. IMO it has nothing to do with using high temperatures (unless that is what you want to do). Low & slow brisket (220-230) is one of the best meats out there.

If you know how to manage your smoker, you can easily run it as low as 140 degrees & maintain the desirable thin blue smoke.


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## T_rout (Jul 25, 2013)

I have a 11.5 lb brisket going right now. Temps at 250, has been since 8:00 this morning. Tried a new marinade on this one I'll post up pics later.


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## Lagniappe2008 (Jan 20, 2008)

w_r_ranch said:


> If you have "billowy smoke", you are not managing your heat source properly or you're using uncured wood or wood with bark on it. IMO it has nothing to do with using high temperatures (unless that is what you want to do). Low & slow brisket (220-230) is one of the best meats out there.
> 
> If you know how to manage your smoker, you can easily run it as low as 140 degrees & maintain the desirable thin blue smoke.


I don't disagree with that. but the fire itself needs to be hot in order to burn cleanly. that doesn't have to translate to a high temp in the pit. but does translate to managing the fire appropriately.


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## RedSky (May 15, 2010)

For the last couple of years I've brined my briskets for 10 to 12 hours prior to rubbing them down. I use 2/3 cup of kosher salt and 1/2 cup of turbinado sugar per gallon of water. After the soak I rub the brisket down the night before it hits the smoker. in my opinion it really helps keep it from drying out.


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