Rescuing Your BBQ – How to Fix Undercooked Brisket Like a Pro?

About Undercooked Brisket

Undercooked brisket fails to reach the safest internal temperature of 145 °F. It tastes tough, is difficult to chew, and unpleasant. You can fix undercooked brisket by continuing to smoke until its connective tissues break down and reach the desired safest doneness level of 195 °F.

You can also wrap it inside aluminum foil or butcher paper once the temperature of its thickest part achieves 165 °F and then again keep cooking it until it rises to 195 °F or 200 °F.

It is important to note that an undercooked brisket is safe to eat if its internal temperature is 145 °F or above, but it can’t guarantee deliciousness, tenderness, and smoky flavors.

The reason is that your meat is not getting enough time to break down the connective tissues and collagen, which is essential for making the meat tender and juicy.

How to Know if the Brisket is Undercooked?

Several characteristics can tell you that it has not reached the perfect doneness level and requires more cooking time. 

If you are a beginner and don’t understand the undercooking signs completely, you can also perform a few simple tests to know if the brisket is undercooked. 

Brisket’s Internal Temperature

Checking the internal temperature of the meat with a thermometer is the best way to know if it is smoked or grilled nicely. You can apply the same technique to your brisket meat.

Depending on personal preferences, a brisket is typically done when it reaches an internal temperature of 180 °F to 210 °F. At this point, you can pull it from the smoker and move on to its resting procedure.

So, if your food thermometer shows an internal temperature below 180 °F, it is the first sign of incomplete brisket cooking.

Brisket’s Hardness

After the temperature test, you can check the stiffness of a beef brisket to determine if it is cooked perfectly.

You need to pull out brisket from the smoker to inspect its hardness. So, use potholders or oven mitts to lift it and move your hands underneath.

If you get the feeling of a soft surface, it means you have smoked brisket well, and you can allow it to rest rather than cook further.

An underdone brisket will have a stiff surface, meaning the connective tissues inside are not broken completely and require more cook time.

Toughness Inspection

The pull test technique is one of the most famous ways of checking an under or overcooked brisket. You can perform this test with a little piece of your brisket. 

Here’s what you need to do.

Hold a small slice of cooked brisket from both ends and try pulling it. An uncooked one will struggle to separate due to dryness inside. 

On the other hand, a perfectly cooked brisket will come apart in two halves easily without any resistance and will also have juices inside.

So, if the pull test does not go your way, you can place it back in the smoker and carry over the cooking process.

Important Note: When giving a pull test to your cooked meat, ensure to slice one little piece only and do not slice it completely into several pieces because you may not be able to recook it nicely.

Color Inside Brisket

The inner color of your cooked brisket can also help you know its doneness level. In this test, you need to check the cross-section of your brisket.

In an undercooked beef brisket, you will discern dark pink and red colors on the cross-section and thick parts of the meat. 

If you see that the edges of the meat are pink or dark pink, that’s not a big issue, and it is a sign of perfectly cooked brisket.  

You may see pink and brown-reddish color in a perfectly cooked brisket, but it won’t be as dark as in a tough or chewy brisket. 

Reasons Why Your Brisket is Undercooked

There can be several reasons you are unable to cook the brisket properly. It could be your mistake or a fault in your cooking appliance. 

Let’s find out some of the possible causes behind uncooked beef brisket.

Inconsistent Smoker Temperature

Your smoker’s heat plays a vital role in perfectly cooking a brisket. It can be a strong reason behind undercooked or overcooked brisket.

If the temp of your smoker fluctuates to low temperatures frequently, you may end up undercooking the brisket. On the other hand, if the heat goes higher than required, you will be overcooking your brisket. 

Therefore, you should constantly monitor the heat inside the smoker and regulate it accordingly to prevent under or overcooking. For example, if you opt to smoke your brisket at 225 °F, ensure it remains constant throughout the cooking session.

Recommended Read – If you have a charcoal grill or smoker and struggle to control its heat, see our post on how to control the temperature on a charcoal grill to maintain constant heat for a long time.

Cooking Brisket for Shorter Period 

Smoking is a cooking method that requires constant low heat for a longer time, especially if you are cooking thick cuts of meat like brisket. 

You need to ensure that you give brisket enough cooking time and not pull it from the smoker too early because it will keep it uncooked. As a result, you will have to recook it.

Moreover, it is helpful if you first weigh your brisket, calculate the smoking time, and cook accordingly. For example, if you have 16-pound brisket, it can take between 10 to 12 hours if the cooking temperature is set to 275 degrees Fahrenheit.

Using an Inaccurate Thermometer

Another possible cause behind incomplete brisket cooking can be the food thermometer you use to check the internal temperature. 

It should show accurate stats if you want to prepare a tender, juicy, and flavorful brisket per your desired doneness level.

Relying on the built-in thermometer of the smoker may not be a good idea because it may not work correctly in windy and cold conditions or when you are grilling in the rain.

Buying a separate thermometer is a great idea to get a better outcome because you can probe the thermometer into the brisket and check the temperature from different parts.