Tough Chewy Brisket? Here’s Why


The only thing worse than dry brisket is tough and chewy brisket. Chewy brisket is a common problem, but it’s an easy fix. Brisket is very different to most other roasting meats, so different rules apply. So the first step to nailing the perfect brisket is gaining a better understanding of the king of smoking meats. I asked some of the world’s best brisket masters how they smoke brisket, so it’s tender and juicy every time.

Although the USDA recommends cooking beef roasts to an internal 145°F, brisket will be too chewy if you served it at this temperature. In order for brisket to be tender, it needs to be cooked to an internal meat temperature in the 200°F to 203°F range. Other factors, such as meat quality and cooking temperature, also play an important role in overall tenderness. As do practices such as resting, wrapping, injecting and brining.

To avoid a chewy brisket:

StepDescription
1Cook the brisket at a low temperature of 225°F for as long as possible, ideally for 12-15 hours or longer.
2Aim for an internal temperature of around 200°F.
3Select a quality brisket with good marbling.
4Consider injecting the brisket with a tenderizing marinade or dry brining it before cooking.
5Halfway through the cook, wrap the brisket in aluminum foil to help retain moisture and speed up the rendering process.
6Allow the brisket to rest for at least an hour after cooking to allow the juices to redistribute.

If you don’t have a meat injectors, you can get one for about $30 on Amazon: Simple Meat Injectors.

Allow Time For The Rendering

The connective tissue found in brisket is the very thing that also makes brisket taste delicious when cooked correctly. This sinew is the reason we love a slow cooked smoked brisket is because of the flavor and texture of this wonderful cut of beef. The magic happens when the fat and connective tissue melt, and renders into the meat, forming a gelatin-like texture. The only way this can occur is by cooking the brisket at a low temperature for many hours. If you were to remove the brisket at the USDA recommended temperature (145°F), although it would be safe to eat, it would be too chewy. At 145°F internal, the brisket’s connective tissue would not have rendered, resulting in chewy meat.

How To Avoid Chewy Brisket

  1. Cook the brisket at 225°F
  2. Cook the brisket to an internal temperature of 203°F
  3. Select a quality brisket with good marbling
  4. Inject the brisket with a tenderizing brisket injection
  5. Dry brine the brisket prior to cooking
  6. Wrap the brisket in aluminium foil halfway through the cook
  7. Allow 1 hour to rest the brisket

Why Is Brisket Chewy?

Brisket is part of the shoulder, so it is a tough cut of meat that contains a large amount of connective tissue. It’s the connective tissue that makes meat chewy. Leaner cuts have very little connective tissue, which is why it’s tender and easy to chew. However, that doesn’t mean brisket can’t taste delicious. You just need to know how to cook it right.

This brisket injection marinade is the secret used in competitions and made by a World Barbecue champion.

Allow Time For The Rendering

The connective tissue found in brisket is the very thing that also makes brisket taste delicious when cooked correctly. This sinew is the reason we love a slow cooked smoked brisket is because of the flavor and texture of this wonderful cut of beef. The magic happens when the fat and connective tissue melt, and renders into the meat, forming a gelatin-like texture. The only way this can occur is by cooking the brisket at a low temperature for many hours. If you were to remove the brisket at the USDA recommended temperature (145°F), although it would be safe to eat, it would be too chewy. At 145°F internal, the brisket’s connective tissue would not have rendered, resulting in chewy meat.

Keep The Temperature Low n Slow

Time at low temperature. That’s our goal when smoking brisket is to keep the temperature low for as long as possible. That’s the only way to break down all the connective tissue, so the meat doesn’t turn out chewy. We want to hold the temperature of our smoker at 225°F for as long as possible. Depending on the size of the brisket, this could take 12 to 15 hours, even longer.

Hot And Fast Brisket – Why It Makes The Meat Chewy

Hot and fast briskets have become a popular trend in barbeque in recent years. Sometimes I don’t have a spare 15 hours to smoke a brisket, so I’ll do a hot and fast in 6 to 8 hours. A brisket cooked this way still tastes amazing, but it’s never going to be as tender as a slow cooked brisket. This is because you haven’t given the brisket enough time to break down the connective tissue. For more on this subject, check out this article: Hot and Fast Brisket vs Low and Slow

Why Did My Brisket Come Out Chewy?

The most likely reason your brisket turned out chewy is because you didn’t slow cook it to an internal temperature of around 200°F. For tender brisket, it needs to be held at a low temperature for as long as possible for the collagen to break down. If the temperature of your smoker was above the 300°F range, the brisket will cook too fast. Even though the internal meat temperature may reach 200°F, it will still be a little chewy because the meat also needs a long time to break down. There are other possibilities. Perhaps the meat quality is poor and there is little marbling in the meat.

You Bought Low Quality Meat

The grade of beef will play an enormous role in the tenderness of your brisket. The more you are prepared to spend, the better the outcome.You could apply all the correct brisket smoking techniques and still have the meat turn out chewy or dry. The meat quality is something that often gets overlooked when people are troubleshooting if a brisket didn’t turn out well. I was always told to buy the best quality meat I could afford. This is something I have learned the hard way over the years, and although it’s not always possible, I try to buy higher-quality beef when I’m cooking for something that really matters.

Which Beef Grade Is Less Chewy?

In the USA, they divide meat into three beef grades: Prime, Choice and Select. Apart from Wagu, Prime is the highest quality meat that is commonly found in supermarkets and butchers. Prime has a high marbling score and, if cooked right, will turn out tender and juicy. Choice grade beef has a low-to-moderate amount of marbling while Select has little to no marbling. You can still have a good outcome with a Select brisket, but you need to get everything else right. I would recommend injecting the brisket with Butcher BBQ brisket injection to help tenderize the meat. Also, make sure you keep your smoker under control by holding a stable 225°F for the entire cook.

Brisket Injection – For ‘Next-Level’ Tender Brisket

Injecting brisket is a popular technique used in competition barbeque. When you inject a brisket with a specific solution, it will not only give the meat an enormous flavor boost, it will also tenderize the meat. Butcher BBQ is the best brisket injection on the market, and the product used by the professionals in competitions. Another injection used by the pros is Fab B, but I haven’t tried that product. If you don’t have a meat injector, they are very affordable and you can pick one up on Amazon. I use a stainless steel injector that only cost $30. If you’re interested, check it out here. For more information on brisket injection, check out an article I wrote a while back: Should I Inject Brisket?

Wrap Your Brisket

Wrapping brisket after a few hours in the smoker is a common technique, and it has several benefits. The main reason we wrap brisket is to keep the meat moist, and speed up the cook. Wrapping brisket doesn’t necessarily tenderize the meat, but it prevents the brisket from drying out. As I mentioned above, brisket needs to be held in the smoker for 12 plus hours to become tender. The danger of leaving the meat in a smoker for that length of time is the meat is in danger of drying out, but wrapping brisket will prevent this from occurring.

How To Fix A Chewy Brisket

The best way to fix chewy brisket is to shred it as you would pulled pork. Shredded brisket tastes amazing in Mexican food such as tacos or nachos. When the brisket is shredded, you won’t be able to notice the chewiness as much as you would if you were eating slices.

My Favorite Brisket Tools

Thanks for checking out this article. I hope you learned a few things. Here are some of my favorite tools I use when smoking brisket that may be useful to you. These are affiliate links, so if you decide to purchase any of these products, I’ll earn a commission. But in all honesty, these are the tools I recommend to my family and friends who are just starting out.

Meat Injector: Injecting meat is a great way to take your barbecue to the next level and help you make competition-style brisket. An injector is the only way you will be able to get flavor and moisture into the middle of the meat. The Beast Injector is a stainless steel injector that is sturdy and affordable. Check the latest price on Amazon here.

Brisket Marinade: The best injection solution on the market is the Butcher BBQ Brisket Injection. This marinade is used in competitions and is made by World Barbecue Champion pitmaster, Dave Bouska. You can find the marinade on Amazon here.

Butcher Paper: Wrapping brisket in butcher paper has become a huge trend in barbeque thanks to Aaron Franklin. Wrapping your brisket in paper will give you a nice brisket bark. However, you can’t just use any old paper, it has to be unwaxed, food grade paper. You can find it on Amazon here.

Brisket Rub: These days I make my own rub when possible, but I always have a few pre-made rubs for when I’m running low. Barbecue guru Malcom Reed produces Killer Hogs, one of the best brisket rubs I’ve found over the years. Another great rub is Slap Yo Daddy, made by brisket master and multiple World Barbecue Champion, Harry Soo.

Meat Thermometer: There are dozens of fancy thermometers on the market, but I still use my trusty TP20. For around $50, I have a high-quality meat thermometer with two probes, and can track the temperature of my smoker with one probe, and my meat with the other probe. The ThermoPro TP20 is an Amazon Best Seller because it’s the easiest thermometer to operate, is durable, highly accurate, and comes with pre-programmed meat settings.

Instant Read Thermometer: Arguably, the second most important tool you need is a fast and accurate instant-read thermometer. These tools play an important role in the latter stages of the cook when the meat needs regular checking in multiple areas. I use the ThermoPro TP19 because it can do everything a ThermaPen can do, but for a fraction of the cost. You can check out the TP19 on Amazon here.

Advanced Thermometer and Automatic Temperature Controller: Once you’re ready to take things seriously, the FireBoard 2 Drive is a six-channel Bluetooth/Wi-Fi thermometer that can monitor up to 6 pieces of meat, control and graph your cook sessions on your smartphone, and attaches to an an automatic blower that will convert your charcoal smoker to a set-and-forget. This is one of the most advanced meat thermometers on the market. You can check it out on the FireBoard website here.

Damien

Author and founder at Meat Smoking HQ

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