mguerra Posted October 18, 2015 Report Share Posted October 18, 2015 Over the years, we have had a few people opine that briskets are just too difficult to get done right, so they avoid Q'ing them. It is not difficult to get spectacular results, and if you are not cooking them you are seriously under utilizing both your palette and your KK. A properly cooked point is the BEST meat on a cow! And you can get a far better result in a fast cook than you can in a low and slow. So you don't need a 12, or 14, or 16 hour ordeal. Which means a fantastic brisket can be on your table routinely, not just on special weekends. 4-6 hours will do it. If you get off work early, you could do that on a weekday. I did one yesterday in about 5-1/2 hours and here are the tricks that made this the best brisket I have ever cooked. I used two of Aaron Franklin's tips. When the meat temp hit 165, I wrapped it in butcher paper, (actually parchment), and put it back on the fire. Normally, the "Texas Crutch" is to wrap the brisket in foil at this point. And that works VERY well. But the paper wrap is even better. This was the moistest juiciest flat of any brisket I have done. And the paper wrap is not airtight so the bark was less mushy than with foil. The usual hot fast method is to feel for doneness, not to finish by temperature. But Franklin mentioned finishing the brisket at a temp of 203, so I tried that. Superb. Here is the process from yesterday. I used some Royal Oak lump, some coconut charcoal, and six big fist sized chunks of mesquite. I ran the fire at 325 for the duration. Franklin suggests a rub of nothing but salt and fresh cracked pepper, I will try that another time, I used my own concoction. When the internal temp hit 165 I wrapped it in the paper and retuned it to the fire until it hit 203. I rested it on the counter top under a beach towel for 2 hours. This was so fast, so easy, and by far my moistest and best brisket ever. Do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgrant3406 Posted October 18, 2015 Report Share Posted October 18, 2015 Quick question for clarification. Did it take 5 1/2 hours to hit 203 and then a two hour rest for a total of 7 1/2 hours. Or did the 5 1/2 hours include the rest? Thanks Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinyfish Posted October 18, 2015 Report Share Posted October 18, 2015 What was the weight of the brisket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckreef Posted October 18, 2015 Report Share Posted October 18, 2015 Will give this a try next time as I've never been overly joyed with my brisket cooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mguerra Posted October 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2015 I think it was about a 10-12 pounder. 5-1/2 hour cook, 2 hour rest. I rested it two hours because it was suppertime at that point! A one hour rest is sufficient. Half an hour if you really need to serve it NOW. You can absolutely count on being able to do this the morning of your party for an afternoon service. Every minute a piece of meat is in the cooker, the more moisture it loses. Hot fast is THE way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mguerra Posted October 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2015 ck this is exactly the purpose of my post, to encourage people to cook briskets, it is simple and luscious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryan Posted October 18, 2015 Report Share Posted October 18, 2015 Great post Doc. Like the old cooks of 6-7 years ago. Keep on keeping on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
golfingfool Posted October 19, 2015 Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 is this done indirect? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mguerra Posted October 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 Indirect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syzygies Posted October 19, 2015 Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 It would be interesting to have survey data on who prefers fast to slow, flat to point, what one typically pays for a brisket, and a description of the best brisket one has ever tasted. I have my guesses as to the correlations we would find. I prefer slow, point, and the best briskets I can find near San Francisco cost over $100 each. My favorite brisket was in Elgin, TX, riddled with connective tissue that had dissolved into a smoky braise. For a brisket featuring uninterrupted expanses of lean muscle, I absolutely would follow Michael's protocol. This is not however the only way to cook a brisket! Some briskets invite a longer, slower cook, and they happen to be the briskets I prefer. I second Michael on Aaron Franklin's tricks. Franklin's brisket protocol is 8 to 10 hours at 275 F. That would be the starting point I'd recommend to anyone. Not 5 hours. Not 20 hours. Of course, this is a restaurant protocol, and a constraint is the need to choose one cooker temperature for all purposes. Also, like a commercial bakery, this protocol satisfies their workflow timing constraints. My workflow constraint is not wanting to get up in the middle of the night, but 8 to 10 hours doesn't interfere with sleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poochie Posted October 19, 2015 Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 I used Aaron Franklin's method for the one brisket I did on my Komodo. The butcher paper makes the big difference over foiling. I put it on around 4am and it was done for supper. I agree with mguerra that the point is one delicious piece of beef! I've tried hot and fast before on briskets before I had my Komodo, and while some were OK, they didn't compare to a low and slow in my opinion. Like my Dad says, "you can sleep all you want when you're dead," so make the time and lose a little sleep if necessary to cook that brisket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mguerra Posted October 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 I have done low and slow many times, and hot fast many times. My hot fast results beat my low and slow, by far. The first hot fast I did was purely out of curiosity, I had no preconceived notion of how it would come out. The Weber guys were talking about it so I tried it. The results sold me. Hot fast is a spectrum. 275-325 fire temp will get it. I settled on that range some time ago and what did I see yesterday? Franklin has a thermometer featured on some of his vids with this exact temp range marked as "BBQ"! This correlates with remarks I have made previously about temperature control and cooking on the KK. All I am looking for on my fire thermometer is that it is in that range somewhere. The brisket takes a bit longer down at 275 and goes quicker at 325. As long as I get it wrapped somewhere between 160 and 170, it's going to come out perfect. And paper beats foil, at least in my series of one paper wrapped... It won't be the last. If you like low and slow after having given hot fast a fair trial, by all means enjoy it! If you have not tried hot fast a few times, I suggest you give it a fair trial. You might be a convert like I was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egmiii Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 Michael, did you do a full packer or just the flat? I received my 21" last week and I'm fired up to do a brisket ASAP. I have a membership to Restaurant Depot, so obtaining a packer is not a problem. Although, I'd like to do a pork butt first to get more practice on the temperature control. A buddy of mine gave me some butcher paper when he heard I ordered a KK. Like you, he said it resulted in an awesome cook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hogsfan Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 I took Myron Mixon's cooking class last year. For those that don't know he's by far the most winningest man competitive barbecue and kind of known for his brisket. It's not exactly a secret that he cooks brisket hot and fast, but here's photographic proof for those who are curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mguerra Posted October 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 The point is the best so I never cook a straight flat. At my grocery store they sell prime grade briskets and I did not used to use them but that's what I use now. They also cut them at my grocery store in what they call supertrim where they trim the fat cap down to about the thickness that Franklin recommends anyway. If you buy a regular packer with a big thick fat cap, then look at Franklins videos on YouTube and he has one there on how to trim it. Basically he trims that fat cap down to about a quarter inch because he wants to have a little bit of rendered fat left on the fat cap side of the brisket when it's finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egmiii Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 I've ready Franklin's book and watched nearly all of his videos so I'm familiar with what your talking about regarding the trimming. You are lucky to have trimmed prime packers close by. Mind if I ask what they cost per pound? RD sells choice grade untrimmed at ~$3.50 per pound, which isn't bad. A new Costco opened up in our area this week, but they only sell the flats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mguerra Posted October 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 I will check the price next time I go to the store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egmiii Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 I appreciate it. If I could find one in CT, I'd like to know how much of a premium I'm paying over your guys who are close to the source. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 - Doc!!! I'm sold on Franklin's tips - trimmed, butcher paper @ 165 - 170F, and finish @ 203F. I did my last one at 250F, but will bump the temps up for the next one to around 300F. Never done one that hot before, so eager to try it. I know that if you recommend it, Doc, it has to be good!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egmiii Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 When mentioning temps, are we talking dome temp or grate temp? I have a Thermoworks Dot that I run on the main grate right along side the food. I haven't calibrated my dome thermometer in boiling water yet, but it read 20-30 degrees higher than the grate during my first cook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
