Tenderizing Brisket?

[LosIllini]

Was watching a show on the Food Network the other night- the team bbq'ing brisket first used a tenderizing tool to punch holes into the meat, then used some sort of wet/ dry rub to marinade. Said tenderizing was the trick to award winning brisket.

Always use dry rub, but never tenderize or use a wet rub/ marinade.

Anyone use a tenderizer? Pros/ Cons?

(btw- I think the bbq team was from missourah)

 

[Mr.Wizard]

I have heard people use a vinegar/olive oil mix, wine, even beer.

The one brisket I cooked was ruined, so I am no expert.

 

[Sac]

Yeah, not sure on this one as my belief has always been that brisket by definition is a very tough piece of meat and the cooking process is the "tendorizer" so to speak. I always be sure to get something no bigger than 11# to avoid age/toughness issues and go from there.

I've seen some things like that where they interject things into the meat, but, my feeling is if you get something with a good fat layer on top and pretty good marbeling coupled with cooking it the right amount of time, you should be good.

I only use dry rub on mine with a liberal wet rub app every 45min after the first two-three hours of cooking and have only snafu'd two out of ten so far for various reasons.

 

[austintexas]

Injections, marinades, tenderizers, etc are cute and all. But I prefer to eat barbecue.

 

[12thStudStan]

I think the best tenderizer for brisket is time.

 

[hornian]

In reply to:

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[UpRight]

It's more about the quality of meat.

 

[Jellydonuts]

It really helps to rub a light layer of plain yellow mustard on your brisket. The vinegar will help tenderize it and it will also hold your rub on.

When you go to choose your brisket, pick them up in the middle with one hand; the ones the most bend are the most tender.