Google says brisket has to be cooked to 200F ... I don't like well-done beef

[dogmatic001]

I prefer beef so rare it's not even hurt real bad. Pittsburg and Rare is my favorite prep. Seared and singed on the outside, cool in the middle. Anything beyond medium rare, I'd rather have something else.

My FIL only likes beef cooked to extra well done, no matter what the cut.

He has become a self-taught brisket specialist. I believe it is because it allows him to get the meat done enough for Larry Bird and himself to enjoy.

He's worked hard and gotten good at producing a product that looks good. The brisket is moist, juicy and chewable. It looks just like it does on the competition shows he watches. Even then, I find it about as flavorful as a slice of belt.

I do suspect there's a chance a brisket could be brined, injected or seasoned in a way that creates more flavor than my FIL is achieving. My FIL's cook work is just right but, knowing him as I do, I'd bet the ranch his pre-cooking prep is zero.

Has anyone ever stopped a brisket at medium rare? Is brisket flavor meant to be achieved a different way? Google says the connective tissue makes it unpliable unless cooked to 205 or so.

I realize not every thing is for every one - maybe brisket just isn't for me, but I don't want to be missing out on something great just because I've only ever had it burnt up. But I'm not yet curious enough to do one myself just to try it. Maybe y'all can talk me into it.

I probably just need to dip mine in Dales between bites.

 

[dorndawg]

@PooPopsBaldHead come set your boy straight here.

If you do try out medium rare brisket, you shouldn't need to have your jaw wired shut more than 3-4 months I wouldn't think

 

[mcdawg22]

Like Dorn said you have to break down the tissues for brisket. It’s the same with a pork shoulder at 200° vs a tenderloin or chop at 145°. If you have to have a bigger cut at medium rare opt for a Tri tip, Rib Roast, or Pichana. I personally do not care for tri tip for to each their own.

 

[dorndawg]

Like Dorn said you have to break down the tissues for brisket. It’s the same with a pork shoulder at 200° vs a tenderloin or chop at 145°. If you have to have a bigger cut at medium rare opt for a Tri tip, Rib Roast, or Pichana. I personally do not care for tri tip for to each their own.

Merely curious, what's your beef (pun intended) with tri-tip?

I've got to where I love pichana, esp if I take the time to do it on the Weber and hit it with a little smoke. Still great inside; I usually go cast iron reverse rear.

 

[dawglawz]

Brisket is a tough cut. I can't imagine you're going to get something worthwhile by shooting for medium rare.

 

[Hugh's Burner Phone]

I just ordered a smoker and can't wait to try a brisket on it. I haven't had the guts to risk that much meat at $60+ trying to smoke one on a charcoal grill like I do ribs and butts.

 

[TaleofTwoDogs]

Rare to medium rare brisket.......you might be a zombie.

 

[dawgman42]

I prefer beef so rare it's not even hurt real bad. Pittsburg and Rare is my favorite prep. Seared and singed on the outside, cool in the middle. Anything beyond medium rare, I'd rather have something else.


Has anyone ever stopped a brisket at medium rare? Is brisket flavor meant to be achieved a different way? Google says the connective tissue makes it unpliable unless cooked to 205 or so.

I realize not every thing is for every one - maybe brisket just isn't for me, but I don't want to be missing out on something great just because I've only ever had it burnt up. But I'm not yet curious enough to do one myself just to try it. Maybe y'all can talk me into it.

I probably just need to dip mine in Dales between bites.

 

[dorndawg]

I just ordered a smoker and can't wait to try a brisket on it. I haven't had the guts to risk that much meat at $60+ trying to smoke one on a charcoal grill like I do ribs and butts.

All those storm chasin' dollars blowing in I guess***

What kind did you get? I've had my eye on one of the Oklahoma Joe offsets at Home Depot for a while But just don't want to tie up all the deck space. I use a Weber with a Smoke N Sear and it works fine for brisket, other than it's a tight fit when you start out. (TWSS)

 

[hatfieldms]

I prefer beef so rare it's not even hurt real bad. Pittsburg and Rare is my favorite prep. Seared and singed on the outside, cool in the middle. Anything beyond medium rare, I'd rather have something else.

My FIL only likes beef cooked to extra well done, no matter what the cut.

He has become a self-taught brisket specialist. I believe it is because it allows him to get the meat done enough for Larry Bird and himself to enjoy.

He's worked hard and gotten good at producing a product that looks good. The brisket is moist, juicy and chewable. It looks just like it does on the competition shows he watches. Even then, I find it about as flavorful as a slice of belt.

I do suspect there's a chance a brisket could be brined, injected or seasoned in a way that creates more flavor than my FIL is achieving. My FIL's cook work is just right but, knowing him as I do, I'd bet the ranch his pre-cooking prep is zero.

Has anyone ever stopped a brisket at medium rare? Is brisket flavor meant to be achieved a different way? Google says the connective tissue makes it unpliable unless cooked to 205 or so.

I realize not every thing is for every one - maybe brisket just isn't for me, but I don't want to be missing out on something great just because I've only ever had it burnt up. But I'm not yet curious enough to do one myself just to try it. Maybe y'all can talk me into it.

I probably just need to dip mine in Dales between bites.

I think you should give brisket tartar a run and report back how it goes

 

[mcdawg22]

Merely curious, what's your beef (pun intended) with tri-tip?

I've got to where I love pichana, esp if I take the time to do it on the Weber and hit it with a little smoke. Still great inside; I usually go cast iron reverse rear.

I am just not a huge fan of the texture. I have done 3 and the last one was Wagyu and it still was just meh. I have followed instructions on cutting against the grain to a T and it’s just not my favorite. Do I like it? Of course, it’s cooked meat, but I’d rather do a Picahna. The first time I did a Picanha I noticed the texture looked similar to Tri tip besides the fat cap so I was thinking this isn’t going to be good, but the texture is just better to me. It’s not just the cook either. My neighbor loves Tri Tip and does it all the time and it’s just not my favorite.

ETA I forgot I did do basically the opposite of what the OP is suggesting with a Tri Tip one time and I actually liked it better.

Tri Tip Brisket Style

Check out the latest post from How to BBQ Right featuring Tri Tip Brisket Style.

howtobbqright.com

 

[mstateglfr]

Has anyone ever stopped a brisket at medium rare? Is brisket flavor meant to be achieved a different way? Google says the connective tissue makes it unpliable unless cooked to 205 or so.

I realize not every thing is for every one - maybe brisket just isn't for me, but I don't want to be missing out on something great just because I've only ever had it burnt up. But I'm not yet curious enough to do one myself just to try it. Maybe y'all can talk me into it.

Have you ever had medium rare brisket? If no, then google why. Since you have done that, perhaps its accurate.

You havent had 'burnt up' brisket just because its cooked in a way that makes sense. What you have had is just brisket. Not burnt up brisket, just brisket.

If your FIL doesnt prep/season the meat, that doesnt mean medium rare brisket is the logical alternative. It just means seasoned brisket is what you should look for.

 

[benatmsu]

Has anyone ever stopped a brisket at medium rare?

As has been stated brisket isn't a steak... it's interlaced with fat and tissue... you have to achieve higher temps to break all of that down.
It's kind of the front shoulder of the cow, so it gets a lot of muscular action during a cow's life; as opposed to where steaks come from - typically the center-rear of the cow.

Would imagine a mid-rare brisket would be a fatty chewy mess that would be pretty much inedible.

 

[jethreauxdawg]

203 degrees, let it rest for an hour wrapped in towel in a cooler, win

 

[Hugh's Burner Phone]

All those storm chasin' dollars blowing in I guess***

What kind did you get? I've had my eye on one of the Oklahoma Joe offsets at Home Depot for a while But just don't want to tie up all the deck space. I use a Weber with a Smoke N Sear and it works fine for brisket, other than it's a tight fit when you start out. (TWSS)

Hell, I wish I had some storm chase dollars blowing in. One of these days maybe if our patreon site ever blows up and we have more than 37 subscribers.

I got a Pitboss 700FB1. I finally got an email two days ago that Academy put it on sale and I bought it that morning. Now I'm just waiting for them to assemble it before I go pick it up.

 

[Eleven Bravo]

I prefer beef so rare it's not even hurt real bad. Pittsburg and Rare is my favorite prep. Seared and singed on the outside, cool in the middle. Anything beyond medium rare, I'd rather have something else.

My FIL only likes beef cooked to extra well done, no matter what the cut.

He has become a self-taught brisket specialist. I believe it is because it allows him to get the meat done enough for Larry Bird and himself to enjoy.

He's worked hard and gotten good at producing a product that looks good. The brisket is moist, juicy and chewable. It looks just like it does on the competition shows he watches. Even then, I find it about as flavorful as a slice of belt.

I do suspect there's a chance a brisket could be brined, injected or seasoned in a way that creates more flavor than my FIL is achieving. My FIL's cook work is just right but, knowing him as I do, I'd bet the ranch his pre-cooking prep is zero.

Has anyone ever stopped a brisket at medium rare? Is brisket flavor meant to be achieved a different way? Google says the connective tissue makes it unpliable unless cooked to 205 or so.

I realize not every thing is for every one - maybe brisket just isn't for me, but I don't want to be missing out on something great just because I've only ever had it burnt up. But I'm not yet curious enough to do one myself just to try it. Maybe y'all can talk me into it.

I probably just need to dip mine in Dales between bites.

Brisket is a very tough piece of meat that must be cooked a long time to reach the desired tenderness. If you stop cooking it at medium rare, you may need a chain saw to slice it. There’s simply too much muscle and too many tendons in there for medium rare. I lived in Texas for 12 years back in the 1990’s-early 2000’s. I met an elderly gentleman who lived in an old house at the end of our street-he had sold about 100 acres of his property to the developer who created our neighborhood. Mr. Richard made extra money by cooking briskets for people. He also cooked the best prime rib and standing rib roasts I ever tasted. He had never cooked pork (other than ribs) and I introduced him to smoking pork shoulders and Boston butts (cooking pork in Texas back in those days was considered a sacrilege lol). Once we cooked a shoulder he was hooked. I didn’t care so much for the mesquite that he used for flavor, but that was what he was taught to cook with-post oak and mesquite in an old stick burner. I went to Mississippi over Thanksgiving one year and I brought back a trailer-load of hickory. The only hickory he could ever find was the hickory chunks in the bags. I brought a trailer full of green hickory that my Daddy and I cut up over Thanksgiving. I took what was close to a cord of hickory to him and unloaded/stacked it close to his old stick burner. I’ll never forget the first time Mr. Richard fired up his smoker after he got the hickory-he got the post oak going and threw a couple of pieces of hickory in there and within a couple of minutes you could begin to smell the green hickory-he took several deep breaths and a big smile came across his face. The smoothness of the hickory (as well as the “creosote-type” liquid that comes out of mesquite) wasn’t present. For him, the use of the hickory combined with his new pork products were a game changer for his business. He continued to use mesquite but he had to admit that the hickory was a very pleasant change for sure. It reached the point that we found a source for green hickory near Shreveport after that and we made several trips each year to purchase 6-8 cords of hickory for him to use. His briskets were legend in central Texas and there was always a waiting list for his BBQ. Richard always maintained that the perfect brisket should have an internal temperature of 203 degrees F. Oh, and he seasoned his briskets with 2 things-Kosher salt and black pepper. That was it.

 

[Johnnie Come Lately]

I prefer beef so rare it's not even hurt real bad. Pittsburg and Rare is my favorite prep. Seared and singed on the outside, cool in the middle. Anything beyond medium rare, I'd rather have something else.

My FIL only likes beef cooked to extra well done, no matter what the cut.

He has become a self-taught brisket specialist. I believe it is because it allows him to get the meat done enough for Larry Bird and himself to enjoy.

He's worked hard and gotten good at producing a product that looks good. The brisket is moist, juicy and chewable. It looks just like it does on the competition shows he watches. Even then, I find it about as flavorful as a slice of belt.

I do suspect there's a chance a brisket could be brined, injected or seasoned in a way that creates more flavor than my FIL is achieving. My FIL's cook work is just right but, knowing him as I do, I'd bet the ranch his pre-cooking prep is zero.

Has anyone ever stopped a brisket at medium rare? Is brisket flavor meant to be achieved a different way? Google says the connective tissue makes it unpliable unless cooked to 205 or so.

I realize not every thing is for every one - maybe brisket just isn't for me, but I don't want to be missing out on something great just because I've only ever had it burnt up. But I'm not yet curious enough to do one myself just to try it. Maybe y'all can talk me into it.

I probably just need to dip mine in Dales between bites.

I like rare beef, but some cuts are simply better when they are cooked longer.

An simple example as to steaks - a filet is almost always best rare, but something with more fat like ribeye will be better medium rare.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

I prefer beef so rare it's not even hurt real bad. Pittsburg and Rare is my favorite prep. Seared and singed on the outside, cool in the middle. Anything beyond medium rare, I'd rather have something else.

My FIL only likes beef cooked to extra well done, no matter what the cut.

He has become a self-taught brisket specialist. I believe it is because it allows him to get the meat done enough for Larry Bird and himself to enjoy.

He's worked hard and gotten good at producing a product that looks good. The brisket is moist, juicy and chewable. It looks just like it does on the competition shows he watches. Even then, I find it about as flavorful as a slice of belt.

I do suspect there's a chance a brisket could be brined, injected or seasoned in a way that creates more flavor than my FIL is achieving. My FIL's cook work is just right but, knowing him as I do, I'd bet the ranch his pre-cooking prep is zero.

Has anyone ever stopped a brisket at medium rare? Is brisket flavor meant to be achieved a different way? Google says the connective tissue makes it unpliable unless cooked to 205 or so.

I realize not every thing is for every one - maybe brisket just isn't for me, but I don't want to be missing out on something great just because I've only ever had it burnt up. But I'm not yet curious enough to do one myself just to try it. Maybe y'all can talk me into it.

I probably just need to dip mine in Dales between bites.

I'm not a fan of brisket. I think it's just a bland piece of meat in general.....BUT.....the sheeple like it, so it's usually a can't miss and you don't have to take 100 different orders (like if you're doing steak or whatever).

I do like to cook beans in the drippings. Add in some sliced onion to take it to another level.

 

[MS-halfstep]

So…does all this mean Lincoln Riley gets a pass?

 

[mcdawg22]

So…does all this mean Lincoln Riley gets a pass?

NO! That one looked like it was cooked to 235°

 

[The Peeper]

I'm not a brisket fan at all, even the finest of ones from Bucees*. It's not a cut I like the taste of nor the work required to do it. I will push you down getting to a medium rare to rare ribeye but will eat a convenience store hot dog before a brisket.

 

[Uncle Ruckus]

200+ is also just a suggestion. If you get a real fatty one it may need to get closer to 210. When your probe goes in like butter is when you need to pull it. I’ve have brisket and pork shoulders hit 203-205 and it still wasn’t quite ready.

 

[57stratdawg]

You’ll want to cook a brisket up to temp (+/- 200). Beyond that, they’re really simple:

1) Salt & pepper only
2) Cook the full brisket (10+ lbs)
3) Let it rest for hours

I start mine Friday night. Pull mid-morning Saturday. Serve for dinner Sat night. It’ll stay warm in a cooler wrapped in butcher paper. The resting is the most important.

 

[dawgman42]

If you can consistenly cook it to 198.3, you'll be a 6Pack hero.

 

[dogmatic001]

Thank y'all for the feedback. I appreciate the knowledge and the passion.

When I eventually take up cooking large cuts of beef, I'll definitely specialize in prime rib.

 

[PooPopsBaldHead]

I prefer beef so rare it's not even hurt real bad. Pittsburg and Rare is my favorite prep. Seared and singed on the outside, cool in the middle. Anything beyond medium rare, I'd rather have something else.

My FIL only likes beef cooked to extra well done, no matter what the cut.

He has become a self-taught brisket specialist. I believe it is because it allows him to get the meat done enough for Larry Bird and himself to enjoy.

He's worked hard and gotten good at producing a product that looks good. The brisket is moist, juicy and chewable. It looks just like it does on the competition shows he watches. Even then, I find it about as flavorful as a slice of belt.

I do suspect there's a chance a brisket could be brined, injected or seasoned in a way that creates more flavor than my FIL is achieving. My FIL's cook work is just right but, knowing him as I do, I'd bet the ranch his pre-cooking prep is zero.

Has anyone ever stopped a brisket at medium rare? Is brisket flavor meant to be achieved a different way? Google says the connective tissue makes it unpliable unless cooked to 205 or so.

I realize not every thing is for every one - maybe brisket just isn't for me, but I don't want to be missing out on something great just because I've only ever had it burnt up. But I'm not yet curious enough to do one myself just to try it. Maybe y'all can talk me into it.

I probably just need to dip mine in Dales between bites.

So you're telling us you're the corporate chef at Buc-ees... Kewl.

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

I'm not a fan of brisket. I think it's just a bland piece of meat in general.....BUT.....the sheeple like it, so it's usually a can't miss and you don't have to take 100 different orders (like if you're doing steak or whatever).

I do like to cook beans in the drippings. Add in some sliced onion to take it to another level.

Gimme smoked pork, chicken, or even turkey over brisket. It's okay but other cuts of beef are better smoked, like Tri Tip.

 

[mcdawg22]

Reading some of these replies made me realize something I guess I’m ashamed to admit I never thought of. BBQ is BBQ because it can feed mass amounts of people. Whether it’s a restaurant, competition, or at the house. What are the popular BBQ items? Brisket, Ribs, Pulled Pork, and Chicken. All of those are the cheapest per pound meat you can get. Realistically brisket is just a cheap way to feed beef to a bunch of people. You can’t do that with any other cut outside of flank steak. I like my friends but at $13 a pound, I’m not buying 20 pounds worth of beef tenderloin to feed them.
@dogmatic001 That’s one I forgot to mention. Beef tenderloin is my favorite large cut smoked food. Cook to 120° sear the outside and rest for 10 minutes. The best part is if you have people eating that want more medium, the smaller section will be medium while 2/3 will me medium rare to rare.

 

[Cantdoitsal]

Never liked brisket till I moved to Texas. It has a history here where poor cowboys who couldn't afford the expensive cuts invented the low heat / patience to preparing it. It's off the charts good here. Moist, juicy and packed with flavor.

 

[SteelMule32]

Does anyone separate the flat and point before cooking? This is supposedly TX style, but I always smoke a whole brisket. Wanted to get everyone’s opinion.

 

[dawgman42]

Does anyone separate the flat and point before cooking? This is supposedly TX style, but I always smoke a whole brisket. Wanted to get everyone’s opinion.

I'm in Texas. You smoke the whole thing.

 

[aTotal360]

You ever tried to eat vulcanized rubber?

 

[jethreauxdawg]

Does anyone separate the flat and point before cooking? This is supposedly TX style, but I always smoke a whole brisket. Wanted to get everyone’s opinion.

I’m gonna do this next time. Only way I can come up with for cooking it evenly when one side is 5” thick and one side is 2”. I’m open to corrections.