Cooking a Brisket Like a Steak

Why is a medium rare filet mignon extremely tender and juicy while a medium rare brisket is completely inedible?

On the other hand, how is it possible that a well-done filet mignon is like shoe leather while a “well-done” brisket is melt in your mouth tender?

It comes down to anatomy and what each muscle is used for.

The chest of a cow (brisket) is responsible for supporting 60% of the cows weight. In order to support this constant pressure, brisket is packed with tough connective tissue and collagen. But the beautiful thing about this collagen is that when it finally starts to break down (+160F internal), it turns into melt in your mouth and flavorful gelatin. So while the tough connective tissue might initially seem like a curse, it becomes the exact reason why brisket is so good when prepared properly.

Compare this to filet mignon which absolutely lucked out in terms of responsibility. All it has to do is laterally move the legs (it doesn’t even need to lift them). As a result, it’s the most tender cut on the cow (but also the most boring imo).

In this experiment I focused on the point section of the brisket due to the additional marbling, and used an Asian pear based marinade to help tenderize (be careful with how much you use it can make meat mushy). To cook it I alternated between high direct and indirect heat and got the internal temp up to 203F in about 1/10th the time it would normally take to smoke a brisket. The texture was nothing like a tender slow smoked brisket, but the flavor was on point and it turned out surprisingly good!

It’s also important to note that this was an Australian wagyu brisket. But in my experience, a highly marbled USDA prime brisket is very similar in terms of quality/marbling, so if you’re in the US, that is what I would use if you attempt to recreate this!

Thank you Andy ‪@andy_cooks‬ and Carrara (  / carrara.640  ) for the Wagyu beef!
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