How I do Brisket.
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I am no expert on brisket by a long stretch, but here is my theory on the different grades:
Unlike a steak that is cooked quickly, the conventional cooking of brisket is where you basically have cooked it so long that all the tough connective tissues have disintegrated ( what I like to call “cooking into submission”).
At this point, the significance of grade starts to become a little irrelevant. I would love to hear from someone with more experience if I am off base in my theory.Paul
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twilliams To tell you the truth I have cooked both prime and handpicked choice and I can’t tell the difference in the finished product. I will post a picture of one of this year’s poor choice briskets that we reheated for dinner last night. Darned good eats.
Idaho Smokey couple questions, gonna start my cook right now. What do you feel the mustard does or does not do? Also I don’t have 2 days rest time after rub, what am I going to be lacking with rub and cook today?
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I am no expert on brisket by a long stretch, but here is my theory on the different grades:
Unlike a steak that is cooked quickly, the conventional cooking of brisket is where you basically have cooked it so long that all the tough connective tissues have disintegrated ( what I like to call “cooking into submission”).
At this point, the significance of grade starts to become a little irrelevant. I would love to hear from someone with more experience if I am off base in my theory.processhead The only time grade might come into play with brisket is if you were making a corned beef or pastrami out of it, then the appearance of the fat streaks might come into play. Personally, I feel the fat will find it way through the meat either way. If I can find a select brisket cheap with a decent cap on it, I buy it. I just don’t trim the cap off as much as I would a choice or prime. They all cook the same length of time in my book, low and slow.
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I am no expert on brisket by a long stretch, but here is my theory on the different grades:
Unlike a steak that is cooked quickly, the conventional cooking of brisket is where you basically have cooked it so long that all the tough connective tissues have disintegrated ( what I like to call “cooking into submission”).
At this point, the significance of grade starts to become a little irrelevant. I would love to hear from someone with more experience if I am off base in my theory.processhead I think you are right on with this. I know the competition cooks would tell you different but they would have to prove it to me.
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Idaho Smokey couple questions, gonna start my cook right now. What do you feel the mustard does or does not do? Also I don’t have 2 days rest time after rub, what am I going to be lacking with rub and cook today?
twilliams for me the only thing that the mustard or worchestershire sauce does is wet the surface so that the rub sticks. I really don’t taste it when I use it. I am old and slow now so I have time to let the rubbed meat sit to let the salt do it’s thing and pull moisture to the surface. You won’t miss much by by not letting it sit with the rub on it. This is just something that I have picked up over the years and is called dry brining. I haven’t cooked a dry brined brisket side by side with a fresh rubbed brisket so really don’t know if there is a difference.
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We reheated one of the poor choice briskets last night. Yes it does reheat very well.
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processhead I think you are right on with this. I know the competition cooks would tell you different but they would have to prove it to me.
Idaho Smokey said in How I do Brisket.:
processhead I think you are right on with this. I know the competition cooks would tell you different but they would have to prove it to me.
A competition cook is looking for any edge he/she can get, and cost of the cut pf meat is insignificant in the big picture.
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twilliams for me the only thing that the mustard or worchestershire sauce does is wet the surface so that the rub sticks. I really don’t taste it when I use it. I am old and slow now so I have time to let the rubbed meat sit to let the salt do it’s thing and pull moisture to the surface. You won’t miss much by by not letting it sit with the rub on it. This is just something that I have picked up over the years and is called dry brining. I haven’t cooked a dry brined brisket side by side with a fresh rubbed brisket so really don’t know if there is a difference.
Idaho Smokey I found crushed rosemary no ground
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Idaho Smokey I found crushed rosemary no ground
twilliams I have been using the dry rub recipe for years, I forgot that one of the modifications I made was adding the rosemary. The original recipe didn’t call for it. You can use the crushed rosemary, just sprinkle it on after you hit the brisket with the dry rub or just leave it off.
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I want to say I like the prime better, because the fat is often times more ingrained into the meat rather than just on the cap. However, this does not always seem to be 110%. Then, I could get a better size with less overall fat, for a small amount more with prime & so often spent less to get the meat I wanted. On the other hand, there have been times when I felt the prime was too dry & so really needed the choice to get enough fat & that wonderful flavor. I suppose it just depended on the brisket at times. That was the way it used to be. Now, first off I can rarely even find a prime, when I do, they are so ridiculously overpriced that it is beyond ridiculous. For the past year or so maybe, I have just been taking the best of what I can get when we can get a good sale around here, & nothing has been that good, & just try to find what appears to be the best & has the best qualities of what is available at the time.
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twilliams I have been using the dry rub recipe for years, I forgot that one of the modifications I made was adding the rosemary. The original recipe didn’t call for it. You can use the crushed rosemary, just sprinkle it on after you hit the brisket with the dry rub or just leave it off.
Idaho Smokey I put it in with the rub, and used the same amount. We will see, I just got it in the smoker so it’s gonna be a long night but mine won’t go 24hours as I only have a small chuck and pork butt in. It’s been quite the fiasco to say the least. The pork butt that I bought yesterday I opened it up today to rub it down and it was completely rancid smelling. Took it back and went to two different stores to find a good one.
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I want to say I like the prime better, because the fat is often times more ingrained into the meat rather than just on the cap. However, this does not always seem to be 110%. Then, I could get a better size with less overall fat, for a small amount more with prime & so often spent less to get the meat I wanted. On the other hand, there have been times when I felt the prime was too dry & so really needed the choice to get enough fat & that wonderful flavor. I suppose it just depended on the brisket at times. That was the way it used to be. Now, first off I can rarely even find a prime, when I do, they are so ridiculously overpriced that it is beyond ridiculous. For the past year or so maybe, I have just been taking the best of what I can get when we can get a good sale around here, & nothing has been that good, & just try to find what appears to be the best & has the best qualities of what is available at the time.
calldoctoday I am in the same boat on the Prime briskets, for me before everything went nuts, I was able to get Prime briskets for $2.99/lb at Costco. While at HEB(my local grocer) choice briskets were $1.99/lb. So just really for a few more dollars I could get a pretty good brisket. I haven’t bought a brisket since 2020 because of the prices being all over the place. Actually talking about it makes me want to smoke on sooner rather than later.
Yes the marbling is more throughout the brisket in a Prime than a choice. The fat seems also to be softer in a Prime than choice as well. A couple of years ago for Father’s Day I bought a wagyu brisket. BOY HOWDY! That thing didn’t have a single ounce of lean on it. The flat rivaled the point on a Prime brisket.
I guess I am more of closer to hot and fast liking to run the temp in the 250°-275°.
But anyone who has experience with brisket knows that sometimes you just get a really crappy one.
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processhead I think you are right on with this. I know the competition cooks would tell you different but they would have to prove it to me.
Idaho Smokey I’ll be your huckleberry. I’ve cooked a few briskets of all sorts of grades, from select to “American Wagyu” (SRF brand they crossbreed full blood with Angus) and Australian Wagyu. I can tell a difference in all of them, imo. That doesn’t mean that any of them can’t be good - they all can. There are some differences though:
Flavor - The difference in the flavor of different breeds and grades of cattle can be substantial. We finished 20th in the world in brisket in 2020. There is no doubt in my mind we would have been higher if we’d cooked SRF the beginning of the year. I had seen people around the country start cooking the Australian A9s, and decided to try it. I loved it. The flavor is so much better, imo. However, the judges here in the KC area preferred the “beefier” flavor from SRF.
Tenderness - This is largely a competition thing. You can cook any big hunk of meat to tenderness. Just cook the you know what out of it. It will fall apart and the relatives without teeth will rave about how tender it is! It will also be dryer than a mummy fart. Proper tenderness, however, is much tougher to get on the lower quality meats while keeping it moist. This is the biggest point where that extra fat comes in to play.
Another great thing about the higher quality briskets is that it gives you a wider window to have that perfect tenderness. With a select, you have a couple minutes to pull it off of the pit and have it perfect. What if you are wrapping ribs at that point? What if you are trying to get your chicken on the pit? Lots of things can overlap in a competition, and you need to be able to multitask and not have your meat get overcooked. On an SRF, our window is probably 30 minutes or more, with a proper rest on it. That makes it much easier to catch it.
There’s one more important part of competition cooking that plays a huge role in why the higher grade meats are important. Pretty much all of us cook hot and fast. It’s the only way I cook now, but it’s something I learned from cooking contests. If you are going to cook your brisket at 200* for 16 days or whatever, then you will be fine with pretty much whatever grade. Get a no roll, and go to town! If you’re cooking that brisket at 325, though…you better have some fat in there.
There are a lot of reasons that teams cook hot and fast, but at the end of the day no one would if the judges didn’t like it. I cook hot and fast all the time now. Don’t remember the last time I cooked at 225 on a big hunk of meat. I remember one time summer 2020 when I tried. Threw a butt on my pellet grill when I got home from work. Set it 200. Sat around, drank a couple beers…I was going to let it cook overnight. About 2 hours in I cranked the heat and got it done before bed. To me, it’s a better product, in a fraction of the time.
But that’s why comp cooks cook higher end briskets, and how they do, in fact, make a difference.
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Idaho Smokey I’ll be your huckleberry. I’ve cooked a few briskets of all sorts of grades, from select to “American Wagyu” (SRF brand they crossbreed full blood with Angus) and Australian Wagyu. I can tell a difference in all of them, imo. That doesn’t mean that any of them can’t be good - they all can. There are some differences though:
Flavor - The difference in the flavor of different breeds and grades of cattle can be substantial. We finished 20th in the world in brisket in 2020. There is no doubt in my mind we would have been higher if we’d cooked SRF the beginning of the year. I had seen people around the country start cooking the Australian A9s, and decided to try it. I loved it. The flavor is so much better, imo. However, the judges here in the KC area preferred the “beefier” flavor from SRF.
Tenderness - This is largely a competition thing. You can cook any big hunk of meat to tenderness. Just cook the you know what out of it. It will fall apart and the relatives without teeth will rave about how tender it is! It will also be dryer than a mummy fart. Proper tenderness, however, is much tougher to get on the lower quality meats while keeping it moist. This is the biggest point where that extra fat comes in to play.
Another great thing about the higher quality briskets is that it gives you a wider window to have that perfect tenderness. With a select, you have a couple minutes to pull it off of the pit and have it perfect. What if you are wrapping ribs at that point? What if you are trying to get your chicken on the pit? Lots of things can overlap in a competition, and you need to be able to multitask and not have your meat get overcooked. On an SRF, our window is probably 30 minutes or more, with a proper rest on it. That makes it much easier to catch it.
There’s one more important part of competition cooking that plays a huge role in why the higher grade meats are important. Pretty much all of us cook hot and fast. It’s the only way I cook now, but it’s something I learned from cooking contests. If you are going to cook your brisket at 200* for 16 days or whatever, then you will be fine with pretty much whatever grade. Get a no roll, and go to town! If you’re cooking that brisket at 325, though…you better have some fat in there.
There are a lot of reasons that teams cook hot and fast, but at the end of the day no one would if the judges didn’t like it. I cook hot and fast all the time now. Don’t remember the last time I cooked at 225 on a big hunk of meat. I remember one time summer 2020 when I tried. Threw a butt on my pellet grill when I got home from work. Set it 200. Sat around, drank a couple beers…I was going to let it cook overnight. About 2 hours in I cranked the heat and got it done before bed. To me, it’s a better product, in a fraction of the time.
But that’s why comp cooks cook higher end briskets, and how they do, in fact, make a difference.
Midwest_kc
Yet to try a brisket so this more info to stow away.
Mummy fart?? Never heard that one before, popcorn around here… LOL -
Midwest_kc
Yet to try a brisket so this more info to stow away.
Mummy fart?? Never heard that one before, popcorn around here… LOLPapaSop haha! I really couldn’t remember what the saying was, so I just made something up that sounded dry!
Seriously though, do it. They’re delicious and not as difficult as people make it out to be. Just pay attention. To me, they’re way easier than sausage.
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PapaSop haha! I really couldn’t remember what the saying was, so I just made something up that sounded dry!
Seriously though, do it. They’re delicious and not as difficult as people make it out to be. Just pay attention. To me, they’re way easier than sausage.
Midwest_kc said in How I do Brisket.:
PapaSop haha! I really couldn’t remember what the saying was, so I just made something up that sounded dry!
Seriously though, do it. They’re delicious and not as difficult as people make it out to be. Just pay attention. To me, they’re way easier than sausage.
My one son has been bugging me for years. Wish the price would come down. Last I looked was in the $7 range.
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Idaho Smokey I’ll be your huckleberry. I’ve cooked a few briskets of all sorts of grades, from select to “American Wagyu” (SRF brand they crossbreed full blood with Angus) and Australian Wagyu. I can tell a difference in all of them, imo. That doesn’t mean that any of them can’t be good - they all can. There are some differences though:
Flavor - The difference in the flavor of different breeds and grades of cattle can be substantial. We finished 20th in the world in brisket in 2020. There is no doubt in my mind we would have been higher if we’d cooked SRF the beginning of the year. I had seen people around the country start cooking the Australian A9s, and decided to try it. I loved it. The flavor is so much better, imo. However, the judges here in the KC area preferred the “beefier” flavor from SRF.
Tenderness - This is largely a competition thing. You can cook any big hunk of meat to tenderness. Just cook the you know what out of it. It will fall apart and the relatives without teeth will rave about how tender it is! It will also be dryer than a mummy fart. Proper tenderness, however, is much tougher to get on the lower quality meats while keeping it moist. This is the biggest point where that extra fat comes in to play.
Another great thing about the higher quality briskets is that it gives you a wider window to have that perfect tenderness. With a select, you have a couple minutes to pull it off of the pit and have it perfect. What if you are wrapping ribs at that point? What if you are trying to get your chicken on the pit? Lots of things can overlap in a competition, and you need to be able to multitask and not have your meat get overcooked. On an SRF, our window is probably 30 minutes or more, with a proper rest on it. That makes it much easier to catch it.
There’s one more important part of competition cooking that plays a huge role in why the higher grade meats are important. Pretty much all of us cook hot and fast. It’s the only way I cook now, but it’s something I learned from cooking contests. If you are going to cook your brisket at 200* for 16 days or whatever, then you will be fine with pretty much whatever grade. Get a no roll, and go to town! If you’re cooking that brisket at 325, though…you better have some fat in there.
There are a lot of reasons that teams cook hot and fast, but at the end of the day no one would if the judges didn’t like it. I cook hot and fast all the time now. Don’t remember the last time I cooked at 225 on a big hunk of meat. I remember one time summer 2020 when I tried. Threw a butt on my pellet grill when I got home from work. Set it 200. Sat around, drank a couple beers…I was going to let it cook overnight. About 2 hours in I cranked the heat and got it done before bed. To me, it’s a better product, in a fraction of the time.
But that’s why comp cooks cook higher end briskets, and how they do, in fact, make a difference.
Midwest_kc I just checked Costco. The only Wagyu brisket they show are flats and they come in 2 to 3 pieces to total 10 pounds. Cost per pound is $59.99. Waygu brisket is something that I won’t be trying for a long time if ever.
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Thanks for sharing those insights Midwest_kc .
You, and those like you, have a level of expertise cooking big chunks of meat that only comes with time in the trenches and trying different methods and ingredients. -
Midwest_kc I just checked Costco. The only Wagyu brisket they show are flats and they come in 2 to 3 pieces to total 10 pounds. Cost per pound is $59.99. Waygu brisket is something that I won’t be trying for a long time if ever.
Idaho Smokey Fair. They are pricey. I buy 20+ pound from snake river farms, and I get the gold grade, which is their highest end, for about $250, whole packer. The black grade I want to say is around $200, but they seem to be out on their website, so I’m not 100%.
I just spent $101 before taxes on a prime grade at Costco last week, which definitely makes it a little more appealing to get the SRF.
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Idaho Smokey Fair. They are pricey. I buy 20+ pound from snake river farms, and I get the gold grade, which is their highest end, for about $250, whole packer. The black grade I want to say is around $200, but they seem to be out on their website, so I’m not 100%.
I just spent $101 before taxes on a prime grade at Costco last week, which definitely makes it a little more appealing to get the SRF.
Midwest_kc What is the SRF?
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