Chef's Tips - How to cook a great Brisket using the Texas Crutch Method

Chef's Tips

When cooking a brisket, the science of meat cooking doesn’t apply, and the process becomes all about feel based on the variable factors like;
type of brisket, weight of the brisket, fat content of the brisket, the thickness of the brisket, what type of equipment is being used, type of fuel used, how close the brisket is to the fire, how many times the smokers is opened. 
120-150°C for 2 ¾ hours per kg puts you in the ballpark for a well-cooked brisket.

A brisket will stall, or the temperature will stop increasing when the brisket reaches around the 72°C mark. At this point, evaporation starts to occurs, and this helps cool the temperature of the brisket. The stall can be very confusing and frustrating for someone who hasn't had that much experience cooking briskets because the temperature stops increasing and it can take longer to finish the brisket than expected. To help combat this, we recommend the using the “Texas Crutch” method to wrap the brisket very tightly in foil once you reach your stall temperature. Using this method the brisket will maintain temperature for a while because the melting internal fat and outside cap helps cool it. Cooking through this point will help the brisket become tender.

For a great recipe see our Texas Style Low and Slow Cape Grim Brisket