first brisket w/ qview

[bigslick]

made my first attempt at brisket yesterday.
After a 3 am repair job on the smoker I was able to get the meat going around 5 am. I forgot the qview to begin with, you can see the fat already beginning to flow.

Thought all was well but had a temp spike to over 250 not sure how long, between 30 mins and and hour :-( this was around 8am.

battled wind all day relighting and adjusting temps getting to high and low.
After 4-5 hours wrapped in foil, both the flat and point. At 190 wrapped the flat in blankets and into the cooler. Point went into the oven (turned off) for about 30 mins to rest, still foiled.
Cut the point into 1 inch cubes as suggested on here, tossed in some store bought sauce and back into the smoker.
My timing was way a bit off and myself control was even worse.
When the outlaws got over I sliced the flat after it had rested over 2 hours.


I also pulled the "not so burnt ends" I know I should have left them but we all wanted to try them.

My self assessment was more harsh than my guests, but I have a few things to work on. I think the temp spikes dried out the flat a bit, and of course if you want burnt ends you have to burnt them! lol
Almost forgot, made up soflaqers carolina sauce as well as roggy's bbq sauce, both were out of this world!
Thanks for all the help everyone!
Godspeed,
bigslick

 

[blue]

I have found that briskets are one of the hardest things to perfect...so while you might not be 100% satisfied, you should still be happy with the results. That looks like a pretty good brisket.

How much did those bad boys weight and how long did it take to cook?

Thanks for sharing.

 

[bigslick]

Blue, it was appx 11lbs before separating. Didn't weight them after, but it seemed about 1/2 and 1/2. I did not trim at all (but will in the future.)
Put them in the smoker about 4-4:30am and they hit 190 at 2pm. So 9.5 hours. I was expecting longer, I suspect my temp issues were to blame.
The taste was great, and the point was moist enough, flat was just a bit dry, no one complained, but me though. lol
Godspeed,
bigslick

 

[the dude abides]

Looks like you had a great plan. Too bad Mother Nature had her own.
Still looks good on this guy's monitor. And if your guests were happy, well then all was not lost. And you said the flavor was good, so it sounds like you're all set to give it a-go again real soon.

 

[got14u]

I find it funny how we as cooks or wanna be cooks are very hard on our selves but the people eating our food usually love it...sounds like you were a success by your guested standards.

 

[beer-b-q]

Looks Great... Glad everyone liked it...

 

[downstatesmoker]

Looked juicy from your pictures. Burnt ends are great but they do require a bit of self control which is never easy :) Good job overall!

 

[pignit]

Your smoke looks great. I would call it a very successful first Brisket. You are probably right in thinkin the higher temps had something to do with not getting the results you were goin after. Brisket is one of those cuts of meat that low and slow really makes a difference in. Especially between 180 and pullin time.

 

[alx]

Nice job.Excellent for a first time brisket...

 

[rivet]

Hey, if everyone was happy and ate their fill, then you did good! Nothing wrong with that brisket from my screen, neither. Yeah the burnt ends take a lot of patience, but they are definitely worth it.

Keep trying your hand at briskets and in no time you'll be surprised at how much better you feel you have become.

Congratulations

 

[mballi3011]

Just like everyone here says if the guest ate it and called it good then you did good. I know we are really hard on ourselves but that is the nature of the beast. If we cooked/smoked the way we want I'm pretty sure we would fine something else to complain about.

 

[fatback joe]

Good job!

I know it is frustrating when it seems like the whole cook is a fight, but it sure is good experience. Hard to learn much when everything goes as planned.

 

[scarbelly]

It is a good looking smoke and if folks liked it you did good by them. We all want to do better but that is why we are here in the first place