After putting this off for 20 years because I thought I could not do it right, and after much study on this site, I bought a smoker and tossed in a brisket. The first one was a 12.5 lb. Select packer from Wal-Mart. I cooked at 225 for 16 hours and pulled it at 195 degrees in the flat and FTC'd for 2 hours. I used Oak wood and a rub recipe I got from the Texas Beef Council. Things overall went exactly as expected and the meat was great, much better than I expected, the only thing I was not expecting was when I pulled the probe out and slid it (easily) into the point, the point was 200. I was expecting the point to be colder.
The next weekend I cooked a Choice packer (about the same weight) and I added a probe in the point so I could log both temps. The point stayed lower in temp until the plateau around 170. After that, it surpassed the flat as last time. I pulled the brisket with the flat at 190 and the point at 195. This time the meat was even better, more tender and less dry, I could really tell the diff in the Select and the Choice, the Choice had a much better defined grain. Good thing I bought 2 so I have one in the freezer for next weekend. This time I FTC'd for 3 hours, not sure if that makes any diff or not. Oh yeah, I cooked fat side up both times and did not mop the meat.
So, my question is this, was I wrong to expect the point to take longer to get done? Or is this because I have the point under the vent? From some of the older posts, I was expecting to have to separate the flat and point and cook the point longer, but it really kinda all got done at the same time, both smokes, which is good, just not what I expected from my research here.
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