First time brisket (How'd I do?)

[grumpyoldman]

we don't like any kind of fat on our plates so what i do after its has been smoked/cooked is i like to take a boning knife and remove that layer of fat inbetween the meat, leaving me with 2 strips of lean meat , its kinda a pain to do but worth it to us

 

[Andy M.]

we don't like any kind of fat on our plates so what i do after its has been smoked/cooked is i like to take a boning knife and remove that layer of fat inbetween the meat, leaving me with 2 strips of lean meat , its kinda a pain to do but worth it to us

I've seen that done in videos. All that fat can put you off.

 

[caseydog]

Looks like you did most everything right! BRAVO!

One nit — don’t waste $$ Dijon mustard on a brisket. The cheapest store brand yellow mustard works fine if you need a binder.

Also, how do you know your cooler was kept at 140-145?

That’s too low to be reliably safe for 9 hours.

It only needs a few hours in a cooler if you are just resting it. And then you should preheat it with boiling water and keep the meat wrapped in towels.

Smoked meats are more food safe than other foods, especially beef. One of the reasons Texas BBQ was created by German immigrants to Texas was to preserve meat before refrigeration was common. A lot of early barbecue pits started as meat markets. The owners began smoking beef to preserve it.

Also, there is no reason to rest a brisket in a cooler. If it is wrapped in foil or butcher paper, just let it rest on a counter. I only use a cooler if I need to take my BBQ somewhere. I wrap the meat in foil, then in an old bath towel, then drop it into a cooler. Hours later, the meat is still hot enough to not require any reheating.

CD

 

[jennyema]

I kept the probe thermometer in it after I put it in the cooler (the meat was in paper then in several towels). It only dropped to 139 at the last hour (we're lucky to have an expensive cooler and I think that helped?)

Is sous vide a good way to heat it up?

The Danger Zone is about holding temperature, not internal temp.
The cooler is safe for a few hours.

Sous vide is a terrific way to reheat it.

 

[caseydog]

The Danger Zone is about holding temperature, not internal temp.
The cooler is safe for a few hours.

Sous vide is a terrific way to reheat it.

I once smoked a brisket, wrapped it in foil and a towel and put it in a cooler, then drove from Dallas to SE Oklahoma, a four hour drive. It was still hot, and nobody died.

Sous vide would work very well for reheating a big chunk of brisket, but I reheat a few slices of leftover brisket in the microwave. It heats up in less than a minute, so there is not enough time to dry out.

But, I really don't know much about BBQ brisket, as we don't cook that down here as much as people do in Boston.

CD

 

[BAPyessir6]

The Danger Zone is about holding temperature, not internal temp.
The cooler is safe for a few hours.

Sous vide is a terrific way to reheat it.

Ahh that's why hot holds need to be like 145-150? Cause the danger zone is 40F to 140F?

 

[jennyema]

Ahh that's why hot holds need to be like 145-150? Cause the danger zone is 40F to 140F?

Yes, exactly.
Held above 140 or below 40

 

[BAPyessir6]

I once smoked a brisket, wrapped it in foil and a towel and put it in a cooler, then drove from Dallas to SE Oklahoma, a four hour drive. It was still hot, and nobody died.

Sous vide would work very well for reheating a big chunk of brisket, but I reheat a few slices of leftover brisket in the microwave. It heats up in less than a minute, so there is not enough time to dry out.

But, I really don't know much about BBQ brisket, as we don't cook that down here as much as people do in Boston.

CD

Is texas the location of the original bbq?

 

[dragnlaw]

Don't know where it was but the caveman that found fire and meat worked well together is the originator of the barbeque.
Everyone after that are just copy cats.


you're asking a Texan! you have to know what his answer will be.

 

[grumpyoldman]

i did some research on where BBQ started a few years ago and as best anyone can tell it was in the West Indies centuries ago

trust me Texas did NOT invent BBQ
in this country it was done mostly by the slaves that always got the toughest parts of the meats and they used low and slow (BBQ) to tenderize the meat . those folks knew how to cook

 

[FrankZ]

The brisket looks good; my only suggestion is you need to hang a slice over your finger, while wearing black gloves, or you didn't really smoke a brisket.

 

[BAPyessir6]

The brisket looks good; my only suggestion is you need to hang a slice over your finger, while wearing black gloves, or you didn't really smoke a brisket.

Ah, I don't have black gloves. Will blue nylon work?