How do I prevent smoked brisket from being chewy?

How do I prevent smoked brisket from being chewy? - From above of face mask on blackboard with I Cant Breathe title during COVID 19 pandemic

Last night I smoked my first brisket. I used a charcoal smoker which was given to me. I followed the advice given to me by the previous owner coupled with some quick reading from the manual and internet. While my brisket was full of flavor it was a bit chewy, though not dried out. I'm wondering if it is the way I prepared the meat. Here's an outline of the process I used:

  • About 5 lbs. of brisket
  • No marinade on brisket
  • 1 gallon of Apple juice in pan
  • Started smoking when about 1/3 of coals were white with ash
  • Added soaked alder chips wrapped in tin foil
  • Placed brisket on top rack of smoker
  • Kept temperature to the left of ideal (advice from previous owner)
  • Added more soaked alder chips and charcoal 2 1/2 hrs in
  • Cooked for a little over 4 hrs
  • Smoker was in sun for first hour

Photo to illustrate what I mean by left of ideal: temperature gauge reading to the left of ideal

Which leads me to my questions:

  1. Is brisket generally chewy when smoked?
  2. Would a good marinade prevent chewiness?
  3. Is there something else wrong in my preparation (cook time, temperature, etc.)?


Best Answer

Chewy means undercooked. Most of your standard "barbecue cuts" of meat contain a lot of connective tissue. This must be rendered to achieve tenderness. This goes for brisket, pork butt, and ribs, to name a few. If you are using the words "chewy" or "tough" to describe the texture of your meat, in nearly all cases it has not been cooked enough. Your time/temperature pretty much confirms it.

The best thing you can do is deemphasize time and temperature as your measure of "done." Rather, use a skewer to probe your meat when you think you are getting close. It should slide in and out of the brisket with VERY little resistance. Some people like to wrap in foil a few hours in. This will finish the brisket faster, as you will mitigate the evaporative cooling effect that causes your cooking process to stall. Plus, you can add some liquids and spices to the foil, which adds to the flavor profile of your meat. This is better known as the "Texas Crutch," and there is no shame in using it. Plenty of competitions have been won employing these tactics.

Brisket is a little intimidating because of the small window between "too chewy" and "dry and falling apart." But you should probably err more on the side of the latter, as that can be more easily compensated. The real takeaway here is have patience, and look to the meat itself for clues as to whether or not it is done, rather than using a timer and thermometer.




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Quick Answer about "How do I prevent smoked brisket from being chewy?"

Your biggest opportunity to improve this dish is to cook much longer. Generally at least 12 hours at 225 degrees F. If you want, you can begin on the smoke and then move to an oven to finish. The general rule of thumb is that you don't get much more smoke adhesion after hour 2 or so.

How do you make brisket not chewy?

Instructions
  • Preheat oven to 325F.
  • Carve the brisket into long 1/4-1/2 inch slices.
  • Lay out the brisket in a large baking dish with fairly high sides. ...
  • Pour the beef broth and wine all over the brisket.
  • Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 3-4 hours.


  • Why is my brisket dry and chewy?

    In this case, something may have gone wrong during the cooking process. Make sure to set the grill or smoker to the correct temperature before adding the brisket. If the temperature is too high, the meat will dry out, especially if it's left in there for too long.

    How do you make smoked brisket more tender?

    Cutting against the grain is the most important aspect of getting a tender piece of meat. Start by cutting the brisket half to help separate the pointed end of the meat from the flat end. The flat end can be sliced directly down (at a 90 degree angle) in thin slices.

    Does brisket get more tender the longer you cook it?

    If using the oven, lower the recipe temperature to 200 degrees Fahrenheit and let it cook a few hours longer than the recipe states, even up to overnight. This will give the brisket ample time to break down and become tender. Some grass fed briskets I have cooked have taken 14 hours or longer to become really tender.



    12 Brisket Mistakes Everyone Should Avoid




    More answers regarding how do I prevent smoked brisket from being chewy?

    Answer 2

    Here is a good basic technique for smoking brisket. The important points are to smoke it until it reaches an internal temperature of about 160 F, then wrap in foil. The meat won't absorb any more smoke flavor at that point anyway, and the foil will protect it from drying out during the rest of the cooking process. You can add a little bit of liquid inside the foil, though I've never bothered.

    After foiling the brisket, continue cooking until it reaches 195-200 or so. Remove it from heat and allow it to rest for a while. Some people will store it in an insulated cooler.

    Properly cooking brisket can take 12 hours or more. If you can't manage that kind of time, think about smoking chuck roasts ("chuckies") or making pulled pork.

    Answer 3

    As the other answers point out your brisket was vastly undercooked. Understand that this style of cooking requires not only cooking to doneness but also "time at temperature" in order to break down the connective tissue.

    Some poeple do inject marinades, but that's not where you are going to find the gains you are looking for here. Your biggest opportunity to improve this dish is to cook much longer. Generally at least 12 hours at 225 degrees F. If you want, you can begin on the smoke and then move to an oven to finish. The general rule of thumb is that you don't get much more smoke adhesion after hour 2 or so.

    The reason I wanted to add on to the existing answers was because I do not see a mention of slicing technique. Be sure to cut your finished product against the grain for maximum tenderness. This is one of those things that makes a huge difference but people are often skeptical about unless they've seen it first hand. Check out Franklin's slicing video on youtube for one surefire method. This whole series is great. It was produced for PBS (American public television).

    Answer 4

    I sear both sides of the brisket, wrap it in foil, and allow to cook until done, occasionally spreading liquid runoff over the meat.

    Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

    Images: Brett Sayles, Brett Sayles, Karolina Grabowska, Karolina Grabowska