How I Killed My First Brisket

Ok, so this one didn't go as well, if the blog name gives you any indication. A few weeks ago, I purchased an Angus brisket -- about $4/lb at Sam's Club. It was small, about 4.5lbs, so I assume it was actually a half brisket. Not sure if it was the point or the flat, but I think, given the fat cap, it was the point.

It was frozen from Sam's, so I threw it in the freezer at home. Apparently I should buy fresh and use immediately. I prepped in the usual way I've prepped anything else -- thawed completely, coated in yellow mustard and applied the McCormick Grill Mates "Cowboy Rub" as I wanted something with a little kick and there's not much to choose from here in the Mid-Atlantic this time of year. I need to start doing more mail order rubs. I'd also nearly run out of my Kansas City rubs that I picked up out there before Christmas.

So I prep and inject with low-sodium beef broth (not sure if that was worth it or not, but I read it somewhere and it seemed like a good idea). I also read that you could spice up the broth by grinding some rub in a coffee grinder until it's powdery and mixing it with the broth before you inject. I found that to mess up not only my wife's coffee grinder (thank goodness she's lazy and only uses the Keurig now) and it clogged my injector. I don't think it was worth the effort. It sat in the fridge overnight.


Early Sunday morning, threw it on the smoker using mostly hickory to start with some oak later in the day as the lump charcoal ran out and I still needed some heat. Checked it hourly and applied a spray of half apple juice and half apple-cider vinegar. And I waited. And I waited. And I waited. Now theoretically, I should've reached a good temp at around the 7 hour mark. I pulled the brisket around hour 5, double-wrapped in foil to keep it moist, and put it back in the smoker.


And I waited. And I waited. And I waited.


For the life of me, I couldn't get the thermometer to budge off 120 degrees. I tried heating up the smoker to around 300 or so, and waited. I moved the brisket over to the fire and unwrapped, and waited....


Finally we had to get going to party, so I wrapped it in foil and threw into the cooler (thank goodness for a cheap pork butt which was delicious) and off we went. When we arrived, I threw brisket in oven for another hour at about 400. Thermometer is now reading about 135 -- still well short of 190. I had to punt as it was nearly halftime and my brisket still wasn't on the table. As I sliced, I could see that it was fully cooked, but as I tasted, I knew I'd screwed up someplace. It wasn't quite shoe leather, but it wasn't nearly as moist and tender as I'd wanted. The flavor was outstanding, but the overdoneness killed it.

Thinking it's time for a new thermometer.