Well the results are in....I'm stuffed. And so was the family. Everybody loved it...it was delicious.
I went to bed about 1230 once I was sure the smoker temps had stabilized. Set my maverick temp alarm for meat at 160, and smoker temp at 250. It did reach 250 about 3ish am...went out and closed the vent a quarter turn and back to bed. Woke up about 6 and the smoker was still cruising nicely at 235. Meat was at 158.
I wrapped it in butcher paper when it hit 170. I wasn't sure when to wrap...so I just guessed. I think I wrapped too many layers...the bark got soft.
By 11am or so the temp was around 190. I started checking for tenderness at 195. It seemed tender, but not quite the soft butter feel I'd read about. So I went another 30 minutes. Seemed a little softer so I decided to call it. Had the cooler heated with boiling water already.
I separated the point from the flat. Flat to the cooler, point cubed up for burnt ends. Sauced them 2 ways....Sweet baby rays, and stubbs. Back to the smoker they went until coleslaw and corn bread was finished.
Here's my few final thoughts...might be several since this is my first brisket.
Overall it was awesome. I was worried it would overcook in the flat because it was pretty thin on the end. It seemed to be different as I sliced through it. The very first few slices on the corner of the flat were the best brisket I've ever tasted. Melt it your mouth tender, unbelievably moist. There seemed to be part of the middle of the flat that was less moist. Not sure why. But that was only a few slices worth. Then it was very moist again, but not quite as good as the very first slices. I have no idea why this was the case.
I watched videos online about brisket...they do what they call the pull test. Mine was very tender, but did not pull apart with as little effort as the videos. Fork tender for sure though.
Burnt ends....I've never had them before, let alone cooked them. Just did some online research and hoped for the best. When I cut the point into chunks...naturally I sampled a couple. Holy cow. Literally...this cow had to have been blessed by the Good Lord himself. I don't even know how to put what I had into words. Everything I read said the point usually isn't done when the flat is. This one was amazing. Tender, insanely juicy. It was like meat chunks marbled with meat jelly. I put them in the pan, tossed with sauce, and back in the smoker. I was a little disappointed with the end result. Left them in the smoker about 1-1.5 hrs. Just till the sauce started to get thicker and caramelize like I'd seen online. They were still tender and tasty, but nothing like when I first cut it. Definitely more dry. I wish I'd just left it the way it was.
My apologies for not getting plated shots, but the folks and in laws were hungry so we got to the eating. Also forgot to take a pic of the burnt ends out of the smoker.
Here are the pictures I did remember to take....
Oh, and I had a pan underneath to catch the drippings...I strained them out, and saved them. Anybody got any good ideas for smoked brisket fat drippings? I have about 4 cups.
