What did I do?

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donmega884

Newbie
Original poster
Jan 7, 2016
5
10
Romeo, Michigan
Hi guys. I'm realatively new to smoking meat. I've smoked a pork tenderloin and it was so so. Spare ribs, they were very good. Beef brisket, turned out dry, and not a very good taste. I bought the meat from Costco. I used applewood chips. I have a master built electric smoker. So what I did for the smoke was smoked it at 250 for 4 hours. Took it off wrapped it in tin foil put it back in until it reached 198 degree on my digital meat probe. Let it rest in a cooler for two hours. Idk what went wrong, but that was a long wait to eat dried out brisket lol. Maybe someone can let me know of a better method? Thanks guys
 
How long was it in the foil? Sounds under cooked to me. I usually take mine to 205, but 198 should have been OK. Did you check it in more than 1 place? The probe should go into the  meat with little to no resistance.

Al
 
Because you used a electric smoker I'm assuming you just had a brisket flat and not the whole packer brisket. There usually isn't enough room for a whole brisket in the electrics. I don't think there is maybe someone can correct me .Electric heat always meant dry heat to me anyhow. Do you have room for a small pan of water or juice to be added for some moisture?

Also the flat part of the brisket is leaner part of the brisket and will dry out faster. Maybe drop your heat to 225.

Main thing is don't give up. If your spares turned out good your on the right track. Brisket is a bit of a different animal
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Yes I used a water pan. It was the flat. I did was better when I put it in the crock pot lol. I left it in the fridge seasoned for like 24 hours. Maybe that's a no no?
 
A couple of key things is when you pick out a brisket, look for as much marbling as you can, a decent fat cap (When you pick the brisket should fold somewhat) If its stiff too much fat, if it flops over not enough fat. Look for one about middle of the road. I buy full packers and trim the fat down to about a quarter of an inch. A lean piece of meat will dry out if you are not careful.

Gary
 
Sounds like the guys have you headed in the right direction with the brisket.  Maybe you left out some steps, but did you cook the tenderloin to an IT of 198* too, or was that just the brisket?  If you cooked the tenderloin that long, it was way overcooked.  P. tenderloin is very lean...I never cook it past 150* IT.

Red
 
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