Couple week ago I purchase an 8# flat for a small gathering last Saturday. The night before I injected with Butchers, quite thoroughly. The next morning I seasoned with a light dusting of rub, salt and pepper. Gave it an hour rest at room temp. Began the smoke at 9am at 225.
The goal was to finish the meat unfoiled. After coming out of the 170ish plateau around 3pm, I began temping an hour later --> 181. I used the Thermapen to test tenderness...it was sliding in and out pretty easily at the 181 mark. Let it go another hour and the Thermapin slid in and out with ease. Temp was 184. Scratched my head as I've never had a brisket finish at 184 but went ahead and FTC'd for an hour.
When I sliced, juices were abundant. The flavor was dead on. Only down side was that it "ate" like a 184 brisket...just a tad chewy. Everyone else said the tenderness was perfect. What do they know?
Next time around:
1. I'll cook a packer
2. It will remained unfoiled until FTC time
3. I'll take it to 196 and probe with something not quite as sharp ended as the Thermapin.
One other note, when I went to slice I was surprised by how little juices had escaped into the foil...maybe 1/4 cup. That explains why the meat was so juicy.
