12 hours for a brisket? Wow; I'm surprised but not! We tried to smoke a beef brisket last weekend in our electric smoker and we slow cooked the brisket for only 3 hours.

The resulting meal was tough, even with Adolph's Tenderizer on top, so we sliced it thin to make up for the toughness. This was the first time we made a brisket in our slow smoker so we weren't disappointed.

Any tips for making a tender brisket and how to flavor it?

Matt

Well, boys and girls, there are briskets and there are briskets.

There are two different cuts of meat called brisket. The tail piece, which is more like a flank steak than a roast, and the larger, thicker piece. You can usually tell the tails because they are thin and don't weigh much. When the market sells "brisket" that's only a pound or two, that's the tail. The tail is difficult to do on the grill.

The main part (whose other name I forget) is what most of us think of when smoking a brisket. Of late, they come smaller, with 5-6 pounders common. But experienced barbecuers look for the big briskets; hunks of meat in the ten to 14 pound range. Those are the ones that work best.

Everyone does it differently. But typically you start with a dry rub, worked into the surface of the meat. Then you let the meat stand for at least an hour, so that a pelicle develops. Then you start grilling---low and slow---using offset heat at no more than about 250F.

That's the kind of brisket that smokes for 10-12 hours without drying out.

Can I ask a question?
In most rubs there is salt, my Uncle always told me not to salt beef until you had seared it, he claimed this toughened and dried the meat. Is there any truth to that?

Well, yes and no.

How's that for a decisive answer?

When you salt meat it draws protein-laden liquid to the surface. If you let that dry the resulting film is called a pelicle. It serves the same function as searing; that is, a seal that keeps juices inside.

If you heavily salt a piece of meat and do not let it dry, the salt continues drawing moisture from the internal cells. And that could, indeed, cause the meat to dry out and get tough.

The open question is, how much salt is "heavily." When used as a rub it is certainly applied heavily. But does a light sprinkling draw enough moisture to matter?

As a rule, I salt when the meat is done, so as to not take a chance. But whether it really matters---I dunno. And you can quote me on that.

Thanks KYH, I am glad to know that.
And I guess the way to avoid salt in rubs is to make our own "from scratch rubs", homemade is always the best anyway!