We had the one piece of meat I cut in half. From there we prepared in entirely our own ways. I was amazed how different the same piece of meat came out.
Rub:
virtually the same, I added a small amount of chilli to mine
Binder:
A: Worcestershire
B: Dijon mustard
Injection (day before cook):
A: pineapple and worcestershire. The rationale being pinapple would tenderise the meat
B: beef stock, onion garlic powder, butter. Trying to make a wagyu of a select cut (again why we weren’t too precious about cutting it in half)
Spritz:
A: Dr Pepper
B: Stout beer
Cooking, same temp:
A: Time
B: Temperature (wrapped in paper at 75c(165F), pulled at 95c(205F)
A: wrapped in foil
B: wrapped in paper
A: fat side down
B: fat side up
Both rested for about 6hrs.
A came out crumblingly tender with a really nice smoke ring and bark; albeit dry. We agreed it would be great for maybe a pulled beef burger or Philly cheese.
B was very tender and flavourful, but no bark. Too much rub and a pretty soft smoke ring.
by MallanTai
27 Comments
B hands down
A looks over cooked. B looks great, see no issues with bark or smoke ring
B all day
I’m taking mine from platter B.
I am so happy you and your partner have this shared hobby.
Please for the love of clacked tongs, experiment in 60-90 minute increments on what pineapple does to beef.
A did not have a smoke ring, a had been acid dyed by the citric acid and caramel color in the Dr. Pepper.
Please, please please, have a long and prosperous marriage, so you can at least have one kid who just goes, “nah, salt, pepper garlic.”
Brisket A is a train wreck. B looks fantastic though.
Whoever made A should be arrested. B looks fine.
When you say cut in half, do you mean one of you got the point with a little flat underneath, and the other was just the flat? If so, not even an apples to apples comparison, and likely the reason A came out so dry if they cooked the same amount of time, along with putting A fat side down. B looks like it could have used more time to render some of that thicker fat
Edit: spelling
A looks like it’s going to be chilli, b looks really good
I hope you both keep this hobby up and learn from your experiences! Personally I never inject nor worry about fat up or down, they never seem to make a noticeable difference (in my experience.) A seems a tad more dry, maybe it was closer to the heat source and cooked faster. I’ll flip the positioning of my cuts so the lower temperature end is at the higher temp end for the second half of the cook.
Pineapple injection the day before ruined that meat texture. Way too acidic to be soaking that long.
B looks like the winner in my eyes
B looks far superior. A is way overcooked.
Whoever is B won
B Hands down, A needs to learn how to cook from whomever did B
Do people normally inject brisket? Gonna do my first 3 briskets this weekend.
Wish my wife had a brisket off with me, lucky
No contest B is better
A right to jail. B is just right.
B for me based on looks, but A could have sneaky good flavor.
I’d be willing to bet the smoke ring on A being “better” is almost exclusively because of the sodium in the binder used (worcestershire)
I’d eat both to be clear but prefer B for sure.
IMHO you can skip the binder if you’re leaving them seasoned overnight. And the injection – there’s plenty of fat in the brisket and tenderness will come from rendering correctly (not pineapple juice). You’re just adding time and energy to the cook in a way that’s likely not adding appreciable flavor at all.
Hot take here: B only looks good because she’s standing next to her much uglier friend.
Beef, salt, pepper, and heat are all you need to make a good brisket. The idea that one of you injected the battery acid that is pineapple juice OVERNIGHT without the other stopping them is evidence enough that neither of you have a handle on the basics. Be brilliant in the basics first, then little tweaks to see how they change things.
You each cranked so many dials to 11 that it’s not only impossible to recreate, it’s a wonder either was edible.
I vote B. From the other comments, it looks like C B is the winner.
So who was Chef A and who was Chef B? I can’t be the only one who’s dying to know…
I would like to submit my application for you and your husband’s “bestest buddy ever.”
I will gladly participate in judging rib-offs, brisket-offs, chicken-offs, catfish-offs, etc…
brisket should always be cooked fat side up so that rules out A for me.
16 mesh black pepper and kosher salt only next time. You can also add Lawrys seasoned salt if you guys absolutely need to be fancy. No binders, no spritz, no injections. Nothing. Not even a wrap (until its done) or a foil boat. Start at 225, after 4 hours go to 255. After the stall around 175 you can go up to 275. Start probing around 202 all the way to 205 if you need to. Should probe like butter. Remove it and leave on counter for about 15-20 minutes. From there take butcher paper and spray it with diluted apple cider viniger so it’s soft like cloth. Tallow would be better. If you have a small metal tray you can put your trimmings in it and smoke it along side the brisket for this. Doesn’t have to be soaking wet. Wrap he brisket in this tightly. Then move it into an oven set to 150f for several hours. 4-8 is good.
A looks terrible lol