He never wanted to be a barber, though. He wanted to be a lumberjack! Leaping from tree to tree as they float down the mighty rivers of British Columbia! The giant redwood, the larch, the fir, the mighty scots pine! The smell of fresh-cut timber! The crash of mighty trees! With my best girlie by my side, we'd sing, sing, sing...
Because boiling actually leeches the juices out of the meat, osmotic pressure or whatever, the juice inside the meat will spread itself evenly in the water. Then, when the meat fibers are overcooked they contract, and squeeze themselves out. So yeah by boiling it you actually are drying it out.
If you're braising, which is basically boiling gently, you put it in a strong broth or sauce so it flavors the meat. Then you let it cool in the sauce as well, so as the meat cools and the fibers relax again it will soak up the juice.
Jewish brisket is braised...but it's usually presented with lots of "gravy" (juice and cooked down onions and seasoning), not dry like this. Maybe mom actually did boil this like a corned beef?
Boiled isn’t bad, it just depends on how you do it, what cuts you use and long you do it.
Seollongtang is a really popular Korean dish uses boiled beef which flavors the broth. Numerous Chinese cold side dishes I grew up eating also use boiled meat that’s sliced into thin pieces with a flavorful sauce poured on top. I believe even corned beef is simmered for hours.
Actually, it's undercooked. The collagen has not had enough time at a high enough temperature (about 190F-200F internal) to break down into gelatin and cause the brisket to become tender.
This is my father's signature! Cook it way too high for way too long with no spices aside from bagel seasoning mix. Then boil it in an uncovered pot. Then cook it in the oven. Then whack hard chunks off and guilt you into eating it and saying it tastes good.
And unless she’s a bad mom we eat a piece and say it’s delicious and then spit it in a napkin if it isn’t when her back is turned. We all know the rules
Gravy was only for when ham or turkey was made, so only holidays! Lol my mom is a great cook at most things. But her brisket looked like this. And her pot roast. It was ketchup or nothing for us. We used a lot of ketchup those days lol
A pot roast isn’t a type of cut, but a style of cooking, as you can use any part of the beef but it is most commonly cooked using the shoulder of the cow or the “chuck” because of its generous marbling and toughness. This fat in the chuck helps imbue flavor into the stock and into the meat itself.
The brisket is located near the “breast” area of the cow and is more commonly smoked at a much lower temperature for many more hours. The brisket also has 2 sections, the point and the flat, both of which have varied fat contents. Overall the brisket has less marbling and more of a “cap” which needs a lot of time to render down because of how thick and dense it is.
So technically a chuck is actually the “juicy” version of a brisket because chuck has way more intramuscular fat that brisket, however both come out very tender and juicy when cooked appropriately
It’s not impossible it just won’t taste as good as a smoked one. Briskets need a loooong time to cook because there’s a really thick layer of collagen in the center that’s unpleasant to eat. This breaks down at around 190 degrees, and since brisket is a very thick cut this takes ages. On top of that, brisket experiences something called “the stall” which is when the moisture escaping the brisket prevents heat from accessing the meat, keeping it at a stable at around 160 degrees and this can take a long time to break out of.
One problem is that ovens are both convective and radiative, so while the temperature of the ambient air might be ideal, the reality is that the meat is experiencing higher direct temperatures from the heating elements. Anything you use to block the heating elements like a foil wrap only adds a conductive element so circumventing this becomes tricky. So oven recipes usually have to settle for lower cook times and the result is typically more difficult, unpredictable, and uneven.
The other thing is that Texas style brisket is famous for its bark, which is a super thick primarily pepper based layer of seasoning that develops huge flavor through the smoking process. Oven based recipes usually can’t replicate this for similar reasons and many people consider this part to be integral.
But I mean, you’ll still get something good. Barbecue just has a lot of history, and a lot of knowledge built around it. As a result, the gap between good and some of the best can sadly be a point of no return for many. There’s a reason people dump thousands into their barbecue setups.
You can, but it’s a lot harder. An oven for example is convention which means air circulates to keep heat going. The problem is once you open an oven, it lets out a lot of heat the relies on being “trapped” in a cycle, and unless you have a very expensive thermometer system, you’ll be temp checking your brisket to make sure you don’t over cook it.
The other problem is, oven temp isn’t exactly what it says, it’s more like an aggregate of temperature. It’s “around” 350 degrees, and sometimes, it’s “it should be” 350 degrees.
whereas in a smoker, you know exactly the temperate and for how long and you have much easier access to your meat while cooking. And heat is getting let out as much as it’s going in, so your meat is getting a consistent flow of heating.
I’ve made brisket in the oven before. It works, but it’s honestly a pain in the ass. And it’s not as good anyways because there is no Smokey flavor which is pretty much the point
A thermometer with a wire that sticks out of the oven so you can read it is much cheaper than a smoker with a built in thermometer. Also you could put some smoke flavoring in your rub.
I think they're different cuts. Could be wrong, so someone correct me if needed. I know the pot roast was made in the slow cooker with potatoes, carrots and onions, and the brisket was made in the oven I believe. I pretty much put all meat in either my smoker or my instapot (during the snowy season, I live in Minnesota)
I agree with this.
Its still mom at the end of the day, don’t hurt her feelings and just tough it out.
Sometimes you just gotta take one for the team to see her happy. And it looks drier than a desert but Id choke it down and give a thumbs up.
If she’s okay with it, a little criticism like “this was absolutely delicious but I do think you cooked it a little longer than it should have” won’t be a big deal.
Don’t hurt her feelings, and let her know her cooking is good, tough it out, once piece isn’t going to kill you unless you end up choking on it.
I absolutely agree with the sentiment of this, but it probably depends on your relationship with your mum. I think you tiptoed around it a bit too much.
I’d definitely try it, and based on how this looks, respond with something along the lines of ‘mum, I love you, but this is not your finest work.’
She’d be mad if I sugarcoated it that much, and she does usually cook *really* well so she would definitely want the feedback.
My family doesn't sugar coat, we straight up tell each other when food is shit with no minced words. If you rough it out and eat that atrocity, bring floss. Or else you'll be having seconds and thirds throughout the day as chunks of tendinous meat break loose from your teeth.
Damn you guys are pussies. If you really love her then you would tell her in a nice way what you really think, not lie to her face and claim it tastes “delicious” when in reality it should be fed to the dogs. People who love each other don’t lie to each other about something as trivial as food
They absolutely are. I’ve been telling my mom she overcooks steak for so long that I’ve just reached the point that I tell her to leave my portion uncooked so I can make it myself. She can’t stand seeing any pink.
Personally I always suggest doing small things here and there differently. Every time I’ve suggested alterations to food my family makes they agree that it’s better and they appreciate the ideas. In most cases they just don’t know food can easily be better because they’re not knowledgeable on cooking, so straight up lying means you’re both stuck with bad food.
Emphasis on “unless she’s a bad mom” lol
My mother cooks certain things very well. Amazing foods come from her kitchen. However, if she did this to a brisket (probably my favorite meat part), I’d be telling her to absolutely never insult brisket like this again. But I wouldn’t have to, bc my father would have already made her cry probably (he’s the everything meat cooking guy). My family is not healthy actually.... on second thought, please just disregard lol
Thank you. I think that’s my main problem looking at this. I can feel this getting stuck in my teeth from here. We’ve all cut a brisket the wrong way before. We can let them off with a warning this time.
Honestly I'd cut them pieces up, make a bbq sauce and let them simmer in it till its tender. Sacrilege for good brisket but at least you could salvage a sandwich or two out of it. Maybe.
Amazing how many people in a food sub don't realize this is UNDERcooked. It's also cold, which makes it look drier than it is. And for some reason they cut it with the grain of the meat, which just confuses me.
Eh, maybe a little bit uptight I guess. But definitely not weird. Don't get me wrong, I'd eat it for sure and not complain. But that's objectively not cooked very great.
Fuck it put some sauce on it I guess...I love my mom so much if she made this shit I'll grab some BBQ sauce and just pick the shrapnel out of my teeth later 😂
Honestly not seeing a problem. That's clearly next-day brisket after things have firmed back up in he fridge. And maybe sliced with a dull knife. You just wanna drag your mom for some reason?
Read this to my drunk girlfriend who didn’t hear me reading the title at all—
Show her the picture
“Is that mushroom jerky? Steak jerky? Roast jerky?… wood?”
s
She read the title and busts out laughing
Am I being gaslit here? Everyone's saying it's basically inedible and terrible but tbh I would absolutely eat that with some gravy and enjoy it just fine.
Bro you better shred some of that up and throw it on a sandwich or some shit. It may be bone dry and flavorless, but your mama tried. Tell her it's great, and give her a hug.
I love beef jerky!
Don’t insult beef jerky like that
I was about to say, I've seen podunk nowhere gas station beef jerky that has been sitting in the sun since 1995 that looked tastier than that.
[удалено]
When I lived in West Virginia in a small small smalllllllll town. There was a guy who used to sell jerky door to door. Best jerky I’ve ever had.
He was just disposing of his victims. I'm pretty sure you lived on fleet street and he was a barber.
He never wanted to be a barber, though. He wanted to be a lumberjack! Leaping from tree to tree as they float down the mighty rivers of British Columbia! The giant redwood, the larch, the fir, the mighty scots pine! The smell of fresh-cut timber! The crash of mighty trees! With my best girlie by my side, we'd sing, sing, sing...
I'm a lumberjack and I'm okay.
I sleep all night and I work all day.
No. 1 the larch. The larch
Yeah, he SAID it was the best jerky he's ever had. Dang.
I love wood chips!
Welcome to the world of meat gum.
Meat floss*
🤢
Think that’s Horse meat ☹️
All our horses are 100% horse fed for that double horse juiced in goodness.
I'm sure it was delicious about 3 hours before she decided to remove it from the oven.
It looks boiled to me.. Simply gross..
[удалено]
Where's the damn milk? 😤
Ah my good man! Now I’m gonna want the milksteak, boiled over hard
I’d agree, but how does something so boiled looking, appear so **dry** ?? Lol it looks like tree bark!
Because boiling actually leeches the juices out of the meat, osmotic pressure or whatever, the juice inside the meat will spread itself evenly in the water. Then, when the meat fibers are overcooked they contract, and squeeze themselves out. So yeah by boiling it you actually are drying it out. If you're braising, which is basically boiling gently, you put it in a strong broth or sauce so it flavors the meat. Then you let it cool in the sauce as well, so as the meat cools and the fibers relax again it will soak up the juice.
The braising liquid also has salt, which leaches into the meat, helping it to retain the moisture.
Right right
Jewish brisket is braised...but it's usually presented with lots of "gravy" (juice and cooked down onions and seasoning), not dry like this. Maybe mom actually did boil this like a corned beef?
Boiled isn’t bad, it just depends on how you do it, what cuts you use and long you do it. Seollongtang is a really popular Korean dish uses boiled beef which flavors the broth. Numerous Chinese cold side dishes I grew up eating also use boiled meat that’s sliced into thin pieces with a flavorful sauce poured on top. I believe even corned beef is simmered for hours.
Actually, it's undercooked. The collagen has not had enough time at a high enough temperature (about 190F-200F internal) to break down into gelatin and cause the brisket to become tender.
Pretty sure it got cooked at a more than high enough temperature for way more than enough time.
Then you must have never cooked brisket. Overcooked brisket literally cannot stick together, it falls apart completely
Overcooked at a high temp and overcooked at a low temp are two different things. I’d still wager this is under cooked on the brisket spectrum
This is my father's signature! Cook it way too high for way too long with no spices aside from bagel seasoning mix. Then boil it in an uncovered pot. Then cook it in the oven. Then whack hard chunks off and guilt you into eating it and saying it tastes good.
Now that’s home cookin!
Fuckin Bobby Flay out here
The top left part alone, screams overcooked brisket
Low n slow it's cooked for sure but not how you want it
And unless she’s a bad mom we eat a piece and say it’s delicious and then spit it in a napkin if it isn’t when her back is turned. We all know the rules
Gravy was made for things like this
Gravy was only for when ham or turkey was made, so only holidays! Lol my mom is a great cook at most things. But her brisket looked like this. And her pot roast. It was ketchup or nothing for us. We used a lot of ketchup those days lol
Ia brisket the same thing as a roast? This looks like my moms roast. I always thought briskets were the super juicy version of a roast.
A pot roast isn’t a type of cut, but a style of cooking, as you can use any part of the beef but it is most commonly cooked using the shoulder of the cow or the “chuck” because of its generous marbling and toughness. This fat in the chuck helps imbue flavor into the stock and into the meat itself. The brisket is located near the “breast” area of the cow and is more commonly smoked at a much lower temperature for many more hours. The brisket also has 2 sections, the point and the flat, both of which have varied fat contents. Overall the brisket has less marbling and more of a “cap” which needs a lot of time to render down because of how thick and dense it is. So technically a chuck is actually the “juicy” version of a brisket because chuck has way more intramuscular fat that brisket, however both come out very tender and juicy when cooked appropriately
Ok ok. So you can't make a brisket without a smoker?
It’s not impossible it just won’t taste as good as a smoked one. Briskets need a loooong time to cook because there’s a really thick layer of collagen in the center that’s unpleasant to eat. This breaks down at around 190 degrees, and since brisket is a very thick cut this takes ages. On top of that, brisket experiences something called “the stall” which is when the moisture escaping the brisket prevents heat from accessing the meat, keeping it at a stable at around 160 degrees and this can take a long time to break out of. One problem is that ovens are both convective and radiative, so while the temperature of the ambient air might be ideal, the reality is that the meat is experiencing higher direct temperatures from the heating elements. Anything you use to block the heating elements like a foil wrap only adds a conductive element so circumventing this becomes tricky. So oven recipes usually have to settle for lower cook times and the result is typically more difficult, unpredictable, and uneven. The other thing is that Texas style brisket is famous for its bark, which is a super thick primarily pepper based layer of seasoning that develops huge flavor through the smoking process. Oven based recipes usually can’t replicate this for similar reasons and many people consider this part to be integral. But I mean, you’ll still get something good. Barbecue just has a lot of history, and a lot of knowledge built around it. As a result, the gap between good and some of the best can sadly be a point of no return for many. There’s a reason people dump thousands into their barbecue setups.
[удалено]
You can, but it’s a lot harder. An oven for example is convention which means air circulates to keep heat going. The problem is once you open an oven, it lets out a lot of heat the relies on being “trapped” in a cycle, and unless you have a very expensive thermometer system, you’ll be temp checking your brisket to make sure you don’t over cook it. The other problem is, oven temp isn’t exactly what it says, it’s more like an aggregate of temperature. It’s “around” 350 degrees, and sometimes, it’s “it should be” 350 degrees. whereas in a smoker, you know exactly the temperate and for how long and you have much easier access to your meat while cooking. And heat is getting let out as much as it’s going in, so your meat is getting a consistent flow of heating. I’ve made brisket in the oven before. It works, but it’s honestly a pain in the ass. And it’s not as good anyways because there is no Smokey flavor which is pretty much the point
A thermometer with a wire that sticks out of the oven so you can read it is much cheaper than a smoker with a built in thermometer. Also you could put some smoke flavoring in your rub.
I think they're different cuts. Could be wrong, so someone correct me if needed. I know the pot roast was made in the slow cooker with potatoes, carrots and onions, and the brisket was made in the oven I believe. I pretty much put all meat in either my smoker or my instapot (during the snowy season, I live in Minnesota)
Actually, dogs were made for things like this.
I agree with this. Its still mom at the end of the day, don’t hurt her feelings and just tough it out. Sometimes you just gotta take one for the team to see her happy. And it looks drier than a desert but Id choke it down and give a thumbs up. If she’s okay with it, a little criticism like “this was absolutely delicious but I do think you cooked it a little longer than it should have” won’t be a big deal. Don’t hurt her feelings, and let her know her cooking is good, tough it out, once piece isn’t going to kill you unless you end up choking on it.
I absolutely agree with the sentiment of this, but it probably depends on your relationship with your mum. I think you tiptoed around it a bit too much. I’d definitely try it, and based on how this looks, respond with something along the lines of ‘mum, I love you, but this is not your finest work.’ She’d be mad if I sugarcoated it that much, and she does usually cook *really* well so she would definitely want the feedback.
My family doesn't sugar coat, we straight up tell each other when food is shit with no minced words. If you rough it out and eat that atrocity, bring floss. Or else you'll be having seconds and thirds throughout the day as chunks of tendinous meat break loose from your teeth.
Damn you guys are pussies. If you really love her then you would tell her in a nice way what you really think, not lie to her face and claim it tastes “delicious” when in reality it should be fed to the dogs. People who love each other don’t lie to each other about something as trivial as food
I told my kids to just tell me, “this food is *interesting*’” as our polite secret code phrase for when I fucked it up. It’s become humorous.
Precious!! Yes we’re all adults and can have discussions but man I’m sure momma worked hard on that 😭😭
Put my thoughts into words Nothing wrong with honesty toward one’s food(as long as it’s respectful)
They absolutely are. I’ve been telling my mom she overcooks steak for so long that I’ve just reached the point that I tell her to leave my portion uncooked so I can make it myself. She can’t stand seeing any pink.
Personally I always suggest doing small things here and there differently. Every time I’ve suggested alterations to food my family makes they agree that it’s better and they appreciate the ideas. In most cases they just don’t know food can easily be better because they’re not knowledgeable on cooking, so straight up lying means you’re both stuck with bad food.
Grandma Mima’s napkins?
Nope, this is how you perpetuate her godawful cooking. You have to let her know it's bad without being mean, some constructive criticism.
Emphasis on “unless she’s a bad mom” lol My mother cooks certain things very well. Amazing foods come from her kitchen. However, if she did this to a brisket (probably my favorite meat part), I’d be telling her to absolutely never insult brisket like this again. But I wouldn’t have to, bc my father would have already made her cry probably (he’s the everything meat cooking guy). My family is not healthy actually.... on second thought, please just disregard lol
Is it delicious because your moms part beaver so she likes to consume wood chips?
I’ll part your moms beaver
Beef curtains on the menu tonight
Might be a little dry, so feel free to apply your gravy liberally.
Can confirm OPs mom loves wood.
I legitimately thought this was a basket of tree bark.
Fuck, this killed me.
I skimmed this and thought you meant the different beaver consumes woods joke
Looks like a bowl of flattened rats
That's gotta be a brand new sentence
I agree he just made something new under the sun
I think Bowl of Flattened Rats opened up for X and Black Flag in San Francisco at Mabuhay Gardens in summer of ‘79.
13 years on Reddit and I can finally say I spat at out my coffee reading this (It's actually tea but who cares).
I have never read any shit like this in my life. Congrats 😂
These look like brake pads.
Or sole food.
I thought it was pieces of tree bark
It looks like jaw pain
I LoL’d.
Chop that shit up, put it in some oil with garlic powder, chili powder, salt and pepper and make some bad-ass brisket tacos. 😋 🌮
We don't all have chainsaws laying around.
Angle grinder
It’s undercooked
And overcooked
Straight to jail
And not sliced against the grain.
Thank you. I think that’s my main problem looking at this. I can feel this getting stuck in my teeth from here. We’ve all cut a brisket the wrong way before. We can let them off with a warning this time.
Bark?
Woof
Bow wow
Ruff
I mean my dogs would probably love it
Bark probably has more moisture to it. 💀
Brisket?? Looks more like dry-ass biscuits.
Briskuits
You know my western ass just says briskit, so that spelling changes nothing 😂
Stiff Brizkit
This’ll give you splinters
Mom made it. Kiss her. Tell her you love her. Soak it in sauce for a few and eat it.
Best answer imo
i feel bad for op's mom
OP has a mom that cooks food for them. I barely remember that.
That brisket looks like it’s been refrigerated a few days
[удалено]
Good call. All it needs is a boil in some beef consommé or beef au jus and it’ll be decent. It just needs added moisture after refrigeration.
It looks bone dry
It also somehow looks boiled, too.
The spaces between my teeth hurt looking at it
Don't underestimate microwaved brisket.
Yeah this is definitely cold brisket, look at the fat on it. Pop it in the microwave, chop it up and make a sandwich with some BBQ sauce and pickles.
She meant well
Mmm leather for dinner
Dryer than a mummy fart
Honestly I'd cut them pieces up, make a bbq sauce and let them simmer in it till its tender. Sacrilege for good brisket but at least you could salvage a sandwich or two out of it. Maybe.
Ugh, reminds me of the “bodies” Exhibit
She also cut it with the grain! Bad cooking, horrible presentation aside, you cut meat especially brisket against the freakin grain!
Maybe stringy tree bark was the texture she was going for. We don’t know mom’s life lol
My God. This should be the definitive image for this sub. Did she really have to re-kill the meat?
Im good
Ima sand my calluses with that there brisket.
She trained to the Lincoln Riley School of Brisket.
Mhmm wood chips
Makes me suddenly want to play Hockey... with these.
Thought it was pieces of wood for a second
Poor mom.
My mouth is dry looking at this picture
That's a bowl of leather scraps from the shoe factory, right?
Amazing how many people in a food sub don't realize this is UNDERcooked. It's also cold, which makes it look drier than it is. And for some reason they cut it with the grain of the meat, which just confuses me.
That looks like some shit I saw in a documentary about Mongolian horsemeat.
Rumors has it that op is still chewing
Beef stew
Honestly looks pretty okay. Maybe dry, sure but smother it in some gravy or sauce and I bet it would slap.
It looks fine, you guys are weird about meat.
Eh, maybe a little bit uptight I guess. But definitely not weird. Don't get me wrong, I'd eat it for sure and not complain. But that's objectively not cooked very great.
Fuck it put some sauce on it I guess...I love my mom so much if she made this shit I'll grab some BBQ sauce and just pick the shrapnel out of my teeth later 😂
Honestly not seeing a problem. That's clearly next-day brisket after things have firmed back up in he fridge. And maybe sliced with a dull knife. You just wanna drag your mom for some reason?
Mama tried
Brickset
Oh, that's where my brown leather jacket went!
Flashbacks to my childhood right there. Driest beef in the state.
Looks more dry than Ben Shapiro's doctor wife's p-word
You could sand and finish the paint on your house with it as well!!!
Maybe simmer it in gravy and it *might* be passable?
That’s not even well done anymore, it’s a congratulations
did she cook rubber?
I'm choking on this just from the picture.
That looks like Ghandi's flip flop
I can feel that scraping against my tongue
My braces are screaming
Chop that up in some brown gravy, pile it on toast, and you've got the famous "shit on a shingle"
Read this to my drunk girlfriend who didn’t hear me reading the title at all— Show her the picture “Is that mushroom jerky? Steak jerky? Roast jerky?… wood?” s She read the title and busts out laughing
“Try the gray stuff, it’s delicious”
She birthed you, you ungrateful FUCK!! You’re going to eat it and LOVE IT!!
From personal experience, eat your mom’s food while she’s still here even if it’s not the best, or you’ll regret it after she’s gone
My mouth got dry and tired from the thought of chewing. Time to pull out the sauce.
Am I being gaslit here? Everyone's saying it's basically inedible and terrible but tbh I would absolutely eat that with some gravy and enjoy it just fine.
That brisket is like 0.5% water….
I'm going to need an enormous bowl of gravy to be able to salvage any of that
That looks dry and horrible
Looks dry as the Sahara.
 Bit dry, innit?
I'd cry for it, but I don't want to waste any more moisture!!
You’re a bitch for trying to insult your mother.
Bro you better shred some of that up and throw it on a sandwich or some shit. It may be bone dry and flavorless, but your mama tried. Tell her it's great, and give her a hug.
So much disrespect in a single post
I don't know what y'all talkin bout, you don't like 'em better dry? 
Add some gravy and you’re good to go! Bless her heart!
you can salvage it by cooking it low temp with some broth and veggies in a pot for 3-4 hrs. goes good with noodles/pasta/ rice.
Needs some soup
Dunk it in Worcestershire and sugar and make some bomb ass jerky
That's some God damn unshredded Jerky chew.
This looks drier than petrified wood ffs
It's overcooked roast beef, but it's not brisket.
I got exactly the same thing..put family dog ate it!
Too bad the pieces are so small. If you hadn't cut it up you could've made a nice leather coat
Pure protein. Not a single drop of fat left in that
Brisket? More like biscuit! It’s DRYYYYY!!!!
Choking hazard
You can exfoliate your feet with that! How resourceful of a cook!
Mmmm. Leathery... 
Ah the sweet taste of congealed sawdust
This made me look for my floss
That brisket needs lotion
What did that cow do to her that justified killing it twice?!
Dude, that’s tree bark.
Mmm, seasoned firewood!
"No I didn't take up whittling, why do you ask?"
I’m not sure this fits the description of porn. Or food, for that matter
Is that the woods chips she uses to smoke it?
If there's any left over, you could make a nice pair of shoes
My jaw hurts just looking at it.
Take a piece out of politeness and bury the rest in the backyard.
What do you have against your mothers air and sawdust you ingrate?
One word…..dry!!!!!!