Another brisket fail... sort of

[Smoking77]

Huskee You are the first person who has every claimed that I wear a thinking cap

[Huskee]

I don't ever go for "probe tender" because that can be different to each person. I take mine to 197-205, anywhere in there, and when it arrives there then I drop my cooker's temp to 150-170 and go another 1-2hrs as the cambro hold phase. Never had it not work. Just throwing that out there. Sometimes just taking off the thinking cap is in order.

[Smoking77]

Mark-B I've always considered just separating the point and the flat, too. But I cook brisket so infrequently, that when I do, I always decide to just cook the whole thing. Thanks to this site, every time I do one, it gets a little bit better. And like you said, unless you completely destroy the thing, it's aways going to make several decent meals.

[Mark-B]

I had the same issue with my choice brisket from Kroger. I haven’t cooked brisket in years because of the cost mainly, but I gave it a go as it was smaller and $28. The point was great, and the flat dried out. I pulled it when the point felt like butter, with my probe,about 203 degrees. To me, the whole idea of BBQ was\is to make a cheap piece of meat great, not a $200 piece of meat great. I’m cheap though! Next time, I might separate the point and flat and pull them at different times. Who knows, maybe I’ll just buy a choice point and be done with it. In the end, it made several meals though, and my wife is a master at reheating it in the microwave and actually adding moisture, so it did not go to waste.

[texastweeter]

I really think it's the hot hold.

[Smoking77]

Assuming temps are good, and using good wood, you would have me baffled. I cook at 225° no higher that 240° on upper end of fluctuations. Crutch with butcher paper once bar is set, usually around 175°. And start checking for tender around 190°. Once I pull, it gets foil, the at least a 4 hour rest in a quality cooler packed with towels. Other notes, I inject and dry brine 2 days in advance, go straight from fridge to cooker with just enough Time in between to bind and rub. Smile with oak and mesquite. Starting to experiment with wet ageing. Was you brisket really thin maybe? A picture would help. Oh and always water in the pan or an added waterpan if on one of the offsets.

Unfortunately, I only have a pic of the brisket before I sliced it. Doesn't look thin to me though. I guess my question is, when you check for tender around 190 degrees, what is "tender" to you? Like a few others have commented on this post, maybe I'm expecting too much from "probe tenderness." Thanks!

[Smoking77]

texastweeter I held the wrapped brisket at 170 because I had read many posts with people saying they would hold their brisket at the temp they pulled it at for an hour or two before putting it in faux cambro. Was just following their leads. But, since I haven't had a "great" brisket yet, next time I will just go straight to the cambro. Thanks!

[texastweeter]

why the oven, and why that hot? Bet that's your issue. Wrap it paper and all in foil, fill a cooler 1/3 of the way with towels, plop in the brisket, and fill the rest of the way with towels. Hold it there for 4 hours.

[Smoking77]

glitchy Thanks for the help. Looks fantastic. Next time I'll start checking at 180 and see if I can sense a different feel every few degrees.

[Smoking77]

texastweeter I put the brisket on (10.5 pounds after trimming) at 7:30 in the morning, and it was probe tender (at 215 degrees) at 5:00 pm. Wrapped it in paper, and put it in the oven at 170 degrees for 3 hours until dinner. I was using my pellet pooper, so was using BBQrs Delight hickory pellets.

[texastweeter]

Assuming temps are good, and using good wood, you would have me baffled. I cook at 225° no higher that 240° on upper end of fluctuations. Crutch with butcher paper once bar is set, usually around 175°. And start checking for tender around 190°. Once I pull, it gets foil, the at least a 4 hour rest in a quality cooler packed with towels. Other notes, I inject and dry brine 2 days in advance, go straight from fridge to cooker with just enough Time in between to bind and rub. Smile with oak and mesquite. Starting to experiment with wet ageing. Was you brisket really thin maybe? A picture would help. Oh and always water in the pan or an added waterpan if on one of the offsets.

[texastweeter]

Yes, just keep the braided line junction above the water. How long did the cooks take? That should give us an idea of if your temps are way off. Dumb question, but have to ask, you're no using a softwood are you?

[glitchy]

The last brisket I did was a Costco Prime on my SmokeFire using a water pan. I pulled at 199. It didn’t probe as tender as I thought it should, but was different than it had been the couple times I tested it before that, so I pulled and rested. By far the best brisket I’ve ever made. Ive never let one go above 203, but the couple before that one went all the way to 203 before the probe tender I thought I was looking for, they both were a little crumbly. Still plenty good, but would fall to pieces on the finger test. Maybe try to sense a change in probe tenderness and then give a good cooler rest. The best ever was no wrap too until resting.

[Smoking77]

Jerod Broussard Good to know. Thanks for the info. Looking forward to trying again.

[Jerod Broussard]

Smoking77 I had one go in like warm butter, it was at 203, it was a prime, and it was really overdone and dry. You need to check probe tender at about 180. That way you can get a better feel when things really loosen up later and it's ready to hold.