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It is day four with my new Amerique and I'm smoking anything I can get my hands on! First night, 2 butts weighing in at a total of 16 lbs., and the reults seemed great to me (but what do I know?). Next day, a 7.5 lb. briskett flat. The reult seemed good, but perhaps a little tough (chewy).

Two quick questions:

1. I cooked the briskett at 225 to 190. It took 20 hours to get a single 7.5 pounder to 190. The 2 butts were cooked at 235 and it took 21 hours to get to 200. I read the recent discussions on cook times and assumed the 20 hours was okay. Is it? Also, would cooking it to 195 make briskett less chewy or is that too well done?

2. There was greasy condensation dripping down of the upper left side of the door. Is this normal? Or could this be the reason for the 20 hour-plus cook times? Have not called CS on this, I thought I'd check with you guys.

Thanks.
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Dave_Okay,

My first brisket didn't turn out very well in my AQ. However, I believe that it had to do more with the full packer quality that I got from WalMart. I took my brisket a bit too far at 205 and it wanted to pull apart instead of slicing. All of my big meat cooks have taken at least 20 hours. So I think the cooking times are right on. Like they say around here, it's done when it's done.

The CS smokers are very moist cookers, so the condensation is normal. I cook outside and it's been real cold here, so I think the condensation is expected.
Dave_Okay-

Congrats on your new AQ!

Your cook times are similar to mine, and I also have the seepage from the upper left corner of the door. Neither is anything to worry about.

I'm by no means a brisket expert, but it's my understanding that the flats are more challanging than the packer cuts.

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.

Matt
Dave- it may be a little confusing to you to consider what a "Packer Cut" brisket is vs. a "flat".
For some reason, mostly about the changes in colligen, the Packer Cut (which includes the flat and the point) cooks up more tender (in general!) than a flat by itself. Also, there is a plateau, where the colligen is breaking down to give you that tender, juicy product you are expecting) tshat may take several hours to complete. This makes a lot of cooks not experienced in smoking a brisket or. for that matter, a pork butt, get a little nervous.

The long and short of this is to hunt down a Packer Cut brisket for your next try, and, to not be discouraged by your first attempt.

The cooking guides by SmokinOakie on this site are terrific for getting oriented on smoking with the Cookshack.

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