Smoked Elk Brisket

[treillw]

Anyone ever smoke an elk brisket similar to beef? How did it turn out.

I have one and I'm wondering if it's worth doing.

Thanks!

 

[Schism]

I'll be following this one. I have two moose briskets in the freezer that I'm planning to cook on a pellet grill.

 

[Pbm20]

This one will likely be highly debatable but here goes my experience. I have done one and it turned out ok. not great but not terrible. Its just a very lean piece of meat and mine was much thinner than a traditional beef brisket. I did brine it overnight (1 gal of water, 1 cup salt, 1 cup sugar, anything else you like), dried it, rubbed it and then smoked at 225 until it hit 170. I normally cook brisket to 190-195 but was trying not to over do it. No specific reason to stop at 170...rather just a guess. Haven't tried it again as I've found sous vide to result in a piece of meat more suited to my likes but thats just personal preference.

In my experience smoking is best suited as a method to turn fatty/sinew/tendon filled meat from something that might be chewy into something tender due to the melting of all the connective tissue. Not sure the elk brisket had enough fat/collagen to break down and counteract the drying impacts of smoking. But I'm not a expert either. Good luck!

 

[jmez]

Not a brisket but have tried a couple large roasts. Similar experience to above, not terrible but not real good. Turned out pretty dry. Leftovers were really dry and tough.

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[treillw]

I thought that it might not be the same as beef, due to the lack of fat. I thought about getting some beef fat chunks and laying it on top of the elk during the smoking.

Think that would help anything?

 

[butcherboy]

Smoking to 170 is well done. Smoking to 190 is really well done. I don’t ever go over 160 on anything. This is considered medium. If you over cook anything, especially wild game, it will be really dry. Try smoking at a lower temp then wrapping it in foil with some olive oil rubbed on it. Or cook in foil first then smoke.

 

[Turkeygetpwnd38]

Yea trick is going to be cooking low and slow enough where it would get somewhat tender but not completely dry out and turn into jerky. I would try a brine, hit it with smoke for an hr or two, then put in a pan with some type of stock or liquid (beef stock/coffee/beer) and cover with aluminum foil. Fat chunks on top might not be a terrible idea, kinda self baste for a while. Worse case is if it doesn’t turn out, throw into crock pot, turn it into shredded taco meat.

 

[Schism]

I was thinking of injecting the brisket with beef broth and butter (or olive oil) and letting it sit overnight. Place the brisket in a pan of broth (as @Turkeygetpwnd38 suggested) and covering the pan after some time in the smoke.

Wrapping with bacon is another idea I'm considering.

 

[HuntHarder]

Try it! I just made up a beef brisket this weekend that turned out fantastic. For this one, I followed the traeger competition recipe, which includes injecting the brisket before cooking it.

 

[Rock-o]

Smoking to 170 is well done. Smoking to 190 is really well done. I don’t ever go over 160 on anything. This is considered medium. If you over cook anything, especially wild game, it will be really dry.

I smoke all beef briskets and all pork shoulders to 200 and they are never dry. I don't inject, I don't brine.

 

[LostArra]

Speaking only from my experience, layering fat, wrapping fat, oil, injecting or whatever to game brisket or roasts does not simulate the same fat environment as a beef or pork. My best results have been braising low and slow in stock. Same with roasts. When it comes to cooking game I go rare-med rare (backstrap and tenderloins, burgers) or braised in liquid (shanks, roasts). I did smoke some elk pastrami that turned out pretty good especially if it was steamed before serving like NYC deli style..

I smoke all briskets and all pork shoulders to 200 and they are never dry. I don't inject, I don't brine.

I do the same for beef and pork but not had good results with game cuts.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

Tried it...like others have said not enough fat..I take the brisket put it in a good carna asada marinade overnight and grill it med rare, slice across the grain. Leftovers go great with eggs and salsa the next morning. YMMV

 

[BBob]

Dry brine overnight. Coat with rub (no salt because it’s already brined) into smoker, pull and wrap earlier/lower temp than you would Beef brisket. If you take elk brisket through the stall to a typical temp of 160-165° it’ll be really dry. I pull and wrap at ~150° and add some sort of wrapping juice. Take it to 205°, pull, wrap with towels and rest in ice chest. It will still be dryer and not as succulent as Beef because of the really low fat content. I’ve shredded it at this point and then dried it for a great machaca.

 

[JoeDirt]

Elk dont have briskets like cows. I would do a whole shoulder before trying anything like that.

People talk a lot about elk ribs too, I would rather just go buy ribs. Not the same!

 

[Osubuck]

Inject the night before with beef stock and rub with olive oil then your favorite dry rub. Let sit over night in fridge then Smoke at 200• for two hours. Remove and place in foil or foil pan in oven for 3-4 hours.

 

[butcherboy]

Wasn’t this originally about elk brisket? You can’t compare beef and pork to WG. WG needs to be cooked to a lower temp than other meat products. USDA standards for beef and pork to be done requires an internal temp of 160 degrees for 0 seconds. Lots of other temps for so many seconds or minutes as well. Depending on how you want the meat finished.

I would smoke an elk brisket using a cold smoke method then finish in an oven covered in foil.

 

[Dave_]

I smoke most of my elk briskets. Rub it, smoke for 3-4 hours, wrap in foil with some watered down sauce and keep cooking until done. Yes they are lean and may dry out, but think they have excellent flavor. I love'em. Makes great sandwiches sliced or chopped.

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[Schism]

I smoke most of my elk briskets. Rub it, smoke for 3-4 hours, wrap in foil with some watered down sauce and keep cooking until done. Yes they are lean and may dry out, but think they have excellent flavor. I love'em. Makes great sandwiches sliced or chopped.

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What internal temperature do you cook to?

 

[Dave_]

What internal temperature do you cook to?

I've never used a thermometer. Usually just fork tender. It's hard to overcook after its wrapped up unless the juices/sauce inside dry out. You can add extra sauce or bacon grease in the foil to keep things moist

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[BBob]

What internal temperature do you cook to?

If you want to slice it I take it to 195° ish, if you want to shred it it needs to go to 203-205° ish. This is wrapped as stated above.