Seeking Brisket Wisdom

Not sure how much wisdom I have to help out here.  Reaching 165 in 3 hours seems pretty fast.  You don't say which smoker you have and which rack you had the brisket on.

I smoked it on the top shelf on the Smokette Elite. And yes - couldn’t believe how fast it hit 165! I’ve heard the Prime briskets go faster, but that seems too fast. And the internal temp of smoker was confirmed to be 225 the whole time with a separate probe. 

I don't think I have an answer for you.  I've never experienced that fast a temperature rise at 225 when using my Amerique.  Hopefully someone else has had the same issue you did and will chime in. 

Could you have inserted the Cookshack thermostat oven probe into the brisket and blocked it? Was the brisket reasonably symmetrical in shape?

I don't think there were any issues with temp readings... I had three total probes in the works just to be sure and they all confirmed the internal temp of the meat (e.g., 195F in thickest part of the flat, but around 180F in the thinner parts) as well as the oven temp of the smoker (225F). You can kind of see the shape of the brisket in the photos I attached, but it wasn't all that symmetrical given that the end of the brisket with the start of the flat was quite thin, and then the brisket proceeded to get thicker and thicker as you move towards the point. Somewhat similar to this one found on google images.  What I can't wrap my head around, though, is that the thinner part of the flat was 15 degrees cooler than the thickest part. 

I also doubt I have wisdom on this. Just a couple of observations. First, I cannot explain the quick rise to 165 - no clue why, unless the probe was too close to the surface of the meat.

But, based on your temp and time numbers, the "stall" occurred about at the right temp and look a good long time, so no real surprise there. The finish temps are a puzzle, I can't see how the thin part of the flat can be at lower temp than the thick part that was done right, except for a thermometer not reading right for some reason (maybe sticking out of the overdone part of the flat and going low with the door opening?). My uninformed conclusion is that there was some thermometer reading error in one or more places during and after the cook. I am no brisket expert and mine have failed more than they have succeeded, so these are just my $.02. I hope you try the same scenario again with a different cut of brisket and report back! Thanks for the thought-provoking post.

Thanks for the insight! I will definitely try again. This is only the 2nd brisket I've done (the first was an abomination)... is it common for the leanest part of the flat (opposite side of the brisket from point) to be a tad dry due to lack of fat? If not, I'm doing something wrong!

Just a thought....

Dry & tough= undercooked

Dry & Crumbling= overcooked

As far as quick rise, did you get your probe in the fat line or even in the point. They both are under the thickest part of the brisket flat?

My probes were in the thickest part of the flat in the very center.

The thinnest part of the flat was dry & tough so it was likely undercooked which is fascinating because the thickest part of flat was perfectly cooked. My probe readings after pulling support this... 195F in thickest part of flat, and 180F in thinnest part.

Maybe there were different heat spots in my smoker? Perhaps next time I should rotate the brisket 180 degrees after pulling to wrap and re-inserting for a more even cook? Or maybe next time I give it a few more hours for that thin part of the flat to come up to temperature?

Cal knows his brisket. 180 seems to be a pretty low temp and most likely under done. Closer to 200 for the flat, but don't go solely by time or temperature, grab something and probe it. Thermometer probe, wooden skewer, you want it to slide in like it's going through butter.

The thickest part of the flat was pure butter and registered 195, but the thin part registered 180 and was clearly underdone. Next time I'll take your advice and keep it on a bit longer to let the entirety of the flat cook through to optimal temp.

Just read thru the thread. Feedback: When buying a packer, look for the thickest, most uniform flat you can find. Almost all of them taper off a bit at the end. No matter what, the ends tend to be dryer, especially if they're thin. The comp guys trim the end of the flat back an inch or two...maybe more. (Great burger meat!!!) Comp folks also cut their turn-in slices towards the middle or even back towards the point (that's where the fat/flavor is!) Hence the higher the fat content, the more tender the meat appears to be. I'd suggest a center flat temp of 200 or even higher, as an optimum finish temp. Heck, I've had brisket up as high at 210 before they were done. Keep practicing...you'll get there very soon.

Thanks Max. Very helpful. I've since bought more briskets and I now realize that the shape of the one mentioned in this thread was very suboptimal... it tapered off drastically from thickest part of flat to thinnest. 

Yes, I'm with max.  The battle of the brisket is usually won or lost when you purchase it.  Once in a while I will get a good one.  I love the red river ranch angus briskets they sell at a local grocery store here.  They are normally very good.  But I've tried a prime from Sams Club and it was not worth the extra money.   There was probably one in the case beside it that would have been perfect, my luck.

I usually cut a little time so that the meat is red in the center.

I like how you did it, continue as well, but experiment more with different parameters.

I've just picked up a 12lb brisket to cook on Friday on my new-to-me SM008, I found this thread very useful with respect to cooking temps and times, thanks!

You should also search the forum for additional threads and posts by MaxQ, Tom and cal on brisket. True masters.

We all have been there. Twice that was said about the shape and symmetry. Sometimes it might be tricky to find a perfect brisket. And don't forget to use thermometer. 

Also, a piece of advice. If you need to choose the proper temp and settings, take a slice from the middle of the flat. Note how it felt slicing, and how it looks.

- If it felt hard or resistant to a sharp knife, clue one for undercooked.
- If the meat fibers fuzz up (like your slice) you need a sharper knife, and it is undercooked as well. A dullish knife mashed brisket fibers when they are over-cooked.
- If the slice falls apart of cracks in the middle, regardless of moisture, it is overcooked, if it is stiff, and when you bend it, you can see tiny threads of tissue, it is undercooked.

These signs will always be true, no matter how moist or dry the meat is. From there, you can make adjustments with the certainty that you are adjusting in the correct manner.