Competition Brisket

    The brisket might very well be the most difficult piece of meat there is to
barbecue. It is naturally tough, contains two separate, distinct muscles
separated by a layer of fat that does not render. The meat absorbs smoke
like a sponge, can become bitter very easily and is so large as to require
longer periods of cooking times.



    Selection

    Selecting the best brisket is a combination of skill and luck. The brisket
comes from the front (chest) of the cow, between and in front of the
animal's front legs. This cut of meat is most used for walking and is thus
naturally tough. As such, it requires some careful determination in
selecting the best cut. The brisket has two alternating layers of muscle
and fat. These layers are separate but not equal: one is thicker and wider
than the other is. Observed with the fat layer on the bottom, the upper
layer of meat is interspersed with strings of fat, which do not render out
during cooking. The lower layer, although less fatty, also has streaks of
fat – the size and shape of which offer some indication of how it will
cook. Thick, ropy strands of marbling will probably yield a tougher
product. You should choose briskets with more slender, consistent streaks
of marbling fat. One way of achieving this is to buy ‘packer trimmed’
choice grade briskets, which are graded partly based on this superior
marbling. It is this fat that will ultimately help to tenderize the
brisket.

    Some things to consider when selecting the brisket:

    1. The selection process involves not selecting the largest brisket (they
are from older and tougher cows) but instead choose a cut from a
medium size cow, which cut averages 8 to 10 pounds. Select a brisket
that is "flexible" or "pliable". To determine this, place your hand
vertically under the center of the brisket and let the brisket "flop"
over the edges of your hand. Like tenderloin, select the one that has
the most natural bend. Remember that a limber brisket at this point is
not guaranteed to be a tender brisket once it is cooked, but there is
certainly no harm done by looking for this quality.
    2. With the brisket lying down and the ‘fat cap’ side up, try to select a
brisket that is thick all the way across the flat. This can be hard to
do sometimes, for most are thick on one side, and taper down to become
fairly thin on the other side.
    3. Select a brisket with a more rounded point, rather than a pointed
point. Briskets with rounded points tend to be more meat in this area.
    4. All briskets are not equal, and as previously mentioned are difficult
to cook. All briskets are tough, but some are tougher than others. For
competition purposes, it is a good idea to buy 2 briskets, which will
double your chances of success. You can either cook each of them using
slightly different methods, or cook them both using the same method.
Then use one of the briskets to cut pieces off in order to determine
when they are cooked to perfection (A slice should stretch just a
little before breaking. If it does not, cook it a little longer)



    Trimming

    One side of the brisket has a thick layer of fat across it, which is called
the ‘fat cap’; this is the bottom side of the brisket. Place the brisket
with the ‘fat cap’ side down and begin to remove the hard, tough and often
slightly yellow in color fat on the topside. This fat can be safely removed
without any detriment to the tenderness of the meat. There is a large strip
of fat that runs slightly diagonally across the top of the brisket, and
which separates the two muscles (flat and point). When you trim this fat,
go right down to the muscle so that there is only a slight amount of fat
remaining. It may be necessary to cut about 2 inches into the brisket to
remove this fat. When you are done, the top of the brisket will look mostly
red with a sprinkling of fat remaining.

    The bottom of the brisket has a layer of fat that runs all the way across
it. With the ‘fat cap’ facing down you will notice that there is a
concentration of fat along one of the edges, which tends to be a lot
thicker than the rest of the ‘fat cap’. The goal is to trim this edge to
about 1/4 inch in thickness. It offers a protective layer during the long
periods of cooking, and although it will not render, it will help keep the
meat moist and prevent the meat from becoming overly bitter or having a too
strong a smoke flavor.

    At this point you should mark the ‘flat’ end of the brisket by cutting off
a corner across the grain, that will allow you to see which way to cut the
meat once it is cooked.



    Seasoning

    Before placing a dry rub on the brisket, take a pastry brush and paint the
brisket with a light coating of ordinary yellow mustard. This will
accomplish several things. First, it helps keep the meat moist. Second, it
helps to seal the meat and set up a tender crust. Third, the vinegar the
mustard will help to a slight degree to tenderize the meat (i.e. tender
crust) and fourth, it will help keep the dry rub on the brisket.

    Sprinkle a liberal amount of Montreal Steak Seasoning dry rub on the
brisket. Once the mustard and juices from the brisket commingle with the
dry rub, it will become a "wet rub". A somewhat gooey mess. When handling
the brisket from here on, try not to rub the ingredients off, until they
have had a chance to form a proper crust after a few hours cooking in the
pit. You can either move the brisket directly to the pit at this stage or
you can let the seasonings sit for an hour or more. When a rub with salt as
a significant ingredient is put on meat, the salt begins to draw moisture
from it. Moisture is very important in the cooking mechanism. Water
conducts heat much more readily than dry tissue. It follows, therefore,
that the longer you can retain moisture in the meat, the quicker the heat
will be conducted from the exterior to the interior and the more evenly the
brisket will be cooked. Getting the inside done before the outside is burnt
to a brick like texture is the secret to a successful brisket.

    If you are going to season your brisket just prior to putting it on the
pit, try to have the meat at room temperature. This will allow the meat to
more readily absorb the flavor of the rub as well as reduce the overall
cooking time.



    Cooking

    Effect of Smoke

    There is a lot of discussion about the effects of too much smoke on a
brisket during cooking. The theory goes that brisket, unlike pork, is like
a ‘sponge’ and will absorb large amounts of smoke. As brisket is associated
with long cooking times, this concentration of smoke can result in your
brisket tasting bitter. People who support this theory recommend using
preburned charcoal as a fuel source and small quantities of wood chunks for
some smoke flavor. They avoid using whole logs, green wood or unburned
charcoal, suggesting that they will cause the brisket to be too smoky.

    On the other side of the fence, JR is an advocate of getting a lot of smoke
over the brisket. It has also been our experience that a brisket exposed to
smoke in the JR cooker for the entire cooking period does not turn out too
smoky. The purpose of documenting both points of view is that the JR cooker
might be unique in its ability to move smoke through the cooker in such a
way that it does not penetrate the meat in heavy concentrations. Using a
different cooker might yield different results.

    Do not place too much emphasis on producing a brisket with a deep ‘smoke
ring’. The ring of color grading from dark on the outside to a pale pink
deeper into the meat is not really a smoke ring at all. It is a chemical
reaction of meat's constituents. The depth of color depends more upon the
moisture of the meat than upon the density of smoke. It has no bearing on
flavor and is not used as a judging criterion in competition.

    Always place the brisket in the cooker with the ‘fat cap’ on the top. This
way the fat will render and penetrate in, over, and around the cooking
meat.



    Temperatures and Times

    The ideal temperature to cook a brisket is approximately 210 to 225 degrees
F. Cooking times may vary, but usually a 10-pound brisket cooked at the
temperatures above will take 8 to 12 hours. The shape of a brisket is more
an indicator of cooking time than weight. A chunky 8-pound brisket 5 inches
thick will take longer to cook than a long, slender 10 pounder.

    When a brisket reaches a temperature of 185 degrees F, most of the
interspersed fat has melted and mellowed the surrounding tissue into a
reasonable facsimile of tenderness. You can test for tenderness by
inserting a thermometer probe laterally into the brisket. If it enters and
exits easily, it is ready to remove. Always check the brisket for doneness
in the ‘flat’ and not the ‘point’. The ‘point’ will generally become tender
before the flat, and can deceive you. Continue to cook until the flat is
tender.

    When placing the brisket on the cooker, place it as far away from the
source of the heat as possible. This provides for even cooking
temperatures. If you place the brisket too close to the source of the heat,
it will cook faster on one side and not have a consistent tenderness.
Remember also that the top racks of the cooker will run hotter than the
bottom racks (30 to 50 degrees F. hotter is not uncommon), so make sure
that you know what the exact ‘rack’ temperature is. In the JR cooker place
the brisket in the middle of the bottom rack.

    Mopping

    Do not mop the brisket for the first 2 to 3 hours of cooking. This will
give the wet rub a chance to form a crust on the meat. Mopping prior to
this time will result in washing the rub off. After the initial 2 to 3
hours, mop the brisket every 45 minutes, using 3Men Mop and being careful
not to remove the crust of rub which you have created. Note that you should
be careful about using a mop that contains butter, tomato, sugar etc. which
might burn over the long cooking duration.

    Wrapping

Wrapping a brisket in foil can be done to achieve one or both of the
following: firstly to create a barrier between the meat and the smoke, and
secondly to steam the meat and make it tender. The risk you run when
wrapping is that this steaming/braising while making the meat tender can
also make it mushy.

    When the internal temperature of the brisket reaches 185 degrees F. take it
out of the cooker, double wrap in foil, and return to the cooker for an
additional 2 hours. (We did this with a 14-pound brisket, so the 2 hours
might need to be reduced if using a 10-pound brisket).



    Holding

    Double wrap the brisket in foil and place in an ice chest covered with
blankets or towels.



    Presentation

    To cut the brisket, place it with the fat cap down so that you can see
where the two muscles are joined by the layer of fat that runs between
them. Separate the two muscles into the ‘point’ (Thicker more rounded
piece) and the ‘flat’ (Thinner and wider piece). Two reasons for doing this
are firstly that it will enable you to remove the fat that runs between
these two muscles before slicing and secondly because the grains of these
two muscles run in different directions. The ‘point’ will yield tastier and
tenderer meat, but is normally a lot more fatty than the ‘flat’. If you
have been successful in rendering out most of the fat during cooking and
are able to get some good slices out of the ‘point’, this is what you will
want to present in a competition. This is not always possible and normally
assumes that you are using a large brisket i.e. More than 10 pounds.

    Always slice brisket diagonally across the grain, into ¼ inch thick slices.
When you hold the slice up and try to pull it apart the slice should give a
little before it breaks apart. If the slice is falling apart when you pick
it up, it is overcooked.

    Remember that brisket begins to dry very quickly after it is cut, so be
sure to have everything ready prior to cutting. You should use any juices
as a result of cutting the brisket to re-moisten it before presenting.
Apple juice misted over the brisket from a spray bottle will also moisten
the meat and give it a nice shine.