Cooking Brisket

In the world of bbq, it's well known that cooking brisket is quite the challenge. A whole brisket is made up of two separate muscles that never seem to want to finish up at the same time.

The parts of the brisket include the flat, the point, the fat cap and internal fat, and the connective tissues. The skill of coordinating all these parts into one glorious smoked brisket is truly an art form.

Tips For Cooking Briskets

Brisket can be cooked to varying levels of doneness, from medium rare to very well done. Internal temperature is one indicator of the tenderness of a brisket, but it's not perfect. The best final "done test" is to check the meat with a fork. With a little practice you can feel when it's done to your liking by the way the meat "gives".

Individual briskets vary in toughness. Those with less connective tissue, from younger or less active animals, will reach tenderness with less cooking time and at a lower internal temperature than briskets from older, more active steers.

Brisket Connective Tissue

The blessing and the curse of beef brisket is connective tissue. It's got a lot of it, and depending on how the brisket is cooked, can cause toughness. If cooked to between 135 and 145 degrees (medium done or less), it's fairly tender when sliced thinly across the grain. But because the connective tissues haven't broken down, there's a lot of trapped flavor left inside.

The flavor of brisket really begins to shine when it's temperature slowly comes up to around 185 degrees and above. Collagen breaks down, releasing flavor, increasing moistness, and loosening its hold on the meat fibers.

The downside of brisket cooked this way is the time it requires. It can take six, eight, ten hours or more to get brisket to this altered state. Some feel the time spent cooking is worth the results, and others prefer to suffer less cooking time in trade for less flavorful, less tender brisket.

Cooking Brisket Flat and Point Separately

The flat and point can be separated before smoking. Doing this, the overall cooking time is decreased because the pieces are smaller, and a little more of the excess fat can be trimmed away.

Since the point has a lot of internal marbling, most if not all of the exterior fat can be remove with no ill affect. Additionally, the temperature and doneness of each section can be monitored separately so each piece can be removed when it's at it best.

BBQ Brisket - Fat Cap Up or Fat Cap Down?

Fat cap up or fat cap down? That depends on how it's cooked.

When brisket is cooked low and slow with low to moderate heat, the fat cap is best positioned on top. It will slowly melt, basting the brisket as it cooks.

If a brisket is being cooked over medium to high direct heat, then the fat cap should be place to the bottom, to provide a layer of insulating protection between the fire and the meat.

Brisket Temperature Guidelines

Since each brisket is unique, with varying amounts of fat and connective tissue, and from older or younger cattle, giving an exact internal temperature that tells you "Your brisket is done!" just isn't possible. The different levels of doneness lie within a range. Use the fork or thermometer probe to know for sure when it's ready.

*Medium Rare - Grilled*	*140ºF*	*Remove at 130-135ºF*
*Medium - Grilled*	*150ºF*	*Remove at 140-145ºF*
*Well Done - For Slicing*	*180-195ºF*	*Remove at 180-195ºF*
*Well Done - For Shredding*	*190-205ºF*	*Remove at 190-205ºF*

Lean, trimmed brisket flats are sometimes grilled to medium-rare or medium to prevent the meat from drying. With no external fat, the lean meat tends to become dry past medium doneness. Still, it needs to be sliced thinly, across the grain.

You'll see a crossover of the "Well Done" temperature ranges (190-195ºF) because of the variables unique to cooking brisket.