question about brisket cookery

[TouchOfSmoke]

I am a chef by trade and absolutely love cooking bbq! I am very interested in taking my passion to the next level, and entering some competitions. I understand that there are many rules and expectations set forth by judges, so i fully intend on taking a class before engaging. I have been doing allot of reading on the subject and ran across a bit of information I have a question about. I have read that allot of people will smoke a brisket for 8-10 hours, and then wrap it in foil before completing the next 8-12 hours of the smoking process, especially when using a wood as pungent as mesquite. I did this last night and my brisket came out beautifully smoked, ring and all, but was also extremely tender. I understand that this tenderness was brought about by the brisket essentially braising in its own fat and juices inside of the tin pouch. I loved the quality. I read in a blog online that if your brisket was almost falling apart that you probably braised it and the judges would detect this and you wouldn't be scored well. My question is this; Is wrapping the brisket in foil for the last 12 + hours of the smoking process, rendering an extremely tender, fall apart product, acceptable?

 

[MI Smoke]

I am a chef by trade and absolutely love cooking bbq! I am very interested in taking my passion to the next level, and entering some competitions. I understand that there are many rules and expectations set forth by judges, so i fully intend on taking a class before engaging. I have been doing allot of reading on the subject and ran across a bit of information I have a question about. I have read that allot of people will smoke a brisket for 8-10 hours, and then wrap it in foil before completing the next 8-12 hours of the smoking process, especially when using a wood as pungent as mesquite. I did this last night and my brisket came out beautifully smoked, ring and all, but was also extremely tender. I understand that this tenderness was brought about by the brisket essentially braising in its own fat and juices inside of the tin pouch. I loved the quality. I read in a blog online that if your brisket was almost falling apart that you probably braised it and the judges would detect this and you wouldn't be scored well. My question is this; Is wrapping the brisket in foil for the last 12 + hours of the smoking process, rendering an extremely tender, fall apart product, acceptable?

Is wrapping acceptable- yes. Is fall apart acceptable- no.
1/4" slices that pull apart with a slight tug is what you are looking for.

 

[TouchOfSmoke]

even on the fatty side?

 

[TouchOfSmoke]

even on the fatty side? with all that moisture and fat cap, it seems bound to want to pull after wrapping

 

[Uncle Al]

High heat brisket= Cook @325°-350° till internal temp= 160°-170° then wrap in foil with some braising liquid (I use beef broth and BBQ sauce 50:50) Continue cooking till probe tender. Start checking approximately @ 2 -3 hours after wrapping then every 30 mins. Probe tender is when you stick a fork or a skewer into the flat and it feels like soft butter. Open foil and allow to cool slightly before slicing.

 

[MI Smoke]

even on the fatty side? with all that moisture and fat cap, it seems bound to want to pull after wrapping

You kind of lost me on the fatty side, do you mean the point?
If it falls apart you have cooked it too long any side.
It would still make good brisket sammies though :p

 

[bigwheel]

Think your getting excellent advice. In comp cooking mushy brisket is not considered a good plan. Having accidentally got a few to that stage..will agree it still makes great chopped sandwiches. I passed it along with coleslaw and hotsauce on a bun where it posed as pushed pork one time. The dumb Texans said it was the best pork they ever had..lol. Most folks aint as picky about it as some of us tend to be. For most normal folks anything that vaguely reeks of smoke and can be chewed and swallowed is just fine.

 

[Bob In Fla.]

You DON'T cook it for 12 hours after it is wrapped in foil.

You smoke it until you get the color that you want, THEN you wrap it in foil (with some sort of liquid added, or not) and cook until it's about 190 degrees, then you open the foil and cook a couple of hours longer until it is the tenderness that you want. Your brisket cannot tell time, so you can't cook it by time. Brisket "can" be finicky. One can be the tenderness that you want at 190 and one cooked right along side of it might go to 205 or 210. You can use time as a very rough guesstimate for doneness, but it's only a rough guess. Temperature is a little better, but it's still a guess. Tenderness is your best guide. When you can stick a fork in it and twist the fork, it's done. When you stick a thermometer in it and it goes in like room temperature butter, it's done.

Have fun with it and remember to practice, Practice, PRACTICE and then PRACTICE some more.