Cooking Temperature and Hold Time Affect Beef Brisket Textural Properties and Cooking Yield

The objective of this study was to determine whether holding beef briskets after smoking would improve textural properties and cooking yield compared to those that were not held at the endpoint temperature. We hypothesized that cooking and holding briskets at lower endpoint temperatures would maintain textural properties and improve yield compared to cooking to a higher endpoint temperature. To test this hypothesis, USDA Choice beef briskets (n = 96; 2 lots x 6/batch x 4 temperatures x 2 hold times) were selected from 2 separate lots at a commercial processing plant. Briskets (both muscles were left connected in each brisket) were cooked in batches of 6, and each batch was randomly assigned an internal endpoint temperature of 75, 80, 85, or 90°C and hold time of 0 or 3 h at each internal temperature, respectively. A flop test was conducted to test the flexibility of the cooked brisket at each temperature/hold time combination. Endpoint temperature and hold time affected brisket tenderness differently between the superficial pectoral (flat) and deep pectoral (point) muscles (P < 0.05). Compared to 90°C with a 3 h hold, briskets cooked to 85°C with a 3 h hold achieved enhanced yield (56.0% vs. 59.3%, respectively; P < 0.05) without sacrificing desirable objective tenderness attributes. Briskets cooked to 75°C with a 0 h hold had the least (P < 0.05) collagen solubility in both the flat and point (12.88% and 9.81%, respectively). The greatest (P < 0.05) collagen solubility was observed in the flat of briskets cooked to 85°C with 3 h hold or 90°C and either 0 or 3 h hold. Extending the end of the briskets off the edge of a tabletop determined brisket doneness by having an angle of less than 45° between the horizontal table surface and the brisket extended off the table (P < 0.05). Cooking and holding briskets at lower endpoint temperatures improved yield while maintaining positive textural properties.