The Beauty of Braising {Recipe: Apple Cider Braised Brisket} (2024)

FAQs

Should I spray my brisket with apple cider vinegar? ›

With that in mind, what I tend to use and find is the best spritz for smoking is apple cider vinegar but water will work as well, or a 50/50 mix. Another great alternative is apple juice where the sugars in the juice also add another level of flavour to your bark.

Keeping a water pan in the smoker is the best way to retain moisture. After the first 2-3 hours start spritzing your brisket with water, apple juice, hot sauce or apple cider vinegar every 30 minutes to an hour. This helps keep it moist and stops it from burning.

Although the two brisket cuts can often be used interchangeably, the flat cut is most often used in braises that are sliced, like those popular on Jewish holidays and for corned beef. The fattier point cut, meanwhile, is preferred for pulled beef, beef sandwiches and smoked barbecued brisket.

Remember, braising is all about using low-and-slow moist heat to transform your brisket into something moist and meltingly tender. When it's done, take the meat out of the pot and set it on a cutting board to rest. Cover it with foil to keep warm while you make the brisket sauce.

Mix together spices and then coat the entire brisket. Place the brisket, fat side up, on the far end of the smoker away from the smoke box but close to the temperature gauge. Smoke at 250 to 275 degrees for approximately four hours. Each hour spritz the brisket with Apple Cider Vinegar.

The acidity of the vinegar effectively breaks down the spices in your rub to help aid in the formation of the exterior bark. It helps the bark become deliciously crunchy and dark. And don't worry–using apple cider vinegar won't leave a strong vinegar taste on the finished brisket.

The brisket already loses enough moisture from water loss through steam and fat lost on the cutting block.

Once 4 hours is up, you can start spritzing the exposed meat only. Since we are smoking this fat cap up, there is zero need to spritz the fat. If anything, you are only hurting yourself by creating unnecessary evaporative cooling which, will make your brisket take longer to cook.

Brisket contains a lot of connective tissue, which can make it tough. The type of connective tissue in brisket is called collagen. Cook the meat quickly and you get tough, dry meat. Cook a brisket slowly, with some liquid, and the collagen turns into gelatin.

OK, most of the problem with tough brisket is usually undercooking. The way to solve this is to cook to internal temperature of about 95C or 203f. But that is just a rough guide to tender brisket. If you cook it very low & slow, say anywhere from 220f to 240f, it will be close to tender at 91C or 196f.

Should you flip a brisket while braising? ›

Contrary to some sources, you do not need to flip your brisket at any point during cooking. Flipping can disrupt the smoking process, as you are repeatedly lowering the temperature every time you open the grill, extending your brisket cook time.

Brisket was a favorite for holiday celebrations, such as Rosh Hashanah, Passover, Hanukkah, and Shabbat. Jewish communities first began to favor this cut because it comes from the breast of the cow, located in the front, which makes it kosher.

“You can overcook a braise,” she says, even if there is more wiggle room for when it's done.

You only need to spritz the exposed meat along the edges. I personally use a mix of 50/50 water and apple cider vinegar. I've also used pickle juice as well as watered-down Worcestershire. You can spritz every 45 mins to an hour until it's time to wrap.

They were first used in the Renaissance to make meat juicier or to mellow the flavor of game. Today, marinades are generally used to bring out the flavor of the meat. An ideal ingredient for this purpose (among many other uses!) is apple cider vinegar.

Spraying down your meat is going to slow down the cooking process, giving you more time to build up that bark! Of course, spraying the bark is going to soften it, but over time the flavor from the spritz is going to dry up and leave a little flavor behind each time you spray it down.

Whatever you do, DON'T OPEN THAT LID for at least 6 hours, or you wont get that nice bark. 7. At the 6 hour mark, spritz the entire surface the brisket with apple juice/cider. Repeat every hour.