Tweak my Brisket

quote:

Originally posted by OakHillSmoke:
... The flat was hard as a brick...

Can't tell from the description, was it overcooked or undercooked?

Have you checked your temp probe is it accurate.

Where was the 190-195 temp measured at?

When cooking a packer the point (cap) will always appear to be more tender and temp a bit higher than the flat due to the higher fat content. Sometimes, not often, a packer flat will be ready and tender at the 190-192 mark. Usually it's more like like 195-200...and sometimes higher.

Learn to probe tenderness in the middle of the flat vs relying on a temp. I've come to rely on a wooden skewer for this...not unlike toothpicking ribs for tenderness. When you insert the flat (where the point ends) with little or no resistance, it's done. Don't worry about the temp of the point...it will be fine at which point the flat is done.

Oak,I know you've been here on the forum long enough to have studied Smokin's 101.
Sounds to me like it pretty much covers all your problems.

Where you getting your packers down around Jupiter?Just curious.

Hey Tom,
The only place i can find them is at Walmart. I have definitely watched Smokin's 101. I am using a Maverick thermometer placed in the flat. My thought was when it reads 190, then it will be done and the cap will be a bit less. I then can decide what to do with the cap.(if anything). The smoker seems to be holding temp correctly. I set it at 225. It will rise a bit but generally holds true. Again, the cap was perfect. The flat was dry on the inside and the outter layer was almost to hard to get a knife thru. Could it be drying out from too long of a cook time? Should I go to 250 so it is done sooner? Inject it? Leave more fat on it?

Could be the need to cook the flat till fork tender, then wrap in two layers of foil, then big towel, and rest for a few hours in a small prewarmed cooler.

Some folks inject, some cook at a higher temp, some foil with a little broth. I believe it is more the quality of the meat, that dictates what a cook may want to do.